jardinmiranda

Very Happy New Year for 2012.... much to do in the garden at the start of another year

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:49:00 +0000

A rather belated Happy New Year for 2012 and what a contrast of weather we've had in Brittany in just three weeks... I'm confused, so it must be even more confusing for the poor plants let alone the birds - at this rate they'll be starting to nest!

This cold weather finally left today but we've had about 5 days of beautiful sunny days, clear blue skies and white frost everywhere for about half of the day - some areas of the garden that don't get much sun at this time of year have been frosted over all day. This cold weather finally left today but we've had about 5 days of beautiful sunny days, clear blue skies and white frost everywhere for about half of the day - some areas of the garden that don't get much sun at this time of year have been frosted over all day.

A few days ago I'd been around the garden taking pictures of all the plants in bloom and for the beginning of January we've an interesting mix already. The Helebores never disappoint and couldn't imagine the garden without them. One word of advice though, if you don't have a large garden and you don't want your beds over run with Helebore seedlings it's advisable to cut back the seed heads before the set seed! If you do have the space though it's great to see all the cross bred varieties that you end up with.

Another tip is to cut back the large leaves that they produce before the main flowering starts - that way the flowers have the chance to grow more upright and a bit taller too giving a much better display.

I'm also v. pleased to see the developing Camellias this year - SO much earlier than usual. We don't normally get them in bloom much before the end of February. Following the poor show of blooms last year I did take a lot of care to water our plants a lot during the very dry summer of 2011 and also fed them with Miracle Grow plant feed for ericaceous plants which seems to have done the trick... more pics to follow as they bloom!

This little Camellia - sasanqua "Evangelica" was the first to flower in late December - smaller blooms than many of the other varieties and SO pretty.

Amazed to see that we've got Campanulas blooming in January - v. unusual!

The winter flowering Honeysuckle is a must for any garden - this is a great plant for anyone wanting to spoil the bees who don't exactly have a great source of pollen in January. This shrub looses most of it's leaves in autumn and then produces a mass of pale yellow/cream coloured small but amazingly fragrant flowers in January - it flowers for at least 2 months. Now that this has grown somewhat, I'm planning on growing a clematis through this to give some colour later in the year too.

Another favourite... Viburnum x bodnantense "Dawn" - another shrub producing incredibly fragrant blooms on bear stems at this time of year but be warned it does not like to be too dry - best given a good layer of mulch to help prevent it drying out in summer!

Catkins on their way out already.

A mass of bright yellow Gorse that I spotted out on a recent walk.

Even the odd clump of vivid Red Campion is flowering in our woodland.

Little pale yellow primroses have also been out since the beginning of January which is something I've not seen here before.

And then came the cruel frost of about a week ago now ... an amazing morning for a walk as well - I've never seen so many frozen cobwebs which seemed to envelop much of the plant life either side of the track that I was walking on... an incredible sight and one difficult to catch on camera in the bright morning sunshine.

I did go a bit mad on the photo taking but it was so beautiful I wanted to take as many shots as I could - all said and done I'm not sure they do the whole spectacle justice but I hope you enjoy them!

Giant Hogweed which grows extremely well here makes a great subject for a winter photo... here...

& here!

Back to the confines of our garden the remains of the Echinops seed heads also make interesting frosted photos too.

I wouldn't be without Honesty either - both for its' decorative seed heads and

also for its' pretty flowers - normally showing in mid spring... but unfortunately these blooms didn't last long with all the frost.

I couldn't do this posting without adding these of the fox that I spotted on my walk as well - v. exciting but a shame it wasn't that bit closer. The wooded area behind the fox stretches for quite a distance along the bottom of the fields and there's quite a drop below to a small river. There are masses of holes all along here - obviously quite an active series of dens. We walk along here quite regularly but it's not often you see a fox in broad daylight.

Unfortunately once the fox had spotted us it made a speedy exit... hopefully I'll get the chance to take more photos in the weeks to come!

Do hope you are all having a really good start to 2012 and I much look forward to sharing more from our little corner of Brittany and beyond in the months and weeks to come.

A special gift for all plant and nature lovers...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:55:00 +0000

I just had to add a posting for the benefit of all who read my blog on a beautiful gift that we received from our lovely friends Liz and Mike Fraser who spent 12 years living at the Cape of Good Hope. They have just published this truly stunning book on the amazing variety of plant life at the Cape, together with the stories of plant collectors' expeditions to the Cape over the last 300 years - entertainingly written by Mike, whose "day job" is a Conservation Officer for the RSPB and with gorgeous illustrations by professional artist Liz.

You can see some sample pages of the book and find further information on their website.

To buy a copy - you can purchase this through Amazon UK or at a number of other websites

If you're looking for a special present for a friend or family member for a birthday or Christmas or a wedding present even... look no further - IT'S FABULOUS!

Look on the Blight side!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:04:00 +0000

Whilst watching the TV programme Coast last weekend I was reminded of the horrors during the Great Famine in Ireland during the mid 1800's or perhaps better known as the Potato Famine? It was said that approximately one third of Ireland's population were dependant on the Potato crop for food and as Potato Blight ravaged their crops resulting in over 1million people dying and another million emigrating - cutting the country's population by up to 25% causing devastating effects.

Phytophthora infestans is the fungus responsible for Blight and can affect both Potatos and Tomatoes alike - brown patches develop on the leaves, and the fruits of the tomato start to go brown in patches until the whole fruit shrivels and unless the affected leaves of potatoes removed in time, the fungus will get into the soil and wipe out your whole potato crop as it did in Ireland (although maybe on slightly smaller scale!). The fungus seems to strike predominantly in moist or wet weather in mid to late summer and does not take long to take hold.

With potatoes, I've found that if you remove all the foilage above ground, then usually the potato tubers will carry on and develop okay without being affected. Obviously there is the option to spray the plants but I prefer not to. With tomatoes, many people will opt for growing them under cover or if grown outside the best thing is to remove as many of the diseased leaves and fruit as quickly as possible and in many cases plants will recover. ONE IMPORTANT THING - do NOT compost any of the diseased plants or fruits - dispose in a rubbish sack. If this goes into your compost, the disease is much more likely to become a real problem especially where the compost is added to planting areas where you will grow potatoes or tomatoes the following year.

TIPS TO AVOID BLIGHT:

Do not to grow these two crops in close proximity to one another.
Try operating a good crop rotation system which helps avoid pests and diseases getting established.
Ensure the plants are correctly spaced out.
Try growing more blight resistant varieties if this is a problem.
For potatoes; earth up the tubers well - this will offer greater protection for your crop.

A walk on the wild side along the south Brittany coastline...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Amazing how the weather really does play such a large part in the gardening year and this year has not been a typical one by any means! Usually July/August is much quieter on the gardening front leaving me ample time to share things on my blog; with the rest of the time taken up with watering a very thirsty garden... This was not the case this year however, and by the end of August the grass here was growing more prolifically than during the month of May! After persevering with both the grass and weeds in many of my clients' gardens not to forget our own place, we did manage to get away for a break - the first in two years!

