Wednesday, January 12, 2011

It is so good to be alive day!


There is no doubt that working out on the ground keeps me sane. Today was positively mild at about 10 degrees, and whilst admittedly wet or rather damp there are signs of life everywhere. I have seen my first snowdrops; the bluebells are starting to push their way through the ground as are the crocus'. Why I wonder have crocus' become so unfashionable. They are some of the unsung heroes or heroines of the plant world. They come in stunning colours in either spring or autumn, and what to my mind is one of their best features, is that their leaves are fine and not that noticeable so there is hardly any mess to clear up. And they proliferate like mad. The secret is to plant them quite deep so that the birds don't eat them. Mind you, I have had my Jack Russell help herself to a few......... Don't be fooled by the black ear and nose - she has a degree in low canine cunning!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Happy New Year



I feel that I should start the New Year off with an apology and not a new resolution. I have been out of communication for several months - all of which convinces me that time is passing faster and faster - for a number of reasons. Primarily, I have been in the throes of passing part of the business over to Carolyn Powell at Shrublands all of which has now happened, and we are both looking forward to a fruitful new partnership. And secondly, I have been working on several new projects, trying to start my correspondence design course (I live in hope), and organising my life. And in all of this of course we had the huge snow fall, which was simply wonderful, amazing and spectacular. If it is going to snow it might as well do it properly. And to be truthful, I am very fortunate having lived part of my life in Scotland, so am not unused to snow and ice. And if we think about it we used to have a fair amount of it (well if you are my age you will remember it!). But we have become so used to balmy winters that we have forgotten the days when we all used to wear 5 layers; lose 30% of our garden plants; have to put water out several times a day for the birds; and regularly take the ice off the windscreens. The upshot of it all is of course that when spring comes it is all the better for it. I have attached a few photos of some of the area around us, which looked absolutely stunning in the snow.