Au Revoir post

I am moving into a new flat on monday, and alas as yet it does not have internet. As soon as it does I will be back online commenting and growing things...
Just remember that the earth heals, and growing plants and flowers soothes the soul..

Au Revoir means see you soon in French.I hope to be posting again in the next few weeks, renewing acquaintences, and generally spreading the healing vibes..
It will be from Wakefield...will write more to those who want to know why im moving their on my own..
18 months on here have flown by, and with regular posting I can get regular readers.
To share the agony and ecstasy that is gardening. From the very big estates to the small container gardens.
I hope to see you all very soon, hope your gardens grow well and that you have a happy Xmas with your family and friends.
The Snappy gardener will return soon I promise.. :))

Sunday Viola

Just a quick post, work calls :(
The Viola floweing in December and the cold has slowed the slugs down for a while.I wander if they go on holiday somewhere untill its warmer?

Orange Fire and Ice

First Frost that has iced the blades of grass.The road outside our house is icy and treacherous.

I feel relieved that it got that cold, because its been too mild i think.

I looked to see what was growing.The frost has cut a swathe through the garden.

I found a nasturtium flowering in December crazy!!

here is the orange/black nasturtium.Some beautiful colour in a frosty bare garden.My bird bath has been broken by the wind.It snapped on the pole that holds it up.The bird feeders have been broken too.

Desolation and destruction in December!!

December blues

I cant believe I have left it for two weeks between posts.My new post is mainly about life...

The photo is a beautiful sun setting, behind the tree's recently after an early shift on my way home...

Winter blues are here. Only the anemones remain stubbornly holding on. The only thing of hope is buds on the Forsythia, and Lilac tree.

The grass has stopped growing.It has been wet and windy, but not that cold really. I worry about the spring bulbs.

Things have been difficult at home, so my gardening pics and posts have dropped off. Things change, like the seasons, nothing is static.

I posted all the comments, then somebody reminded me of the chilling week has turned into I dont know how long.

I will endeavour to post something, the snappy gardener may be moving location to Wakefield. A new flat or house, and new garden I hope. Even if there is not I will keep up the green work. Garden for people at work maybe.

I hope all your gardens are growing.I must remind myself I love gardening, and growing things. And that despite lifes best efforts to trip us up we must remain true to ourselves.

Green fingers, green blood.The earth heals us, and connects us to the rhythms of life even when we feel disconnected from them.

I will take some garden pics tomorrow, for posterity sake.Thanks for all the comments!

Chilling week

I have been chilling at home on my week off.Not a lot to do in the garden.I am content to watch the leaves fall from the Cottinus, and the Forsythia.

The windowsills are full of plants growing too.I have been reading other blogs too.

See whats growing in other gardens.The days are shorter in terms of daylight, and getting colder.

What is scary is some people have already put their Christmas decorations on the front of the house.

Hope all your gardens are growing on, even with winter approaching :)

Garden shots

Red Autumn leaves..














Brown mushroom in long border..














Nasturtium flower beneath the frost bitten list..

Viburnum flowers..

The Viburnum flowers. They dont smell on this particular plant. The flowers are so gorgeous with five sided petals, and airy bits sticking up.

Sad Viola

Viola has been chomped.This was the only flower i could see on the long border.The yellow centre is like a rising sun.Damn your eyes slugs and snails!!

Lunching on a thing of beauty :(

Smoke bush red and orange

Audrey plant Update

The mystery plant growing on.On the kitchen windowsill.I thought it looked like the Kalancoe but the leafs have straight edges, whereas that has serratted edged.

If it is a Sedum I need to see if it flowers before it can be I.D'd.

They are shiny and succulent like the leafs, growing in a rosette pattern from the centre.

I guess it was some kind of bird drop! Into the soil where it took root and started growing.

The roots are like big top tent roots angling down into the soil.The brown stem maybe was a flower stalk? I love mysteries and i hope to find out what it is i'm growing on the windowsill.

