More Snowdrops and Hellebores.

The wettest winter in decades hasn't put these Snowdrops and Hellebores off from putting in more appearances in the Woodland Border.  However, it does mean that their appearances are probably more welcome than ever before.  It's just been too wet to tidy up the old leaves from around the Hellebores - in fact, it's been too wet and/or too wild and windy to do pretty much anything in the garden!  We came home this morning to find the bird house lying on the Yew hedge!  Normally, if it's wet, I can find jobs like pruning the Wisteria but, in these gales, I don't fancy being blown off a ladder!

I never find photographing Snowdrops at all easy and certainly not when crouching down on wet ground in freezing cold gale force conditions (and no tripod of course!) with the poor flowers  being blown around all over the place! Not only that: the Woodland Border is in front of a high south facing hedge and so the lighting is less than ideal for photography but at least the Snowdrops are happy.  Anyway, the photos do show how well Chris's mushrooms have weathered over the years.  If it ever dries up, we might be able to do more work on the path and the log retreat.








A few more photos of a very WET Woodland Border:
https://picasaweb.google.com/100788191989823327785/SnowdropsAndHelleboresInTheWoodlandBorder

Indoor Colour in the Gloom!

Storms, gales, relentless rain.... but I found some colour in the conservatory! and a rare moment of sunshine!  An Anthurium bought from Costco a couple of Christmas's ago has really thrived - much to my amazement.  It has no drainage and is in its original moss covered compost and looks seriously healthy.  

Even the glossy green leaves of a ubiquitous Spider Plant is cheering on a dark day with rain lashing at the windows.  A few primulas and some leaf colour from a Calathea, the odd Begonia just cheer things up..........to say nothing of a lovely Valentine's Day bouquet which you might just spot!  The lemon tree and tree fern are also spending their winter months in the conservatory.  There are fewer lemons this year following the big prune back.  However, it's a picture of health and vigour with none of the pests and diseases it acquired when it overwintered in the greenhouse 2 years ago!

See: https://picasaweb.google.com/100788191989823327785/ConservatoryColour

Gardener Turned Baker!

I know that this is a gardening blog but with all this wet weather and half the country under water, Chief Blogger had been turning her hand to more baking.  On the 2nd attempt, she has managed to match Jan's Saturday success today, having realised that yesterday's slightly heavier bread was completely the fault of inaccurate scales!!  My Aga (Yes!  Aga) scales are 2oz out.  That's a whole 56 grams!!!  This meant that I was using more flour to the stipulated 250mls of water than Paul Hollywood states thus making the dough heavier and drier.  My new 'digital' scales arrived today and hey presto!!  A pretty perfect loaf!  It's made me wonder - just how accurate are the average kitchen scales?

Misshapen and heavy

Better shape and much lighter

Ingredients - 74p's worth!

It was a tad interesting to work out the exact cost (minus the salt!) of a homemade loaf in a 1lb loaf tin.  Waitrose probably isn't the cheapest place from which to buy Canadian strong bread flour but, hey - these loaves don't contain any preservatives, the Aga's always hot and they're such fun to make.  I know some folks say it takes too long waiting hours for the dough to rise and prove but1, be positive!  Think of the time you have to drink gin or, get out in the garden - if it ever stops raining!

Role Reversal!

Whilst the boys were all outside battling the storms and still managing to make good progress with the major conifer topping project; the girls were inside baking bread - never before heard of on a Saturday!  Jan came over with her Paul Hollywood book and the result was the most perfect loaf of bread in the world!  It definitely take a professional baker to write a book on baking and many of his vital tips are all (suspiciously) missing from other bakery books. The loaf of bread was so delicious, it was consumed with olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and herb dips before a pretty perky chilli con carne and Aga baked rice with Bay and Cardamon.  This was topped off with shared out Belgian chocolate eclairs (courtesy of Chris) and fresh raspberries with cream!  Meanwhile there are only 4 conifers left - another all round successful Saturday!

Paying the Price!

Beaten but not broken!

Since the still and mild sunny day on Sunday, have we ever paid  the price? More storms, high winds and lashing rain.  Water running off the fields and out of hills as it just has nowhere else to go. Pity the poor people in Somerset. Despite the incessant battering and an all too fleeting window of sunshine; it was a real lift to see the little cross face of a viola bloom braving these violent elements. These, along with pansies, were planted back in the autumn and as they were in so early and the temperatures were really mild, they established really well and have been flowering really well all winter long.  The only trouble is; the constant squally rain just keeps beating them all down...............sigh!

Chicken Chit Chat

Wild Winifred!

Eggsell !

Since Head Gardener and Chief Blogger has been trying her hand at using Excel spreadsheets for the first time, she's come up with a few statistics - eggsact of course!

Firstly (and I didn't need Excel for this statistic!) since the first 4 girls arrived in June 2010, we haven't bought a single egg.  Not only that but, despite losses (including a fox strike) and gains in the hen department, they have produced a total of 3799 eggs in 3 years!  Last year's monthly average was 65 eggs.  Now I  reckon that's pretty good going for 4 hens!

Bravest of the brave!

Look what I found hiding in the Woodland Border!!!  Can this mean that winter is nearing its end?  What a joy to find loads of clumps of these little beauties pushing up in the darkest and wettest of winters!  I so wish I didn't have such difficulties photographing snowdrops!  The bright white of their petals means that they're always over exposed even in dull and shady conditions.