Posted in Cardiff, Gardening, Uncategorized, tagged Bute, Cardiff, flowers, Gardening on May 31, 2015| 9 Comments »
A busy bee in the herbaceous borders of Bute Park, Cardiff, on May 21
I am now being swamped by the flowers bursting out of the herbaceous borders of Bute Park in Cardiff, so I’d better give another update before they get totally out of control. When I reported on April and early May it was all tulips and a few other splashes of colour, but now (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Trees, tagged Bute, Cardiff, hornbeam, Spring, Trees on May 29, 2015| 8 Comments »
These lovely leaves are so familiar to me…
Twice now I have chosen a tree to follow for a year, but even before that I had decided I really must try to identify more species, especially when the trees are bare in winter. At last I think I am getting somewhere.
This spring when I have visited Bute Park in Cardiff to check on my empress tree (a Paulownia tomentosa) I have also watched dozens of other trees come into leaf. There is one I thought I recognised from a distance, as (more…)
Posted in Cardiff, Garden visits, Gardening, Nature, tagged Bute, Cardiff, flowers, Gardening on May 20, 2015| 9 Comments »
Red flowers in the Bute Park herbaceous border on May 7 – beautiful but I can’t quite identify them – any ideas? …thanks to Elaine Rickett for suggesting it’s Geum
When I go to Cardiff’s Bute Park to visit the tree I am “following”, I usually walk back along the herbaceous borders. I always admire them, as it is such a traditional British idea, having permanent plantings of perennials that are mostly at their best in the warmer months, dying back to bare soil in winter when we all stay indoors. Here are some pictures of the borders coming back to life in spring. Sorry I haven’t taken a general view yet – maybe next time!
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Posted in Dorset, tagged Brittany Ferries, dorset, Poole, ships on May 12, 2015| 9 Comments »
May 12, 2015 – the Barfleur is the blue arrow heading north from Spain into the Bay of Biscay on this MarineTraffic live ships map
I sometimes think I am the only person in the world who cares about the beautiful Barfleur car ferry, seen so often going in and out of Poole Harbour in Dorset, as she shuttles back and forth to Cherbourg in France. And I am probably the only person who thinks her beautiful!
The Barfleur in Poole, August 2013
The Barfleur has been missing for a couple of months (more…)
Posted in Gardening, Nature, Trees, tagged Bute, Nature, Paulownia, Spring, Trees on May 10, 2015| 24 Comments »
Fallen bud of Paulownia tomentosa
For weeks I have been visiting the Paulownia tomentosa (empress tree) in Bute Park, Cardiff, in the hope of seeing the flowers come into bloom. This is all part of the tree following project of Lucy Corrander over at the Loose and Leafy blog.
When I visited on April 24 I was disappointed again, until my eyes adjusted to the light and I zoomed in on the branches, all very high up on this particular tree…
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Posted in Cardiff, Garden shows, Gardening, tagged Bute, Cardiff, Gardening on May 5, 2015| 18 Comments »
Hippeastrum Red Lion with crown imperial fritillaries at Cardiff RHS Show, 2015
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Cardiff Show in Bute Park was better than ever this year. We went on the Sunday, which was a sunny but cool day, and here are a few things that took my fancy… (more…)
The Squirrelbasket 