Tulips – Gardens. Travel. Life.

Posted on May 28, 2025May 28, 2025 by happyretiredblog · 2 Comments

Guess it’s over

Well here we are heading to the end of May. How did we get here. Only seemed like yesterday I was planting tulip bulbs. Panicking as I didn’t have all the ones I wanted. Wasn’t sure if I was planting them again in London pots. I didn’t. But here we are at the tail end of this year tulip display. Actually. They have all now been pulled.

Was I happy with the result. If you’d asked me early on I would have said no. Why? All a bit too pink for my liking ~ and the only person to blame. Me.

I realise I like hot colours. The oranges. Reds. Purples. But there were some lovely tulips in the first flush. Especially if you liked apricot. And pink.

But as the weeks went by more colours popped. More shapes were shaped and finally I was happy. Very happy. Told by a few it was the best year yet. Loved hearing that but it puts pressure on for next year !

Yet there were disappointments. The Brown sugar weren’t Brown sugar. To avoid the same happening this year I have already put my order in for them. Just so I don’t miss out.

This years brown sugar weren’t from Peter Nyssen. I was too late to order them from them ~ just to be clear! I am a huge fan of Peter Nyssen and in particular the relationship I have built up with Karen over the years.

For me Brown sugar has become a staple tulip. Gorgeous in colour with a light scent and much admired by Grandad who’s not my grandad. Who’s now also a great grandad. Though he’s always been a ‘great grandad, he’s now an actual one. If that makes sense.

A new one this year was World friendship. I’m not a fan of yellow tulips. Spring yellow flowers for me are daffodils. So I usually avoid them. World friendship however is a lovely tulip. Great colour. Great shape and lasted for ever. I’ve learnt that a bit of yellow can lift the palette. The other yellow I use is west Point. A bit more of a lily shape, and a favourite of Ian.

Another one that I like a lot is Go Go Red. A bit of a bonkers tulip but it’s the second year of growing it and it will be back.

This year I included a new white ~ Healthcare. not a great name but a great tulip. A bit like a white Go Go. But a bit more restrained.

Another returning tulip which I love < although the jury is out for 2026 on this one is La Courtine parrot. It’s been in the mix the last two years and it may be time to have a break. I’m not a huge lover of parrots in the pot mix. In London we had some window boxes and they always did well ~ I loved Rasta parrot. But they somehow get lost in the pots for me. except Courtine. .

A quiet start then it gets all big and blowsy.

I’ve said before it all starts again as soon as the tulips are lifted , even before if I’ll admit it. I see tulips at friends. At NGS open gardens. In magazines. Or encouraged by my partner in crime Siobhan. We visit each other at high season to see what we are both growing. Compare notes and plans for next year. That’s done for 2025. We have both started our orders. But I’ll change my mind constantly.

I wasn’t a huge fan of tulips. Yes I know. Unbelievable. But I think my visit to Ulting Wick garden for a NGS open garden swept me away. Philippa Burrough as well as being an awesome gardener is a great influence. First it was her tulips. Then it was her gaura path in the summer beds. I was hooked.

I had grown tulips. But not like the numbers I plant now. A local gardener asked me how I got so many flowers in my pots. The answer ~ it’s not technical. ‘ I stuff as many bulbs in as I can’ yes. They touch each other but they are only in for one season and then I replace.

The front of the cottage is right on the road and can be a bit dull. The tulips brighten it up and let’s be honest there’s a bit of a show off in me. Probably a throw back to the days when my parents never admitted to the competition between them and Den and Blem next door for the display of annuals.

One day I’ll recreate it.

I like the display to look good and I get huge pleasure from the compliments we get from people walking or driving through the village. It makes it worthwhile. So whilst I am able to do it I will! Despite this years back problems with planting and moving pots they will be back.

But it was more restrained back in previous years.

There were fewer smaller pots and fewer bulbs. and definetly less flamboyance!

A bit more adventurous in 2017 but with only two colours. I have been tempted to do one single colour in all the pots. But two things stop me. One is what If I get the wrong tulips. It’s happened this year. Ordered brown sugar which wasn’t delivered. Plus you don’t know until they flower ~ it said brown sugar on the packaging. But it wasn’t. Plus ~ what if it looked pants ? I’d be miserable for April and May. Ian says more miserable. That wouldn’t work !

Some previous year tulip planting

Another restrained year.

This year I ordered the same tulip numbers as in previous years. Not knowing if we would be in London or not. In the end I didn’t plant any. We moved at the beginning of February so my gamble paid off. But I also loved the window boxes and the path pots. I used to experiment with new colours in a few pots there.

I have had varying results with tulips in the Spanish garden. So much so that I no longer even try. They like a bit of a cold spell ~ suggestions have been to put them in a fridge for a month. That doesn’t appeal to Ian !! Plus it’s an effort which also means we may miss them if our schedules mean we won’t be there. ( schedules. What schedules!~ we are retired!)

So it’s all over for another year. Tulips pulled. Bedding plants in. Not so flamboyant but colourful !

Thankful for Jacks Shute opposite the house where we have a constant supply of water. I’ve only known it dry up once in 30 years but it’s already slow already.

Fingers crossed.

Posted on April 13, 2024April 15, 2024 by happyretiredblog · 1 Comment

Have I said I like Tulips?

It’s peak tulip time. For me it’s probably two weeks earlier than normal. Or maybe it just feels like that after such a wet and miserable Autumn and Winter. Wet ~ the ground in the garden has been saturated for months. So wet in a different climate we could grow rice. The garden is a dreary place when it’s so wet , but it has been unseasonably mild. Few frosts and none I can think of as being harsh.

But the joy of the spring season for me is tulip time. The planning back in September of the colours, the varieties has long been forgotten. The planting plan carefully considered back in November written down by pot number ~ there are 15 large pots to consider for Pitcombe – not as many for London. The planting plan roughly adhered to for the five minutes and then it’s abandoned.

But whatever the colours it makes me happy. Some years happier than others. Some years planting is loud. This year I think it’s a bit more subdued. Not so many oranges. Which reminds me. Where are the ballerina ~ tulips not actual ballerinas ~ that I planted.

Next year maybe it will be just one colour. Different shapes. Different shades. Big and bold. Maybe not.

In the words of the late Larry Grayson ‘shut that door’ . You can tell I’m no influencer with perfect posts and photos. I would have staged it better and shut the door. The pots are at the front of the stone cottages and as it was once two separate there are two front doors.

When I order the bulbs back in September it’s a mix of what I may have planted previously if I really like them and they perform well. The front of the cottage gets mid morning sun and is in shade for the afternoon. In a way that’s perfect and the flowering seems to last longer. They open beautifully but aren’t open all day as they would be if planted at the back of the cottage. I generally don’t plant bulbs in the back garden as it’s too wet. Great soil but it’s next to the river and when it’s wet. It’s wet.

I seem to add Brown sugar ~ for avoidance of doubt the tulip not actual sugar, I may be a bit bonkers but ~ to the mix most years. It’s a glorious tall strong stemmed in a gorgeous colour. And it also has a bit of a scent. You do need to get up close and personal and shove your nose in to get the scent but it’s worth it. Although on a really warm still day you do get a whiff.

A new one this year which is better than I thought it would be is Tulip Spryng break. The description from Peter Nysen is spot on. ‘Shades of red, white, pink and yellow. Tulip Spryng Break is a beautiful chameleon tulip, the colours will change almost daily as the flower matures for the white flamed red to white flamed rose to fuchsia pink with a soft yellow base in the inside ‘.

