Wednesday 13 May 2015

Green, green everywhere















Every time I go out at the moment I'm blown away by the very greenness of everything.  I love July and August with their summer heat and holidays and harvests, but right now is the time of year when I just have the word "glorious" in my mind all the time.  After the bare branches of winter, suddenly everything looks different.  Thick heavy green, everywhere.  I've always forgotten what it looks like by spring.  Every year it's a surprise.  When we drive along country roads I exclaim about it constantly.  I'm not sure anyone else here gets it.

Look at the horse chestnut flowers.  Aren't they extraordinary?  And the trees are majestic.  Not English natives, but our landscape has adopted them and they thrive here.

I went to the allotment this morning because the forecast was for sun all day.  Tomorrow's is for rain all day.  Today was gorgeous, like summer, but I'll love the rain tomorrow as well.  The chance to stay in and listen to the rain drumming on the windows.  And of course all my watering will be done.

The asparagus has been doing well, and there was a big pot of radishes to bring home.  Blackcurrants and gooseberries are swelling, and happily the two new apple trees are flowering at the same time, which means they should pollinate each other.  There are masses of flowers on the broad beans and the strawberries are looking a bit cheerier than they were.  They struggled slightly with the weedproof membrane, some of their leaves and berries went out horizontally underneath the fabric rather than out the top.  I've pulled them out and pegged it down a bit more.

The garden shop on the high street had stocks on offer when I went in earlier.  The scent is fabulous.  I picked up three and put them in a pot together by the back door.  Forgot to photograph them, I'll do it another day.  Hopefully the scent will waft into the kitchen a bit.  It smells like the summer days of my childhood.

48 comments:

  1. Lovely photos and it sounds as if everything is coming together well at your allotment. x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Everything is bursting out all over there! As a gardener, I know you're thrilled! How hard is it to grow asparagus? We love it here at our house but my DIL said "it takes a long time to grow". I thought I'd ask you as there you are with your asparagus! I planted some new things here too. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh, i know what you mean about the delightful surprise of it all. i find myself in a state of perpetual exclamation....i suppose everyone gets tired of hearing me go on. ;) and here, especially, it's like it all just happened overnight -- one morning we woke up and there were leaves! and blossoms!! marvelous!!!

    we get some utterly disgusting humidity here in the summer, so i don't particularly *love* it....this is my favourite time [other than autumn] because the weather is nice enough to enjoy the outdoors without sweltering heat and clouds of mosquitoes....

    congrats on the early bounty of your harvest! our asparagus is just poking through...it's been three years and we're only just seeing the fruits of our waiting...:)

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your allotment is looking fabulous. You know, I don't think I've ever looked closely at a horse chestnut flower - they're amazing aren't they? It almost looks as if someone has had a crafty moment and made them. Enjoy the rest of your week. xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. More beautiful greens! Your allotment is looking amazing - the asparagus looks especially great (I love freshly picked asparagus - in fact all freshly picked veg - it tastes so much nicer).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your plot looks so prolific and organized!!!! Way to go CJ!!!! And I am so with you on seeing all of the green.....it is almost like it is surprise when it all fills in! A treat indeed as are your photos! Happy gardening my friend! Nicole xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. The asparagus sure does look yummy!

    Sounds like you are going to have good harvesting this year.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh I loved this post CJ. It's wonderful to really notice and celebrate all the beauty that's around us at the moment isn't it. I walk about smiling at all the fresh green....just stunning.
    Jacquie x

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know exactly what you mean about May - a marvellous month and my favourite. I love all the new fresh Spring greens and the blossoms. Here in Warwickshire everything looks beautiful, the horse chestnuts and bluebells are gorgeous. We went for a delightful walk in our nearby Bluebell Wood on Sunday with our little granddaughter and it was magical.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh I get the green too! It is the most wonderful of times. I have been planning to do a post about it too - will have to wait for the weekend.
    Your leeks seem still to be going strong - no signs of bolting yet? Mine are just starting to bolt. And I am seriously envious of your broad beans!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, you have certainly captured the essence of spring with those beautiful photos. The asparagus is looking magnificent and a wonderful allotment.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your produce seems to be coming along very quickly, it all seems a bit slow here. Lovely photos.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'd never noticed how lovely horse chestnut flowers were until I took a close up photograph of them. Photography really opens your eyes to things. Were your strawberries very tiny when planted out as we have never had that problem with plants and weed fabric

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They were fairly small, and the weed control fabric was billowing a bit in the wind as well until I anchored it more firmly. Do you make a circular hole for your plants? I just made a cross for mine, but I'm wondering if a circular hole would have worked better.

      Delete
    2. Just a cross like you did but the fabric is held down well at the edges and a wood chip mulch applied on top.

      Delete
  14. Stocks have such a fabulous scent, I'm growing some from seed this year but they're a long way off flowering yet, still, something to look forward to. It's a wonderful time of year, everything such a vibrant shade of green and we start to see the harvests to come. Keep an eye on your gooseberries, mine are covered in sawfly.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm so ignorant about flowers I didn't know stocks' scent was so strong.... I must admit I'm not a huge fan of it... but I love how they look!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your allotment is looking good CJ, lots of lovely things to come. The white clematis is a real beauty, I love the green centres with the white petals - what one is that? I was looking at the horse chestnut flowers out on our walk yesterday, I thought the stamens look like little tentacles reaching out. I love stocks, my wedding bouquet was made up of stocks and ivy, but unfortunately they made my husband sneeze all the way from the church to the reception! Enjoy the rest of your week. Jane xx

