How I remember and learn about new plants with a terrible memory!

Hello again

As I write I'm looking out at the sunshine - a rare sight- and Molly my spring spaniel is snoozing on the sofa behind me. I can hear her gentle breathing, its so peaceful.

As you may already know I have my own cottage gardening business and every winter I try to build up my knowledge of plants. In particular because I'd like some gorgeous new plants to recommend to my clients next year.

The photo above is todays best find - its Snapdragon - La Bella Rose. Good enough to eat!

Its fairly easy to find new plants to love - I read cottage gardening books, look at photos, browse nursery catalogues and the Royal Horticultural Society Plant Finder database.  As I browse, one lovely plant leads me to other ideas to follow up on.

As we live in an area with clay or loam soil and winters can be freezing I look for plants that are very hardy - at least H6 I prefer on the RHS scale and that are OK in clay or loam soil. I look for beautiful colours and also interesting leaves. I also am looking for the plant to be beautiful to look at for as much of the year as possible.


Its quite easy to find the plants - but its learning about them and remembering what I learn that is a problem. So I find I have to read and write down the information as many times as possible and put the information about the plants in a "database" I've set up.

My "database" is really just a set of Word documents with a table  - each row is a different plant, there are columns for the plants needs and what it has to offer me.  See the picture below. My database has grown so large I have split it into separate word documents - so one for Roses, one for small front of border plants, etc.

First I scribble down some pencil notes as I read about the plant. Then I look it up on the RHS website or elsewhere online and note as many details as I can find including where I can buy it. To get a picture of the plant I screen shot the page on the internet. (hold down the control key on your keyboard then press the prtsc button. Paste into Microsoft Paint programme. Then I cut out a section of the picture from Paint into my database.  Then I type my handwritten notes into the table.

I might then transfer some of the plants I find into lists I keep of possible new plants for my clients or my own plant wish list (which is very long).

By this some what drawn out method - I have read and written about the details of each plant many times which is what helps it stick in my memory.

As I do my research I am also thinking and learning - for example I might like  a particular plant - for example Hemerocallis, the day lily but realise that the plant only flowers for a short part of the year and the rest of the year the leaves don't have particular interest to my mind. You are of course free to disagree!

The above may begin to explain the title of my blog - "Quirky" refers to my Aspergers!

Sorry if I've bored you today - but hope you like today's plant find.

Caroline
xx

Snow and ice outside – but I’m inside eating homemade soup and bread watching Gardener’s World.

Coming back home into the warm I decided to make some soup and bread – just the thing for such a cold day. I love making soups – and being a skinflint this is a lovely cheap one.

Here is the recipe

1 white onion – chopped roughly and cooked quite gently in a generous knob of butter until golden and soft.

Add approx. 900g frozen peas – the cheapest ones and a few florets of frozen broccoli, 4 Lincoln Q)uorn sausages sliced, a desert spoon of garden mint – mine was in the freezer from last summer. Its nice to find a use for it. The add 1.2 litres boiling water, 2 vegetable stock cubes, some black pepper. Bring to the boil, simmer for around 20 minutes. Liquidise about 700ml of the soup well (try not to put quorn sausage slices into the liquidiser pot though. Mix back into the un-liquidised soup.

Now for the recipe for the bread –

1 kg white flour – I used spelt flour as it was on offer at Aldi (I promise you I don’t have shares in Aldi, just good food cheap)

2 sachets fast action yeast Aldi don't sell these at the moment - I had to go to the COOP next door.

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon salt

Mix all the above ingredients well

Knob butter melted in 300 ml whole or semi skimmed milk then made up to 1.3 litres  with boiling and cold water to make lukewarm temperature.  Stir into the dry ingredients mix well. Leave to stand for a few minutes to let the flour soak up the liquid. This makes it easier to knead.

Knead for around 5 minutes – you might need to squeeze and pull it more than you would ordinary flour if you are using Spelt flour as I did as the dough doesn’t feel the same.

