Thursday, February 21, 2013

Rhubarb Festival Eve

   It is the start of Wakefield's Rhubarb festival tomorrow.It runs for three days in the centre of Wakefield with celebrity chefs cooking Rhubarb,and local food and drink suppliers opening stalls.It was well visited over the past two years, with Wakefield's connection to the Rhubarb triangle.There are warehouses full of groaning Rhubarb stalks growing by candlelight.It is a protected food item now.
  http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/RhubarbFestival/default.htm
 I will be going either tomorrow or on Saturday to buy some tender forced rhubarb,and to  enjoy the other stalls that will be there.Its going to be cold so I hope there is lots of hot food and drinks for sale.
 I bought two new lots of Rhubarb to grow up at the allotment.I will dig up the old crowns and replace them with these young plants once they have grown a bit.I have two younger crowns that are growing away now between the grasses and weeds!
  Cat put the new wheelbarrow together this morning.I used it to ferry five bags of horse manure up to the allotment.It was cold and muddy but not too bad for weeds.The raised beds will benefit from the organic material that I will dig in prior to the end of March.
 I bought two bunches of Daffodils from Asda.When i went to work on Wednesday morning they were all closed.When Cat got up two hours later they had all opened en Mass!Did they all release a chemical signal for every flower to open together?
 They have a fragrant musty scent that fills the conservatory.The gardens Daffodils are still growing and a few weeks away from flowering.Daffodils are the flower of Wales and my name sake Saint David.I love how they make me feel after long wet winter.
 Flowers in bloom always cheers me up.I bought these mixed Tulips from Asda a few days ago.I looked at photos of multicoloured fields of Tulips growing in Holland.
   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningpicturegalleries/9847353/Aerial-photographs-of-tulip-fields-in-the-Netherlands-by-Normann-Szkop.html
I wander if these flowers originated there before being sent to Britain.They are like a Rembrandt picture.
The last flowers I want to share are the Snowdrops that are growing in the front garden under the window.These were here when we moved in.I am always surprised that they bloom in February before disappearing underground for ten months.It was too cold for them to open today.The petals were held tightly shut.
 It has got cold again today.February always lulls us into thinking spring is near and then the artic winds and snow come back with a vengeance.At least I have some flowers to keep my spirits up.

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