Daffodils can be a bit shouty; a bit full-on; a bit draining. This post gives space to the subtle ones.
Category: Texture
The garden is a place to indulge your senses, and texture is a huge part of this. Come and stroke some velvety and silken textures with me.
Early Risers
Hyacinths are the easiest of bulbs to grow in the garden. They are reliably hardy and perennial, and bulk up each year. Just remember to wear gloves when planting, and don’t touch your face!
A Certain Flair
There are some rather wonderful words for describing the shape of a flower’s stigma. ‘Plumoso’ describes a feathered shape. ‘Lobado’ describes a lobed shape. There is conicoid (conical), discoide (disc-shaped) and con pelos (with hair). I would describe a crocus stigma as plumoso. Lucky crocus.
The Pyjama Walk
On a weekend, I like to get up before the rest of the family. I put on my dressing gown and slippers, make myself a cup of tea, slip on my wellies, and take a little walk around the garden.
You in your small corner…
The words of this song keep coming back to me as I find little groups of crocuses around the garden.
Witch Hunt
I find February an excruciating month. We are so close to spring, but it is often getting colder rather than warmer. Bulbs have broken the surface of the soil, but their growth is glacial. I feel like each time I visit the garden I am willing it on, but it is like a painfully shy child. The more pressure it feels to perform, the more it hides its head and keeps schtum.
Sand Dunes
If you are in company and you face-plant, everyone can enjoy it. If you are on your own and you face-plant, you have to spring up quickly, as if you meant to do that, as if it was just part of your normal skipping pattern.
A Rimy Morning
Mist simultaneously closes in, and creates distance. It disorientates, and makes the landscape appear what it is not. Islands appear in a sea of mist, and birds start out of nowhere.
Sleeping Beauty
We are in the inbetween-time, waiting for signs of life…
Pops and Neutrals
I am a ‘colour pop’ kind of a girl. But occasionally, with a light frost, I am forced to focus on the neutrals. With the aid of my new book all about colour, I can now distinguish my buff from my fawn!
Baubles
As we pass into winter, we have to appreciate the little things. The bright and shiny baubles, the trinkets, the gewgaws. All that glisters. All that twinkles, and reflects the light.
Clarity
Being outdoors, pottering in the garden, listening to the birds, noticing colours and textures and patterns, enjoying a cup of tea… These are all forms of self-care. They are nurturing for my soul. Self-care brings clarity. I am refreshed, and can see things more clearly.
