Saturday 7 August 2010

Wintering over



This year has suited the violets and they have bloomed from the first autumn rains right through the winter. Their scent is always in the garden.




The herbs in pots have wintered over in a sheltered and sunny spot by the house. While all the herbs in the garden beds are mostly dry, with hints of new growth underneath, these are almost bursting from their pots. I have thyme, sage, parsley, mint, marjoram and chives growing well despite the chilly weather.







I planted hyacinths after reading several novels written by English women in the thirties, forties and fifties. All very different writers, but I began to notice the presence of hyacinths somewhere in each book. These are looking hopeful, aren't they?







Sweet scented jonquils are flowering in a couple of large terracotta pots.






and the grapefruit, the last of the winter fruit, are slowly ripening.


5 comments:

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

elizabeth..i wanted to tell you something. will try to make a long story short, but my daughter
broached a question the other day that she was anxious about. was
wanting to know "at what point
would i be able to get you to leave
that place? would i have to wait
until you can't remember who i am
or who you are for that matter?"
the question arose because due to
circumstances, her daughter/my granddaughter MIGHT (most likely
won't) at some point need her mother closer by and my daughter
was torn by the thought of leaving
me here and moving cross country.
my root in this acre is DEEP.
here's where you come in. the
first image that came to mind when
i heard her hesitant question, was
your blog.
so i began my answer (which surprised us both in a very happy way) by telling her about your world there, and how from reading
your words and seeing your photographs, i have realized that
i actually COULD live there, or
anywhere, for that matter. so i
want to thank you for this really
subconscious subtle change in my
sense of things....it is a really
BIG thing, to me, to her and maybe
for the three of us someday.
thank you. very much

Elizabeth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Elizabeth said...

Grace, I read your comment this morning and have been thinking about it all day. Perhaps you have guessed that one purpose in my starting this blog was to learn to love the place I live in now. I do know the sorrow of leaving a beloved place where roots are grown in deep.

I am grateful for the gift of Windthread. I hope you will keep spinning it and share what you seee and do.

grace Forrest~Maestas said...

i memorized one poem as a child:

if of thy wordly goods thou art
bereft,
two loaves alone to thee are left
sell one, and with the dole
buy hyacinths to feed they soul.

think it's Wordsworth

Elizabeth said...

Lovely words Grace, and that is how I feel about my hyacinths, I need them as much as I need the broad beans. Thank you.