My Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ are budding up nicely (S. longispicata x S. farinacea; said to be dwarfer than ‘Indigo Spires’, but it always seems nice and tall to me). I’ve treasured them for 3 years now and they over-winter in the greenhouse. Since the Rose Walk doesn’t look so flower-filled from July, I’ve dotted these … Continue reading Rāhui Day 45
Something I ‘made at home’, which now makes vegetable growing easier! To grow vegetables on a very steep slope, a few years back I terraced the vegetable plot into three areas. After heaving the soil, there are three terraces, with the top two fairly flat and so easier to water. The first terrace is bounded … Continue reading Rāhui Day 44
Mostly wild today. Two of the best self-seeders on our heavy clay soil in hot sun are the field poppy, Papaver rhoeas, and borage. There are reasons for this – to do with taproots that can plumb the depths even in dry weather. John Gerard (who wrote possibly the most famous Renaissance herbal) says that … Continue reading Rāhui Day 43
When I was a child, I painted (a lot). If I was angry, I painted or drew. If I was miserable, I painted or drew. I even painted when I was happy. Now I don’t paint any more. But each day in my garden, or on my kitchen table, I see paintings. I can’t … Continue reading Rāhui Day 42
Everywhere the irises are starting to flower. (There’s even two roses unfurling – unheard of in April, apart from Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’). On the Vine Terrace … In the Iris Garden … here you may notice that (after 41 days without rain), we had 2 hours of gentle rain this morning between 7 and 9am. … Continue reading Rāhui Day 41
The pictures were all taken in the the Long Border yesterday – needs weeding! But coming up to its best time. Silentium The Guardian‘s ‘Saturday poem’ on 21 February 2015 Be silent, hide away and let your thoughts and longings rise and set in the deep places of your heart. Let dreams move silently as … Continue reading Rāhui Day 39
Walking down from the Mirror Garden yesterday morning, doing my daily temperature checks over my three thermometers. Stopping at the Vine Terrace. The two vines are leafing out, but there’s not enough shade to sit there yet until it’s cooler in the evening. Then by way of the Iris Garden where all the irises have … Continue reading Rāhui Day 38
The last tulips (‘Sorbet’) and narcissus are going over now in the Rose Walk. The bronze fennel is beginning to look pretty … The valerian on the walls is flowering … The Iris pallida are budding up beautifully – they should be better than ever this year … And it’s only April. Even more striking … Continue reading Rāhui Day 37
I’ve been following along with the reading of War and Peace on Twitter and A Public Space (#TolstoyTogether; @APublicSpace), led at about 15 pages a day by author Yiyun Li. A few days ago in our reading we had reached the stage where Prince Andrei has left the army after the battle of Austerlitz and … Continue reading Rāhui Day 36
Garden Dreaming at Châtillon 