jardinmiranda

Jardinmiranda is moving to wyewatch.com

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 17:28:00 +0000

A fter 12 wonderful years of living in rural Brittany, we returned to the UK in February 2016 to a cottage in the Wye Valley near Hay on Wye. My blog of twelve years www.jardinmiranda.com has moved to w yewatch.com . Please come and join me there!

Clutching fruitfully at straws....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 22:55:00 +0000

It all starts with the humble straw bale... providing a revolutionary way of growing; enabling the gardener to create their own vegetable or flower garden from a mere bale of straw! No matter what the size of garden is, this method of growing can be adapted to suit any size of plot; from a small balcony garden to something much bigger. If this concept has grabbed your attention as it did mine, you'll be pleased to know that due to the massive success of his first book on the subject, Joel Karsten has now written the second instalment   "Straw Bale Gardens Complete" - providing readers with everything they need to know about straw bale gardening (SBG). An incredible and inspiring subject for any gardener - this book is based on both the author's own experiences and that of his many readers across the globe.

Joel has spent the past 15 years experimenting and perfecting this method of growing and in this amazing new book, takes you through the whole process with easy to follow instructions supported by great photography and illustrations.

Essentially SBG is based on the notion of using bales as a medium which is conditioned to become an excellent rooting environment in which to grow a wide variety of vegetables and flowering plants – and if (as it is) it’s a suitable basis on which to create a show garden  at Chaumont in Paris last year, then maybe this is something to take very seriously indeed.

The process behind this is that you take your straw bale and turn it on its side with the spiky ends of the straw uppermost. The next stage is to treat the straw with a high-nitrogen based fertiliser - there are plenty of organic options here and this helps to accelerate the decomposition process within the bale.

Following this application, the straw needs to be watered heavily for 12 - 18 days. As well as soaking them using a hose with spray attachment, the way that is suggested in the book is via a drip feed hose that can be attached the full length of your bale. This will also help with on-going watering once your bale is planted up. I have talked about straw bales in the singular here and unless you only have a small garden, I'm sure you'll prefer to use a number of bales to create your straw bale garden with!

Once decomposition is properly underway, as with a traditional compost heap, a good deal of  heat is created from your bales which offers ideal growing conditions for germinating seeds or encouraging good root development in young plants, enabling you to start off your vegetable patch earlier than normal.

Your bale should now be ready for planting - either by using plants or sowing seeds. If sowing seeds you need to apply a layer of potting compost to the surface of the bale so that the seedlings can first become established whilst plants are planted directly into the bale.

The straw bales can be positioned in a row with fencing posts at either end and a series of wires above the bales at different heights to provide a structure to support taller plants or for climbing plants such as beans, peas and some of the squashes.

Whilst seedlings germinate and as your young plants establish, you can also utilise one of the lower wires on the framework to support a polythene sheet so you can protect your seedlings over night or during colder days.

The book goes into a huge amount of detail, with endless helpful suggestions on how best to set this up, and so for the purpose of this article, I'm not going to go into any further detail as this will hopefully encourage you enough to go out and buy the book!

If you're up for a new challenge and something to get the neighbours talking (in a good way!), why not give this a go. It's a great time of year to think about this whilst planning all the exciting seeds and plants that you hope to grow in 2015.

At the end of the growing season you'll hopefully have a wonderful selection of your own vegetables along with a good pile of composted straw to add to other areas of the garden, or to your compost pile providing an ideal home for hibernating hedgehogs and sloe worms amongst other things.

This excellent and informative book is available at the following link on Amazon UK - Happy growing!

Owl update!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 21:24:00 +0000

Amazing experience having the owl babies in our woodland - after the last photo shoot they disappeared for about 5 days and have been back ever since... the two siblings seem inseparable and have now found a place at the far end of our woodland to shelter during the day despite getting endless grief from the large Blackbird population along with the Magpies and Jays all squawking at the tops of their voices at the slightest movement (I always know they're around when I hear this!) - even the little Wrens have been joining the chorus recently :-)

This last week I've been going down there very quietly and slowly about 10pm as it's starting to get towards dusk and getting the most amazing views of the pair, plus their Mum who's very attentive and who you can hear calling as she hunts - when she arrives with food you've never heard such a hullabaloo!

The curious thing, the last 2 nights is that one of the babies is obviously very curious of me and has been flying into a tree or onto a branch almost as close as he dare, in an attempt to try and work out what the hell I'm doing! This evening he was about 2 meters away crooning his neck in all directions whilst keeping a constant eye on me, turning around for a few seconds and then checking me out again. He or she didn't seem phased by the fact I was there at all. Has anyone else had this kind of experience with young owls - I wouldn't miss this for the world...

Whilst enjoying the owls have also had the pleasure of the company of a pair of Muntjac deer as well as a young female fox who came scurrying through on her way to her cubs I would guess - definitely a woman on a mission! We've also got a number of hedgehogs around as well... so never a dull moment.

Enjoy the warmer weather and hoping we won't have any more storms like last night - all the flashing of lightening in the sky going on almost simultaneously with the thunder was like something from WW2... sent along to add to the celebrations going on this weekend!

Fabulous Farmhouse in Brittany for Sale with 1.5 acres of garden, woodland and stream

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 22 May 2014 17:56:00 +0000

It's been a massive decision, but we have put our lovely Breton Farmhouse on the market with a view to returning to the UK and so would love to find someone to buy our home who would really appreciate not only all the wonderful living space, but all the fantastic outdoor space our home offers too. Not to mention all the wildlife and birds we have.

