Wednesday 29 September 2021

Spring in a box

 Beautiful little viola seedlings have come through the post this morning from Thompson and Morgan, neatly packed in tiny individual plastic pots and promising so much for the Spring.   I have left my gardener a message on his answer phone saying please can he find time to come, empty my Summer bedding from the pots, replace the compost and plant out the violas, putting them either side of the front door, in full sun, so that they get at least a taste of a few fine, warm days (fingers crossed) before cooler weather sets in.   We can but hope.

In fact, that's what gardeners thrive one isn't it, hope?

Looking out of my computer room window as I type this, it is almost dark and it is but 7.15pm. In a month we shall be putting the clocks back an hour and then it will hardly be worth drawing the curtains and blinds back during the day.   Brrr, somehow the thought gets harder every winter doesn't it.   But let's not get downhearted - there is something to be enjoyed in central heating, in log fires (if you are lucky enough to have them) in log burners and in all things wintry.


26 comments:

hart said...

I think that hope is just what gardening is about. Maybe the squirrels won't find the bulbs this year, and, where I am, maybe they are right the deer don't eat this shrub.

Bovey Belle said...

Fingers x'd your gardener can get to you this week and plant up your Violas. I love their happy little faces.

My garden still has plenty of colour and I have made a start on tidying up the bits I can do. I've got lots of packs of bulbs to plant - anything is an improvement on the 3 Daffodils which came up last spring!

Bonnie said...

That is a beautiful Spring in a box! I'm sure you will get much enjoyment from them. It now gets dark a little after 7:00 PM here too and it seems like it changed so fast from the summer light. Your mention of putting our clocks back reminded me to look up the date for our time change. It is November 7th here and I have a feeling that date will arrive sooner than we would expect!

gz said...

I love violas..much more than pansies

Heather said...

I love violas. I love pansies too but they suffer dreadfully in winter whereas the violas seem to cope much better.
I was thinking exactly the same as you this evening when I looked up and saw it was dark by 7.30 and another month will see it dark by 6.30. I am well prepared for winter having treated myself to some lovely lambswool jumpers. Meanwhile I am enjoying the lovely fresh days we are having down here at present.

Tom Stephenson said...

Jack in the box?

Mary said...

I'm a viola lover too, and all pansies who resemble smiling faces. They always amaze with their long, cold winter sleeps, then perking up in spring until early summer when here it's just too hot for them.......me also!!!!
Hope your gardener comes - I could use him too if he's prepared to fly over, lol!
Mary x

the veg artist said...

I'm going to start planting up my pots of bulbs this weekend, doing half now and half in about 3 or 4 weeks time, to give myself months of colour - yes, hopefully! And I am thrilled to report a very small artichoke head on one of my plants, even though it is still only knee high. Seeing what it still hanging on in the garden is giving me a lot of pleasure at the moment.

CharlotteP said...

A woodburner is a very tempting thing...but now in my 60s, I'll stick with my convincing gas-powered one!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Charlotte - that is what I think. When my farmer was alive we had one on the farm and he cleaned it out every morning first thing - so I had all the pleasure and none of the chore.

Hart- over three years almost all of my two hundred tulip bulbs have -disappeared - probably to mice,

Anonymous said...

Raining here a lot which brings out the snails in the garden. I have so many of them and dislike poison pellets and can't abide the thought of crushing them, so I put them in the large household garden waste council bin, to have a good feed on discarded offerings before they're carted off - husband says word has got around the snail world that its an enormous smorgasbord at our cottage garden, in a district of a neat manicured shrubs or two, and a rose bush here and there.-Pam.

Joanne Noragon said...

It's dark earlier and earlier.

vic said...

I am always glad to see the days begin to get shorter and love the coolness of fall after all the heat and humidity that we have here in the Midwest. I'm generally glad to hang up my gardening tools and especially the rakes after all the leaf raking, shredding and mulching when I can begin to settle in for a restful winter. But sure as the world turns I'm straining at the bit once we begin to get a few warmish days in early March and always have the beginning of spring marked on my calendar and especially the start of Daylight Savings Time. There's just nothing like the change of seasons to keep a person centered and I wonder how people who live in warm places like Florida and California can stand to experience no difference between May and September. You'd think you would just get bored with the same weather all the year round with nothing different to look forward to.

thelma said...

The nearest garden centre is about a mile walk along the canal but violas are worth the walk, they used to seed themselves amongst the gravel on the drive way, minute stabs of happiness.

Derek Faulkner said...

Well the only thing I look forward too from now on, is next Spring. I loathe the winters with a vengeance - the constant cold and being weighed down with thick clothing, the wind, the short days and long, dark nights. It's always a difficult time for me for lots of reasons.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

At much the same time as you were writing the above I was squinting through the gathering gloom and planting up some winter pansies. I can look forward to winter at this time of year, though I know full well that I'll be fed up with it by about mid-January.

thelma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rachel Phillips said...

Some of your post is is pessimistic. I enjoy the time of October as Autumn, not Winter. I then dislike cold weather of November onwards but I put on extra layers of clothes, including at least two pairs of socks, and enjoy sunny days if they come. I welcome daylight and open the curtains with glee. I close them at 4pm and get my tea ready. I put the electric blanket on low to warm the bed for bedtime and all is well.

Derek Faulkner said...

All very well if you can have that attitude Rachel but I hate having to walk round laden down in extra clothing and living months on end in semi-hibernation by shutting out the outside world at 4.00 in the afternoon.

The Weaver of Grass said...

It seems most of us are already looking forward to Sprimg- I suppose that is why we are all planting violas like mad. Call again tomorrow - it is always good to see you.

Jennyff said...

In Scotland I always felt the coming of winter when the wild geese flew over. Beautiful to see them but also a mournful feeling that another year was nearly over. Now in Italy I see the wild cyclamen are flowering, I love them in the same rather sad way. I am such a summwr person.

Rachel Phillips said...

I am happy to sit down and enjoy Pointless and then the evening Derek, light or dark. Warm layers of cothes don't weigh much, it's all an attitude of mind, staying cheerful.

Derek Faulkner said...

I agree Rachel, but staying cheerful is something we both struggle with at times.

Rachel Phillips said...

Strange as it may sound, I am a cup half full person and very rarely down as you might be. Usually on the blog I cannot and do not disclose everything but I can say 100% the weather does not get me down.

Mary said...

I really love autumn and quite enjoy the later winter months. With central heating and a wood burning fireplace I'm never cold at home thankfully. When outside I bundle up and truly love winter clothes. . . . .coats, cashmere sweaters and cozy boots are favorites.
Of course here in the southeast US we don't have a lot of severe winter weather, sometimes a snowfall, mostly just chilly and windy. Seeing/photographing the garden birds more clearly on the bare shrubs and trees is always enjoyable. Baking more often, concocting more veggie soups/stews keeps me busy in the warm kitchen. Once the doors are locked, the blinds closed, and the lights and candles glowing, knitting by the hearth is my evening entertainment, along with a good TV show or some classical music.

thelma said...

I think we should be grateful for seasonal weather, even the bad ;) it makes life interesting, notice the first snow warnings are hitting the screen for Yorkshire. Plenty of water around at the moment.