I wasn’t sure when I ordered it but it’s definitely a stand out this year in the pots. Each flower looks different.

I am not a great labeller. To be honest I’m rubbish and I keep saying this year and this year has been no exception. I’m still rubbish. The generosity of friends and of Karen at Peter Nyssen continue to tell me what I don’t know. Names.

Like this one. So far still unknown but very pretty.

Another new one this year which reminds me of the Honka Dahlias is tulip Go Go red and it’s had the Ian seal of approval. I like it as it’s unusual ~ maybe I’d like it a bit bigger. A bit more blousey. But it will be grown again.

One of the earlier ones to come out was tulip Tulip ‘Mystic van Eijk’. I’ve not grown it before but definitely will again. It’s tall. Has withstood the wind and is a really pretty colour. A lot of people have stopped and asked what it is.

More cottage views

Views from 3/4

I like to check out tulips that I haven’t grown or haven’t seen growing. Usually I plant a few in a pot just to see if I like them. This year I have just planted them in pots. One that I will grow again next year is Tulip Green mile. A funky looking bud before it opens and a treat when it does. Green with some yellow and is another new one that I will use again.

Talking of yellow ~ this is one that’s pretty. Frilly. Yellow ~ but I’m not a big fan.

I’m not big fan of yellow tulips in general other than Tulip West Point which reminds me it hasn’t appeared this year. It’s a tall lily flowered pointy tulip and is a great colour. Which means trouble as it’s one of Ian’s favourites.

Another group missing are the parrots. I think this may be Roccoco double ~ another I’m not sure of. But there should be a few more parrots amongst the pots. Maybe they have flown. Or I planted them upside down.

Back in London for the fitting of a new carpet. A 3 hour drive last night ~ to find first thing this morning it’s cancelled for today and only after I had moved the pots from the path to avoid any disasters. Rescheduled ~ I’m hopeful for tomorrow.

So what do you do when you have time in your hands. Photograph the London tulips.

I grew this in the window boxes last year and loved it. Tulip cabana. I planted the window boxes but this year they have been relegated to the path. We have had the house painted and nothing not even the tulips are going anywhere near the window sills.

I do have a few parrots starting to emerge here though. Is this tulip Rasta parrot? Maybe.

I’ve trialled ( fancy name for it really) some new reds in the pits along with some I grew last year. I’d tell you what they are but you probably know by now I’m a rubbish labelled. Some reds I have planted are Abba which this is not , pretty woman which I really like and which this is not as well. But it’s a nice one !

More reds. Maybe just maybe at some point I will plant the 15 Pitcombe pots with various reds. Various shades of red and various shapes. Maybe not but I need to get my thoughts together for next years ordering. There is research to be done.

Not quite red enough me thinks.

For now the pots have been moved and will be put back by the end of the week ~ and stay until the petals drop which on some of the earlier pots are starting now. All the effect. The planning. The worry for such a short flowering season ~ but sorry not sorry. It will happen all over again this time next year !

Posted on May 22, 2023May 22, 2023 by happyretiredblog · 2 Comments

Did I say I like Tulips?

I started this blog two weeks ago. But it’s a long story. A lot can happen in two weeks and the blog was put to one side. So as Magnus Magnissson used to say ‘ I’ve started so I’ll finish!

Have I ever say I like tulips? Ok. Maybe a few times. Like a few hundred. I don’t like them I love them. It’s not always been like this though. Once upon a time. A long long time ago I was pretty indifferent. But my fascination has grown. And grown. A bit like dahlias. Without the earwigs.

Back in 2016 it was a sedate few in window boxes in London and the Pitcombe pots. Just a few. At that stage I didn’t realise I could stuff the pots with as many bulbs as I uncoils get in.

In 2017 the pots were stuffed with a few more tulips. Not stuffed really just a few more than the previous year. 2017 was a good year. I liked them. Good colours and a limited palette.

Somewhere in between helping at Common Farm flowers where Georgie grows row upon row of glorious tulips and a visit to the National Garden scheme open garden of Ulting Wick where Philippa plants thousands of tulips each year my addiction gained momentum. . There. I have admitted it. My name is Andrew and I’m tulip addict. . Or as when I was introduced to someone at the annual carol concert at our local church ‘ so you know Andrew? ‘Of course I know Andrew & Ian – the tulip men. ‘ at least it wasn’t the Flowerpot men. And at least they knew Ian’s name. He has been described as Andrew’s friend. Which makes me smile. As does being called Mr Jones in the local butchers where I have been going for 30 years. It made me feel old then. But then again I am now. 30 years older than when I first went in.

It didn’t stop. I found out that Peter Nyssen delivered to Spain and post Brexit I could still get them direct from Holland. No issues with the paperwork and customs. That’s a big deal. No company wants to deliver to Europe from the Uk. When we first bought the house we could get John Lewis delivered. Not any more. It’s too much hassle and too expensive. You lose the will to live with customs forms and customs charges.

In 2018 the first full year in Spain I planted some pots around the terrace. To be fair that was probably the best year for tulips in Spain. This year they have definitely been pants. The pots in particular. I think that the only ones I will grow going forward is in the white wall.

The tulips in the white wall which came on leaps and bounds after a shaky start. A bit short ~ like me ~ but that didn’t matter as they didn’t get snapped in the wind. The problem is water. They need two things. A cold spell and my only option is the fridge in Spain. And water whilst establishing. Which in Spain has been an issue.

In Somerset last year I went a bit bonkers ~ and at it’s full flow the bulb supplier described it as a dolly mixture of colours. It made up for the year before when I had planted the bulbs but didn’t see them once as we stayed away during the pandemic. We did get photos sent by neighbours and I randomly saw photos on instagram. Oh look. It’s our tulips in Pitcombe.

My attitude was I didn’t see them physically that year so I’m going over the top this. Grandad who’s not my grandad ~ you know like the roundabout that’s not a roundabout said early on as they were just getting into their stride ‘ not sure about these this year ~ not up to your usual standard. He’s nothing but honest is grandad. But even he had to eat his words. They took their time but were bloody lovely. Even if I say so myself.

I went a bit overboard as well in London. The front garden in London is small ~ oh. There is no front garden in Somerset it’s just a three feet bit of gravel onto the road.

I spend ages planning. Choosing. Changing my mind and then finding that the ones I want are out of stock and have to start again. It sounds like a lot of thought goes into it. It does. I talk to a few people where we share our favourites. I plan. I buy. Then leave it until the last minute to plant. And the pot list goes to , well pot and the bulbs are thrown in. Not literally. But I start off the best intentions. A bit like my approach to diets. Good start and then it’s all downhill. Except at the end with tulips the comments are better.

The truth is I don’t learn. Planting in late 2022 was late. So late some pots were planted in late January. When I first tried to plant the compost was frozen. I needed more compost. It was frozen when I bought it. My biggest fault ~ well as far as planting is concerned. Ian will give you a list of others if you ask – is the same whatever I’m planting. It’s labelling and sticking to the written plan. Which means when I’m asked what the flower name is it’s usually the same. Tulip unknown.

The London pots were filled with leftovers from the Pitcombe pots. Tulips. Not compost. Again grandad who’s not my grandad said. I’m not sure you’ll get as good a result as last year. Someone from the neighbouring village drove past the cottage and rolled down the car window and said the same. Just wait was the reply …. He did. She did And they were pleased. But not as pleased as me.

The most commented on tulip was West Point. A yellow lily tulip. It was lovely but I think yellow in Spring is for daffodils. I liked it. Ian loves it. It will be in the London pots as a compromise next year.