If you've dreamed of living in a lovely farmhouse with wood-burning stoves, lots of beams, old fire places - look no further. We renovated the central part of this farmhouse about 10 years ago, using French professional builders. Our home comprises 4 double bedrooms (one downstairs), a large upstairs family bathroom, an open plan kitchen/dining room, large sitting room with doors to the garden, a utility room and downstairs cloakroom with door to the garden. Adjoining the house either side is plenty of dry storage space or room to expand the property - potential for at least 2 gites if required. There is even a large chicken house if needed on the edge of the garden and woodland. We also have 2 wells on site - one of which provides all the water for the garden via an electric pump.

The property sits in a very good size of formal gardens with an abundance of plants, shrubs and trees (including fruit trees and bushes) and there is separate vegetable garden and greenhouse. Below the main garden is an area of woodland - a mix of Oak and Hazel in the main with some Poplar and offers a plentiful wood supply for the fires. (The house also has central heating.) Running along the bottom edge of the woodland is a pretty stream complete with it's own rustic bridge!

We are 1km to the nearest village of Yvignac La Tour with its Boulangerie, Post Office and Restaurant, and have a number of options for supermarkets & doctors & chemists - 6 minutes to Caulnes, 10 minutes to Broons and 20 minutes to Dinan. The beach is about 30 mins drive from here, airports at Rennes and Dinard about 30 mins and St Malo Ferry about 45 mins. There are also plenty of walks and opportunities for cycling directly from our doorstep!

Asking Price £199,950

For more information on the house... please see www.bretonfarmhouse.com

If you would like more details, please don't hesitate to get in touch via email jardinmiranda@wanadoo.fr

Thank you for looking!

If you go down to the woods...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 18 May 2014 21:04:00 +0000

This is what you might find if you're very very lucky!

It's been so exciting this past week as a pair of fledged Tawny Owlets have taken up residence in our small area of woodland - a mix of Oak, Poplar and Hazel which provides a thick high canopy of leaves in which to hide!

Needless to say I'd been out on numerous occasions to get a snapshot of the babies but until this evening without any success at all...

The wait was definitely worth it - so do enjoy!

Spring time has finally arrived in Brittany...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 09:58:00 +0000

Better late than never! I love this time of year with all the Hellebores out - seeing the sunlight shining through their delicate petals... so beautiful. It's very easy getting bogged down with all dreadful weather we've had (and we have!) but good to start seeing some colour returning to the garden after our so called winter - I think I can count up the frosty mornings we've had on one hand which is very unusual for Brittany.

I've had the Hellebores in the garden now for the last 6 years and am now starting to get some really interesting varieties coming through - such intricate markings on the petals! They're great for areas of mixed sun and shade or even in light woodland and are prolific self seeders too... I tend to remove the large leaves from the previous year's growth - this allows the blooms more space to grow straight and taller and gives a much better display.

These are a one of the many clumps we have of the double flowered Primula which was in the garden here before we arrived.

One of my favorites for scent at this time of year - Daphne odora "Aureomarginata" - a very small plant we bought on our honeymoon - now nearly 10 years ago!

This is another wonderful plant for fragrance - Lonicera fragrantissima - producing beautiful blooms on bear stems to begin with. This has been in flower since January and provides essential nectar to an bees that area around early in the year - a must for any garden.

My final picture is of the flowers of Hellebore foetidus - again the bees love this early flowering plant - it's evergreen and so quickly fills empty spaces in the herbaceous border and is like other Hellebores a prolific self seeders - great to be able to share with friends and neighbours alike.

I hope you've enjoyed a quick tour of all that is flowering in our garden here in Brittany and hope to be able to share some more as the months unfold... have a great week!

The dying art of good letter writing....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 13:09:00 +0000

"Companion planting" is a term I often come across - a method of organic gardening where you plant certain plants together to enable them to flourish by protecting each other from unnecessary pests. I think there should be a similar term "Companion Gardeners" as this would best describe the beautiful friendship I discovered that existed between Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd in the book "Dear Friend and Gardener".

Lloyd and Chatto, two of Britain's best known and loved gardeners, share their extraordinary passion and experience of gardening as well as life in general through their regular letter writing to each other during the final decade of the 20th Century. They are also clearly a great source of encouragement and support to each other.

Their correspondence represents many aspects of their lives, often sharing their recommendations to one another of plant varieties, their successes (and failures) in the vegetable garden and the different recipes they'd enjoyed experimenting with when using their home grown produce. It is difficult to list all the extensive range of topics of their exchanges, but it certainly makes for insightful reading!

This book goes way beyond most normal gardening books In that you really feel a part of their lives in the broadest sense. One subject that is never absent in a "garden-centred" book is that of the British weather which comes up time and time again - never enough rain when you need it and too much at other times - nothing much changes does it!?

It was funny to read Lloyd's early reference to the then-unknown Sarah Raven: "Sarah is keen on plants and gardens and intends doing some volunteer work here quite soon" - looking at how her career as a gardener has developed since then is amazing. There is also a great description early on in the book of the six day trip taken by Lloyd and Pip, his student gardener at the time to visit gardens and nurseries. One of their experiences was taking in the discovery of Snakeshead Fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) in their native habitat in the exotic location of.... just south of Reading, Berkshire! They really are stunning plants but a real bonus I'm sure when seen growing in the wild.

