My week

It has been a quiet week.  Yesterday Mr P and I exchanged Valentine's cards and some small gifts.  We went to a local store where there's a cut flower department and, of course, the colour theme was red, but I chose mauve tulips and freesias. I love the fragrance of freesias.

This hyacinth has had a second flowering.  There must have been another stem which grew up after the first had died down.  On the kitchen window sill are also some of Mr P's new  tomato seedlings.  He always starts early with growing plants from seed and planting bulbs for Springtime.

I've been doing some more of my crocheting. I couldn't find the right match for the pale turquoise/green yarn so I've had to modify the design by crocheting around the original six squares.

I'm hoping that in the end it will  turn out to be the right size as a throw. 

I'm a slow reader and have several books on my 'to be read' stack.  I enjoyed reading The House of Glass although it was rather creepy in places.  I was initially drawn to it at the library where there's a shelf of newish publications after reading some reviews. What interested me was the main character, Clara, who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) and how she deals with this disability, the period of history when Britain is on the cusp of the First World War and the setting which is firstly in London and then in a country house in Gloucestershire where she goes to fill a new glasshouse with exotic plants to create a private paradise for the owner. (The gardens in the novel were inspired by those at Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire).

The dust jacket blurb reads:- On arrival, Clara hears rumours.  Something feels wrong with this quiet, wisteria-covered house.  Its gardens are filled with foxgloves, hydrangeas and roses; it has a bathing pool, a croquet lawn - and the marvellous new glasshouse awaits her.   But the house itself feels unloved. Who is the owner who never shows himself?

The other novel that I've just read was Once Upon a River written by Diane Setterfield. I enjoyed the rural setting (a stretch of the River Thames north of Oxford), the description of the characters that lived there and parts of the tale that was told to move the story along, but as it's a library book that has to go back because others are waiting for it I skimmed through the last chapters. I wasn't engrossed in the story as I would be with other novels.

The snowdrops in the garden are still giving me pleasure especially now that they are happily opening their blooms during sunny periods.  In a corner of the garden by the sitting area I was delighted to see some miniature irises that we had planted in the Autumn under a Hebe 'Caledonia' shrub. 

Life of course has its ups and downs, happy and sad times. This week we were very sad to hear that 

the family pet in our grandson's household had died.  Rupert, the miniature King Charles Spaniel was 12 years old and there have been times when he's been rushed to the vets in the last two years.  He was going blind and getting confused as well as having other health issues.  When we last visited I would stroke him as he lay there and I'm sure it comforted him.  The photo above shows one of my pottery spaniels - I have a pair of them inherited from a grandmother - and more importantly a picture of Rupert painted by our grandson L many years ago as Rupert and grandson had grown up together.  

Joining Riitta's Friday Bliss linkup

Gardening

One morning last week I woke up early and looking out of a bedroom window saw this amazing sky with a funnel cloud formation. The sun is low at this time of the year and partly obscured by trees as I look across the valley, but on rare occasions we sense its blazing light at sunrise before the curtains are drawn back. The weather has been better this week.  In fact, today it's slightly milder.  Mr P and I have been out-and-about as our thoughts turn to garden planning for this year. We wanted to look at stone garden ornaments and bird feeders and add to our collection of seeds and plants.

There are two garden centres along this stretch of road near where we live.  It takes us along the valley, through farmland, over moorland to the village of High Bradfield. 

As well as the buildings that contain garden accessories and a café there are terraces full of plants in pots according to variety.  There are ornamental trees and flowering plants growing in the ground in creative displays which makes it a pleasant place to walk around although yesterday it was quite windy and chilly so we didn't linger too long.  I had wanted to get a hellebore plant, but there were so many varieties I changed my mind until I could do some research on when to plant them and look after them. Instead we bought flower seeds, parsnip seeds and a blue polyanthus as well as a bird feeder that can hold a block of fat that contains seeds.  I've hung it up in a new place on an unused washing line post together with another bird feeder that holds niger seeds in the hope that more small garden birds will come and feed from them. 

my new polyanthus (primula)