I'm back home safe and sound from my winter walking adventure in Yorkshire and Cumbria. It'll take a few days more to sort through all the photos and come up with some wordsandwordsandwords. In the meantime ..... A few weeks ago, I posted some photos of blue tits using the bird feeders at the Priory. … Continue reading Beaky and the Nest Boxes
Gardening
A Year Of Blogging
The Anxious Gardener is one year old! Hardly seems possible - but it is. During the dark and cold days of January 2011, I began to think idly about starting a blog. Didn't know why particularly ... still don't. But I did think that it might help my brain from atrophying (jury's still out on … Continue reading A Year Of Blogging
Desuckering Alders and Pollarding Willows
At this time of year, I have to remove all the suckering growth from the alders and the willows that ring the ponds and line the ditches. The suckers grow from the base of each of the alders ... ... in the Priory gardens but they also grow from the stumps of felled trees. These … Continue reading Desuckering Alders and Pollarding Willows
I Love My Seed Boxes
There I've said it. Does that make me weird? Well, so be it. It's just that they hold such promise. Such potential. Opening one is always a pleasure and a reminder of what can be (and conversely, of what wasn't to be). But I do find that the seed box itself has to be interesting … Continue reading I Love My Seed Boxes
Mosty Frorning
I mean ... oh, never mind ... you know what I mean. After a warm, wet winter here in Southern England, last week we were finally hit by some hard and decent frosts. I like frost. I like how it punctuates the year and zaps all that can't survive freezing temperatures. I like the scrunchiness … Continue reading Mosty Frorning
The Relief of Mattocking
In one of the two Kidney Beds (so named because of their shape) is a large cornus. They are generally grown for the colour of their stems in winter. I personally wouldn't have put one into a formal border as they're pretty much a one trick pony. Colourful stems and ... that's it. Not a … Continue reading The Relief of Mattocking
Mulching The Beds
The simplest task in the garden can be so pleasing, don't you think? It is easy to transform something that is assuredly past its best into something full of promise. Take this aquilegia for example: Just pull away all the dead growth (it comes away easily), and you reveal ... ... the bunched up tiny … Continue reading Mulching The Beds
The Anxious Gardener 