Somehow we managed to pick the stormiest week we could have done and it even managed to rain pretty much every morning we were there :-( No lovely lazy days on the beach with a book or swimming in the sea as I'd envisaged, but we did get some good beach walks in and enjoyed many of the sea birds which were happily feeding along the shore line. It's a beautiful stretch of coastline near to the Pointe de Trevignon (lying between Concarneau and Pont Aven on the south Brittany coast) with deserted white sandy beaches at this time of year incase you're tempted!

So out came the bird book ... amongst the birds we saw were the little Sanderlings who were extremely entertaining to watch as they scurried along the sand at incredible rates - any wonder the poor little birds didn't get cramp in their legs! Others we saw were Turnstones also smallish in size with much darker plumage than the Sanderlings.

There were plenty of gulls around too - here a pair of Black Headed Gulls!

And not to forget the Cormorants who seemed to fair well being battered by waves on the rocks out to sea!

Having been down to this area before we decided to explore a new section of coast line going towards Concarneau one day - equally beautiful and more deserted white sandy beaches...

Out to sea, we spotted Oyster Catchers as well as little Plovers - you'll need to click on this photo to see them properly!

More Sanderlings!

A lone Herring Gull...

Stormy seas...

From the Birds to the local flora and fauna... of which there is an amazing variety - and lots of late flowering wildflowers were a welcome sight - the colours of some of the lichens quite amazing too.

Spot the lizard basking the sunshine... a rare thing that week!

The pale pink Armeria was easy to spot against the bright orange background provided by these lichens.

Chestnuts ripening...

More Armeria and stormy seas

And finally our last evening the weather was starting to improve!

So we decided to go into Pont Aven to have that traditional French dish... Pizza on our last night! After finishing our meal we left the restaurant we met one of the local residents who clearly knew where he was going!!

He finally headed off into the sunset and we did the same...

If you like the look of this area and are interested the place we rented - La Maison Rose was fabulous - a 5 minute cycle to the coast, 5 mins cycle to the local boulangerie and yet in total seclusion and peace and quiet - take a look!

Since returning back home there has been masses to catch up on in all the gardens I look after not to mention here and with the abundance of fruit around this year I've been very busy making fruit Jellies - it's the first time I've done this and love the results... will do a further posting on this in the next day or so - watch this space!

July in our Brittany Garden...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:56:00 +0000

You are never short of surprises in a garden - each day often producing new ones - plants that have just come into bloom, new bird visitors, a hidden bird's nest discovered and it goes on! It's been a busy month work-wise with some complete extremes of weather to deal with but was so grateful for the week of rain we had about 10 days ago now and plants & trees have really been given a new lease of life with things looking surprisingly green for this time of year but then with temperatures due to go to 25 degrees next week it is probaby just as well!

As well as some beautiful blooms in the garden - one of my favorites being the Black Peonie Poppy - seeds were sent to me very kindly from Cheryl - they are quite stunning (big thankyou to Cheryl and hope you're having a good summer too) but I'll be honest haven't found them easy to grow here for some reason... practice makes perfect!!

Swapping seeds is a great idea and if anyone would like to swap seeds from their garden I've quite a lot of Aqualegia seeds and Oriental Poppies too as well as other cottage garden plants... let me know if you're interested!

A friend over here who runs a similar type of business had mentioned to me that he'd spotted a Cirl Bunting recently - having never seen one I looked it up in my book and literally 2 days later we ended up with this little chap in the garden - I'm pretty sure it's a young male Cirl Bunting - anyone know?

Also very excited to see this young Green Woodpecker in our garden too - we get plenty of the Great Spotted but have recently had the pleasure of the daily company of this one... and such beautiful colouring too.

This was one of the Delphiniums that I grew from seed a few years ago and faithfully comes up every year - for some reason the slugs seem to leave them well alone! Curious!

These are the fluffy parts of the seeds from Cotinus Grace - commonly known as the Smoke Bush... the dark leaves make a fantastic contrast with the vibrant blue of the Delphiniums and the lively red of the Oriental Poppies earlier in the year.

Anyone know what this little insect is which I spotted on some Mayweed - not one I've seen before... do let me know.

The seed head from one of the large Oriental Poppies - even without the petals they do add something to a border!

Astrantia - one of my favorites.

I wouldn't be without all the Geraniums which never stop producing flowers for most of the year round.

This golden leaved Cornus (Dogwood) is a must - it's planted with Cotinus Royal Purple - very dark leaved and they go very well together.

Out on a walk through the lanes around here this beautiful Meadow Brown butterfly on the bramble flowers caught my eye - think this year will be a great year for Brambles as well as all the other fruit... I do wonder if this is a sign of yet another v. cold winter as the berries and nuts are in equal abundance here.

There's loads of Purple Loosestrife in the ditches along with Meadow Sweet too - so pretty.

Going down into our woodland area is a lovely cool place at this time of year but home a good variety of wildlife - I make a point of not using any chemicals in the garden and I've no doubt that this helps keep things in equilibrium on our plot.

This is the area of woodland where we've started to coppice the Hazels - what a lot of lovely wood we've got just from one clump... great too for bringing more light in and for giving a good natural habitat for such animals as Dormice and the Wren's love it too!

Last but not least the gateway back to the house... and time to go and take the dog for a walk now so hope you've enjoyed your little taste of what July has offered here in Northern Brittany... take care and enjoy the summer - x

Our garden in Brittany - a sanctuary for birds...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:31:00 +0000

Wow - what an amazing weekend for bird spotting here - I wonder what other people have experienced this year in terms of numbers of fleged birds around, as there seems to be an increasing amount of both Blue and Great Tit fledglings but yesterday was a real treat... whilst taking a break from some gardening I was sat on the grass below our Walnut tree with my camera and within the space of a couple of minutes had the wonderful company of a young family of Blackcaps, followed by an adult Nuthatch and two very fluffy babies, then a couple of newly fledged Robins (they have no colour on their breast but can be identified by the characterstic "bobbing" action that Robins do so well). All quite gorgeous and if that wasn't enough well, a Tree Creeper arrived - it wasn't the time to start trying to get them on film but a time just to enjoy.... The female Blackbird in the photo was definately enjoying the cherries :-)

I did manage a photo of the baby Robin but not v. clear.

The Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been very active in the garden and gobbling up all the peanuts that I've put in the feeders - more expensive than during the winter!! The baby is rather cute don't you think!

I spent most of the day gardening yesterday especially in the light of today's forecasted (correct this time!!) rain, and rain it has done... but to be honest it's great news for the garden as it is desperately needing it and the rain is still pelting down now.

Hope you enjoy the photos of some of the plants out in our garden at the moment which I'm sure will benefit from a really welcome soak today - sadly - I'm sure the weeds will also benefit :-(

Have a fun filled week!