This book is an absolute delight as well as a mine of information offering a small window into the lives of these two inspiring people. And of course as emails have replaced letter-writing in the years since, one wonders whether such books will continue to exist in the future! It is also a book that can easily be read in small bite-sized chunks which is ideal for most of us with ever-hectic lives. This new illustrated hardback edition also contains an introduction by Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener at Great Dixter. If you're looking for an inspirational read or a gift for a gardening friend, you should look no further.

To order a copy of Dear Friend and Gardener for £16 including p&p* (RRP £20), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk
, and quote the offer code APG16.

Alternatively, send a cheque made payable to:
Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department,
Littlehampton Book Services,
PO Box 4264,
Worthing, West Sussex
BN13 3RB.

Please quote the offer code
APG

16
and include your name and address details.

*UK only - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

http://www.franceslincoln.com/dear-friend-and-gardener-content

Amazing what you find when foraging...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 22:16:00 +0000

It was whilst foraging on the Internet for books when I discovered a complete gem! It's an absolute must for anyone who has a love of the countryside and who enjoys the excitement of discovering wild food sources. It's also fabulous if if you want to gain a deeper understanding of the many health benefits that come from plants which are growing wild, even as close as your own front door! "The Hedgerow Handbook" has been beautifully researched and written by Adele Nozedar.

It is full of suggestions on how to use plants that in some cases would be easy to overlook - such as Water Mint -an infusion of this simple plant can be great for settling an upset stomach and relieving symptoms of colds and flu. Haw berries (from Hawthorn) - they are full of Vitamin C, so why not try the Haw Syrup recipe for warding off winter colds? If you're a keen gardener you'll be all too familiar with Ground Elder - after reading this book you can discover a delicious recipe for Ground Elder Pancakes so at least you can put this menacing weed to good use!

I certainly couldn't leave out a mention for the gorgeous illustrations in this book. It is full of stunning botanical drawings and watercolour paintings by illustrator Lizzie Harper. For anyone unfamiliar with the plants mentioned in this book, would find them easy to recognise due to the excellent quality of Lizzie's artwork.

It's not often I get moved by opening a new book but this one certainly had that effect - a high quality book in every sense and I hope this review might just encourage you to go and discover it for yourself. It would make a beautiful present for a friend; I've just bought this for my best friend who recently celebrated her 50th Birthday and she was thrilled to receive this; it reminded her of all the camping holidays we went on when we were younger when gathering up things from the hedgerows to have for our supper!

This book is available on Amazon ... click on the link to order your copy!

Foraging in the hedgerows for wild food is not only a wonderful escape from the business of everyday life that consumes us all but it never ceases to amaze me as to how much natural and nutritious food sources can be discovered in your average hedge (for free!).

Only today I've been out gathering up a number of kilos of brambles... the wafts of bramble and apple coming up the stairs as I type are wonderful and very reminiscent of my own childhood.

Whilst I noticed the large quantities of rose hips which are around this year, so with a bit of time they'll ripen up and I will look forward to making some rose hip syrup - you'll find a recipe for this too in the Hedgerow Handbook.

The Sloes are also in abundance this year - found in Blackthorn bushes. If you've never made Sloe Gin before, you can find a recipe for this along with another for Steamy Sloe Gin, Caramelised Apple and Sloe Pudding - sounds fantastic for a cold autumn evening in front of the fire!

Be inspired and get outside to discover the hedgerows for yourself! Not only full of food waiting to be foraged but the hedgerows themselves provide an abundance of habitats for wildlife.

Many thanks Adele for writing such a fantastic book and to Lizzie for her fabulous illustrations!

Blue Tit babies in abundance!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:55:00 +0000

I just had to share these rather cute pictures taken this morning from our bedroom window... we have a wild garden bursting with plant life - there is some formality about the planting but lots of informality too! Beyond the main garden is about half an acre of woodland - mainly Oak trees and Hazel with a stream running along the bottom. This is great for attracting all variety of wildlife.

This is one of my favorite photos... this little chap doesn't look too happy that Mum or Dad has flown off! Looks like the parent made a hasty departure!

We started off as I posted a week or two ago now losing two families of Blue and Great Tits from the nest boxes - down to hungry Great Spotted Woodpeckers but since then there has been an abundance of fledged Blue Tits in particular (also some Great Tit babies)... they've been getting quite bold now coming as far as the dead Fennel stems from last year and waiting there till Mum comes back with beakfuls of fat ball from the bird table!

They aren't the only birds feeding from the feeders and bird table - we've had Blackbirds, Robins, Sparrows, Gold Finches, Green Finch and even Magpies coming to feed which I've never in 10 years seen at this time of year... food must be a bit short!

The other v. exciting news is that I've discovered two other regular visitors to our garden recently - a pair of hedgehogs which are the first ones in 3 years... watch this space.

Bees & Blooms in Brittany...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:52:00 +0000

Some good news this end is that there have been numerous fledged Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long Tailed Tits appearing this week which has kind of made up for the horrors of my previous posting. I found some off-cuts from decking squares which seem to have made ideal material for re-cladding my nest boxes with - judging by the difficulty I had banging in the nails! I'm hoping that this should deter the Woodpeckers in the future... time will tell I guess.

It was great to see such glorious weather return here at the weekend and all the bees were out in abundance... and many flowers coming into bloom which have stayed in bud for much longer this year than previously due to the colder start... not sure they need much introducing... so hope you enjoy the photos I've taken, and hoping that good weather is with you also wherever you are in the world when you read this..

An interesting observation this end is the distinct lack of butterflies at the moment - we've quite a number of the Speckled Wood and the little Blue butterflies but not a great deal else... have other people found this too?

