Wordpress

I have succeded in moving the whole of this blog, with the exception of a few of the things in the side bar, to a new plant centred blog on Wordpress.

If you click this link you will go to the new blog. It is separate from my textile blog and exists independently of it, so if you have been one of the 5000 odd people who came by here last year, thank you so much. It has been wonderful to share with you and I would love to see you again on the transferred blog.

Please update you blogroll reference if you have one.

There will be no further postings here......

parrot feathers!

Well after the lovely comments you ladies left me, how can I not continue? So I present you with a gift of colour.

This is a tulip and I think the variety is Texas Flame. I adore the gaudiness of these flowers. I don't always like my flowers flamboyant-especially in my own garden, but I have a real soft spot for these extravagant tulips. I understand completely why there was tulip mania in the seventeenth century, and huge sums of money were paid for tulip bulbs. Who would be able to resist, if you belonged to the aristocracy?

These "flamed" tulips, are sometimes called Rembrandt tulips after the Dutch artist and although he didn't paint them, other seventeenth century Dutch artists did.

The bi-colouration was initially the result of the plants being infected by tulip mosaic virus which caused the solid colours to "break", but now they are more likely to result from the experiments plant breeding . However they are caused, I always think they resemble parrots' feathers.
If you click on the lower picture, you will see a tiny spider on the top petal. It must be my signature creature.

Tinkering with this

It was my one year Blog Anniversary here last week-although it went unmarked on this blog as I mentioned below, I have moved over to Wordpress. In the course of writing briefly about my one year here, I linked back to my first post and in doing so, rediscovered the thoughts and feelings I experienced when writing it.
For some time I have though about deleting this blog completely, but like the things that grow in my garden, I can't destroy something which still has value to me, which is still to my eyes beautiful.
So I am perhaps going to do a little pruning and a little sowing and see where we go.

moving out

I have not been posting here for a few days now because I am in the process of moving blogs. I am slowly combining the 2 blogs I have on Blogger-this one and spinning yarns-on the side bar- to a new blog at

threadspider.wordpress.com

If you regularly stop by, please update your bookmarks and if it is the botanical side of my life you are interested in, look for me on the page called the greener side at the top of the blog.

Thank you all for visiting me here and I look forward to welcoming you in my new quarters very soon.

Garden tour

I have been a little remiss with posting for the last week, but would like to invite you to a quick tour around the garden now.


The pocket handkerchief size of my blessed (fraction of an) acre is best seen from one of the bedroom windows. The little pond where the frogs continue to spawn is top right of the picture, beneath where the Autumn cherry is blossoming. It always does better in Spring. These frogs seem to have joined a silent monastic order, unlike the Pacific chorus frogs, mentioned here.

Same view from ground level- the daffodils are wearing their golden robes to great effect. One of the smaller ones is this little beauty, complete with a slug chew mark. They've started already.


I can't remember the variety.


These lovely purple crocus have opened in the last two days-they are still in the unspoiled stage. I do like crocuses, but wish they lasted a little longer. Such is the transience of beauty.

And in the summer perennials bed, where the fennel has started into growth, a tiny multi- headed jonquil type daffodil is just coming into flower.

A walk to the allotment, where the soil is very wet after the recent heavy rains, has produced a burst of rhubarb growth. Hooray, not long now until the first rhubarb crumble.