Everything arrives early in our Brittany garden

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:24:00 +0000

Since the beginning of 2011, I cannot believe how difficult it has been to find time to write my blog... following my back injury last year where I managed to herniate one of my lower discs I had a good bit of gardening work both here and for clients to catch up on.

In many respects the weather has been very kind to us this year and we've more recently experienced one of the driest periods at this time of year I can remember - until.... this weekend arrived!! We've had quite a wet day today which has been SO welcome and to be honest would love it to carry on a bit which it's forecast to do but you can never tell from the forecast... even in France!

Everything this year had been early - the Lily of the Valley was almost over by the 1st May when traditionally in France you give bunches of it to your friends and neighbours to wish them well for the rest of the year. So following on from that everything else has come early too including nesting birds - the quantity of fledglings this year so far has been incredible... loads of Great Tits and Blue Tits and not to forget our regular visitor - a rather gorgeous baby Great Spotted Woodpecker with its' parents!

I can also report that we've had our earliest fledged swallow babies too and more on the way I think! Despite the reports of swallow numbers being down we seem to have more nesting here this year which is fabulous.

With Mummy!

So cute!

Being fed at last!

Note the little one at the bottom..."Me.. me...what about me?"

I couldn't resist this one of one of the faithful Blue Tit parents - this large family fledged some weeks ago ... just waiting for the next brood to arrive now! This box has been used every year since this box was put up on our Walnut tree.

The garden this year has done well but with the dry weather was starting to suffer a bit for lack of water - I can see I shall be out there this week getting things planted whilst the soil is damp again and filling in the gaps in the vegetable garden too.

The lovely Rosa Jacques Cartier which a friend gave to me before I left the UK.

Rosa Madame Hardy - another favorite.

This is a beautiful rose and this plant was grown by one of my clients and given to me as a gift - Rosa Sourire Orchidee.

This is our wonderful resident toad - he's set up home among my Box cuttings which had been recently potted on - he'd been burying himself in the lovely compost - I guess he realised how well disguised he was in there... however, imagine my surprise whilst watering when he climbed out!!

I do hope that it wont' be too long again till my next posting and that I'll have even more to share with you by then, but hope these photos give you a brief update on my garden here... have a great week and much look forward to having some time to rediscover all my favorite blogs that I know I've somewhat abandoned over the last months - I've really missed the contact with other like minded people and hearing all the wonderful stories from far and wide... a bientot! Miranda

Children & the great outdoors...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:55:00 +0000

This posting has been a long time coming and many more will follow I promise.... but first things first!

I've discovered two fantastic books that I'd love to share with you - especially for anyone with children, god-children, nieces, nephews or grandchildren that they would dearly love to encourage outside and away from the dreaded PlayStations and computers only to find that there is so much to enjoy just on their own door steps and all for free!

A great deal of my own childhood was following in the footsteps of my parents and grandparents who were all keen gardeners and lovers of wildlife too and I'm more than grateful for the patient hours that were spent encouraging me!

The two books - Kids in the Wild Garden and Kids in the Garden are both a delight and are absolutely packed with innovative and imaginative ideas of how to encourage children discover the best of gardening and wildlife along with some great illustrations too.

If you order them having seen this posting you will be able to buy them at £5.97 each (a 40% reduction on the RRP of £9.95). See details below!

Kids in the Wild Garden gives an amazing overview to wildlife gardening which would be enough to whet any one's appetite on such a subject - I loved the section "In the night garden" on how to discover what creatures visit your garden after dark and another on "What is bad for wildlife" - something even us adults need to be reminded of! It's got an exciting chapter all on birds and on nesting boxes and how to encourage birds to nest in your garden without spending a fortune as well as how to make a bird feeder out of an old pine cone.

There is also another part on making winter treats for the birds which given the cold winters we seem to be having is great - nothing like getting into practice in early! Imagine how wonderful it would be doing this and then to watch hungry visitors enjoying such a treat - especially come the autumn again - having said that we feed our birds here all year round and we've never had any complaints!! All this and much more in all a really super book!

The "Kids in the Garden" book would make a lovely gift alongside "Kids in the Wild Garden" and whilst it also gives some additional but invaluable ideas for little garden projects on encouraging wildlife into the garden it's focus is in the main on growing a wide variety of really yummy fruit and vegetables which children can really get involved in doing themselves and once grown also provides them with some fabulous ideas on simple recipes too - what better idea to get children eating their five a day and more!

There are so many interesting ideas in here it's hard to pick a favorite really, so I went for the Cucumber page! I loved the idea of using egg boxes to sow the seed in which can then be transplanted into the soil without disturbing the roots of each plant and how impressive would cucumber pinwheels be in a packed lunch taken to school -this would surely impress their friends!

If you want to order these books please contact Jessica Atkins at Black Dog Publishing via email or by phoning +44 (0)207 713 5097 & don't forget to mention jardinmiranda for your 40% discount!

Enjoy... I know you won't be disappointed!

Very Happy New Year for 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:21:00 +0000

Thank you so much for visiting my blog - maybe for the first time or perhaps you're a regular visitor - whichever the case I really hope you have a very Happy New Year as we start 2011 - hoping that this year will bring you much happiness, health and prosperity and not to forget - fun in the garden enjoying all the simple pleasures in life that often get bypassed and forgotten!

It's been wonderful to see the array of winter bird visitors in our garden here in northern Brittany - and I thought I'd share one or two of the photos I've taken over the Christmas period to share with you here. The first two photos were a fantastic surprise - I was out walking the dog today at 10am this morning and had luckily decided to take my camera - still feeling rather bleary-eyed after a fun and rather late night with friends :-) - only a few minutes from our house I heard the frantic tapping up in the trees that I've only heard 3 times in 7 years - that of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and then tried in vain to get a photo. It was easier said than done as this species of Woodpecker is very much smaller than the Great Spotted moving around so quickly and drumming frantically into the dead wood of the trees -these were the best ones (not the best but at least it will give you an idea). Only the male has red on his head - this was a female - no bigger than the size of Blackbird with a small round head and short, pointed beak - the feathers on the back are distinctly barred in black and white - and being particularly shy they're not often seen, so I considered myself very fortunate.

Just before Christmas having only been saying that I'd not seen the Blackcaps this year I happened to look out of the window of the bedroom and spotted this little chap chomping on the last few Crab Apples - this is Malus "Everest" - a smallish sized tree but one that produces lovely blossom in spring and a good harvest of fruit - I must admit I usually leave these on the for the birds.

Another shot I was pleased to get was that of a Redwing - this is the first time I've seen them in our actual garden - they're normally well disguised amongst the piles of leaves in the woodland foraging for the dregs of the apples but this one was a bit braver!

Two days ago I was up in our office looking out in the garden when I noticed a distinct lack of activity in the garden - not a small bird in sight - I very quickly realised why - talk about unsubtle - this beautiful Sparrow Hawk was perched on the roof of our bird table... another moment of having the camera there just at the right time... what a magnificent bird.

This winter we seem to have quite a number of Robins in our garden - this was a shot taken before Christmas whilst we still had the snow.