Whilst watching Chelsea Flower this year I learnt something new which I'd never noticed before... Chris Beardshaw talking about the name of Columbine given to Aqualegia (that bit I did know) but that Columbine infact means dove... if you look at the top of an Aqualegia flower it is like five doves all coming together - quite beautiful! This is easier to see in some forms of this flower than others.

The bees infact take the nectar from the top of the flower as opposed to going inside as with others...

I'm not going to profess to be an expert on bees but much enjoyed the variety of bees that I photographed on the various clumps of Chives we have in the veg garden! If anyone can tell me more about the species of bees shown here I'd be very appreciative!

What I've tried to show in these photos of the plants in our own garden is the variety that can be grown that really benefit not only bees but insects too!

This was a Foxglove which I grew from seed - bought from Nicky's Seeds - it's taken a couple of years to come into flower from sowing but worth the wait!

The Geranium Phaeum varieties we have in our garden are fantastic for bees - especially with their open blooms offering easy access to pollen.

These wonderful Wood Poppies - Stylophorum diphyllum are great for the honey bees - notice the heavily laden pollen sac on this one!

The poppies are also a real favorite for the honey bees - this variety "Patty's Plum" is a beautiful colour!

An interesting observation here in Brittany is the distinct lack of butterflies at the moment - we've quite a number of the Speckled Wood and the little Blue butterflies but not a great deal else... have other people found this too? Enjoy the rest of the week... lots to do outside this week before we get thunderstorms forecast on Thursday and over the weekend :-(

A sad day...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:36:00 +0000

Feeling rather miserable tonight as unbelievably a Great Spotted Woodpecker has demolished not only the nest box with an almost ready to fly blue tit family by drilling a hole in the bottom of the box but has also managed to do the same with our other nest box containing almost ready to fly Great Tits... all gone I'm wondering with the continued cold weather if perhaps there is so little around for birds to feed their young?

I wonder if anyone else has had any similar experiences? In the 10 yrs we've been here I've never seen anything like this... two nests demolished in one afternoon...

Celebrating 100 Years of The RHS Chelsea Flower Show

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:45:00 +0000

This is a stunning book, which is beautifully written by RHS Historian, Brent Elliott and takes the reader on an insightful journey through the 100 years of The RHS Chelsea Flower Show's existence and also includes the many years which lead up to the very first show.

This book could be as easily read cover to cover as it could be "dipped in and out of" being packed with interesting information as well as being beautifully illustrated with a great collection of past and present photos of show gardens, garden designers, growers, plants, famous visitors to the show, ticketing and show posters as just a few of the subjects which I enjoyed. There are far too many to mention them all here.

I've tried to pick out just some of my favourite parts of the book to give you a flavour of what to expect... to discover the rest you'll just have to go and buy a copy or give a few unsubtle hints to friends and family to buy it for you for a birthday or Christmas... or even as a surprise gift!

The subject of the weather is never far away from the minds of both gardeners and those organising a show like Chelsea! With so much in the news this year about the weather, it was amusing to find this Cartoon from the 1829 "Horticultural Fete" as it was known as then - showing some disastrous wet weather that year - the Morning Post had reported "when the doors were opened, what a rush took place! The standing nearly ankle-deep in water, coming from wet gravel; shrieks were dreadful and the loss of shoes particularly annoying!" So extremes in weather existed back in 1829 too.

I loved this other cartoon - by W K Haselden for the Daily Mirror on 20th May 1936 - "Dreams at Chelsea Show" - it is probably even true today!

There were some great pages showing adverts for some of the interwar garden machinery - I was surprised to find that reasonably sophisticated garden tools existed at such an early date - the Little Wonder" hedge clipper caught my eye - I bet the guy ached from head to toe after using that for a day!

The other product so obviously influenced by the tank is the Oxford "Roadless" Barrow shown below - easy to imagine these being useful on early landscaping projects resembling something of the Somme Battlefields! Seeing these helps one to appreciate what we have now although I have little doubt that these products would have done an excellent job!

I couldn't leave out the "Bunty House" from my posting... I guess this was an extremely posh version of a Wendy House... being supposedly fireproof, a sporting or fishing bungalow or suitable for open-air treatment - the mind boggles!!

There is plenty more on the early years of Chelsea as well as a great record of everything up to the present day. For the purpose of this review I've concentrated more on the early years... you only need to wait a few more days and I'm sure 2013 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will have its own story to tell.

There's only two more things I'd like to add here - firstly I'd like to mention the quality of the actual book - its presentation is fabulous and I can't recommend this enough. Secondly - if you're tempted to buy a copy - they are available at the RHS Online Shop or via Amazon.

Do hope you enjoy reading this and if you get a copy do post a quick comment....

Fox Cubs Part 2!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:32:00 +0000

Thought I'd quickly post these photos - taken early evening of a new fox cub family... I can't believe my luck in getting so close - they are unbelievably cute but undoubtedly younger than the family in the other location... I went for an evening stroll after battling with lots of long grass today... and amazed to see these two little cubs curled up in tight balls - separately but within striking distance of the den entrance... enjoy!

Foxes & Owl Boxes...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:01:00 +0000

Lots of fun has been had this past few weeks... more recently it's been the local fox cubs that have taken my attention.... I've never seen fox cubs up close like this ever ... literally a few meters away when I've taken the photos. What has amazed me is that they haven't rushed away when they've seen me - they've almost been inquisitive I think :-) If other work wasn't keeping me so busy I'd be tempted to camp out at the side of the field all day and watch them coming and going from the den! This photo was one of the most recent - it was a really windy evening but still warm in the sun.... this little chap was enjoying the last rays ... how cute! They are v. amusing to watch... here a area a few of my photos...

