Derek – Thursday 18th April 2019

A sunny day in the garden, about 20 degrees. It’s quiet today, few people realise we are open Thursday afternoons. We’ll likely pick up when the schools go back after Easter. The large flowering cherry is at peak blossom, pink petals are starting to fall. It is such a fragile blossom, a little breeze and the path is covered like …

Derek – Thursday 11th April 2019

The sun is shining, but it’s just 12ºC. It feels, though, so much warmer. That must be the effect of the wooden fence round garden, sheltering us. This is the first Thursday opening of the year, the beginning of our summer timetable. There’s flowers and blossom everywhere. There are overhangs of white spiraea florets in a raised bed near the …

Derek – Saturday 2nd February 2019

It is a cold morning, 2 degrees C, though the sun is out, but there is not a lot of heat in its glow. The pond is frozen over and almost full to the brim. The surface vegetation is mostly shrivelled. I see a few snails, hibernating. And no other animal life in the pond. It’s dormant, awaiting spring warmth. …

Derek – Tuesday 1 January 2019

I visit the garden on the first day of the new year, not expecting much. It’s chilly, the wind nibbling at my fingers as I write these notes. The garden is dormant, though there are a few flowers here and there that have not read the rules: a small Viburnum tinus, an evergreen shrub, with its cluster of small white …

Derek – Thursday 25 October

This is the last Thursday of the year for the garden. After this session, we go to the winter timetable, when the garden will open only on Fridays and Saturdays. In the spring, we’ll open on Thursday once more. It’s like an end of term day and the weather adds to this. At first, it’s quite warm, and we have …

Derek – Thursday 18th October

I am surprised how busy we are this afternoon as it’s on the chilly side, 16ºC. pleasant in the sun but parky when the sun is in the clouds, which it is about half the time. We have a visit by eight medical students from QMC. They are very young, like six formers, which is what they were very recently …

Derek – Thursday 11 October

It is windy this afternoon, with heavy dark clouds. Rain is forecast, but we escape it and the clouds clear, granting us a little sunshine, giving long autumn shadows. It’s about 20ºC but feels colder because of the wind. The pond is fuller after the weekend rain. There are lots of water fleas. They are so small, about the size …

Derek – Thursday 4 October

It’s around 17ºC in the garden, a little chilly when the sun goes in the clouds, but pleasant when it is out. Mothers come with nursery children about 3.30, along with toddlers, and a little later infants from Godwin. We make sure the child gates are on at the front and side gates as the children are everywhere, though more …

Derek – Thursday 27th September

A bright sunny afternoon, 23ºC, following a chilly morning. The autumnal equinox was on Sunday (23 September). Now the days grow shorter until late December. The sun rose at five to seven this morning; so late, no wonder the morning was cold. But a great afternoon and, in the sunshine, the garden fills with mothers and toddlers, a few dads, …

Derek – Thursday 20th September

It is mild in the garden, about 20ºC, the skies threatening rain without delivering. Over night, the wind has blown down the large gazebo between the nursery and the pond. The billowing canvas has the power of a sail and its thrashing snapped one of the poles, bent another, and broke a joint fitting. We take the gazebo down. It …