This photo was also taken during the snow and features a sparrow that looks as if it's dunked his head into a bit of bleach... I've never seen any others quite like it!

As the year progresses I hope to be able to bring you more photos from our garden of both the plants and wildlife and keep you posted on our latest projects as well as postings from further afield as well.

Take care, enjoy the festivities and see you soon...

Winter Wonderland arrives in Brittany....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:10:00 +0000

A big thank you to all of you who've left get well comments on my site over the last few weeks - have much appreciated all your kind words and encouragement - my back is gradually mending which is a relief and have infact been out for my first proper walk today and how beautiful it was!

It appears that the winter weather has hit this area of France rather suddenly and with many people not really ready for it all - many spent over 11 hours stuck on the dual carriageways stuck in snow last night - not something you hear of very often over here.

All this beautiful wintry weather makes you feel like a child again - last night, wondering with anticipation just how much snow might have fallen over night - needless to say, I wasn't disappointed this morning - I was glad I'd topped up the bird tables as at 8.30am when I drew back the curtains the feeders were full with hungry birds and others were already forming a queue...

This poor female Blackbird was hoping that she might find something on a somewhat snowed up bird table!

The male Blackbird had more luck with the remaining Crab Apples!

It's important not to forget our feathered friends during all this cold weather especially - I'm sure our garden birds get rather spoilt but they need everything they can get during the very cold weather - a time when many don't make it with the freezing temperatures and a real shortage of their natural foods - if you've any apples in the fruit bowl that have passed their best - stick them on the top of a bamboo cane and if it's possible push the cane into some soil or into the grass - they love this and it really doesn't cost a lot - fat balls and fat squares or homeade fat mixes are also great as they give the birds some of that much needed energy to keep them going. Also don't forget to provide them with water especially when it is freezing.

Nesting boxes are also well used at this time of year for roosting in - providing year round sheltered housing!

Lucy much enjoyed her wintry jaunt this morning - with it being one of the first times out for a proper walk it was a time I so appreciated myself as well.

Here are some of the other shots I took of our house, garden and woodland area - all looking very pretty!

All in all a great day - do hope everyone who reads this is keeping warm wherever you are...

The last of the autumn colours...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:14:00 +0000

What a rollercoaster the last 6 weeks have been for me and my apologies that I seemed to have abandoned ship somewhat regarding recent postings on my blog. In brief I've been suffering with a herniated disc which came to a head about 3 weeks ago and I ended up enduring my first 4 day stay in a French hospital! They haven't operated and I've been given strict instructions to rest which has been SO boring I can't tell you especially when all I've managed is lying down and pottering about the house ;-( It's been a slow process and still is - luckily the pain is subsiding but I reckon I've a way to go and in my line of work it's not ideal but am sincerely hoping that I can get out to do much needed work in the next couple of weeks before the real enslaught of winter.

Before I hurt my back I'd taken these shots of the Red Admiral and as I've not had the chance to post these as yet thought I'd start with them... I haven't seen any butterflies out for a little while now so I think these could be the last sightings before the spring... so enjoy!

As part of my recuperation I've been pottering around with my camera outside a bit - keeps my spirits up - the colours of autumn in our garden in Brittany this year have been quite amazing - one of the perks of my stay in hospital was the stunning views of the vibrant reds, yellows and oranges of the trees in the small park beyond - I was on the 6th floor so the view across Dinan was wonderful and I was also fortunate enough to have the bed by the window so at least I could leave the window open slightly too as it was SO hot in there (being an outdoor girl!).

These were leaves of Viburnum Opulus which caught my eye

and the Euphorbias are always vibrant

Late flowering plants are always a bonus and one of my favorites are the Gladioli

The birds are starting to feature more and more around the feeders now as the colder weather seems to be here and a first in our garden since we've been here were an early morning flock of Redwing turning over the leaves under our Walnut tree - sadly they just weren't here for long enough to get a shot but I'm hoping there might be a return visit... watch this space.

Do bear with me over the coming month or two - I'll do my best to post and visit your blogs but I'm not able to sit for very long as yet - but I will get there... bon weekend - Miranda x

A blaze of autumn colour in our Brittany garden...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:44:00 +0000

It's at this time of year that you start to notice the gaps where colour and structure perhaps are needed to bring certain areas of the garden together - not so easy to see during the summer months when the garden is full to brimming with interest. So if you're thinking of re-planting part of your garden or are starting from scratch I thought I'd share some of the pictures I took in our garden in Brittany today in between the showers - do bear in mind that most of the plants and shrubs that survive here will also do well in the south of England as well as a bit further north too - we had temperatures as low as -9 degrees last year and up to about 32 degrees during this last summer and as yet despite frosts in the UK as I understand, we've escaped this so far!

Rosa Compassion has been amazing this year and as you can see providing amazing blooms even into October - the other rose also doing well is Madame Alfred Carriere - also high on my list of recommendations of a repeat very scented semi climbing/rambler rose. The other perennial that comes into their own at this time of year is the humble Aster - providing essential pollen for bees and butterflies alike and more than popular for many of the insect world too.

This beautiful Honeysuckle - Lonicera japonica "Halliana" is a semi evergreen which despite the cold temperatures last year still held onto its leaves - it also has a fantastic perfume as well as being a prolific grower - the blackbirds and thrushes love this is a nesting site.

Our woodland is currently a carpet of leaves as you can see - mainly from the cherry trees - the Oaks tend to lose their leaves a lot later - with all the wind and rain this last week leaves seem to be falling rather quicker than normal!

I love this time of year with all the changing leaf colours - spring does seem a while away so I thought I'd take some of the plants that have endured one of the dryest summers we've had yet and are certainly benefitting from all the recent rain.

These two brightly coloured Sedums are great plants for providing colour and are a favorite amongst butterflies and bees again but also doing well in all the hot dry weather too - so plants to consider if you've got an area where the soil dries out more quickly than others - they also prefer a sunny spot!

This brightly coloured chap (or chapess!) I found on the Fennel - the rather stunning Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillar. As well as Fennel they also like Dill - we seem to have had quite a good number of these this year - more than usual and have also seen many more Swallow Tail's too - they are incredible butterflies flying to amazing heights compared to many others here.

I don't think any garden should be without a Crab Apple - this one is Malus "Everest" and provides a wonderful show of blossom in late spring and then these beautiful rosy crab apples in Autumn which last well into the winter - good for Jellies or just leave them for the birds and when it's really cold provides them with some essential feeding - the Song Thrush, Blackbird and Black Caps were amongst those birds feasting on these last winter. It's not a large tree so suitable for the smaller garden too.

These rather colourful Geraniums / Pelargoniums are in our greenhouse - the bees seem more than happy to go the extra mile to visit these blooms - particualrly the scented leaved Pelargonium. As frosts become more imminent do bring in any favorites that you have outside in pots - you might even think of taken a few cuttings too.

There are just so many plants in flower at this time of year giving plenty of choice if you're looking for new additions to your own garden for next year.. here are a few more of my favorites.