The London pots were a little thinner on the ground this year. Unlike Fed the geriatric cat who matches the path. The window boxes were pretty poor. Out of the three the small one with tulip royal virgin was ok. The main one was rubbish. I realised too late that it was an old window box I was using which had poor drainage. Schoolboy errors still continue and gardening isn’t all perfect despite what we see on social media.

I have already starting the planning for 2024 and I haven’t even emptied the 2023 pots yet. I’ve added names to a list. The colour. The height. Whether it’s early or late. I’ve decided solubles are ok for the window boxes but not right for the Pitcombe pots. I’ve decided that whilst I tried Angelique again this year it’s a non runner for me again. On its heyday it was stunning but it’s lost it for me. Tulip brown sugar remains a big favourite but maybe I’ve used it too much. Tulips pretty woman is a runner. I like oranges and some pinks. People love the dark tulips and black parrot grew on me tho I’m not a parrot fan. Oh. But Rococo is a stunner. See. I’m all over the place. Here. There and everywhere.

I have told a few people if they want any of this years bulbs for their gardens then they can dig them out but don’t take the pots!. I have emptied all of the London pots as they had gone well over and looked rubbish.

This year I planted some lovely reds, which may form the basis for next years pots. I have the names of the ones I want for the London window boxes as I randomly planted a large pot which was lovely. Really big and blousy so will form the basis of the window boxes. That’s a start. Oh. And if you are asking. Peter Nyssen is my go to supplier. Great service. Great bulbs.

So the tulip spam for 2023 has come to an end, unless you go visit my instagram account 😂.

I’d like to say that the next flower spamming would be the agapanthus but we lost a lot in Somerset and some of the large ones in the London pots don’t look encouraging. So you may be spared. I’m sure I will find something. Don’t worry. I will warn you to look away. But on a high note . The tree ferns have come through the winter pretty unscathed. But I was sensible and wrapped them early. Changed the straw in the crowns when it started to freeze . And yes. I have already poo’d my plants having had a delivery of Alpaca poo feed from Arches at the Larches.

I said I had started but hadn’t finished. The blog that is. . There was a reason. Water. Not like in Spain where there is the lack of it. I could write about the three days off and one day in and the man in a motor cycle driving around the camp turning valves on and off but that’s for smith we day. Where reservoirs are being declared dead. Where the water table is so low the shallow rooted pine trees are dying. But in Somerset we got more than we wanted. Needed. Every house needs running water. Just not through the house. The garden was so wet I was planning to grow rice in the garden. I’ve always said that good neighbours are great. Awesome ones are the best. The clearance for us was done quickly and the community comes together in times of need.

We were in the centre of a storm. One minute I was checking the river. It was where it was supposed to be. 4 bricks down and nowhere near the road. The next it was coming at all angles. The one thing you can’t control. Water. I pretended to be Moses and tried parting it. I tried a Harry Potter spell. But it didn’t work. It obviously doesn’t understand expletives either. . It’s also very scary. The speed of the rise of the river was unprecedented.

It’s been an eventful week. I’d forgotten how businesses want you to do everything online. Which when it works is just fine. When talking to someone is difficult. Because the email you get says don’t respond to this email. And there’s no contact number.

But it’s only as good as their applications. We had been chased for a declaration that had to be confirmed. On an app. . We would have been delighted to confirm. Except we couldn’t. Despite telling them. We got reminders. they told us it was an IT issue. We emailed them. We had a nice bit chat in the app. All recorded. On the app. So two weeks later it’s still an IT issue. I did politely suggest to them to turn their system off and back on again. That usually works for me. Action 13. Turn it off and on. Calls to London when it should have been Somerset. Calls to tell us they would call tomorrow to make an appointment ~ quite why they did that still baffles me. I gave feedback. They listened. They agreed. It’s now better.

But we got off lightly. Neighbouring villages had front walls down. Cars washed away ~ 5 feet of water inside their houses and they are nowhere near a river. They sadly will be out of their houses for months. We won’t be. Thankfully. .

I arrived back in London to have a video call from our neighbour in Spain. Look at this he said. Look at the bloody rain. It’s awful. Not want I wanted to see ~ whilst we are desperate for rain in Spain this wasn’t mainly on the plain. It was 2.000 feet up the mountain. Over head. But the rain is welcome. The gardens need it. The reservoirs need it. But a week after a flood rain is the last thing I want to talk about.

So it’s been eventful. Thrown in with my goddaughters 16th birthday. Grandad who’s not my grandad haymaking. Lunch and supper with friends and our Somerset family.

Oh and I forgot the MG rally going through the village where the cake stall under the arch made over £300 for various charities.

What did people mean when they said to me. What will you do in retirement? Won’t you be bored!

Posted on October 10, 2022October 10, 2022 by happyretiredblog · 4 Comments

Did I say I like Tulips

So how hard can it be? Choosing bulbs for planting before Xmas to flower in April/May the following year. Let me be honest. Very. I started in June and had my list. I lost it. I did a series of photos. Like Pinterest. But I hate Pinterest so it was just a series of photos. I was kind of happy. Then life took over and I just didn’t get around to it. Tragedy. Some that I wanted were out of stock. So back to the drawing board. Sort of.

I’d like to give the impression of being organised. Planning the colours. The pots. The window boxes. Here there and over there. Yes. I do have some tulips in Spain as well. That’s the impression I like to give but the reality is that I end up in a rush as I leave it to do tomorrow. There’s a touch of mañana about me. Not just to order but to plant. Then all the planning goes to pot. Literally. I end up with what the lovely Karen at Peter Nyssen calls it. A dolly mixture of colours. A great description of the 2022 planting.

It started really in 2015. Pretty simple. Understated. Colour blocks. I liked it. Very understated. I wasn’t always a tulip fan. When people mentioned them all I heard in my head was Tiny Tim’s voice. You know. That squeaky song. ‘Tiptoe through the Tulips’ NO? Shame on you. Go listen. It will be a hideous ear worm for weeks. And every time you look at a bed of tulips. (Oh. And for this blogs useless note. Apparently the song is mentioned in the ‘Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone’ book. Vernon Dursley hums the song. Who knew. I didn’t.)

But then again I wasn’t always a fan of dahlias. It’s ok to change your minds. Not just because things become fashionable again. God help me if flares return. Or platform shoes.

A change of palate for 2016 but I hadn’t got the hang of stuffing the pots with tulips. I thought maybe less is more. More or less.

Move onto 2017. A bit more adventurous. Pots packed a bit more. Another year of different colours. Some new ones. But still some white. At some point I may go back to a two or three colour planting.

Now don’t ask me what happened in 2018 or 2019. I just can’t find any photos. Which is strange for me. I do like a photo or 2ooo.

Whizz onto 2020~ the start of lockdown. I don’t think I saw tulips in the following two years. Other than in photos sent by friends and neighbours. I’d planted the tulips in December 2019. We returned from a trip to Mexico in late March 2020 and that was it. They came and went.

I’m getting bolder. Shoving a few more bulbs into the pots. I see that in 2020 I had El Niño. It’s on the list again this year. I must have liked it. It’s a glorious bonkers tulip first seen at Ulting Wick where I have gained so much inspiration in tulip choices.

In London the window boxes were bolder in colour. More coordinated as all were peony type tulips. Belle Epoque is one of my favourites but sells out before I remember to order it usually. I think it’s Uncle Tom in there too. But I always say I’ll keep a book. What I plant and when. But I’m rubbish. Just like labelling. One day I’ll get it but by then I will be unable to bend that far down to attach the label.