Hope you've enjoyed these... this wasn't the only excitement - a friend Richard came and has put up a Barn Owl box in our woodland.... if you click on the link you can see it in use (where it was previously) complete with Owl! Please take a look at Richard's blog.

The box has been put with easy access for the birds to fly in -

Here are a couple more close up views of it... all we need now are two birds to make a home here so watch this space!

I found an amazing Emperor Hawk Moth the other day... which appeared to have hatched from the compost in our window boxes!!

I also discovered this caterpillar and wonder if some clever person reading this can tell me what it is?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend... and thanks for visiting my blog.

Passion, Plants and Patronage - a voyage of discovery....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:55:00 +0000

The title of this book says it all - a definite "must have" book for anyone interested in gardening or garden history - would make a lovely gift or a treat for yourself! You really won't be disappointed.

A beautifully written and illustrated account of the enormous impact made by the generations of one family on some of Britain's best known (and some not so well known) gardens and estates over the course of 300 years. Some of the places included in this book are Kew, Cardiff Castle, Highcliffe in Dorest, Dumfries House.... I could go on but will leave you to discover the rest!

The Bute family's influence on landscapes and gardens across the UK - not to mention art and architecture - is astounding and the book takes the reader from Mount Stuart on the Isle of Bute, off the south west coast of Scotland, on a journey of discovery from the early 1700's to the present day.

As a gardener, the insight into horticultural practices so early on was a real eye opener - to say they were adventurous was an understatement! In the early 1700's - "holly berries, hornbeam seeds, yew berries, beech mast and a peck of English Acorns to be sown in the tree nurseries " at Mount Stuart. During a visit to Kew Gardens in 1766 it was noted that there were Proteas from South Africa covered with overlapping oilcloths and a banana tree in fruit. Other mentions were made of grafted Cedars and Lime trees!

In reading through this book I discovered all sorts of interesting information - did you know that Kew as it stands today is actually an amalgamation of 2 Royal Estates in 1802 - consisting of Kew to the east and Richmond Lodge on the west bordering the River Thames? Each of the respective Royal owners had a longstanding dislike of the other - so it was ironic that these two estates be divided by Lover's Lane which was then a public road - (Holly Walk as it is know today follows roughly the same course).

The chapter on Cardiff Castle was fascinating - if you've had a chance to visit Cardiff you may have enjoyed a little visit to "Pettigrew Tea Rooms" - these are located at West Lodge near to Bute Park Aboretum, not far from Cardiff Castle. The Tea Rooms named after Andrew Pettigrew who originally came from Dumfries House to take over the care of the Castle grounds in 1873. The reputation of the grounds grew, following a series of articles written in garden journals. What Pettigrew acheived was incredible given that much of the land was nothing but marsh. In 1899, the Gardener's Magazine explained the enormous task that Pettigrew had in organising the transportation of thousands of cart-loads of soil from various building sites throughout Cardiff to bring the ground level well above the water table... without the aid of trucks or mechnical diggers of course! By 1901, two years before Pettigrew died, the network of driveways, the excavation of the Friary site, formal avenues of Lime Trees and the framework of today's tree planting had all been put in place. We have much to appreciate today when visiting some of these amazing places!

I hope this will inspire you to go out and purchase a copy - currently available at Amazon UK with free home delivery.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Bee aware....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:24:00 +0000

You read a lot about how we need to provide more for all the bees in our gardens and with the continued cold spring we've experienced this year , it has made me think even more carefully about what we should be planting to provide an adequate source of pollen for all types of bees and butterflies as some have already come out of hibernation here! (Brave!)

Over the last few weeks I've seen a variety of different bees in the garden including Honey Bee and various Bumble Bees plus Peacock, Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Brimstone Butterflies too. Many of the plants I've taken photos of are great pollen providers early in the season and reasonably easy to grow too.

There are plenty of wildflowers in our woodland area - the Primroses have spread like mad over the past few years as we've cleared more areas...

There are also wide margins of wild planting - including, at this time of year plenty of little yellow Celandine.

Another of my Spring favorites are the little Anenome Blanda that have only been out properly these last 10 days - a great early flowering plant for providing plenty of pollen for insects - easily accessed with its open flowering form.

Every garden has to make space for one of my favorite Viburnums - the perfume of the blooms which are just starting to emerge is incredible! Viburnum x burkwoodii loves a sheltered spot with some sun.

This is the early flowering Lonicera fragrantissima - again the perfume is amazing - flowers on bare stems - the leaves follow... ideal shrub for planting a later flowering clematis up through... giving all year round interest.

Talking of Clematis - the two I've photographed here are not fully out, but definitely worth condsidering - this one is Clematis macropetela "Jan Lindmark" - a small bell-shaped nodding double flowered clematis with beautiful seed heads to follow.

The other which is a new one - Clematis macropetala "Octopus" is fantastic and out rather early consideirng the weather and that it is supposed to bloom April/May!

I'm afraid I couldn't resist putting a few more photos of the Hellebores this year - it's been a particularly good year for them - so many different colours and markings - many which have cross pollinated with others.

Forsythia is also out late this year but a real favorite for pollinating insects!

This Comfrey plant was smothered in bees the other day - once this is over, the leaves make a great plant feed or addition to the compost heap!