Last but not least the lovely Walnut - it's going to be another good year for these and we've got a good carpet of already fallen nuts on the ground - do hope the weather dries out a bit to enable us to get these in before they're all gobbled up by the birds, mice and foxes!

Do hope you have a good week and that the weather is being a bit kinder to you than it currently is here... Miranda

Beautifully Designed French Gardens... in Northern Brittany

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 08:45:00 +0000

If you dream of finding some inspiring gardens, in a beautiful part of the world which you can enjoy with a lovely group of people and leave most of the organising to someone else (apart from booking some accommodation and the transport to France that is)… I think you’ll find that French Gardens Today will be the answer! If you want a totally organised tour they can also cater for this too in association with Cricketer Holidays.

Just over a week ago now, I had the pleasure of working with Clare Whately of French Gardens Today on her new garden tour of some of the most beautiful gardens in northern Brittany. We had a fabulous few days and visted some beautiful gardens - The first was Les Jardins de Kerdalo - created by the late Prince Peter Wolkonsky - and now in the extremely capable and skilled hands of his daughter Isabelle Vaughan and her husband Timothy Vaughan - a truly stunning garden...

The incredible bark of Arbutus andrachnoides

The interesting trunk of the stunning Exchorda x macrantha "The Bride"

I think the photos speak for themselves!

This particular tour is being repeated next year again but in from the 10-11th May 2011, so don't miss out on a real treat. For more information email Clare - mailto:clare@frenchgardenstoday.co.uk.

The next garden we went to was slightly more inland - the Grand Launay - this garden is only open sur rendez vous - a very special garden with some incredible ideas and planting - created by Jean Schalit who has definitely dared to be different - some amazing examples of pruning and topiary too - an inspiration!

A resting place to sit and contemplate and soak in the atmostphere of this special place.

Day 2 of our tour took us up to the coast to one completely private garden which will remain a surprise for any of you booking on the tour in May as the owners would prefer that the garden remain private - a total delight. The other garden which we visited on day 2 was fabulous - and only open on Sunday mornings by prior reservation and is by a guided tour only - The Jardin du Pellinec - the variety of trees and shrubs and perennials is incredible here and especially as this garden was only started just 10 years ago - the setting is very special with views out to sea and you have that sense of being completely cosseted by the rich flora and fauna.

This photo of these beautiful Japanese Anenomes seemed like the fitting photo for the end of this posting!

A table for 1...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Unaware of a personal booking for this little surprise visitor at the bird table yesterday late afternoon I was very fortunate that this little Woodmouse hung around long enough for a few photos!! I've never seen one on the bird table let alone during daylight hours - I thought these were traditionally nocturnal creatures!?

Living in the Brittany countryside in France is never short of surprises!

This was another surprise that I was lucky enough to spot with my camera at hand - this Heron was perched in the massively tall Poplar tree at the bottom of the woodland next to the stream.

Another bit of excitement that I had recently, was to see the return of the Nuthatches (after not seeing them here for nearly 1.5 years) - 3 in total were spotted but on the whole there appears to be a pair regularly visiting the nutfeeders. They're fantastic little birds and very entertaining - typically feeding upside down on the feeders unlike most other birds.

And finally to complete this story - one that could have been disastrous for this poor little fellow who I discovered in our woodburner in the sitting room - I could hear a weird nose from the kitchen so went to investigate only to discover he or she had fallen down the flue of our stove and there it was madly tapping the glass of the door of the stove with its beak - so glad I was around to help! Anyway - I opened the doors to the garden and opened up the stove door and the little bird only flew straight towards the window and knocked itself out cold. I was v. concerned to say the least - picked it up and it lay in my hand and decided to walk outside and it started to come back to life. I reckoned the safest place to let him recover was within the confines of the bird table and there he sat on the railing watching all the other birds coming and going - he was very young and probably not quite ready to leave the nest but having gone away to make a cup of tea, I returned to find his perch empty and he was no where to be seen so can only believe that he was off and away and off to start his life somewhere...

Do hope you're all having a good week and are enjoying more of the sunny warm weather that has returned this last 2 days...

Recycling - why do we need to bother?!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:39:00 +0000

This is a question I've heard more than just a few times and RECYCLE - The Essential Guide will I'm sure impress on you why you should bother! It's a new and exciting book, packed with interesting facts and ideas and should be a No. 1 choice on anybody's Wish List!

RECYCLE - The Essential Guide includes an introduction by the One Show's Lucy Siegle and is one of the best informed books I've read on this topic. Information and case studies are included on recycling projects across the globe and show clearly how recycling is essential and not a mere choice of "do we or don't we?" If you're not convinced then I've no doubt that by the time you've finished reading this book you will be... There are so many varied ways of recycling - it's not just about recycling your rubbish!

Being a keen gardener one of the obvious ways of recycling in the garden is that of composting which not only helps to reduce the amount of rubbish in your dustbins but has many added benefits to the garden and the soil including helping you achieve better vegetable crops, enjoy healthier plants and aid in reducing the amount of actual watering you might need to do over the warmer months of the year. There is a very comprehensive chapter on this subject with some great suggestions on how to create your own wormery as one example.

If you would like to order a copy, you will get a 40% discount as a reader of this blog and you should email Jessica Atkins mentioning that you found the details on my blog site.

Definitely food for thought!

A June & July Update....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:50:00 +0000

I've never known such a busy time both workwise and in our own garden as it's been over the last few months... well infact for quite a lot of this year! We have had such a dry summer here - bar the last 2 days that is and for a good part of June/July I've had to do quite a bit of much needed watering too which has cut out any possibility of spending any time on my own blog or catching up on all of yours' - I've really missed this too but something has had to give and hope to get back to this v. soon if I get my own way!

Over the last couple of months I've been saving up quite a collection of photos to share on here and at last a brief moment to do a posting...

One of the biggest joys this year have been all the feathered visitors we've had - for a number of weeks we had Mummy and baby Woodpecker visiting - breakfast consisted of small morcels from our fat balls!

We've also had various families of swallows which have been nesting in a number of sites in the granite outbuildings too - none of the scary situations we encountered last summer!

I wish I'd had time to photo all the baby birds around the garden and the woodland - here are just a couple more of my favorites. These two little cheeky Blue Tits and not to forget the little Wren.

The garden earlier on this summer has been a picture of colour - less so now but that is usually the case - here are some of the photos of the garden to give you an idea...

Some of my favorites amongst the plants too...

Then not to forget some of the beautiful roses either...

And last but not least I've got to mention the crop of currants this year, cherries and now the plums - it's been an incredible year for fruit and there are some fabulous blackberries on their way... I do hope you're having a great summer where you are too and hope to catch up with all your blogs as soon as I possibly can... Happy Gardening....

Places still available on New Brittany Garden Tour in September...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:57:00 +0000

An exciting new Independent Garden Tour in the wild and beautiful Côtes d’Armor on the north coast of Brittany - September 14-17th September 2010 still has some places available....