2021 saw my love affair start with Brown sugar. This year I didn’t see the tulips at all until they were over and the pots needed emptying. Lockdown meant we didn’t travel to the cottage for months on end. I relied all tulip season on photographs sent to me. Good neighbours and local friends are great. Ones with cameras and willing to take photos of tulips is awesome. Good friends who are neighbours are brilliant. And a goddaughter who would water them when it was a big dry extra special. I heard it was a good year.

So. 2022. I was determined to make up for the previous two years. I was optimistic that I’d be able to see them in full bloom. At least at some point. If I was I was going to go over the top this was the year. I think I did. Subtle it was not. Colourful yes. Not subtle. But I liked it and the feedback was good. Grandad Martin wasn’t too sure at first. Not as colourful as last year he said. ‘Give it a chance Grandad.’ It hasn’t started going yet. You wait. He did and agreed. It was colourful.

To say I was happy would be an understatement. I started the planting with a plan. I always do. It starts off well. There are 15 large pots to be planted. After the first few pots I get bored. Or rather I’ve left it so late that I have to just get it done. So my well laid out plan. On paper. With numbers. Colours. Just all goes into the melting pot and it’s pot luck. Thankfully in my mind it worked. It was a good year and we were there often enough to be able to enjoy it.

It was also good year for tulip pots in London. I’d collected a load of pots in lockdown. Let’s be honest. There was little else to do. Lockdown walks. Lockdown garden in a tiny garden in London. Lockdown shopping. Lockdown deliveries. Lockdown bread. Everything in London is in pots so I took advantage of having so many. When we changed the front and tiled the path. ~ not us obviously. I have neither the skill or the patience. ~ I said ‘no more pots’ The window cleaner reminds me of that every time he had to manoeuvre his ladder around them.

It’s just that there is so much choice. Isn’t there? I choose the colours. The types. Then I see something else. Or Ian asks. Have you bought that one I really like? ( b****r ~ I’ve just remembered he’s asked me to remember to include Helmar) !!! And change my mind. How difficult can it be. I’ve said. Very. Until it’s too late and the one I want. That I really really want is out of stock. I use the same supplier year in year out. I don’t like change. I only go to a different bulb supplier if I can’t get them. My bulb supplier of choice. Peter Nyssen. Karen is amazing and the customer service is brilliant. Helpful. Informative. Comes up with tulips I may like. I don’t change doctors dentists hairdresser. Banks. Or bulb suppliers.

Like most gardening everything is a set timeframe. First to order. Second for delivery. And finally. To plant. Time for all three is running out so I’ve had to bite the bullet and order. And then remember I wanted x. And order some more.

And then. I had a tulip book for my birthday from friends in Spain which is beautiful and see some I really like. Like really really like. And order them. But I’ve stopped. No more. Definitely . Possibly.

So. These may be some of this years planting.

And these. …….and a host of others. Oh. And I’ve just ordered this one.

And that is. All bought and paid for. All to be delivered. I had thought that I would be emptying the pots of the summer bedding this weekend. But. We arrived to pots that had gone bonkers.

Geraniums bought at Columbia road flower market are still flowering. With a bit of dead heading they have another month in them. I hadn’t previously grown lobelia for decades had decided to have a growth spurt. So the summer pots have had a reprieve . For now. But there again so have I. I’m off to Spain for a week. Guess what’s arriving. A parcel from Peter Nyssen. But that order was easy.

Posted on September 6, 2020January 31, 2021 by happyretiredblog · 4 Comments

A tale of Three Gardens ~ part 1

The question or sometimes the Statement is. “So you have three gardens?” Often the reaction to the answer is ” that’s a bit greedy ” you must be loaded” ” are you mad”: but the answer is ” a little bit mad. Yes” Greedily loaded. “no”; the real answer is circumstantial ~ we never set out for three. Two yes. But not three. And yes it’s a struggle to juggle. At some point there will be two. Not yet. But there will. Only one of them is non negotiable ~ and we go through stages of which of the other two will be the second permanent with one today being a strong contender. But tomorrow ……

When I met Ian nearly three decades ago I was living in a one bedroom flat. No garden. Not even a window box. Ian moved in ~ travelling between his flat in SW london and mine in SE london was a pain. Realising that the papers for your meeting were across London became a pain in the posterior. That your suit was not where it should be.

Ian wanted to buy a house somewhere but we didn’t want to move in London and at that stage we weren’t sure if the relationship would last ~ Which now nearly thirty years later is hilarious.

So Ian bought the cottage so we could work in London and stay at the flat. Then head off to the cottage on a Thursday or Friday ~ us and the two cats. To a cottage furnished with second hand furniture and a decent sized garden. Ten years later we bought the cottage next door and to quote the Spice girls “Two became one’.

So if you want to be pedantic. It’s 4. The gardens were merged together so technically it’s one ~ I’ll stop as I’m confusing myself. And this continued for the next 24 years until we threw a spanish spanner in the works. Which added to retirement changed everything.

Though I had loved helping my parents garden when I was living at home I hadn’t had a garden myself for a long time. Finally we moved from the flat ~ now I’m not one for a massive change so we moved a couple of hundred yards down the road to a house and we have been here 17 years. See how I don’t like change. To a house. With a garden. Madness.

Those that know understand it’s more a patio garden here. Tiny. Though big enough for us to dig up a cooker ! ( yes, honestly) and all manner of things when we started to renovate the house.

The question I get asked is ” Are the gardens different? ” Umm. Chalk cheese and concrete come to mind. A cottage garden. A small patio garden and a hot Mediterranean garden. Somerset has fabulous soil. London I garden in pots. Spain. I garden with pick axes. In Somerset we have sufficient water. In Spain water is a luxury. We have some common plants in all three gardens. Agapanthus is the main one. Honeysuckle is another. Salvia Amistad.

The cottage garden

When we bought no 3 the cottage garden was in good shape except for a hideous hedge that had grown into trees at the bottom of the garden. Eventually they came out. The borders widened. Fruit trees planted ~ some do well. Some will be replaced. The plums are pretty non existent but the apples do well. Gooseberries. Raspberries. Red currants blunder through and need a good prune and a bit of tlc. This years crop sit in the freezer ready for a day of red currant jelly Making.

All we did when we bought no 4 was to remove the fence. It was that easy. I remember on completion day going straight out and started taking the fence down. Like an animal marking the boundaries.

View from the bedroom

These photographs were taken in July this year. Our first visit to the cottage in 6 months following lockdown. During lockdown we stayed in London but the grass was cut and some weeding done ~ trust me we have the National collection of ground elder and bindweed. No matter how much we have tried it comes back. And back again. Usually with a vengeance. ~ I’ve learnt not to stand too still for too long. Otherwise it’s up to my waist. I’d managed to prune the roses so we had had a good first flush. To be fair a number need replacing but that goes onto a list of things to do. Of which I have three separate lists. Obviously. And that’s just gardening lists.

We have a tsunami of golden rod. I hate it and I’m forever pulling it up and disposing of it. It’s fine in places. But. ,,,,,,, to be honest it’s got to go.

The garden has suffered over the last three years as I have split my time unequally but hopefully we are now in a pattern where we can get back on top of it. Funny that I’d said that at the start of the year and then look what happened.

I’d spent some time in February doing some work on the garden and our summer was planned. August and September in Somerset. How things changed.

