EXBURY RE-VISITED

May is one of my favourite gardening months as it’s the best time to enjoy the wonderful sights and smells of azaleas and rhododendrons.  Where better to spend a nice sunny day in May than at Exbury Gardens.  

Here’s my Exbury top ten for you to enjoy.

MORE ABOUT

Exbury Gardens:  http://www.exbury.co.uk/website/

Rhododendrons:  http://www.rhododendrons.co.uk/

YARLINGTON HOUSE PLANT SALE

Disaster has struck!  And it’s of titanic proportions as these things inevitably are when they happen.  It’s not a storm in a tea cup, more like a tempest in a tureen.  In the same way as global banking has gone into melt-down so too has our oven.  The door handle unable to withstand the strain of the over-heated household economy has totally cracked and broken off.  In order to continue our pizza free diet regime, the other half has had to rig up a temporary solution using a coat hanger until a replacement oven is found.

 

Global meltdown

   

Unlike the Bank of England, I can’t just print off several million quid when times are hard.  My computer scanner and HP printer wouldn’t be much cop in running off a few extra tenners to tide us over.  So, taking a leaf out of the Chancellor’s book, I’ve had to mount a daring raid on my ‘pension’ fund to rustle up the £500 or so pounds needed in order to keep us cooking on gas. 

Raiding savings for boring things like ovens is not my idea of fun especially when that cash could be better spent on other stuff such as holidays or my garden.  To help me get over this trauma, I bribe the other half with promises of beer and curry so that he’ll drive me to all the way to Somerset for a plant sale.

Yarlington House, an out of the way country estate not far from Wincanton just happened to be hosting one of those specialist plant sales I like to visit.  “Nice day for a drive in the country dear” I say to the other half, whose idea of heaven is watching re-runs of Top Gear and not browsing through potted plants. 

Yarlington House 

It wasn’t a wasted journey either as the plant sale was probably one of the best one’s visited this year.  There were so many stalls assembled in the courtyard, I didn’t know where to start looking first.  Row upon row of potted plants and all very reasonably priced – what an idyllic way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Plant stalls dotted around the courtyard

Nothing beats a good plant sale

Visiting country houses to buy plants also gives you an opportunity to have a good nose round as many include entry to their gardens in the ticket price and we were able to enjoy a pleasant wander around the kitchen garden and wooded area behind the house. 

Flower covered pergola on back lawn

The kitchen garden was vast.  A walled enclosure with planting beds split into 4 distinct areas.  I'd love to have something similar where you can really go mad growing all sorts of fruit and vegetables.

The kitchen garden

Apple blossoms

Clever use of space with espalier fruit trees

I love Japanese maples and acers.  Everything about their foliage is so beautiful; the colours, the shapes, the leaves lightly overlapping each over.  

The beautiful contrast of deep purple and lime green

Trees are often more interesting when seen from below looking up into the leaves.

A view from below

Having spent my savings and more on a new oven, this might be the last plant sale for 2013 but let's hope not!

MORE ABOUT:

Yarlington House - http://www.yarlingtonhouse.com/

Japanese maples - http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=126

PERMA-TAN

Waiting for summer is like waiting for Godot.  This elusive season seems an eternity in coming this year and I’m desperate to finish painting my decking balustrade blue (I’m going for that Greek holiday look) and tan my anaemic looking legs for my daughter’s wedding in July.  At this rate, my shins are going to resemble uncooked cannelloni instead of toasted tea cakes and that most definitely won’t do. 

Imagine Greek holiday without austerity measures

As the sun is unlikely to oblige between now and then, I’ve had to come up with a cunning plan to acquire that healthy sun-bronzed glow.  I have turned to the ‘bottle’ or rather something called ‘self-tanning wet wipes’ in desperation.  Just swish across pale, cannelloni like legs and in next to no time, you’ll be as tanned as Des O’Connor – simples!

How to acquire that California babe look on a budget

“Proceed with caution” I told myself as the ‘Des’ look might not be that flattering on an older woman with footballers legs that Maradona would kill for.  But if you snooze, you lose and so on Tuesday night after a good scrubbing in the bath and lashings of moisturiser applied, I rolled up my PJ trouser legs in the kitchen and got down to the messy business of bronzing.

Legs are like lawns; full of lumps, bumps and unsightly sticky-out tufts.  It’s not easy trying to wipe them down with a small square of flimsy cloth in circular motions to avoid streaks or smears appearing in your tan.  ‘Much less bovver with a hover’ I recalled from the old Flymo advert.

An hour later, my legs looked no darker than they had 60 minutes earlier.  Well I could hardly expect miracles from a packet of 99p wipes bought from a local Savers store, could I?  I’m sure Des and other worshippers of the great God Perma-Tan probably spend a darn sight more than a quid just to get than sun-baked look.

However, things always look better in the morning and after a good night’s sleep, I’m now the proud owner of two slightly frankfurterish coloured legs.  Yes, I’m sure they’re looking a tad browner than they were at the start of the week although that could just be the power of the mind compensating for my being a complete cheapskate in the purchase of tanning products.

MORE ABOUT:

Waiting for Godot - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot

Self Tanning Tips - http://www.allaboutyou.com/fashion-and-beauty/tips/self-tanning-tips-gradual-tan

Des O'Connor - http://desoconnornow.com/

ON THE RIVIERA

Languishing on the Riviera that’s where I’ve been or at least in my dreams as in reality I’ve spent the evening digging a few holes in the garden to bed in plants purchased on Sunday at the Lulworth Castle plant sale.  But ah, the Riviera!  Or rather the English Riviera which is where I was languishing last weekend, enjoying a rare bit of sunshine in Torquay.  It was bliss!

Brixham Harbour

The English Riviera with its palm trees and chip shops is not a patch on its much grander French cousin but still has its own unique charm.  There’s a certain je ne sais quoi that comes from having countless stag parties, Agatha Christie themed tours and cream teas that the French haven’t quite mastered.  I’m sure there’d be more than one Gallic shoulder shrug at the prospect of taking part in Brixham’s pirate festival or discussing the merits of home-cooked pasties compared to those from the supermarket.  Ah, the English Riviera!

Cockington Village

Babbacombe Cliff Railway

View of Dartmouth

Spring has definitely sprung in this corner of the world.  Cherry blossom hung on trees like froth on a latte, hosts of golden daffodils outnumbered sunbathers and parks were looking distinctly perky under colourful arrays of spring blooms.  

Dartmouth’s lovely gardens made me long to rush home and get stuck into mine!

Hibernation is now well and truly over in Charminster. It’s cheerio to winter woollies and time to dust off the knee pads, lube up the pruning shears and break out the slug pellets for garden spring cleaning.  Out with the old foliage and in with the new.  Chasmanthe bulbs are in along with a few more Hellebores and a smattering of Thalictrum Aquilegifolium or Meadow Rue.

And to put a smile on your face, these cute little piggy wiggies we caught a peep of on our way back from the English Riviera.  Aren’t they sweet!

Mummy's keeping an eye on us and her piglets

Piglets playing on a mud heap

MORE ABOUT:
Brixham pirate festival - http://www.brixhampiratefestival.co.uk/
Cockington Village - http://www.cockingtoncourt.org/
Babbacombe Cliff Railway - http://www.babbacombecliffrailway.co.uk/
Thalictrum Aquilegifolium - http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/11323.shtml
Chasmanthe - http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/chasmanduckitt.htm