Clare Whately of French Gardens Today is leading the Tour in association with Cricketer Holidays - “I’m starting to think the French are rather better gardeners than we are” was the comment made by a guest who came with Clare last week. Come with us and see if you agree with her!

We will be visiting Les Jardins de Kerdalo, Le Grand Launay, and two other private gardens in the area.

£395 per person which includes visits to these four gardens [two of which never open] welcomed and guided by the garden owners, two lunches, a party with the garden owners at a local Château on the final evening, travel advice and a list of recommended Chambres d’Hôtes, Hotels & Restaurants, coach travel between the gardens each day to and from our Meeting Place.

Accommodation and transport is not included on this Tour and is by your own arrangement – using, if you wish, our personal recommendations where rooms have been held for you.

Clare will be your Tour Leader and will interpret for you in the gardens. If you would like more information about these tours, please her on 01420 541321 or to book call Cricketer Holidays on 01892 664242.

These gardens in northern France look superb in September. You will find inspiration for your own garden and new ways with familiar plants.

Tour Details and Itinerary

15th and 16th September: two days, £395 per person. You will require accommodation for three nights: 14th, 15th and 16th September.

This Tour is based around the world famous garden at Kerdalo, on the wild and beautiful Côtes d’Armor between St Malo and Roscoff. We will explore the rocky coastline and deep-cut inlets, granite villages and misty valleys to arrive at these extraordinary and very different gardens. The owners of the three other gardens were drawn here by the Prince Wolkonsky’s inspiration and promise of good soil and mild climate. Two never open to the public. Their owners will be our guides.

Tuesday 14th September: independent arrival at accommodation reserved by you, using if you wish, our recommendations.

Wednesday 15th September

Les Jardins de Kerdalo. Kerdalo represents the lifetime’s dream of Prince Peter Wolkonsky who aged 65 moved here and started work to achieve one of the finest gardens in France. He chose this manor farm in its enclosed valley with natural springs, overlooking the River Jaudy, for its soil and climate. His vision involved terracing the valley, channelling the streams into a sequence of lakes and pools, and creating shell-lined pavilions, grottoes and pergola, as well as formal gardens and meadows. Since the Prince’s death in 1997, his daughter and her husband, Isabelle and Timothy Vaughan, gifted graduates of Wisley and Kew, have taken over this garden and breathed new life into it. Christopher Lloyd was a supporter and gave them massive encouragement.

Our lunch will be served here at Kerdalo by the owner, Isabelle Vaughan.

Le Grand Launay; The owner a, Parisian film-maker and journalist, arrived at this abandoned 17th century manor farmhouse in 1973 to find a three acre garden protected from the wind, well-irrigated and with rich, deep soil. Later they met and like the ideas of garden designer Gaël Bôedéc. This partnership has produced the remarkable and unusual contemporary garden we see today and which was honoured with the Societé Nationale d’Horticulture de France: Prix Bompland in 2008. Black walls and wrought iron, paving and canals reflect the dark grey of the house although this colour is usually cloaked by the greenery. Box, lonicera, osmanthus, beech and yew have been tailored into steps, balls, tables, clouds and other unusual shapes.

Thursday 16th September

A private garden which is rarely open. The owners were directly inspired by Prince Wolkonsky to buy this late 17th century house just over twenty years ago and to create his own remarkable garden on the borders of an estuary. The variety of soil, drainage, shelter and microclimates have allowed him to offer the right growing conditions to a huge range of plants – yet he has achieved visual harmony amongst this diversity. Themes emerge: the exotic garden, the English garden, the garden of the southern hemi-sphere, the magnolia meadow, the aquatic garden, the waterlily and the iris gardens. You will see some rare treasures and learn from this dedicated and passionate gardener who looks after his plants and borders entirely single handed.

Another garden - never open to the public. The owners discovered this farm with its glorious views over the bay in 1991. They have designed their garden themselves and look after it with the help of only one other gardener. The garden has a formal plan with an intimate atmosphere; there is an awareness of colour theming but this does not dominate. You will see unusual and interesting plants, often treated in new ways – many shrubs are trimmed into mounds and other shapes. When Christopher Lloyd was invited to choose a garden which inspired him for Erica Hunningher’s ‘Gardens of Inspiration’, he selected this one and wrote that ‘the owners have the highest standards in design and cultivation’. Our lunch will be served here.

Our End of Tour Party on will be held at the Château de Kermezen on Thursday evening.

Friday 17th September: Depart

Each Day starts at 9.30am and ends at 5.30pm at Les Jardins de Kerdalo.

Price includes:

· Visits to four outstanding, often very private, gardens. Each visit is exclusive to our group

· A welcome and personal guided tour at each garden by the owner and/or the Head Gardener

· Two course lunch each day usually offered by one of the garden owners

· A party on the final evening - champagne/canapés with the garden owners and other French friends

· An interpreter to translate for our garden guides

· A list of recommendations for local Hotel/Chambres d’Hôtes accommodation where rooms are being held for you to book if you wish

· Comfortable daily coach travel between the gardens with fruit juice/Breton or Normandy biscuits

· Travel advice, restaurant suggestions, maps, directions to meeting places and contact information

· Clare Whately will be your Tour Leader

For more information about this tour, please call Clare Whately on 01420 541321

To book, please call Cricketer Holidays on 01892 664242

So busy with gardening and not enough hours to blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:51:00 +0000

There comes a point in the spring every year when my work just takes over and leaves me with v. little time to put into my blog and I can only apologise to everyone who's supported and followed my blog over the months and years now - you're all very patient!

Up until recently we've been having some wonderful weather which has spurred the garden on no end in terms of growth and development - it's been one of the best years for the Lilac that I can remember since we arrived here - most other years the blooms have been badly damaged by late frosts and the spring flowers have been fantastic... the daffodils now almost completely over leave the stage open for all the other wonderful plants to follow!

We've also been busy adding one or two changes to the garden - the latest project was adding some steps down from the garden into our woodland which make life a lot easier as well as giving me another opportunity to plant as well! As you can see from this photos our hedging is already needing a trim but am hoping to hold back for a few weeks if I can as don't want to disturb the many nesting birds who currently have young families.

The garden is changing a great deal at the moment but here are a series of photos I've taken over the last few weeks...

The plants are also ever changing with so many almost there but here are some of my favorite shots over the last few weeks which I hope you'll enjoy too. The Aquilegias have been amazing!

This is the Cornus Alba which I planted along with the Ribes and the two together a quite stunning!

Some of our woodland plants...

I'm not quite sure how we ended up with the pretty mix of both white and blue Forget Me Nots but they're lovely.

This is the first year we've had flowers on Magnolia "Susan"

I love the young ferns unfurling in the sunlight!

Prunus padus another woodland favorite with very fragrant blossom which sadly doesn't last very long :-(

Returning to the main garden these Pansies are always a cheery sight!

I couldn't do a posting at this time of year without the tulips...

