the running wave

One of the joys of INAVOM is the planning.  The forethought that goes into producing a new vase of flowers for Monday morning.  These things don't just happen overnight!  They involve the floral material, the words, the vase, and of course the photographs.  In these surreal and extraordinary times the planning process is even more important, because it provides a joyful alternative to the latest update from Downing Street and the media's endless statistics and speculations.  A positive, creative use of our time to counter a lot of negativity energy.  All thanks and appreciation goes to Cathy from ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com  who brings us all together in this weekly love of flowers. The planning for my vase this week started last Tuesday, when I was walking round a lovely field and spied a wild cherry tree, with promising fat flowerbuds.  I picked a few stems and they have been slowly moving towards blooming in the cool of our bedroom, until today.  Here they are, in al

I drove the few miles to Aberlady yesterday afternoon, to see if the grounds of Gosford House were open for a peaceful replenishing walk.  They were!  At the time I didn't know that by today we will no longer be allowed to drive somewhere quiet, remote even, to walk in solitary splendour.  It is no longer permitted.  We have to walk from home now, generally in closer proximity to the world and his wife and children.  I am not one to break rules, so will be getting up earlier to walk the dogs while most of the locals are still abed! The dogs and I walked through the woods, stopping to record a little birdsong to post on Instagram, and then on to the field edge, passing a single deer and a few mallard who are not adverse to spending some time in the woodland. Always watching, a single deer.  Mr Mallard standing watch over Mrs Mallard while she paddled in a rain filled ditch below.  Wild animal highway - a track fashioned by brown hare and deer. The woodland has one o

More damsels in distress in my vase this week.  Snapped off narcissus rescued from a lovely big swathe of flowers in the grounds of Gosford House.  But I think they are rather upstaged by the few stems of scilla growing on the edge of the dune behind the beach, at the bottom of the hill.  Such a gentle, pretty blue, I really love them.  I also have a lovely shiny sticky bud of horse chestnut, before and after it burst into leaf!  The weekend sunshine pouring into the kitchen, and on to the dining table, has encouraged the sticky bud to open its arms! Sticky bud update!

The cold winds still blow, rain still spatters on the kitchen window, having flown miles across the landscape from the Pentland Hills, and over the past weeks we have had one or two sunny days, but nothing of note.  I managed a morning in the garden a couple of days ago, just long enough to tidy through the flowerbed, discovering new shoots from herbaceous plants and various bulbs.  A bit like bumping into old friends after some time apart!   But there was not enough time to get any seeds sown and stowed away in the cold frame before the weather turned again.  I hope the wind drops soon, and the sun shines long enough to be able to enjoy some more time in the garden.  It is, after all, one of the joys of this time of year. Despite the cold weather, endless winds and lots of rain, the garden, inner and outer, has lovely pops of colour and lots of promise.  Starting with the inner garden ... In the outer garden ....