The garden falls down to a small river. Come the Summer you can walk across it and not get your feet wet. We are in a valley and after heavy rains the little Pitt fills up pretty quick. This picture is when we had the steps put in ~ a few years ago. It needs a bit of a tidy now. Can you imagine Ian and I sat here with a glass of wine on a balmy evening? I wouldn’t. It doesn’t happen. If you ever see a public display of affection I’ll slip you a fiver.

It’s usually me trying to get a phone signal standing on one leg on the bench waving my hands in the air. Not a pretty sight and not the thing to do when the bench really needs replacing.

I started to cut things back in July ~ but remember we hadn’t been here been for 6 months. Plants don’t stop growing in a pandemic! Especially in a wet Somerset garden.

Need the loo anyone? The old loo 100 ft down the garden close to the river for obvious reasons. No signs of that today ~ Funny enough we have loos indoors.

The door needs repairing and that clump of Crocosmia splitting as it never flowers.

Ian’s not running away. Not this time. We worked hard as a team in February. I didnt throw my toys out of the pram once. Well maybe a rattle and a dummy but we didn’t stop. He did keep saying when are you off to Spain. I’d like to think he was just checking dates but in reality he knew once I was away he could sit and relax.

Umm. We were busy ~ so busy that my godson came along with his tractor to take away the garden rubbish.

But despite the neglect we have worked hard to get some normality back. A boot full of new plants from the plant stand at Ultimg Wick and our friend Phillipa Burrough and some canna and agapanthus from Todds Botanics together with some plants that have done well despite the neglect we have made a start. Next is to plant some daffodil and narcissi bulbs but bulbs aren’t great in the garden. The ground can get too wet. But il going to have another bash.

I am yet to see the result of the July work and planting as I’ve been away for over 8 weeks and I’m now in quarantine for two. But I have had some photographs. The friend who sent them mentioned the grass needed cutting and she would get onto it. Which is easy as it’s her husband who does it. I shall be back shortly and again it will be a week of gardening.

Thankfully we don’t have a front garden. . The cottage opens onto the lane with a small gravel border. In the spring it’s planted with tulips. In the summer generally geraniums but again this year it’s not been a normal year. So it was agapanthus. Did I mention I like agapanthus.

I did manage to plant the tulips in the Autumn. Ok. I admit it. I’m a bit of a show off. I plant all new tulips each year ~ all in pots so it’s easy. I’ve tried explaining to Ian that it will look good and he just raises an eyebrow. Until he sees them and I get the eyebrow of approval. If he saw the invoice for the spring bulbs he would raise both.

This year I had to rely on friends and neighbours for photographs and a friend who runs past the cottage most days ~ not because she’s scared ~ she’s a runner ~ who posts the photos of the tulips on Instagram and tags me.

This year we missed flowering in Somerset and in Spain. Sad but the joy the photographs from both gardens and the thoughtfulness of friends was heart lifting. Good friends and good neighbours are worth their weight in gold. So are fabulous bulbs from Peter Nyssen.

These are some of the photos that were sent to me during lockdown. Good neighbours and friends ~ who obviously watered them through the weeks and months we weren’t able to be there. Using water from Jacks Shute just across from the cottage which has lovely spring water. Quite where it comes from we don’t know. I just wish I had a similar water source in Spain.

Previous year tulips

We have planted agapanthus this year in pots at the front of the cottage as we were too late for geraniums! Big tall white agapanthus which will be used again. We had ordered from our friends at Todds Botanics. I had a message from the courier. I called back and he said he had delivered the plants. I opened the door. Nothing. I called back. He was adamant he’d delivered. So he sent me a photo. He was right. To london and they were there on the doorstep waiting for me. Me. I was 125 miles away ! Schoolboy error. Mine.

To be continued.

Part2. London.

Posted on April 22, 2018April 15, 2020 by happyretiredblog · 4 Comments

Tip toe through the tulips.

Yes I know it’s a Sunday Ian. And I know you haven’t had a lie in all week. But. I said I’d go to the open day for The National Garden Scheme – you know the one I missed last year. Ulting Wick

Yes. I know. It’s in Essex an hour and a half drive away. But. Trust me. It will be worth it. And there is cake. Lots of cake. 10,000 tulips. Reluctantly he agreed. Oh. I forgot to tell you. We have to leave early. It’s the London marathon so we will have to skirt the race to get across the river.

Me. I needed no encouragement. I have followed Philippa Burroughs on social media for some time. Have exchanged comments. Liked pictures. Swopped recipes. So I was in the UK at the right time and I was determined. Add to the mix that there would be a smattering of the twitterati attending it was a no brainer. I was keen to put names to faces. Find out real names rather than twitter handles.

I explained to Ian on the way. Its an 11 acre garden in a beautiful setting with amazing black tar varnishes barns. One open for teas. There are tulips. There are plants. Cake. Nice people. Oh. And it’s sunny.

We arrived. Talk of Tip toe through the tulips. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Tulips tulips everywhere. Forget daffodils. Today was the time of the tulip.

The planting is stunning. No other word. Stunning. The colour combinations are magic. I’m stealing some for next year. The combinations. Not the actual tulips.

Last week I was thinking, as I’m sure Philippa and Lou – Head Gardner Lou – @loujnicholls on Twitter – were also thinking – would the tulips be out. Would it be dry. Well. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day. The tulips were out and there were still a lot in bud. Perfect.

There’s the white garden. The pink garden. Kitchen garden. Old farm yard beds. The spring bed by the pond. The stream bed. The meadow. All beautifully planted. Colourful. And so well maintained. But not manicured. Well tended. Planted. And interesting.

Tulip varieties I’d not seen before. But will again as I will be talking to Karen at Peter Nyssen for next year. A note on the door to the magnificent listed barn mentioned that the Tulips come from Peter Nyssen. I’m a huge fan. Huge. And Karen is brilliant. Gorgeous colours. Colour combinations. Shapes. Sizes.

The tulip above was a favourite. Noted for next year for my window boxes in London. – Dior. I love it. Big. Blousy. A better one for me than Belle Époque.

These tulips were translucent in the light. With no filter. Just the sun.

Gorgeous whites in really stunning displays.

Ian loved this bed. He loved the colour combination so I think this will be another for next year. Maybe the pots in Spain. If I can work out how not to get short and stumpy. A bit like me really.

There were so many variations that I could go on for ever. Ian says I will anyway. I usually do. But everywhere you looked there were different tulips. I didn’t count them. But there must have been 10,000. ( I know. I read that somewhere). I moan at planting mine which are a fraction of that number. A mere fraction.

Well done to Philippa and Lou.

There is more to the garden than just tulips. I’m reliably informed that I should visit again for the August opening to see the perennial borders. If I can I will. This time we walked through the meadow – what a beaut it is. Full of cowslips. Beautiful yellow cowslips. So lovely to see a meadow of them and people obeying the signs. Keep to the paths. We did.

We had a wander around the garden with stops – plural – for cake and tea. Now for me. You Judge a garden opening by it’s cake and it’s tea. This was right up there. Chocolate and Guineas. Coconut and lemongrass. Gin and tonic. Lemon and lavender. The list was huge. Like the queue for cake. Word had got Out. The cake was good.

The perennials are starting to shoot. There is a fabulous row of ferns starting to get growth on the edge of the water. And more ferns. And more perennials. I want to go back and see the dahlias.

Add to the opening for the National Garden Scheme we had Barbara Seagall who was signing copies of her book with photography by the late Marcus Harpur – ‘Secret Gardens of East Anglia’ and features Ulting Wick. (Page 110) – which I will read this evening. One copy is for a friend. I must put it away.