Two other favorites are the Rubus which I purchased in Cornwall - "Olympic Double" which produces some beautiful double magenta/pink flowers and the other is Prunus Kanzan.

The final pictures I cannot help but leave you with a these really cute shots of the baby Dunnocks that I discovered in a client's garden - the nest had sadly been blown from the Leylandii trees and they'd found themselves in the big wide world slightly too early... do hope they survived okay...

This leaves me with one final view out from our woodland and with that would like to wish you a good rest of the week, happy gardening and hope that it's not too long again before I can post some more from our garden and beyond - I will try and get to look at some of my favorite blogs and there are many now so do be patient and please don't take it personally if it takes me a while...

Very Happy Easter....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:56:00 +0000

Of all those flowers in the garden that are reminders of Easter time is the reliable Daffodil.... with so many varieties available I wouldn't know where to start other than to say what a wonderful bright and cheerful display they make and enough to bring a smile to most people's faces especially on a day with the rain pounding at the windows as it is today!

"When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils"
from William Wordsworth's "Daffodils"

Over this past week we've infact had some lovely weather in between numerous showers but even in the rain these beautiful spring flowers still looking gorgeous.

Earlier in the week I cut the grass in our woodland area and it was lovely to see the primroses all in bloom on the bank where I first planted a few going back about 3 years now and they're really starting to multiply which is exactly what I had in mind. Along with these beautiful spring flowers come the little cowslips which you don't find in the wild so much here - my Mum had grown these from seed which I brought on and planted out a couple of years ago - as well as the primroses they are more than happy in their new home and provide essential pollen for bees and insects at this time of year.

A view through the Cherry trees below the main garden - the bank of primroses are to the left.

Another of my spring favorites is the trusty Autumn Flowering Cherry - Prunus x subhirtilla "Autumnalis Rosea" - a beautiful tree bearing masses of pale pink blossom - ideal for those with a smallish garden too (not that we have a small garden!)

This is a view across the main area of our back garden - behind me as I'm taking this picture is the woodland to give you an idea of the layout... the garden always starts off with relatively little height other than the shrubs and trees but as the year progresses height increases with the mass of perennials and roses that we have.... watch this space!

This is Hamish my lovely black and white cat that came all the way from the UK with us - as you can see he's more than at home enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on his tummy - he's a huge character and is really quite a monkey... known for his acts of thieving food - his best was his attempt at fishing out my lamb chops from under the grill with his bear paws... caught in the act at the last minute I saved my supper!!!! Butter wouldn't melt in this picture though!

This little gem of a polyanthus originated from my parents' garden in Cornwall.

These beautiful double Polyanthus were in the garden when we arrived - the previous owners loved their garden and I discovered these under a thick cover of Brambles and Ivy!

I know many of you enjoyed the previous posting with the Pulmonaria - this is another variety - Pulmonaria Opal - with a much paler blue flower but quite beautiful!

The Japanese Quince - Chaenomeles speciosa is another spring favorite - pruned back well in the early part of winter seems to be the secret in creating a spectacular show of flowers at this time of year - looks quite stunning when in full bloom - these flowers are followed by pretty leaves and fruits if you're lucky!

More favorites - these flowering currants I grew from hardwood cuttings a few years back and they've come on a treat since... the cuttings took easily so one to try perhaps?

The first Anenome has just appeared cheekily pushing it's head through the grasses! I love these flowers which had some vibrant colour to borders.

This is the area I planted up only last year under the Oak tree to the front of our house - you can see the edge of our neighbour's house in the background - all the plants are coming on well - more photos of these to come in future postings!

This is a photo to the side of our property - the area of grass was sown only a few years back at the same time as I planted the shrubs which form a loose boundary with our neighbour - a good mix of shrubs offering a mix of colour and structure for much of the year round as well as a mix of berries and blooms for wildlife.

And to round off..

"For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inwood eye,

Which is the bliss of solitude,

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

final verse from Daffodils - William Wordsworth

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter Weekend!

Spring has finally arrived...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:09:00 +0000

Despite some pretty stormy weather the last couple of days the start of the week brought some milder weather and the first sightings of the beautiful Brimstone Yellow Butterflies to our garden - pictured here on the Pulmonaria - they look rather striking with the bright blue flowers - posing perhaps!? During the week I've also caught sight of a couple of Comma Butterflies too but they were flying around so no photo I'm afraid.

A few nights ago I came across the first hedgehog of the season - presumably out for a stretch leg and a munch after the long winter hibernation!

The best sighting this week - just yesterday was my first swallow - a male swallow which greeted me on my return from a hard day's work and then today on my morning stroll with Lucy - loads all sitting on the telegraph wires and chattering away "swallow-style" and there were also quite a number flying really low over the fields searching around for insects I suspect - it was quite amusing to watch as they darted they way around the herd of cows - the cows seemed quite unperturbed!

The moment the swallows arrive is always a very heartening and special moment and I'm in awe of these small birds which travel all those thousands of miles against the odds and seem to arrive back here each year - incredible! I always feel priviledged that they would choose our barns to nest in. It was funny talking to my sister this morning as I was telling her that the swallows were early this year - last year they arrived on the 28th March to which she replied - "only you would notice these things as living in London when would you know they'd arrived?" and she's right - the coming and going of the seasons are so much more apparent when you live in the countryside and I think you have time to notice which is one of the things I love... isn't this what life is all about!?

Wishing you all a good weekend... and I hope to try and get to visit a few more blogs this week - I've not done very well of late - so please don't feel neglected...

To celebrate Mothering Sunday....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:08:00 +0000

In honour of a very patient & encouraging Mum (& Dad!).... it was enlightening recently to recieve some "old" pictures from my parents of me when I was small and very amusing to see where my keen interest in the garden started!! I think I owe a lot to my parents for my love and respect of plants and gardening and probably to my Mum's Mother too who loved her garden especially her prize roses which you always got shown when you went to stay... strange thing is that I now catch myself doing the same when we have visitors :-)

At the tender age of 3.5/4 showing an interest in grass cutting ... mowers have changed a little since then!

At the same sort of age caring for the flowers ...

Apparently this was me sharing my ice cream with the daffodils... not sure if they appreciated the sacrifice!

Completely at home sat in the garden with my sandwiches... nothing has changed really even 40 odd years on...

It is interesting looking back and wondering what part parents play in the path you take in life, but some of life's passions and interests clearly start early on... perhaps it's an in-built thing but perhaps it's the patient hours parents spend showing you the pleasures of growing your own fruit and veg are actually very rewarding and a lot of fun... I can certainly remember the rewards of sneaking off behind the raspberry canes for a quick snack! Mind you, I can also remember the many afternoons in late summer going blackberry picking with my family and after the novelty quickly wore off finding it rather boring .... something I've picked up again now and love!

My Mum especially spent many hours "splaining" things to me following my endless questions of "why this or how's that?", whilst the enjoyment in what I'm sure were painstaking hours that my Dad spent in the greenhouse and on his veg patch has certainly rubbed off - whatever it was, it makes life worth it as does being able to share it and encourage others with the same!

