Front border & Storm Ciara

The weather this weekend has been one of extremes. Saturday was glorious and I managed a lovely hour working in the garden. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and everything seemed peaceful. The little crocuses had opened their petals and the viburnum was covered in the prettiest pink pom poms. Nature really does have such a beautiful palette!

Yellow Crocus

Whilst it would have been lovely to stand and look at the flowers for longer, I did have work to do! I have decided to focus my attention on the area in front of the house for the time being and therefore started clearing the overgrown weeds and grasses from the narrow border that separates the house from the road. Unfortunately, this is not a five minute task, as the following images show. I am embarrassed that it has got to this state but hopefully it will look completely different by the Summer as I have plans to turn this narrow strip into a wildflower border.

The area is only small, but I am hoping that it will still have an impact, both environmentally and visually. The first stage in this process will be to clear the area as fully as possible. I have to tread somewhat carefully here as the border is not just weeds but also contains a number of plants that I want to keep. To name but a few...there are two peonies, a small rhododendron, oriental poppies, lavender, a rose, and many crocosmia bulbs. Digging all of these up does seem relatively brutal, but I do intend to plant them elsewhere in the garden and I am hoping that, by doing this early in the season, all will survive. If the weather allows (and the ground is not too sodden), I intend to work on this task for an hour or so each day this week, with a view to reporting my progress next weekend.

After finishing working in the garden on Saturday, I had crouched low by the river bank momentarily to say good afternoon to some passing ducks, when a flash of brilliant blue shot past me like a blazing comet and, for a brief moment, I saw the beautiful kingfisher again! It alighted on a branch overhanging the river and, for a few seconds, I saw it clearly before it spotted me...and then it was gone.

It must be nesting somewhere close by and I wondered whether its nest could possibly be within the confines of our garden. I do think this is unlikely (and I could see no obvious signs of kingfisher nesting tunnels along our section of the bank) but how wonderful that would be!

The Kingfisher

It was the Rainbow gave thee birth, And left thee all her lovely hues; And, as her mother’s name was Tears, So runs it in my blood to choose For haunts the lonely pools, and keep In company with trees that weep. Go you and, with such glorious hues, Live with proud peacocks in green parks; On lawns as smooth as shining glass, Let every feather show its marks; Get thee on boughs and clap thy wings Before the windows of proud kings. Nay, lovely Bird, thou art not vain; Thou hast no proud, ambitious mind; I also love a quiet place That’s green, away from all mankind; A lonely pool, and let a tree Sigh with her bosom over me.

William Henry Davies

NB Image taken from The Brook and its Banks by J. G. Wood.

What a difference a day makes! We awoke on Sunday to heavy wind and rain as Storm Ciara descended upon us. I went outside briefly to check that everything in the garden was secure and watched for a short while (more than a little unnerved) as the wind blew the birches as if they were blades of grass. A pigeon looked confused as it got nowhere trying to fly to a branch and a group of jackdaws were drunkenly flying across the sky. I took one more glance at the birches, supposing it was probably fortunate that they were so flexible, and then went back indoors.

We were actually very lucky in that we did not sustain much damage and were only without power for a short while. Several trees had come down elsewhere in the village but thankfully no one was hurt.

Update:

Sometimes gardening is frustrating and today (Monday) was one of those days. We had rain, rain, rain all day and therefore I managed zero gardening! I am terrible at checking the weather but did so this afternoon and it seems that tomorrow and Wednesday will be brighter, with more heavy rain forecast for the end of the week. Despite my good intentions, I therefore anticipate the ground will be too wet to do much digging tomorrow. Carefully laid plans sometimes need a little patience however and therefore I shouldn’t get too disheartened. I will continue with my plans for the front garden as soon as I can!