I have followed Barbara on social media for some time. We have replied to each other’s photos. She has encouraged me with my blog. So it was such a treat to be able to meet up and to be able to put a face to the name. I’ll forgive her for recognising Ian first – which is magic as most of his photos on social media are of his back. As he said to Barbara. He must have a distinctive bald spot. But he was in deep conversation by the time we left.

Its not just flowers. There is a fabulous kitchen garden which I would love. But don’t have the space in London or the water in Spain.

All that was left was to pick up the plants I had bought and head home.

A huge thank you to Philippa and Lou. The garden was stunning. I loved the planting. The colours the variety and thank you for arranging the sun to shine and for the tulips to be open.

I shall be back. If you’ll have me.

Posted on November 6, 2017November 6, 2017 by happyretiredblog · 8 Comments

Here comes the rain

Well I’m back. Not as Gary sang Back for good. But for two weeks. To be honest I’m approaching the last few days of this visit. And the rain that was forecast has arrived. With a vengeance. We drove into town last night in fog. Friends gripping the door handles as we drove along the bits of road where there is a sheer drop. A lovely supper and it was clear by the time we left but with thunder crashing in the distance and lightening cracking away. . We just managed to get the cushions off the garden furniture before the heavens opened and the storm hit the mountains. Boy. Did it rain. It persisted. All night. And was pretty torrential. Am I complaing? No. I have planted bulbs seeds and some plants this week!

I have also made a huge school boy error. I dont like gardening in gloves. Somehow i have rubbed my eye after planting and its swollen. I kook like I’ve done 5 rounds in a boxing ring which is stupid. I wouldn’t even get in the arena. A quick trip to the pharmacy. A bit of Spanglais as neither she or I spoke the others language and I had antiseptic eye drops. Lesson learnt? I doubt it.

In between visitors I have been cutting back, pruning, tidying. Unlike Somerset there is no real weeding to do. No ground elder. No Bindweed. But an enourmous amount of leaves from the fruit treees and fallen olives. The olive trees are heavy with olives. ( obviously) and I fear they will all go to waste.

I have taken the opportunity of tidying the bank. Climbing up and like a mountain goat. Well thats how our neighbour described my efforts. A bit of lopping here. A hedge cut. The access road to the house was once a dirt track, now thankfully concrete and easier to navigate. The bank on our side has some large trees.some scabby prickly pears and cactus bordered by a hedge and the smattering of oleander along the drive. I have scattered poppies on the bank. Let’s see what comes. I have struggled to get native Mediterranean wildflower seeds. But I’ll continue trying.

I have cut back the oleander from the gate to expose the two pillars that are there -if they are there why not show them! I have also been tidying the opposite bank behind the house and to the front. There are a couple of pines which are protected in Spain. Not that I’d want to.

I have cleared a lot of the pine needles so that any wildflowers that may be lurking in the ground have a chance to appear. But I now understand that the pine needles are a good mulch! A bit late as I have collected barrow loads of them. But I still have a barrow full.

I love seeing the garden at different times off the day as the light is so very different. Except the dark. It always looks the same. Dark. This was taken from the area where we park the car. Pines. Cactus. It’s a favourite of mine.

I’m yet to attack the roundabout – that piece of land we have across the road other than to cut the tips of the end of the agave leaves that were threatening to stab anyone that walked past. Not that many people do but like a Boy Scout you have to be prepared,

There are some pretty big agaves at the bottom and a number of baby ones growing. I need to dig the small ones and to replant. Something else to add to my list. At least this list is my doing and not the ones that Ian gives me. To be fair. I should say lists. There are three. Some are being reduced. Bit the attic is still to be tackled.

I have at long last – 5 months in – managed to cut the hedge, its been so hot that the growth has so far been slow but I was warned not to cut it in the heat. Or it may die. To be honest so would I if I’d tried in the heat of the summer. I needed little excuse not to cut it. We have a hedge cutter but the route from plug to hedge is a long one. Around the edge of the pool. Which I could see as a recipe for disaster for me. So I tried to get a cordless one. Hmm try getting a cordless anything here along with a string of garden solar lights. Total fail. So I ventured on, and managed with a bit of stretching and cursing to have cut it. Please don’t venture to the side on the bank. It’s not pretty. I have also trimmed a bit of height off the trees in front of the hedge. Thank goodness for the big lopper. The view to the coast is a bit clearer. Especially when I Put on my glasses.

The town had 24hrs of rain the week before I arrived and it shows. The drive up looked a bit greener. Flowers were back out in the garden. A bit of colour. This Brazilian sky flower has been constant all sunmner. Throw in a background of yellow and bingo. Colour.

We have a bourganvellia growing next to the garage. It hasnt done very much in terms of flowering despite my govong it a good talk to and some encouragement. But there is one on the bank. The dry bank. No water. No attention. Dry. Sunny. And blooming lovely. Framed by the fig and the Nespera.

Talking of which the two trees that we have on the bank are flowering. They also have a nice scent. I was pretty surprised to see the flowers as i thought it a bit early. But apparently not. I’m hoping for some healthy fruit next year. Which no doubt will all come at the same time. Like the figs.

I thought that we had little or no fruit on the pineapple guava. But once again I’m proved wrong. Apparently they are ripen when they drop. So I have been collecting some every day. I like the taste. One of my visitors said they tasted like wait for it. Germolene. I hated the smell of that growing up. Along with TCP. I once worked with someone who I swear used TCP as an after shave.

The rest of the fruit is doing well. The oranges are ripening. Again I thought we may lose the trees in this years extreme heat. But there will be some ready for Xmas. There are two pink grapefruit. Still there. Still getting fatter.

An unknown fruit – maybe a sloe.

The 5 quinces remain and are getting uglier by the day. If I have time I will make that quince jelly I’ve been meaning to make. For ages. I think I’m being told to do it. One big fat quince has dropped to the ground.

The succulents are doing well. There are small ones appearing everywhere. I need to move some of them as they are in the wrong places.

I have moved the two cactus. I know that they are Euphorbium but Ian bought them as he wanted cactus. And they do look greatagainst the White wall of the house. .

You can tell we have had rain. These have suddenly unfurled from the tight coisednuo balls they were on our last trip. Looking glorious and majestic in the border. Not likethe aliens they looked like before.

I’m seeing new cactus I haven’t noticed before.

A view of the border at the back of the house. It’s pretty steep.

All of a sudden there are plants appearing in the garden. That’s the joy of a new garden. You never know until you get to the end of the first year what you will find.

I’m very excited with the bird of paradise plants. We had some flowers in the summer but they seem to have gone mad.

There are a number scattered around the garden. One in a pot. Most have their Autumn flower spikes. The one at the side of the house strategically placed outside the bathroom window has theee large flower spikes forming. The one in the pot has three as well. And the ones in the flower bed have another three between them. To be honest. I wasn’t expecting that. But they are fab.

The good old lantana continues in the rear bed to give some welcome colour. The one in a pot had suffered a bit but has been cut right back and is sprouting new growth already. I have a policy of hack back and wish for the best. If it works. Bingo if not then there’s a shopping opportunity. Talking of which.

I called into the garden centre last week on my way into Malaga. . And ordered a load of plants for collecting later in the week. Which I did. And filled the car. Can’t you tell Ian wasn’t here. He would have said ‘do you need all of those plants’. Yes. I do. And more.