My apologies for a gap since my last posting... work is keeping me pretty occupied at the moment but will try and add some more before the week is out! Hope you all have a great week...

Our Garden in Brittany - a fly-thru for ready meals!

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:30:00 +0000

After a fairly rubbish night's sleep last night with the strong winds and yet more very heavy rain here I pulled myself out of bed at 9.40am to go and get Lucy out and was stopped in my tracks on the stairs when I noticed we had a visitor poised quietly on the roof of the bird table - a large Sparrow Hawk - thinking this must be like the equivalent of a Macdonalds Drive-Thru for him or her - with free ready meals!! There wasn't a Blue Tit in sight! So I rushed back upstairs to try and get a shot of the bird and this was the only one I managed through an upstairs window before it took off! It was a nice surprise on such a dismal morning!

Sorry I've not been around visiting blogs much this week but have been busy working on a garden design for some French clients which has certainly kept me busy.

However in odd moments during the week I did manage to get one or two pictures which I've been storing up for my weekend posting. This young Great Spotted Woodpecker sat for ages after filling himself up on peanuts from the feeder - I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of last year's babies which I'd captured on the bird table last summer.

The weather has played a predominant part this week - I think we've had the wettest weather we've ever had in the last 7 years now in Brittany - at least Lucy was making the most it!

This is the field just below our house looking towards the road - the water right up to the arch on the stone bridge (hidden by the bushes!).

The stream which runs along the bottom of our woodland is now a complete torrent which has flooded almost as far as our French farming neighbours - this is only the second time that the little bridge over the stream has been completely immersed too. We had very strong winds last night but from what I could see no real damage which was a relief.

A view from our woodland towards our neighbours!

The spring flowers have certainly benefitted from all the extra watering - the daffodils are almost out, Hellebores continue to bloom and finally the lovely red Camelia has fully opened!

This morning I discovered one solitary flower on the Pulmonaria had braved the elements too. With the rain the perfume from the Lonicera was amazing... it's not an easy shrub to photo with such delicate flowers but a real favorite.

During the week of horrible weather it's been nice to see a few snowdrops and bright yellow crocus without having to go out of the house!

Do hope you all have a good week - have been busy collecting up toilet rolls in readiness for planting seeds in a few weeks hopefully... more on that in due course...

Going green just has to be seen...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:35:00 +0000

There are so many ways us gardeners can be helping to do our bit to care for our poor planet and following the suggestion of Jan from Thanks4Today Blogspot in Virginia USA in recognition of the 40th Annivesary of Earth Day on 22nd April for us bloggers to promote what we're doing in our own gardens in order to encourage others to try some new ideas in their own.

To celebrate I decided to do my bit as well...

I must admit I'm all for gardening organically, without the need to use chemical pesticides and insecticides and to date have found this very successful. We were helped here by the fact that our garden and woodland which borders a stream had been left to do it's own thing for about 9 years or so - it's own little eco system had evolved and it's amazing how nature does look after itself and at the same time enable you to have a thriving garden in so many ways.

Garden Watering: Natural rainwater can be collected in water butts or containers to save on draining other water resources. Watering can also be reduced if you following the practice of mulching - placing compost/grass cuttings around plants in the borders which will enable the soil to retain moisture for longer during the warm months of the year - reducing the need to water too often.

Planting: One method of planting up my beans and Sweet Peas has been using the cardboard inner tubes from toilet rolls and kitchen rolls - by placing as many as will fit into a plastic seed tray and filling them all with compost till they are 2/3 full sowing the seed or bean and then topping up with more compost. Once the plants have established they can be planted out straight into the soil in the cardboard tube which in time just composts down and thus not disturbing the delicate roots!

Protecting young plants which are vulnerable to slug damage: Another idea which I use each year is by getting used plastic water bottles and after cutting off both the top and base - use a pair of pinking shears - the kind of scissors that give you a zig-zag pattern - divide each bottle's middle into two or three sections - the jagged edging is ideal for pressing into the soil around each young plant - meanwhile the zig/zag top edge will make it difficult for slugs to get at the young plants! Normally I just leave these in the ground during the growing season and they work a treat! Coffee grounds can also work quite well when sowing rows of young salads.

Composting: A posting like this couldn't bypass the value of home composting... by saving up all the vegetable and fruit peelings, egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, some newspaper and thin cardboard as well as grass cuttings - these can all go towards boosting the soil and boosting your plants. I have made two using 4 wooden posts and chicken wire - one is full and I usually leave for a good six months to rot away whilst the other is being added to - by the time that one is full the other one can be used!

Weedkilling: Don't be so hasty to kill weeds in your gardens - a margin of wildflowers/nettles, grasses around the garden or in certain areas are invaluable to wildlife - to insects, birds and small mammals alike - nettles for instance provide essential plant food for young caterpillars which in turn are essential food for parent birds feeding their young and so it goes on. Nettles also make wonderful soup - pick of the top 4 leaves of young nettles and use with a mix of potatoes, chopped onions and stock - yummy and full of Iron!

I really could go on and on and will try and add some more ideas as the year goes on but hopefully this will help for starters.... all of these practices takes little effort and bring plenty of reward! Don't let another year go by without at least trying one idea...

Please do leave other ideas you yourselves have tried as it's always great to hear of new ones...

ps. Jan - many thanks for instigating this - absolutely great!

Have a special Valentines Day...

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:58:00 +0000

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentines Day - traditionally a day where birds are to have thought to have chosen their mate!

With the quantity of little Blue Tits in our garden right now - I reckon a Speed Dating event is needed!! Have a special day...

More surprises....

noreply@blogger.com (Miranda Bell) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:38:00 +0000

Well I must admit this morning was a surprise in itself to open the curtains to find a couple of cm of snow lying in the garden - there was me thinking that spring at last was on it's way and then this!! Well there are some benefits too in that the weather today certainly brought some extra visitors to the bird table and needless to say didn't get a great deal of work done - too distracted by all the actiivty in the garden!!

The Snowdrops are amazing little flowers - so small yet so robust... and SO beautiful too.

The best bit was actually getting the Fieldfares in the garden ... at last... and have managed a reasonable picture of them - these were all taken from indoors through the window so am quite pleased really!

I can now report that we have two Goldfinches coming regularly to the bird table now which is great... maybe there will be baby Goldies to come?

Today's snow also brought the male Black Cap - as well as the Fieldfares he seemed to be interested only in the apples that I'd put on the grass - ones that I'd picked in the autumn and which had now seen better days... they appreciated them! I couldn't believe how horrible the Blackbirds and the Fieldfares were being to each other - this was the bird version of road rage I think!!

I managed to get some closer shots of the bird table later in the day from our porch... the Blue and Great Tits are so funny...

Finally to end the day I took Lucy for her walk and decided on some black and white pics to end the posting...

Do hope you've enjoyed some of the snippets from my day here... I wonder what the rest of the week will bring?