These two different photos of Erysimum are also invaluable for bees and insects alike.

This particular variety is Erysimum linifolium "Variegatum" and like other varities fully hardy.

This Ribes sanguinium (Flowering Currant) was taken as a cutting a few years back - it certainly adds plenty of vibrant colour to the mixed border at this time of year.

Pulmonaria is great for most pollinating insects and being one of the earliest flowering perennials in the garden, also providing good ground cover, I couldn't leave this one out!

Rosemary is another must for the early flowering garden... planted up against a sunny wall, it has been in flower for the past 3-4 weeks and on sunny days smothered with bees!

This early flowering Camelia was in our garden when we arrived - it normally flowers early - it's open form is great for bees and provides a shelter for the birds as well! My guess is it is japonica Adophe Adusson... any thoughts?!

Seeing raised temperatures on the forecast for next weekend at 20 degrees I will await with baited breath - that said do remember the difficult plight of may of the insects, bees and butterflies in the garden who play such an important role in the garden - we'd be lost without them - so we maybe need to give them more consideration...

" Bees work for man, and yet they never bruise Their Master's flower, but leave it having done, As fair as ever and as fit to use; So both the flower doth stay and honey run." George Herbert

If you want to read more on the subject of planting to help bees - try "The Bee Garden" by Maureen Little - this is full of helpful information and some great photos too

A mystery bird!?? Any thoughts?

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 23:40:00 +0000

I'm wondering if anyone out there can identify this little bird spotted in our garden today... it looks similar to a Dunnock but the head colouring is totally different - I've been right through my bird books and am at a loss as to what it is! If you've any ideas I'd love to know.... below is a photo of it along with a Chaffinch to give an idea of size.

Celebrating the start of Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:31:00 +0000

The 1st official day of Spring was yesterday believe it or not?! In Brittany, it feels nothing like Springtime at the moment... it has done for the odd day but back to cold wet and soggy days - no wonder the poor plants and the birds are confused.

That all said and done spring colour is starting to fill out the garden gradually and so wanted to brighten up your day with some seasonal shots from our garden...

Photos taken during a dry spell!

From one extreme to another...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:13:00 +0000

I cannot believe looking out of the window today that I was outside gardening in a t-shirt at the weekend... almost too warm and we've had a good covering of snow, freezing cold winds and it's like a scene from the Arctic! (not quite perhaps!).

The birds have been eating loads and I really can't blame the poor things (put in the same situation who wouldn't!?).

Hope you enjoy the photos I've taken today both from inside and out... this first photo is of a little male Siskin... we've still got loads of them in the garden which is great.

Poor little Gold Finch - feathers all puffed out trying to keep warm!

This was a view of the bird table from the upstairs bedroom with a glimpse of our one token Brambling who was making the most of a good feed. We don't get many of these - the last one I saw was last winter.

Plenty of visitors enjoying some extra food... Great Tits, Blue Tits, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Siskins and our new visitor - the Brambling!

This was our Christmas tree from 3 years ago which is enjoying it's new life in the woodland!

Later this afternoon I ventured out with Lucy... difficult to see but this was in the middle of a blizzard!

This is a lovely walk all along the top of a river bank - there are plenty of fox holes along here - no foxes or deer spotted today as we often do. The weather is due to clear up tomorrow but time will tell...

February and freezing in France!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 21:36:00 +0000

I cannot believe that so much time has lapsed since my last posting... it was a very busy end to 2012 and we finally managed to get away for a holiday in January... I've been working on all the photos taken and will be posting on this over the next while... so watch this space if you'd like a glimpse of S.Africa!

This weekend's weather has finally got me inside for long enough to at last write a posting... many hints of spring colour to be found in the garden already - currently under a light covering of snow, so all looking extra pretty!

The Japanese Quince never disappoints at this time of year especially after pruning it back hard in the Autumn - plenty of blooms guaranteed!

The birds during this weather (for the last few months really!) have been eating us out of house and home!! Very exciting is that we've got quite a large flock of Siskins in the garden - they've been around now for a while which is the first time I've ever seen this quantity. During the last 3 years we've been lucky to see one or two. The pair on the niger seed are a male (on left) and female (on right)

Here you can see a couple of male Siskins on the niger seed - easy to spot with the very black plumage on the tops of the heads!

This little Robin I caught posing for next year's Christmas cards!!

Mahonia Aquifolium is great for bright winter colour - less perfumed than x media "Winter Sun" but a welcome shrub in our own garden.

There are many Helebores out in the garden right now - not coping quite so well with the hard frosts which leave them bowed down like this one until the sun comes out and they quickly recover!

Pulmonaria faithfully blooms at this time of year... I'm just waiting for some of the other varieties that I have to come into bloom which usually flower slightly later.

I couldn't do a winter posting without mentioning the Snowdrops... have even noticed the odd bee enjoying the pollen from these little flowers over this past week!

We're very lucky to have an area of mixed woodland at the bottom of our garden bordered by a stream (more like a river at this time of year).... this is what this looked like on Saturday morning...

A picture from the fields on my way back from my walk with our dog Lucy ... by this time the snow had really started to melt and unfortunately it has almost all gone now... just waiting for some more now!

Butterfly bonanza...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:56:00 +0000

Red Admiral on white Asters

This last fortnight has seen the most incredible displays of autumn colour in the garden coupled with more butterflies than I've seen all summer!

