7 Ways to Save Our Soil
Archive for November, 2013
- Royal arms on a superb tapestry hung in the ‘waiting room’ to the royal family’s quarters.
Just before visitng the Ajuda Botanical Garden in Lisbon, we took a tour of the nearby Ajuda Palace, once the home of the Portuguese Royal Family and resplendent with rich decor, furniture, tapestries and other curiosities. A particular novelty was the indoor ‘Winter Garden’ which is a high ceilinged room hung with plants, glass grapes that catch the light, a small fountain complete with its own ‘menagerie’ and splendid bird cages. And gold is everywhere. One can imagine how this room would have been a delight in the colder months with its visual interest and birdsong.
Otherwise known as the ‘Marble Room’, this space is a good example of how controlling nature and bringing it into the house became popular in the 19th century. The walls and ceiling are lined with alabaster, the gift of the Viceroy of Egypt. This rather grand space was nonetheless intended for leisure and relaxation- a place for princely birthday parties and royal dinners on a table set around the Carrara marble fountain.
Old School Gardener
I couldn’t resist a trip to Amsterdam’s Flower Market (Bloemenmarkt) at the weekend. My wife- whose birthday was the real reason for being in the city- was very tolerant (as she usually is when I lag behind at garden visits, soaking up the atmosphere, photographing or studying the plants).
We gazed at the wonderful displays (me rather more spellbound than her, I think), and of course couldn’t resist a purchase of some unusual blue tulip bulbs (I will be amazed if they don’t turn out to be more of a purple). Well, I say some tulips, when in reality I fell for the offer of 4 packs of 10 for 10 euros. I found some lovely violet-coloured and white varieties which will work well together and provide a good spread of flowers over April – June.
I must have looked like I knew what I was doing, because a lady from Shropshire got talking and asked my advice about what to buy. I explained my thinking: blue is an unusual colour, you don’t see very often in the UK (or at least that’s my experience). I was also looking for different shaped flower heads, colour combinations and flowering periods. She seemed impressed. In fact she ended up coming away with more or less the same choice as me. That got me thinking that maybe I could offer a consultancy service to the bulb seller? But no, I was here for other things, after all.
All I’ve got to do now is decide where to plant the 70 bulbs I brought home (I forgot to tell you that my wife was also given a present of 30 mixed tulips as one of her birthday presents).
Rear of the Flower Market alongside one of Amsterdam’s canals- once these were floating stalls, now very much more permanent
What to choose? My wife discussing tulip selection with a lady from Shropshire
Amazing bulb display
Beatuful Amaryllis- I was warned off due to luggage restrictions!
Amaryllis bulbs
Hmm.. an interesting Christmas present idea…
Tulips from amsterdam…
Old School Gardener
Yesterday was my last fall class with the grade three students. Since the community garden is basically one big puddle, we decided to do a garden class at the school . A couple of years ago we made nut free bird seed cookies and the kids had lots of fun making them. So why nut free? The school is a nut free zone as so many children have nut allergies. I couldn’t take anything that contained nuts into the school. As I looked for birdseed this year, my favourite brand without nuts was nowhere to be found. The other brands had allergy alerts on the bags. So what could I do? It was time to think about other possibilities. I had read online about using Cheerios and dried bagels as the filler. Feeding birds cereal didn’t appeal to me and I am not sure how much the birds would like…
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Gold for Norfolk Master Composters
‘Getting their hands dirty – and encouraging others to do the same – has paid off handsomely for Norfolk’s Master Composters who have won a national golden Green Apple Award for helping to stop thousands of tonnes of waste from being landfilled in Norfolk….’
Garden Museum: Visits Programme 2014
New programme just announced!
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Suffolk Study Day with Tom Hoblyn – Re-Scheduled for Spring 2014
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A Garden of Surprises at Burghley House, 12/03/14
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Design Study Day with Cleve West, 07/04/14
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Syde and Frampton Manor Gardens and Pan Global Plants, 25/06/14
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Longstock Park Water Garden & Houghton Lodge, Hants, 14/05/14
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Walking London Squares with Todd-Longstaffe-Gowan, 22/05/14
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Traditional Splendour in Cambridgeshire gardens, 05/06/14
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The Old Rectory with Dan Pearson and Rockcliffe House, Glouc,02/07/14
Old School Garden 