Hedgerow in spring

I always find hedgerows fascinating.  When you come across a proper English hedgerow, six foot high and three foot wide, it is a thing of real beauty.  We explored such a hedge last weekend in Devon, it was mainly made up of hawthorn, hazel, holly and oak. 

At this time of year, the trees and shrubs are growing very rapidly, the ferns and bracken are starting to unfurl and a huge number of wild flowers are scattered through the hedge.

Red campion

Stitchwort

Bluebells

Everything is sweet and fresh and so very very green.  The birds are chattering in the hedges and trees and all seems new.  I am still trying to improve my knowledge of wild flowers...

Unfurling fern

Primrose

Cow parsley

Wood spurge

In amongst all the flowers are a huge variety of insects.  Even in our own garden, we are constantly amazed at the variation, you can never keep up with it all.  In a hedge, it is its own ecosystem, everything is here.

Some kind of fly

A caterpillar?

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

William Blake

Little star and Little brown one

Now that it's spring, all kinds of birds that visit our garden here at Hazel Cottage are making more noise, and there is no bird noisier than the common starling.  We have been watching them closely and we have heard some quite remarkable sounds!  I never realised how much they mimic other birds - we heard a bird of prey followed by the quack of a duck today which sounded rather funny.

 

Starling and winter jasmine in our garden

 

Starlings are often seen as noisy and swaggering birds, which is probably true, but they are quite remarkable.  They are acrobatic in flight, you only have to see the photos of the wonderful murmurations in the countryside to see that.  We often see a little group at our bird table, squabbling and chattering amongst themselves and slightly intimidating the otherwise bullish woodpigeons. 

We've been learning more also about the Dunnock.  Its name means 'little brown one' and it is one of the unobtrusive birds in the garden, usually quietly hopping amongst the undergrowth.  For such a small, generally quiet bird it has many names, hedge sparrow, accentor as well as dunnock.  This time of year of course, the dunnock is singing beautifully - I think this year is the first time  I've heard it sing and known what it was. 

Dunnock in a small hazel sapling

Two common birds in the garden, but by watching them more closely we've learned quite a lot about them and probably learned to appreciate them more.  The weather this week has been bright and lovely and great weather for taking pictures as well as gardening.  I'm very pleased with how the garden is coming along, and we haven't reached the height of spring yet.

Today in the garden

Rare as hen's teeth

Today was one of those seemingly rare things, a sunny and warm Easter Bank Holiday.  I always equate bank holidays with watching old black and white films whilst the rain pours all day outside.  Today after a non-descript Easter weekend weather wise, it was sunny, warm and clear for most of the day.

The flowering currant is now resplendent with its pink flowers.  Looking from one end of the garden to the other, you can see the pink of the currant next to the warm yellow of the forsythia.

The weeds or wild flowers are growing apace as well.  We now have speedwell growing in our lawn.  Luckily our garden isn't manicured and perfect, we rather like wild flowers unless they choke everything else!

For some reason we also have chives growing in a shady corner of the lawn as well.  Which makes a change from moss I guess.  It was wonderful to spend hours outside, looking at everything growing and listening to the birds singing.  The last week has been very busy at our local church and preparing for various social occasions at home.  I even helped our flower ladies with a few displays.

I'm sure most people would think me crazy, but when it comes to Easter, I do like to make an effort decorating the house with flowers.  And eggs and chicks!

I also enjoy making a simnel cake with home made marzipan.  This year's simnel cake went particularly well I think.  It was very tasty.

I do hope you have all had a good Easter weekend.  I would love to hear how you celebrated.

Awake, thou wintry earth

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”

 

A day off and some lovely time gardening.  The weather was changeable; cool in the shade, suddenly warm and lovely when the sun made a rare appearance.  We are trying to tidy up the garden before spring completely arrives.  There are definite signs of spring starting now.  A shrub I've had for a few years is flowering for the first time, it is quite exquisite, but I'm not sure what it is. 

 

Can anyone name this shrub?

 My spring garden is starting to look pretty.  The daffodils are in bud and the primroses and primulas are in full flower.  Tulips and bluebells are further behind, hopefully to greet us in April and May.

Mr C has planted his garlic and is now planting onion sets.  Garlic did well in the garden the last time we tried it, so hopefully we will have a glut.

Garlic

We are also planting several fruit bushes - here are three gooseberry plants, and we have two blackcurrants and a further redcurrant.