The autumn sunshine had brought out an abundance of both Red Admirals and Peacocks in particular - just loving the choice of Asters and Ivy flowers particularly. They need to make the most of the available nectar from these flowers before the colder autumn and winter days start to set in before most of them over-winter.


Speckled Wood on Ivy

The Speckled Wood is seen here enjoying the Ivy flowers - a wonderful food source for insects late in the year and well worth growing to encourage wildlife into the garden - makes a fantastic nesting site for birds such as Thrushes and Blackbirds too.

Speckled Wood on Wild Rose foliage

Peacock Butterfly on Asters

It has to be said that the Asters in the garden at this time of the year are a real hit with the butterflies especially - there are many varieties of Aster available and heights to suit most gardens. Easy to create more by waiting till slightly later in the season - once flowering is over, cut down the old stems and then carefully dig around the clump, ease it out of the ground and then divide the clump - some may pull apart whilst others may need the help of a good sharp edge of a garden spade to cut through all the roots! These can either be re-planted in the garden or divided into pots to bring on and then re-plant.

Geranium Roxanne

I thought I'd add this photo of a really pretty little Geranium - still in full bloom - mid October which isn't bad going... also a favourite with insects and easy to grow.

Peacock Butterfly on Aster Marina Wolkonsky

This is a gorgeous tall dark purple Aster with a deep yellow/orange centre - worth getting if you've not got these.

Comma on pink Asters

The Comma butterfly - another favourite - easily recognised with it's ragged edges to its' wings - it's deep orange colour with brown flecks makes it even more attractive in the late afternoon Autumn sun.

Off out now to go and do some other jobs before the weather turns this week... first on the list is tidying up the greenhouse to make room for all my scented geraniums :-)

Helping to take the backache out of gardening!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 10:39:00 +0000

A little while ago I was kindly given the Keter Realbarrow and I'll be honest am completely converted! It's been a fantastic help in all the gardening I've had to do in Brittany this year - everything has grown twice as much as normal given the high amount of rainfall we had earlier in the year and whereas usually in August when everything in the garden goes a brown colour - everything is still thriving which is great in many ways but has meant twice the work, so as far as I'm concerned anything that helps take the strain of all the extra work is worth it's weight in gold!

Here are some its' many selling points....

When transporting 50L bags of compost around which are generally heavy and awkward to get out of the car - they would normally need lifting up into a normal wheelbarrow - instead they can be slid out of the car into the Realbarrow which is sitting on the front edge and then by gently tipping it back down there is no lifting of compost bags necessary! Great for anyone with a bad back which many gardeners suffer from.

Being plastic if it gets v. dirty it's easy to clean out using a hose and won't rust if not fully dried off.

There's no worries of the tyres on the wheels going down as they are solid!

You can sweep stuff directly into the barrow without having to lift this into the barrow - it has a metal reinforced edge making it more robust.

I love the fact it's so deep - it's great when it comes to pruning as loads of stuff will fit inside without tipping out and it has the added bonus of taking small bungee cords to hold the prunings in place. No wonder that Keter won a Reddot design award for this in 2011!

When empty, it's lovely and light to wheel around too and well designed for storing upright - good for a small shed or even a bigger one!

It's quite narrow in shape which is great for getting through small spaces in the garden without spoiling the plants.

If you are in the UK this can be purchased at Capital Gardens.

For further information on this product and where to buy worldwide, take a look at Keter's website.

For most of us gardeners, we spend a good deal of time in the outdoors and are more than aware of the pressing need to take care of the environment - so thought it was worth mentioning a section of Keter's mission statement here too -

Our mission is to create and produce our products with minimal impact upon the environment, so that our lines of products will meet maximum design impact measures using minimal resources.
We use non toxic and 100% recyclable Polypropylene (PP) to manufacture our products.
Many of our products are being made from recycled material (whilst upholding the REACH standards).
We chart our ecological impact to reduce our carbon footprints.

All in all an excellent piece of gardening kit - and I cannot recommend this enough!

.

Owl have news for you!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:06:00 +0000

About 2 weeks ago I was working from home with the windows open to the garden when there was lots of commotion going on down in the small piece of woodland which lies in between our garden and a small river at the bottom - the Jays and Blackbirds were making such a racket! So with great curiosity I ran downstairs and went outside as quietly as I could with camera in hand and to my amazement discovered an adult Tawny Owl feeding her two babies in the branches of one of the oak trees - all in broad daylight - amazing! So for the next 2 hours I crept around the wood trying to get myself into a suitable position to capture the young owls on film - unbelievably difficult due to the fact that as soon as they saw me they were off! But these were three of the best ones I could manage...

This was certainly not an experience I'd have missed and a complete first for me! The owls were regulars in the woodland during the day for about a week following and each day the commotion started up and I begun to realise that they'd returned but for the last few days things have returned to normal and have been loving our other garden visitors - newly fledged Great Tits and Blue Tits and young Great Spotted Woodpeckers who are very comical to watch! I realise quite how lucky we are with such a variety of birds in our garden and privileged to see so many bring up young here too.

I thought I'd give you a quick tour around our garden - these photos are about a week out date now and will update again as soon as I get the chance.... with all the added rain my gardening work has been taking up every spare minute of my time so apologies that you've not seen me posting much recently or visiting your own blogs... will be back as soon as I can!

And then to the woodland where the owls were hiding!