Fireworks!

This tree is an explosion of orange/yellow/brown growing in the hospital.
Im amazed how trees know when to take the chlorophyll away and turn their leaves into a spectacular show of colour before dropping them.
Natures own firework show, regular cycle of growth, colouration, then falling.
The november sunlight makes the leaves dance a last tango.
I love the photo :)

Anemones

Who cant adore these brilliant red Anemone pictures? They are all of the same flower from bud to explosion of crimson glory!
One shows the liquorice all sorts blue sweet, centre.They are the last flowering plant in November.The busy lizzies look tired, with faded red to pink colours.These are bald and bright!

Tomatoes in November

Tomato plant flower, second attempt at posting it!!

The yellow flower is lit like a stained glass window with sunlight.It was suprisingly sunny for November with a blue sky, and a cold wind.

The Tomato's growing in the windowsill still.I have moved the late volunteer inside too to try and get it to grow a tomato to guess what its parents were..

Autumn Light

Another Autumn pic of a tree with yellow leafs.The light streaming through the branches.
Have two more shifts to work before a week of relaxation gardening and violin playing :)

Essence of the plants

Beautiful unknown flowering shrub growing along the road that I walk down to go to the bus station.

I am always looking now for pictures to take with an eye for blogging the results.

I retook an IQ test yesterday and scored highly on the english words, and with spatial awareness and visualisation.

I put it down to taking photos and looking at the results.Only the best pics or most atmospheric make it through the editing stage.

To display a half dozen I may take about fourty or fifty.

November seems to be wet and windy, but not cool.Im between shifts so more posts tomorrow after my early start.

The flowers look like little white stars.I will have to sniff them tomorrow on the way past to see if they are fragrant. I like to look at, feel, sniff, touch, all the plants and flowers. To take in the essence of the flower, ready to try to describe it.A picture is worth a hundred words though!

Hope all your november gardens are growing on, and that you are all planning for next year with blogs, tv, and seed/plant catalogues.I know I am :)

Camelia Joys and Tribulations

The Camelia bush.It is evergreen the leafs, with gorgeous shiny surfaces.I just want to polish them!

This year I think they flowered in January.Beautiful pink flowers..

The only problem i had was the red camelia has stubbornly refused to flower.I have added pine leaves to make the soil more acidic.Fed them Ericaceous plant food.Fingers crossed.

They have been with me for two years. I think about moving them but feel nostalgic and leave them.Even when they dont flower.

They contrast to the large dusty miller on their right side, and the gnome solar light on the left!!

I hope they can both flower next year.Expect lots of pics!!

Smelling the roses

New growth on the rose bush.The colour is a mixture of burgundy and green.I want some David Austin roses for the Long border.I love the foliage, the thorns, and the flowers.Especially if they are scented.No wander roses have been grown for thousands of years.They touch us on many levels.

I dream of being in a rose garden, watching the bee's, and surrounded by the scents and sights of the flowers.Even when they pass their flowering perfection the shape changes of the flower, and other colours come out.

Cara moving...

Spoooky, ghostly Cara floating away on the grass.The under gardener.

Hollandia

Anemone with a red napkin like flower.I could set it on a dinner table.

Violin and Glad's

Hannah reminded me that i am a procrastinator.My gladiolus need digging up for the winter sleep indoors.
http://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2006/11/corm-on-in-storing-gladiolus-corms.html
I played the violin today for a few hours. As winter moves in Garden jobs get less and less.I will practise that more and more.
I cleaned up the rubbish that the wind had blown down, uprighted a few pots. The glads can come out tomorrow.
The seedlings of the pansys are growing on nicely, i wander what colour the flowers will be :)
The hollyhocks have all wilted, from eighteen to two..Im not hopeful they will survive the winter lay off.
I cant believe how mild it is for November.Im worried now whether the spring bulbs will be as vigerous.They need a cold snap to get going!
My white birch tree is nearly bald, all the leaves are scattered in the borders and in the grass.
More pics soon, i took a few today.As the flowers lessen I will get arty with the photos!!

