tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65444571787639556242024-03-16T18:50:52.719+00:00The Nook - A Garden BlogThe Evolution of a small garden, lots of mistakes, lots of hard work, for those who love gardening.Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.comBlogger960125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-34915894731131636432024-02-23T14:41:00.000+00:002024-02-23T14:41:23.840+00:00WAITINGAs the years pass I think I look more like my father, then this morning I looked up from the sink in the bathroom at the mirror, at my reflection, and thought no, I look more like Sloth out of The Goonies!It rains and rains. There is really nothing I can do much in the garden as it is so wet. There are big bags of slate clippings waiting to go on the paths and another of topsoil. They are waitingDuncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-83167409354907138372024-02-08T16:26:00.000+00:002024-02-08T16:26:52.761+00:00THE WINTER GOES ON AND ON Oh-oh-oh-oh and it comes out here.There are moments when one holds one’s breath - R said to look out of the kitchen doors and there, in the rosemary bush ten feet away were five long-tailed tits. So I sit with my turmeric and ginger drink and listen to the one note samba from the sparrows outside the window. I presume they are getting ready to build a nest in the bathroom vent again. Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-39561216964036482782024-01-31T16:20:00.000+00:002024-01-31T16:20:55.436+00:00ISHA ISHA All fall down. What a name for a storm, and now Jocelyn. I mean perhaps Ruarri, or something?Floods and wind, the electric gate needs replacing, and now I have hearings aids I can hear every zephyr. Even the Berberis from Cally gardens has gone lopsided.R has been clearing up the flower beds and I have raked out the debris from the stream so now, hopefully, it will not spread Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-44508065815856353872024-01-14T16:51:00.000+00:002024-01-14T16:51:24.135+00:002024 AND TREES So here we are in 2024 and it is still raining, floods in the fields and squelch across the garden. At least we have survived the festive season, just.I have just found how difficult it is to type accurately when having the hiccoughs, am stil findin it ard.The garden is best left alone at the moment perhaps to avoid damage - when it is so wet.So a bit on trees, big trees. These I Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-48347577433592967752023-12-22T15:58:00.000+00:002023-12-22T15:58:01.944+00:00I’M DREAMING OF A dry Christmas, with no rain or snow or hail - actually no rain would be good.So Happy Christmas to all those in more balmy (barmy?) climes from Welly boot land.I have been rash and bought a small chainsaw for pruning and dealing with all the fallen wood after the snow. Unlike the banks we have lots of branches on the ground. So the stream is unblocked but the grass is so wet water runs Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-37357106738705957032023-12-13T14:29:00.000+00:002023-12-13T14:29:24.945+00:00WAAAAAATERSo the snow is all but gone - because of the RAIN!We now have floods, the stream in the garden has burst its banks and the fallen limb of the silver birch has landed in the flow causing a diversion. I suppose next we will have an ox-bow lake.So much is flattened by the snow and the broken branches will have to just lie where they fell for now. The electric gate decided not to work yesterday Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-83755118898161172972023-12-05T16:16:00.000+00:002023-12-05T16:16:50.178+00:00SNOOOOOOOW!Sorry for the delay with new blog but had no electricity nor landline, hence internet - reason below. Sometimes at this time of year when all is dreary and dark something happens to raise the spirits. Yesterday I looked out of our bedroom dormer and on the roof six feet away were two elegant grey wagtails and today I held a blue tit that had flown into the kitchen. Then I looked Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-44315401714361863932023-11-19T15:37:00.000+00:002023-11-19T15:37:22.600+00:00NON GARDENING It has been a while and all I have done in the garden is blow leaves around.We have been away to the south and whilst we were there storm Debi came visiting, flooding most of the local low lying land and cutting off the electricity for a time.SO wet it is better to stay off the garden, the gardener did not come and now we have a nasty cold so we are very cheerful!I sleep on my side most of Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-89067132697436604082023-11-04T17:00:00.000+00:002023-11-04T17:00:29.284+00:00HUNKERING DOWNIt is a dark and dreary night, something is nasty in the woodshed and SAD looms.Ladybirds everywhere looking for somewhere to spend the winter - inside and out, on windows and curtains, landing in my hair. So they know something about the coming winter that I do not?So, let me get rid of the autumn colours first -There, now that is done, for now. The cherries in fact have only just got going. TheDuncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-89351051520014486902023-10-22T16:15:00.000+01:002023-10-22T16:15:01.518+01:00WET WET WET I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes - well wearing wellies, so much rain it runs from the back field across the garden in sheets and streams.It is wetter than I can remember and the heap of twigs I call a bonfire is never going to light for November 5th even with loads of fuel and paper. I have cut back the shrubs hanging over the path to the upper garden and trimmed the Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-68816536091902607412023-10-14T16:24:00.000+01:002023-10-14T16:24:00.332+01:00WHEN IS A Garden not a garden, when it is a quagmire. Big decisions made. We can no longer manage all this two acre garden so - not really rewilding areas but just letting it go (unless, when it is done, we change our minds.)And we are not the only thing that is getting older, the shrubs threaten to be trees, and perennials insist on spreading, need dividing etc, bulbs get congested - snowdrops Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-16888360829355973192023-09-30T15:35:00.000+01:002023-09-30T15:35:47.029+01:00GETTING TRENCH FOOTIn fact storm Agnes which will amuse my sister as it is her first name though she never uses it. In fact she is Mrs Agnes Brown and I am sure she wishes she had got copyright on her name before someone in Ireland had the idea of pinching it.So sodden everywhere, no mowing, gardener scraped moss and liverwort off the hoggin path today, last damsons picked and the badger has been back.From theDuncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-73039627226405672632023-09-22T10:45:00.000+01:002023-09-22T10:45:31.154+01:00THISTLEDOWN Teacher - Right lad what is Thistledown?Lad - Er, sir, raining like hell?And boy has it been raining, so much the surface of the road in the village has risen and is partly blocked pushed up by water.Been to Connemara so no blog for a bit but gardener has trimmed the lower garden - a bit hard with it so wet. Paths flooded and the spring in the middle of the lawn has returned. I Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-70672067662077190182023-09-07T16:27:00.000+01:002023-09-07T16:27:37.872+01:00WAITING FOR The garden is very still, hot and humid, waiting. Mist in the morning - it seems a bit early for mellow fruitfulness.The lower garden pre strim is lush with paths in the long grass. There are a few wild flowers like the wild carrot but it does seem to be mostly grass - so much for yellow rattle.When the sun shines it is hot, 31C on Monday, and the doors in the extension are wide Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-56706500915720432382023-09-01T18:13:00.000+01:002023-09-01T18:13:29.026+01:00SEPTEMBER SONG Not the old 78 of The Goons but here we are again at the back end of the year, nights drawing in and the odd bird beginning to sing post moult.Where to start - some garden views - The white birches at the far end,The clearing in the top corner,The pond and shed.The path to the veg beds and the far garden. In the darkness behind the top shed above the path to the pond I Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-2406939772919517542023-08-20T14:40:00.000+01:002023-08-20T14:40:28.783+01:00ROTTEN BOTTOMFirstly and most important R is one of the winners of North Cumbria Scriptwriters, and her short play will be performed at the Theatre by the Lake next spring. Rotten Bottom is the gatepost at the hinge side of the electric gate so it is roped to the adjoining wall. I carefully capped so many posts to stop them rotting at the top so they re obligingly rotting at the bottom. (Whoops, a touch Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-20530769414130281042023-08-11T10:04:00.000+01:002023-08-11T10:04:02.598+01:00FLASH AHA! The other night it poured down. It is not often the pond goes muddy but silt has been washed across the garden to it. The planks that cross the stream have been washed out and much of the garden is STAY OFF.The temperature yesterday climbed to a lofty 15C - in midsummer. And now I have done something to my left shoulder. R went out to do some deadheading and stuff and came in again. The Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-11287002387853667062023-08-01T15:36:00.000+01:002023-08-01T15:36:26.091+01:00DAMPISH!!!!! The Med burns and we have drizzle, mizzle, rain and it is only in the teens Centigrade.