This was my Jubilee Weekend project in the garden in an attempt to get my sweet peas planted - this year I'm trying "Rhapsody in Blue", "Juanita" and "Fragrant Skies" so will report on these once they get a bit bigger. The framework is using hazel sticks from our woodland which the birds love, the wood chips below which I've used to much the area are from a friend's garden and much appreciated and the lovely box hedging plants are from small plants I got from my Mum who started these off in Cornwall a few years ago. Each year they've been transplanted into bigger pots and this year (and about time too) they are finally being planted... watch this space for what will happen to the others!

This last photo is one that I took on the side of one of the lanes whilst enjoying a sandwich before heading off to another garden to do a pile of weeding... so lovely to see the poppies amongst the corn and they were humming with bees too which is great to see!

Honey makes the world go round!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 20 May 2012 00:09:00 +0000

The time of year has arrived for bee swarms here in Brittany - last week I was out gardening for one of my clients - when I arrived heard the light hum of bees, only to discover the rather large beginnings of a nest behind one of the bedroom shutters - this was a close up and the next photo was the view from the bedroom! It's true to say I'd never seen so many bees together in my life!

Wasting no time, I called up a friend over here who is not only a fellow gardener but who has also taken up bee-keeping quite seriously - you should check out his blog. We agreed it was best to get the swarm removed as soon as possible before it got too big and established... so these photos show you the wonderful entertainment we had last Thursday evening... a first for me and quite amazing!

As the swarm had chosen a first floor window, the first part of this rather delicate operation was to open the bedroom shutter from the inside so that we could get to work on the outside of the house without half the bees coming indoors - only 2 made it into the house which was a relief and that bit done, the work started from the outside.

We put up a ladder to the side of the swarm and as you'll see in the photo below, Richard went up (suited-up of course) to inspect the job that lay ahead!

It was certainly a decent size of what he felt were relatively docile bees - I was keeping my distance at this point!

He then moved the ladder over and brought up what is called a nuc box - which acts as an interim home before they're transferred to a proper hive. He tied this on to the balcony railings to hold this in place.

The next job was lighting some dry grass inside the smoker - from the photo this looks highly dangerous but it was all under control!

The smoker was then used by puffing smoke around the area where the bees were which helps when moving them and keeps them a bit calmer - apparently. Once some of the bees had moved, we got a glimpse of the comb that they'd made - this is essentially wax cells in which they lay their eggs - in thin circular sheets.

It was a pretty delicate operation for Richard to remove these wax sheets and place them in the frames that he had prepared - initially held in place with rubber bands... fascinating! Not long after this he spotted the queen - not easy with all the thousands of bees :-) - she was caught in a small device and placed in the box and she is what then attracts the rest of the swarm into the nuc box.

Bit by bit as you'll see in this next picture the original "rugby ball" shape of the swarm was lessening and as the remaining wax was moved into the nuc, the bees were all walking down the window - literally - following each other in search of the Queen... this transformation was incredible!

The swarm continued to move down the window - the last few needing a bit more help from the smoker.

You can see from this photo the last of the bees going into the bottom entrance of the nuc box...

And this really was the last of them... and finally we were able to pack up and they went off to their new home... I love a happy ending!

Having so enjoyed Sarah Raven's TV series on the BBC a couple of months back this made me realise even more, how incredibly important bees are to everyone, and really without them, there would be a very small selection of foods that we would be able to choose from in the supermarkets... even chocolate & coffee depend on pollination! So next time you're thinking of what to plant in your gardens... think of the bees and pollinating insects... if you need any hints and tips on suitable plants, let me know and I'll happily tackle this topic in a future posting! Bon weekend and hope you enjoyed something a bit different.

Our Brittany garden springs into life....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:55:00 +0000

Despite all the rain and stormy days, we've had the odd moment of sunshine... I took this a few days ago in between showers and since then it's done nothing but rain!

The Geranium phaeums are some of my favorite flowers at this time of year... I couldn't recommend them enough and are easy to grow.

This is the view from our garden looking through the woodland... it's full of bird life at this time of year. We're very fortunate to have such an amazing variety of birds but here - helped with lots of trees and the small river that runs at the bottom too... it's a lot of hard work to keep looking nice but well worth all the effort! On my way out with the dog this week, I was surprised by the sight of a little Tree Creeper - about 3 meters from where I was stood flitting up and down one of the Oak Trees - such a tiny but beautiful bird that you don't often see close up like that.

There are so many beautiful colours in the garden at this time of year - it was hard to choose which photos to add to today's account of our garden... so I just added most of them to share with you as it's been a while since my last posting!

This is one of the many Oriental Poppies in the garden and not far off bursting into life... hopefully the stormy weather will be over before it's open!

This is a fabulous tree, even for a small garden - Malus Everest is a crab apple with beautiful blossom at this time of year and then small brightly coloured fruits which last all the way through to January/February and the birds love them!

This is a plant that I bought recently - infact it's a third of it... when I got back I split it up as it was very pot bound and all three plants are doing well! I must admit I often look for plants that need dividing up - I bring them on in pots and then plant them out.

Lily of the Valley has special significance in France - On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free. It is also traditional for the lady receiving the sprig of lily of the valley to give a kiss in return. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers.

I had to share a picture of this - the latest site for a breeding pair of Blue Tits - they have their nest in the top part of the pump - luckily it's not in use!

Last but not least a picture of the Camelias and other spring flowering plants under our Walnut Tree.... do hope we get some more sunny spells this week! This year the weather has gone from one extreme to another. Our Swallows haven't even started nesting yet - this time last year we had swallow babies by now... all said and done though I did hear the Cuckoo for the 3rd day in a row so perhaps warmer weather really is on it's way!