Cute Cat posing

Tia maria sitting on her purple cushion and watching me for signs of food!

Cara went out this morning.She is keeping an eye on the garden for me.

November flowers today..

Busy lizzie cajun great balls of fire.The colours have lightened to pink now.














Anemone de caen Hollandia, flower bud..











November, and the strawberry plants are flowering..

Light Contrasts in November

Autumn moments

The silver birch tree in November sunlight.




















The tree lined road upto the hospital.The grounds have hundreds of tree's and shrubs.They have resident squirrels, blackbirds, and magpies!



















Carpet of leaves fallen in the hospital grounds..




















Love the colour of this tree's leaves, at the hospital grounds..













The side entrance to Pinderfields with the clock tower on it. Stormy November clouds.

Service of Remembrance

Yesterday was Remembrance day, but today was service of remembrance at the Cenotaph led by the Queen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6140592.stm

Even today The guns are still sounding in Iraq, and Afghanistan, making the service even more poignant.

Here people have worn their poppies with pride, even when the liberals suggested forgetting our war veterans, and fallen soldiers from all countries.

The image was swiped from the BBC.The poppies amongst the crosses.

Between Work Post :)

The euphorbia has magic colours even in November.












Nasturtium, contrasting to the grey box.

Plants in November

Monarda Lambada still flowering in November..smells like sage...



















Colours of the Euphorbia.














Erysimum hanging on by a thread..














Lavender plant, it still smells divine!

Jewels and November gold

Little Jewels, rain drops caught in a spiders web at the base of the coal shed.The light highlights them..

The Busy lizzie flower catching the november sun in its red petals.

I have eight busy lizzies over wintering.I love the colour of these.Will take cuttings tomorrow..

More November gold, this was my attempt to take a hosta off shoot for my sister.She declined though saying she did not like a plant that died back over the winter beneath the soil.I think its a magical quality.Like a phoenix from golden ashes and rising in the spring fresh and green!!

Healing Earth

Pictured left it Monty Don. What i would like for xmas is his new book called growing out of trouble. In the course of his amateur gardening, then writing he found that growing things made him feel better.
He writes on his site the Monty Project:

"Many years ago I had a dream in which I sunk my fingers into the warm soil where they took root and grew deep into the rich earth.I awoke with a profound sense of strength and happiness and the sense of being rooted in the earth has remained with me ever since.... I have an absolute belief that the earth heals"

He says the world has become removed from the process of tending soil and growing food. The idea was formed to make a project where people in trouble with the law, and addictions should form a group to grow homegrown produce, to rear livestock on a six acre site. They then could sit around a table, and eat the food. It is a process of engaging people who have become disengaged from the communities they live in. To try to inspire them to a cleaner, less dangerous way of living. To become acquainted with the changing of the seasons. The meal is communal building, the healing is from the growing.
http://www.themontyproject.com/
He made a TV series not yet shown, and the book which is what I want for Xmas!!

It reminds me of the healing gardens of New York which I read about, but still have not seen. (Is it available on the Internet yet?It was a PBS film, but the problems of regionall DVD's and TV's meant I could have ordered a copy but not watched it when it got here).
Here is the Guardians review of the book:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/houseandgarden/0,,1939612,00.html
When I was searching for the Monty Don book I found a charity that uses gardening for people with disabilities. By enabling them, so they develop Abilities. Alas it is a London/Reading based charity but I will look for similar groups up here to try and spread the healing of gardening and growing..
http://www.thrive.org.uk/index.asp
I found it mad that two projects on different sides of the Atlantic are so similar. What I found in my garden, and what makes me blog as an expression of that.I do believe that gardens can heal, any effort in tending the earth.
Does anyone know of any similar projects where they live? Your links will be appreciated, and checked out.