(All images taken in the rain.)Much to do but the grass is sodden, trees drip down my neck and the stream, usually dry by now, is chunnering and splashing.We do have some sweet peas and a derelict cyclamen I stuck out in the rain before we went away is loaded with flowers. The weight of pears bends Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-81006330397444231732023-07-20T12:35:00.001+01:002023-07-21T08:17:58.493+01:00A SHAKE OF THE HEAD The cardoon is assailed and ailing, beset with aphids and stunted. The wilder garden is too wild and after the rain flattened grass. The buddleia is out with bees and butterflies - painted ladies, red admirals, small tortoiseshells and gatekeepers not to mention various whites so I won't. And there are bursts of colour here and there and in one or two other places.Though there areDuncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-5430237270063423042023-07-14T17:15:00.000+01:002023-07-14T17:15:23.147+01:00FOGEYING ONSo we are back from my reunion - 53 years after graduation down the 'Pool. Covid made us all three years older. And the Annabelle has collapsed in the rain, the grass still needs mowing, all the currants and raspberries are inside blackbirds and thrushes, and it all seems a bit surreal.One of the first things I do after returning to the garden is to walk around and note - what's died, Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-52225878040652043702023-07-07T14:42:00.000+01:002023-07-07T14:42:55.399+01:00WILDING ON Today our fortnightly gardener is here. The long grassed “wild” areas are gathering flowers. In the lower garden he has found places where deer have spent the night - presumably our roe deer. The weather has turned cool and damp and the redcurrants have all been eaten by the birds. The netted veg survive. I have pruned the redcurrants hard.The cardoon has black fly and will need treating Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-40103678514868285522023-06-27T15:02:00.001+01:002023-06-27T17:16:45.964+01:00SUNSET STRIPSo 77 is here, click click. I can comb my bald patch. As it is my birthday it is an overcast day with rain.Gardeners' World has said I should be thinning my carrots but as they have just germinated due to the drought and are about 1 cm high it is a bit early. The blackbirds are eating all the red and black currants and something has chewed its way into the squirrel proof seed feeder. We haveDuncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-6811153857314161582023-06-18T14:30:00.000+01:002023-06-18T14:30:55.197+01:00IT RAINED For a few minutes and then the sun came out. No measurable rain for a month and plants are dying, leaves are shrivelled and falling off some shrubs. At last it is a bit cooler. I have not lit the bonfire for fear of setting the whole place alight. The pond is low but we do have our borehole for watering. The mower will come back on Monday I hope. Seeds are not germinating and one Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-22864632048957295052023-06-10T12:08:00.000+01:002023-06-10T12:08:57.118+01:00PHEW! We are sitting outside the kitchen in the shade and its is 28C. We are in need of rain and fortunately have a borehole so I can water the garden a bit.The mower (the little one) has decided to stop and is going in to be seen to.The May blossom is over as is the hedge parsley - suddenly everywhere, then over. Here are a few images of it at its best -There is still a little hedge Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6544457178763955624.post-58181053019495561532023-05-28T17:36:00.000+01:002023-05-28T17:36:58.697+01:00WINTER TOLL We have lost so much this winter. One of our two cut leaved thornless hawthorns dead, one of our two native fuchsias dead, where is the big euphorbia wulfenii, the dahlias, the gunnera? We had mostly a mild winter but each time I go in the garden I ask myself where this or that plant has gone.I wish I could say the same for the goose grass, creeping buttercup and ever spreading wood avens. Duncan Darbishirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01674070617744673457noreply@blogger.com0