Cut in half roll in flour, and place each half in a 2 pound pre-greased bread tin. Place in airing cupboard or other warm, draught free place for about 45 minutes.

Place in a preheated oven – mine is a fan oven and I put it on 180 degrees. Cook for 45 minutes. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes or so then tap the tin around the sides and turn out onto a rack to cool. Cover with a clean tea towel.

Finally do what I have just done – indulge in big bowl of the soup with rather to much of the warm bread covered in real butter while watching Gardener’s World. Very cosy!

Keep in touch , I’d love to hear your news

Caroline

xx

Molly and Lemon Zest Marigolds

Dear Reader

How are you today.

Here near Cambridge Molly, my Springer Spaniel and I went out for a walk as soon as it got light. There’s been a very hard frost on partially melted snow. On the recreation ground huge snowmen stood to remind me of heavy the snow waswe had two days ago. My lovely warm but definitely not glamourous too big for me muckboots kept my feet warm and gripped the rough frozen snow. Molly and I went out down a track past fields and around an old orchard. The sun rose as we walked – a large red ball. Very cheering.

Back home I wrote my Christmas cards for my clients enclosing a packet of lemon zest marigold seeds for their gardens for next year. I may just have sneaked an extra packet in the order for me. I found these on the Sutton’s Seeds website  - I love pale yellows and they will look lovely next to my purple sage, Silvery cat mint and blush pink Penelope rose.

Take care

Caroline

xx

 

Feeding the birds on a budget

Dear Reader

How are things with you? Hope you are OK.

Here (near Cambridge in the UK) its been snowing, its really cold and wet too - I do feel sorry for the birds. Seeds are usually so expensive so for the last few years I've been feeding the birds Aldi's porridge oats - scattered on the ground or on a tray with drainage - seems really popular.

Also popular - and for me - free - is any apples I've been storing that are too small for me to use or have started rotting a little. I've put them under shrubs or at the base of fences where they are a little sheltered and they've been attracting many blackbirds. A bonus is that the apples add a little colour to the scene with splashes of red.

If you have any tips of feeding the birds cheaply - please do let me know - I'd love to hear from you.

Lots of love

Caroline
xxx

p.s - I'm so glad I scattered the apples all around the flower borders as it has stopped too many fights between the birds over the apples.





















Keywords: Blackbird, bird, winter, feed, oats, frugal, cheap, apple, left over, free, wildlife, garden

Introducing Molly - my springer spaniel

Dear Readers

I hope you are well and enjoying the many inches of snow that have fallen today near Cambridge, England - the first this year. My little dog Molly  a black and white springer was so excited she raced around with tail wagging furiously this morning wrapped up well in her little fleece lined coat which she hates me putting her on . When we got back she was zipped up in her towelling bag which she hates even more but at least got her dry. Her heat lamp on maximum and a hot bowl of milky sweet barleycup went down well with her though.

I wouldn't be without her, but there was as time when she was not yet one year old when we nearly had her put down, she was behaving threateningly, staring and warning biting our hands - without breaking the skin though. We called out a dog psychologist - who took a look at her and said - "basically you have a fox there" she hasn't been socialised at all either with houses, people or dogs.

From what the breeder told us she was an only pup in the litter - taken off the mum at a few weeks old and isolated in a kennel on her own until we came and found her at 5 months old. She appeared hyper sociable but once back home with us this turned into fear.

We'd had a pair of springers before and thought we knew how to handle them. But after talking to the psychologist we had to relearn everything. She appeared to crave fuss but actually was just appeasing us - the more we fussed - the more she appeased us - the more we interpreted this as wanting more fuss. We had to just let her be - stop looking at her - which also frightened her - and if we did have to at her we had to break eye contact regularly - blinking for example. We had to label actions so she could predict what we were about to do. So for example if I was going to put her lead on - I had to say "lead" as I leaned down towards her. So no longer did she feel I was randomly lunging down to her. We also said "fuss " whenever she was stroked  and various other things. This worked very well. We also minimised contact with her - giving her lots of down time. Almost like she had social anxiety. Down to one walk a day too.