Some new lavender. Verbascum. Plectranthus. A plant whose leaves and flowers smell like popcorn. It really does. Senna didymobotrya. Oh and like so many of the Mediterranean plants is poisonous. Probably that’s what I rubbed into my eye!

I have cut back some of the lavender not being brave enough to do it all. I have replanted some slightly lower on one side of the bed so the lights to the gates shine a bit brighter for now. Yes I know. I should have taken the hose away to get the perfect picture. But it’s not perfect. The garden the blog the pictures are all a work in progress!!

There is still plenty to do. But it hasn’t all been gardening. We have had friends staying. Which means trips out. To the Alhambra. To the coast. To eat.

We made our third visit to the Alhambra

The gardens are going over but there is still some great colour.

Oh. It’s November. The mornings are chilly admittedly. But when the suns out it’s glorious. So you need a trip to the coast. And we made a few. Nerja. Torre de Mar. For lunch. For a walk.

Trips to the Coast – Nerja & Torre Del Mar

So Ian and the visitors leave today. I have one full day left on my own in the garden. To move the prunings from the pomegranate. The lavender. To plant the rest of the alliums. To go collect the tulips I have ordered for the pots. Ready to be planted on the next visit. To hide them in the fridge from Ian to give them a cold snap before I plant.

It’s getting colder. We had our first log fire in the new house on Saturday I’m sure there will be more when I’m back. In 12 days time!

Posted on November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 by happyretiredblog · 5 Comments

Casa Verano Eterno 6 months in

Has it only been 8 months since we viewed the house and 6 months since we collected keys and started this new adventure. Yea. It is. And so far what an adventure. Has it been worth it? Do bears …….

I have photographed. I have blogged. Wittered. . Instagrammed. Rambled on. And on. But I’m still not bored. You may be. I’m not. Asked how it’s going i smile and simply say fantastic. Because it is. And I absolutely love it.

We’ve had visitors. A lot of visitors. Which I love. We have more coming this month. Our friend from Somerset. My London neighbours – friends for nearly 30 years. Friends have been with the boys. Who spent the whole week in the pool- the pool I never wanted. Which is in the garden I didn’t want. I wanted a townhouse. With a terrace. No pool. No garden. In the town. Which isn’t what we found. The moment I walked through the gate my mind was changed. Instantly. Because of the garden.

The garden is a challenge. We are not there all the time. I worry, but I would worry if there was nothing to worry about. I worry about the watering. About losing plants. About planting. But that’s all part of the challenge. The garden will change. Will adapt to the way we can use it. For now anyway. The plants are largely drought tolerant but the weather has been hot. Even for Spain, so its been an interesting time to take over an already established garden with Succulents. Palms. Bird of paradise. Agapanthus. Plants I know. Others I don’t so I have to reach out to my twitter gurus for help. And they never let me down. The watering system works ok. And when it doesn’t it gets fixed.

We are slowly getting things together. Realising what we need. What we don’t need. Where to eat. Where to shop. The town has a great square. You can find me there often. For breakfast. For lunch. For dinner. My place of choice. Casa Paco

My Spanish is still pants. Ian can hold a conversation – he’s getting on great guns. I’m thinking of a crash course. I get by and do try. I haven’t embarrassed myself too much. But even Ian with his progress can get it wrong sometimes. He ordered a roast polish person at our favourite restaurant recently. Thankfully. It wasn’t on the menu.

The ground is still rock solid. I need to plant the alliums which have arrived from Peter Nyssen. A big box of lovliness delivered diret to Spain, How convenient is that!

I’m looking for some wildflower seed to scatter on the bank behind and in front of the house, I want to have an explosion of colour in the spring and early summer. Having cut back the banks for the first time in 6 years I’m hoping there will be some wild flowers there already.

I have tulips from our local nursery to collect and plant in pots for the front of the house and the terrace. I have ordered Brown Sugar again this year. They were simply gorgeous last year in London. And Somerset. . I have a hedge to cut which I have left all summer as I didn’t want to kill it. I may just have to do some acrobatic movements to cut parts. Parts of the hedge. Not my body parts. I hope not anyway.

So my next visit – next week will be a busy one. Rain is forecast for two days this week but I suspect not enough to be able to plant easily. I don’t like bulb planting at the best of times. Its backbreaking and my bones creak as it is, but at least it will still be warm. And dry. Oh. And try getting a bulb planter in Spain. A long handled one that will get through concrete soil.

Another challemge is pruning. What and when and how. We have a couple of pomegrante in the garden. Apparently they haven’t fruited ever, so they may be ornamental. But ornamental fruit in a large garden. Why? But our neighbours have some which do. Fruit. I have pomegranate envy. Who would have thought that 6 months ago I would be thinking of fruit like this. Admittedly the neighbours have small fruits but fruit never the less, I want them too. But then I want everything. And now.

There are a couple of figs with delicous black figs. Its a shame that they all ripen at the same time! There are only so many you can eat. For many reasons. There are a couple of loquats, whch again have a short season for fruit oh and not forgetting the Almond trees – none of which I have any experience of. I need to read up on Plumbago, jacaranda,lantana and bougainvillea. And on citrus. On palms. On yucca.

I don’t want to prune and then find I have no flowers or fruit next year as the plant flowers on the previous seasons growth. Fatal error…

I need to realise – oh and accept – I can’t grow all the lovely things I curerntly grow in the Uk, but have to adapt to a new Mediterranean planting. As I said. I want it all. I’m surprised at how well I have coped with change.

I’m going to be bold with the lavender path. Its gorgeous but has become a bit straggly in parts. So I have seen people recommend a hard cut back provided there is some new growth. I did two before I left last time and planted two new ones as well so I will see how they have fared. If it doesn’t work then I will replant the path.

We need to decide on the Prickly pears.

They have been ravaged again this year with cochineal fly. I have saved one by washing it down and removing the fly before they can take hold. but the ones on the bank are sad. They were all cut back two years ago in what sounds like a sceme from a horror movie. The red of the cochineal getting everywhere. I think I will find a man that does! Because this man won’t.

It’s not all been gardening. There has been some leisure time. A sit on the terrace. A drive down the wiggly or windy road – there are two options takes us to the coast. I’m not a great lover of laying on the beach soaking up the sun getting sand in places I can no longer reach. I get bored easily. But the coastline is gorgeous and we haven’t really explored it much. Nerja is a short drive away.

In the other direction Torre Del Mar. Both very different. Except for the weather. And people on the sun loungers. All lined up in rows. As the sun moves so do the loungers. Except at 1.30 there is a mass exodus of people. To the little bars serving sardines being cooked on the beach.

So I forgot that this blog was sitting waiting to post. I’m now here. And it rained last week. One set of visitors have been and gone. I’m waiting for the next and for Ian. There has been planting. Excursions. But I can’t stop. I have plants to collect. But don’t tell Ian.

Posted on April 29, 2017April 30, 2017 by happyretiredblog

A day out- RHS Wisley

I love Twitter and Instagram for different reasons. Instagram for the pictures obviously and Twitter for information, top tips and a bit of banter. Often Twitter will remind you of things that you should do. Places to go. People to see. That’s how we ended up going to RHS Garden Wisley today. I love twitter for the gardening folk I follow and who are always there to point you in the right direction to a plant or a garden, help with some advice, identify an unknown plant that may have appeared in the garden and to generally talk plants.

So following a tweet from @jackwallington who had been to Wisley earlier in the week I decided that after a 25 year absence a visit was long overdue. Finding my membership card was an adventure but find it I did. I wont mention my RHS disasters this week in deleting my print at home Chelsea and Chatsworth tickets. Ill save that for another day.