Gooseberries

The acid yellow of the spurge or Euphorbia is quite startling and cheers up the garden, most of which is still quite dormant.

 

I may need to make a trip to the garden centre to find another couple of these, they look really good the whole year.  I'm really keen to get on with growing flowers this year, I just need to thwart the slugs and snails!

 

 

In small pockets of the garden however colour and fragrance are appearing. From now onwards, the garden will only get more lush and green and I just cannot wait! 

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Glimpses of spring?

Walking in woodland in Devon last weekend we saw a few signs that Spring may be on its way.  March is always a strange month, often you can get several warmer sunnier days and then suddenly the wind rises and the ice and snow appear again.  It is certainly too early to plant very much.  I did notice in Devon the daffodils are starting to come out, so in a week or two ours should appear.  In the meantime, in the woodland and at Hazel Cottage, the snowdrops are charming us.

Funghi doesn't seem to be quite so fussy about temperature as the flowers.  We saw this rather impressive tree funghi.  Does anyone know which one it is?

The primroses are coming up with their dainty pale yellow flowers.

“O fairest flower, no sooner blown but blasted, Soft silken primrose fading timelessly.”

John Milton

 The winter aconites were still plentiful if you knew where to find them.

We also spied the beginnings of ramsons or wild garlic.  Not yet ready to pick, but in a month it should be everywhere!

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
Anne Bradstreet

The Darkling Thrush and friends

As winter continues onwards towards a hopeful Spring, we have seen some interesting visitors in our garden.  We are so pleased that we regularly see about fifteen different bird species at Hazel Cottage.  Many of the relatively new arrivals such as the sparrows and starlings have become very regular in the last months.  We are also seeing more of the collared doves.

 

 

 

We are both trying to learn more about birds.  I'm pretty certain I can tell the difference between the sound of a collared dove (coo-coooo-coo) and a woodpigeon (coo-coooo-coo-coo-coo).  It is all rather subtle written down like that, but more obvious when you hear it, honestly.

 

We were excited to see this chap the other day.  At first from a distance I thought it was a female blackbird or a starling, but it moved very differently, and had longer legs. 

 

Luckily he moved far closer to the back door, and for once I had the camera to hand.  Wandering around our lawn was a thrush!  We don't remember ever seeing one in our garden before, although we have often wished for a flock of them to deal with our slug and snail population.

 

It is always great to see a new bird in the garden.  We are also seeing a lot of what we discovered was a Black Cap these last few weeks.  He seems to be on the feeder every day now, and Mr C zoomed in madly the other day to discover him sat in a hedge with our resident robin.

Much as I have enjoyed this winter far more than the last, we are both looking forward to Spring enormously.  The days are lengthening now and the daffodil leaves are peaking above the ground, so even if Spring isn't here, it seems at least a possibility.

"Surely as cometh the Winter, I know
There are Spring violets under the snow."
-  R. H. Newell

Fighting against nature

It has been very cold since January has changed to February.  Every day is cold and often windy, making it feel bitter and we even had a little snow yesterday.  Our wood burner has really been installed in the best possible winter.  It has made such a difference to the cosiness and warmth in our little house.

The other morning I took a photograph of the back garden and the light was very strange and blue. It seems rather apt considering how cold I felt!

 

"There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.  It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance."
William Sharp

It is so easy to want to stay at home and hibernate this time of year.  Going out of the house each morning to work has been a bit of a struggle!  We have been trying to make sure we do still go out and do things in the cold weather.  We went to visit Winchester Cathedral the other day, and in spite it being the cathedral I know best I still found some angles and features I'd not noticed before.

The Nave

Light from a window coming in onto a pillar

Guardian Angels Chapel

The cathedral was rather busy as it was an open day, but when you look upwards you can see a place of great beauty and stillness.  I've loved the guardian angels chapel for many years now, I remember being amazed at the 13th century angels heads on the roof.

This winter has been good for going on lovely wintry walks.  The frost and the mist has been rather beautiful.  Such a constrast to last winter which was windy and filled with torrential rain.

Low sunshine and shadows

Frost

Frost close up!

"Come when the rains
Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,
While the slant sun of February pours
Into the bowers a flood of light. Approach!
The incrusted surface shall upbear thy steps
And the broad arching portals of the grove
Welcome thy entering."
-  William Cullen Bryant, A Winter Piece