Today she is lovely, she introduces herself to all we meet on walks, dogs and people alike. She keeps me company during the day - she'll sit on the sofa next to me and lean briefly, then have a happy graunge on her back asking me to tickle her tummy. But I have to keep the latter brief. She will then usually go straight to her bed on the floor nearby to sleep Unlike me last springers who loved nothing better than snoozing one either side of me while I watched tv. Having a dog either side of you is so physically comforting I found. I miss that.

I think the main thing the psychologist (Kendal Sheppard) did for us is to explain how anxious she is  - so I used gentleness, positivity with rewards and labelling. It took a few years to really get there, but now I love her very much - I'm glad I never had her put down.

Brainwave

Dear Reader

Its winter and I do get frustrated with our relatively modern house - almost every window has a heater underneath it which does not make keeping house plants or outdoor plants needing protecting from the frost very easy.

One south facing window does have cacti on it - including a few grown from seed - they are happy enough.

Some of the other window's I keep old fashioned geraniums (pelargoniums) on - reds, whites, and some variegated ones. All in terracota pots on old blue and white saucers. This year I've discovered that seaweed extract for tomatos is a very cheap way to feed my indoor plants. My geraniums are looking the best they ever had in spite of the blast of heat from below! On my wish list are scented geraniums for next year.

However, to get round to my brainwave! I was in Emmaus, Cambridge - a homeless charity  - and I spotted a second hand glass display cabinet - glass doors, glass sides and shelves and a mirror back - I've put it in our  front porch which gets some sun and a little heat from the hall. I've put in it lots of plants that won't survive the frost. There is an "umbrella plant" ( a gift from a client) , some succulents, two cyclamen, some crocus bulbs in pots that are just emerging. But a recent purchase is perhaps my favourite. Its from South Africa and really does look grass edged with frost.

I do enjoy seeing the cabinet full of colour and life whilst everything outside is fading away for the winter.  I have seen a photo on pinterest of someone using a similar cabinet outdoors - blending it in with plant pots over and in front - a very cheap greenhouse and moveable for other seasons. Its also an excuse to keep buying plants to make the best display.

Lots of love, take care
Caroline
x

Winter reading and Winter Colour.

Hi there

Thank you for dropping by! I love winter! Not the grey sky or the freezing cold or even being outside some days. No, I love the chance to think, read and plan. By the end of each autumn I'm physically tired and a bit jaded to be honest. This is my second year working as a gardener. Both winters I have treated myself to some inspirational books on gardening. This year I bought, for bargain prices:

Geoff Hamilton's Practical Gardening course


"Life in a Cottage Garden" by Carol Klein. 

 and  "The Cottage Gardener's Companion" 

 The Geoff Hamilton Book is excellent, I'm so glad I bought it - from the basic to the complex but all explained well and in such a way that it really sinks in as he makes sure you really understand the principles behind everythings. Lots of big photos!

The Carol Klein book just has such lovely photos and descriptions which make you want to buy every plant she talks about! I'm also guilty of putting the odd bit of highlighter on the text as there are some really good tips in there too.

The Cottage Gardener's book I haven't started yet but I've had a quick peek and can't wait to start it - it looks like  a book for life for me!

3 more months of winter to finish them all! A bargain at under £20 for all three including postage, so much cheaper and so much more relaxing than a course! I can't wait to use what I've learned next year and my plant wish list is growing rapidly!

In the garden a few plants are still looking lovely, in spite of quite a few frosts. Cheering me up a little when I pull in the driveway. There are some orange marigolds which grew from seed sown late in summer, the leaves and flowers are still perfect.

 A nepeta with its silvery leaves still looking lovely and still has the odd flower on it. 

There is also a little yellow rose I bought for my husband's birthday in June and put in a pot I decorated with Zentangle for him. It wasn't happy in the pot so its now in my front garden, its leaves are untouched by winter and its still producing beautiful yellow roses. Its called Flower Power Gold.

Take care
Caroline
xx