Fighting the Bank Holiday traffic through South London reminded me why we generally don’t travel over a Bank Holiday weekend but I was determined. I had started so we wold finish.

Busy. Was the car park busy. So busy we were sent to the overflow car park but despite my grumbling i was rather glad.

The walk from the car park was simply gorgeous. Bluebells were out everywhere like a beautiful carpet of blue loveliness. We would have missed this bit of the garden had we parked close to the main entrance. So every cloud and all that.

Typically Ian was 30 paces ahead. You’d think that after all this time he wouldngave notnbeen so embarrassed to be out with me ! But i had to stop not just for the bluebells but for the other delights that were begging to be photographed. I hadn’t been here for over 25 years remember.

The garden was busy. We realised only after we arrived that there was a craft fair in the grounds. A pretty decent fair to be honest and full of some top quality stuff. I was swiftly moved on through the garden toward the glasshouse, after a sausage bap!

I love a good glass house. This one didn’t disappoint and was somewhere to get a little inspiration for our new mediterannean garden.

It’s great to see the unusual and interesting and there were definetly some of those here. The bird of Paradise plant so high it had a sign that said this is not a banana plant. The plant whose buds looked like a great big fat nose and opened into a simply gorgeous flower – solandra Maxima – a blue brugisima, a protea as big as a dinner plate. Orchids which remind me of orchids bought in Castle Cary from another Instagram friend @ridgewayfarm when she had then best gardening shop ever, oh and the clivias also reminded me of her too – she introduced me to them too and one sat in mine and my friend Janes office for years.

The big pots of Agapanthus were further on than mine but then again they are in a glasshouse. Mine are in pots in South London. So they would be wouldn’t they! I wonder how many bags of Lou’s Poo they would need here.

Outside the glass house is a Prairie garden. I’m spoilt in that we have the wonderful Piet Oudolf garden at Hauser and Wirth Somerset just down the road in Bruton but I love them. Not so much in Spring to be honest but later in the season. The planting I know at Bruton is stunning and there are glimpses here that show what it will be like later in the season.\

There is so much to see and not enough time in one visit to take it all in n The fruit garden is full of the most amazing espaliers of all fruit types, apples pears medlars. The rows of apples some still in bloom some with fruit setting are like great long avenues. The planting is amazing with long avenues of paths to walk through.

Great big beds of Rhubarb. They hold the National Plant collection – with enournmous leaves and pink fleshy stalks, some being forced. The produce bing used in the restaurant and in Jams to be sold at the shop. I sisnt look to see if any rhubarb was for sale. Would have been good to have tasted a variety that you don’t usually get at the greengrocer

To be honest you get lost in the size and scale and the beautiful way it is presented. I can’t remember much about my previous visit ‘ may be I wasn’t as interested in the planting and the plants themselves then. But we were both impressed.

The perennial beds [ mixed borders] on either side of the sweeping walk to the top of the hill look like they will be exceptional in the summer. The borders are springing to life with the alliums starting to pop into bloom in little drifts and singularly throughout the beds. Like tulips it looks like this year will be good for alliums too. The borders are massive – the website says ‘ a sweeping 420ft’ – imagine the plant buying for that. They leave the beds to their own devices. No watering – no good for me – i would have to be out there with the hose constantly.

Having recently stayed at Ard Daraich in Scotland I was keen to see the rhododendrons and the azaleas. The flowers were more advanced than Scotland and again the planting and the paths between them encouraged you to walk through. I still find the buds as fascinating as the flowers themselves and I was even more appreacitive of the guided tour of the Scottish garden given to me by Norrioe Maclaren when we were there.

Onto an area where I loved the colour palette of the planting. The last of the tulips- bright red with the start of the alliums. Simply lovely and a bed I would love to have.

This is a glorious view away from the house along the canal with the Henry Moore sculpture, King and Queen and the beds of lovely scented wallflowers. my window box of wallflowers has an abundance of leaves and only two flowers. Those two yellow flowers smell glorious. Busy i was expecting a bit more!

Neither of us had any knowledge of the history of RHS Wisley and its interesting to see that it was gifted to the RHS in 1903

Another cuppa tea. A scone and cream. Jam first of course. A wander to purchase some plants – only one today a philadelphus Belle Etoille which we had in the Somerset garden years ago. I even think Ian was impressed. One plant only. That’s progress. He doesn’t know about the ones I bought earlier in the week,

Was it worth the drive. The traffic. Running into ex colleagues. Definetly and thanks Jack!

Some more random photos.

Posted on April 9, 2017April 17, 2017 by happyretiredblog

Tulips. More tulips. And tree ferns?

I hadn’t been to our garden in Somerset for two weeks. I expected the grass to be as high as an elephants eye but to be fair it wasn’t that bad. Needed it’s first cut of the season but it wasn’t too daunting a task. Especially in such glorious weather.

What I hadn’t expected were the tulips to have burst into life. I had potted up a dozen or so pots and had left them on the rear terrace. The terrace is south facing and I bring the tulips on there ready to be played at the front of the cottage where there is sun for only part of the day. So with some assistance we heaved the pots through the house to the front.

Two days later with this weather the majority had opened. Last year was the first time I had grown tulips at the front and it was a huge success. I like to change the front so this year the tulips weee changed too. My mother would have said it was showing off. To be fair I couldn’t disagree. The cottage is right on the road. You can’t help but notice the tulips.

Ian is no gardener but he saw tulips he liked at the Malvern show last year so as he showed an interest I decided to buy them. So the pots were planted with Brown Sugar. His choice and separate pots of Purissama -mine. As usual with the generous advice of Karen from Peter Nyssen I ordered others as well. Too many as usual so I have planted a lot in a cutting patch. Which will all flower when we are not there.

The Purissima are stunning opening into great big blousy flowers which at a quick glance look like they have a bee inside. They are stunning and close up tight again when the sun passes.

The pots have opened well and to be fair look great at the front of the cottage against the warm Somerset stone.

Back in London I grew tulips in one window box and two large containers – and with very different colours to the Somerset tulips. I hadn’t used them in window boxes before but good old Karen assured me they would be ok.

These have opened beautifully in the morning sun – and have been a joy.

The pots at the back have spring into life this weekend. Tulip Belle Époque has opened and there are a few rouge Brown sugars in there too. I didn’t mention earlier that these also have a lovely scent.

Tulips are a new one for me to be fair. But on the basis of how they have been over the last two years they are here to stay!

We also had a wander around Lytes Cary a NT property on Saturday where they also had some amazing Tulips. I have a list as long as my arm of what I’d like to grow next year thanks to the Instagram,twitter and Facebook posts of everyone’s favourites. At Lytes Cary these were added to my list. Such a beautiful colour and in the sunshine just dazzled.

It Was also good to see that the professional gardeners get a rogue tulip here and there too.

This one was very obvious! Along with what was probably one of last years that missed being dig up!

I don’t feel so bad now with the odd one here and there that I have found out of place!

So it was back to London for a busy week ahead – I know. I’m retired. But I’m busy! But first to water. When I left on Thursday the tree ferns were good. They had kept a lot of their fronds over winter. I hadn’t had to put straw in their crowns. But I get back and all hell has broken loose. The two days of sun has made them spring into action and they are about to burst forth. As long as Fred stays out of the crown that is.

I love tree ferns and we are lucky that we have a micro climate in the small ( tiny) garden we have here. But the tree ferns. The olive. The banana do well.

So move over tulips. It’s tree fern time.