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey CJ,
    I drove the back road into St Ives the other day, and was exclaiming all the way at the green tree canopy that has miraculously appeared. Of course it does every year. And every year I am wowed by it. So I completely get what you mean about all of the green. Gorgeous pictures too.
    Leanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think there's something about the light at this time of year, too, that makes all the green look so vibrant. Lovely to see all your produce. We haven't even had flowers on the gooseberries yet (but I did cut them back hard in November so perhaps we'll have to wait a year). Love scented stocks. Enjoy the rest of the week (rain and all). Sam x

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think that one reason that I like white flowers is that it always contrasts so well with green foliage, especially at this time of year.
    It's all looking, and sounding, good. Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great photos, everything looks lush, green and growing. I'm so impressed that you've grown your own asparagus. They must taste so lovely . X

    ReplyDelete
  21. CJ, I love your thoughts in the first paragraph. I was just saying a similar thing to my husband - everything is green, the trees are flowering, the birds are singing, there was a warm breeze blowing with sunlight filtering through the leaves, and it was just glorious - to use your word. I said I hope that people appreciate how great we have it here - some people are stuck in cities with smug, crime, pollution, or simply live in a part of the world with no trees! I know there are beautiful landscapes that don't involve trees and green plants, but I am thankful for this world of green I live in. Your English countryside looks so beautiful also.

    ReplyDelete
  22. So many great photos of growth! Those blooms are something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Your pictures are beautiful! I know just what you mean about being enveloped in green. It's the same here right now. And there's something special about the colour of green that happens at this time of the year, when the leaves are young and fresh. That asparagus looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  24. It is a glorious time of year isn't it? Everything so fresh and clean and fluffy. Your allotment produce sounds and looks divine. Happy Days xxx

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love your photos, the green really is stunning. I love this time of year. That asparagus is gorgeous! Wow. I've never seen any that thick before. I'm so glad the allotment is producing well already. I'm sure you must be enjoying it very much.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great photo's I love this time of year too, we are blessed have a horse chestnut in the garden :)
    Clare x

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love this time of year too. Everything is so fresh.The rain didn't make it this far east again so it was down to the allotment to get out the watering can.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Not only does everything look so green after the drabness of winter but there is so much promise of things to come.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I agree that this time of year is wonderfully fresh and verdant! I started a blog because I was always exclaiming about such things to my mystified family, so I get exactly what you mean. I didn't bother watering my pots yesterday either because rain was forecast - good decision :)
    Cathy x

    ReplyDelete
  30. I was out with my camera yesterday photographing green growing things - apple blossom and wild garlic flowers - in my case ... it really was the most glorious day wasn't it. No rain turned up here in the end today, I do hope you got some and were relieved of watering duties :o)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Gorgeous photographs and everything is so far on with you! We've barley leaves on the trees, never mind veg and fruit, it all looks gloriously verdant :) ps. I love stocks too :)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Such a green fingered girl! how do you manage to do all that as well?! X

    ReplyDelete
  33. I cant get over how your allotment is flourishing ! i live on the north west coast and i would say my allotment is a month behind,we have had sun but a lot of wind to ,i agree i loooooooooooooooove this time of year ,the bloosom has been fab this yr too ,so lovely to look at and smell x

    ReplyDelete
  34. Yes, it is glorious right now, I keep wittering on about the depth of the greenness to anyone who'll listen. It's a good thing we have blogging to share our passions, yes? I didn't know horse chestnuts flowered until I went to the woods last weekend. They're stunning. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  35. Your asparagus looks absolutely delicious. Ours didn't do well at all, probably too cold and wet for it. Green is such a hopeful colour, it makes me happy. It is a glorious time of year indeed. I hope there is a good mixture of dryness, warmth and rain showers for your garden! Have a great weekend. xx

    ReplyDelete
  36. I know what you mean about the greenness. It's so fresh and bright, quite different to July and August. And it takes me by surprise a little each spring. A bit like Christmas, really! I hope you've had a better week after last weekend's shenanigans xx

    ReplyDelete
  37. ahh! Green, flowers and veggies. Good stuff! Enjoy :)

    Favorite Photo: The allotment lines of growing things :) The tarp gives contrast and the angle is fun to boot.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Super photos CJ - those gooseberries made my mouth water! I do love horse chestnut trees in bloom!
    Caz xx

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wonderful images CJ we used to find that you could almost feel the plants growing when we used to visit the allotment at this time of year. Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  40. This reminds me of a book Little Buddy reads, Bear Sees Colors, and in it it says, "Green, green everywhere, can you find green with Bear?" Love all of your green, it is a brilliant color in the Spring.
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  41. It is just gorgeous out and about at the moment isn't it - we're a little to the north east of you but everywhere around here is just lush!

    ReplyDelete
  42. I've been thinking of you as I've been working in my own garden. I think the watering is growing on me after all. The other day I even caught myself enjoying rolling up the hose! I hope you have a wonderful weekend CJ, surrounded by sweet smells and beautiful colors, I bet.

    ReplyDelete
  43. May's a beautiful month isn't it? So verdant and lush. I too get all excited about hedgerows and cow parsley and hawthorn flowers. And yes, horse chestnut blooms are very beautiful when viewed up close.
    Well done on the asparagus. I always assume it's a faff to grow. And I have some serious gooseberry envy! I'm the only one who'll eat them in this house but that's no bad thing.
    Hope you're having a lovely weekend :)
    S x

    ReplyDelete
  44. Look at that asparagus! Yum! Your allotment is looking lovely. Such a lovely time to be in the garden!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Gorgeous photo's CJ, your plot looks wonderful. I love this time of year too, so much lovely greenery and pretty blossoms. xx

    ReplyDelete
  46. QUE FLORES!!!!
    UNA HERMOSURA ..
    PRECIOSAS FOTOS.
    SALUDITOS

    ReplyDelete