Spring in the North of England

There are flowers everywhere; we have had amazing weather so March 'in like a lion and out like a lamb' has not happened in 2012.



The trees are in bud- the hawthorns have flushed the hedgerows with a fresh flush of green.



Hawick Hall gardens are full of daffodils in the undergrowth below shrubs & trees.



The cyclamen are vivid and hanging on for weeks in bloom.



Durham Botanic gardens are filled with hosts (not just clumps!!!) of golden daffodils



and narcissi of various sorts.



Primroses are snuggled against a south facing wall.



Their tubs are filled with tulips and in the glass houses tarantulas survey huge triffid looking water plants.



There are some strange visitors to the greenhouses too!



How come their shoals of goldfish thrive while we are having difficulty keeping any goldfish alive?



Whitley Bay (near the Spanish City which has changed so much from the FunFair of old)



has the most beautiful formal beds of narcissi, primulas and pansies- worth a visit & a stroll along the beach.






I have been given a gift from my friend M- summer bulbs- which I have never planted before as they have to be lifted (I think) as winter draws in- like dahlias- so I usually do not bother- but I must get more adventurous.... with Liatris, Acidanthera,Triteleia,Sparaxis- and since my eternal sweet pea (one of my favourite but elusive flowers!) has died (& over a relatively mild winter!)- I have planted plugs of sweet peas.
Ooh! I can't wait to see what emerges to cover the soily bare plot where the old lavender was.
Meanwhile as we looked at cars! I bumped into one of my exstudents from a special class- and out of the blue he sent me a beautiful bouquet (which as his mum and I recognise the significance-) is of course pink and is scenting our family room with a fragrance of stocks and stargazer lilies.



Meanwhile the little bottom which wiggled out of the court at 8.15 a.m. has not reappeared yet (22miles intended today by Lady Windermere!)in preparation for the Marathon of the North. Her Ladyship gave me a lovely bunch of flowers too so the house reflects the garden!

Snowdrops and Stir fry!

You can not possibly lead the exciting life I lead!
No I don't live there! Lady Mary does.
BUT
Tonight we are having a stir fry composed of chrysanthemum greens,namenia and green mustard with lots of garlic and some chicken! The veggie box surprises and educates me every week!



Last week we walked the Snowdrop Walk at Hawick Hall. To be truthful, we sat a long time in the beautiful tearoom supping soup and watching the various assortment of coal tits, great tits, blue tits at the bird station outside the window.


Then we braved the blast of icy northern winds piercing the sunny tracks through the woods; frozen little mitts = camera shake!



We mosied among carpets of aconites and snowdrops before viewing cyclamen in the more formal garden immediately outside the tearoom.




It was freezing!But the hall looks majestic whatever the weather.



The leafletting on the night of the black ice worked- it helped by whipping up support for the Big Walk; 500+ people turned out to show their feelings & wishes to protect the green belt around the north of Newcastle and in particular to try to preserve Gosforth Park Nature Reserve; but will the Council be persuaded into developing brown field sites before developing green fields unnecessarily?



We walked the Ouseburn corridor, spotting a kingfisher en route; Jesmond Dene, Armstrong Park, Heaton , the Cluny, behind Seven Stories, stopped at the Tyne Bar down by the Ouseburn Barrage, walked along the Tyne looking at my city then stopping at the Pitcher and Piano to watch the Millenium Bridge traffic & after our demonstration we called in at the Eye on the Tyne (disappointing -H1's burger had unannounced chilli mixed in with it- for a man with great reservations regarding food this did not go down a treat- in fact it did not go down at all- he took it back!) When I look along the river at the Sage(Concert Halls), Baltic(Gallery), all the bridges I wonder if P&K in Menorca and A, & R&T in Australia recognise their city roots now?



The Theatre Royal celebrated its 175th anniversary with displays in Grey Street... a stilt walker, MacBeth's witches, Fagan and his boys, the Ugly Sisters, a birthday cake and fireworks on the hour each evening this week.



Crocus are popping out all over my garden & everywhere else- a trip through Backworth village is so worthwhile- and there are crowds of daffodils which will be wonderful to see in the next 2? weeks.



Ly & I walked the Long Sands again today; what were those crazy lads doing plodging up to their waists in the North Sea? Brr!



Talking of crazy- who else but D3 could be thrilled with a compost bin for a birthday present (she did get other gifts!) and yes! I know it is blurred but excitement makes for leaping up and down like a mad dalek!!



I confess- I would be thrilled when I too get a hodgepod ( from Blyth Wildlife Rescue) for the hedgehog which hoovers my garden nightly.

Holy Week

I have given up and arisen, leaving H1 to snore like a beached whale. I am hot and bothered but I know the moment I change to the summer duvet we will get snow; each morning a sea fret has shrouded the east - but has burned off to reveal a cloudless, blue sky and sunfilled day.



D3 treated us to a Groupon deal which saw us down at Hardwick Hall(Sedgefield) to see X Factor winner Joe McElderry. In my totally unbiased opinion, local lad Joe has a wonderful voice, engaging good looks, an apparently honest nature and seems to have been poorly managed. What is he doing singing (to a huge number of besotted fans of all ages) in a venue like this when lesser talent like Jedward are raking in the cash?



Before entering the marquee with 998 other Joe admirers, we visited Durham Council's Hardwick Park project; the park is free and curious pieces of furniture stencilled with quotes about the original owners are to be found amid the prolific bird population; statuesque ladies watched us from the undergrowth as we climbed over the bridge.





The schools broke up last weekend and Palm Sunday began the journey through Holy Week; fasting and abstinence today being Good Friday; fish and hot cross buns later!



Actually we had fish and chips on North Shields fish quay last night- then disgracefully followed that up with a slider (an ice cream between two wafers) at the Crescent Cafe on Seaton Delaval roundabout. Our resident ice cream expert (H1) declares this to be the best in the North East.



We went back to Hawick Hall gardens and arboretum to see the carpets of daffodils; funny that the Newcastle and Northumberland Society's talk this week was on Earl Grey; an dedicated politician who began electoral reform in Britain by pushing through the 1832 Poor Law. There was all sorts of narcissi out though we had missed the daffs!



Hawick has been planted up with all sorts for future generations- but what on earth are these triffids?



It does not seem long since our long, cold, snowy winter which killed off so many plants; I have lost a well established ceaonothus and lots of gardeners have lost acers, hebes, magnolias, camellias and so on........




My rhubarb has not appeared but my kind neighbour donated enough to make a couple of crumbles.



I need to think doubly hard now..... how shall I design my Easter bonnet? How can I decorate my pace egg so I win the Easter Sunday morning competition? I am going to try to hardboil eggs in red onion skins as well as the usual brown ones; I have been advised to hold the flowerheads against the egg (while cooking) within the foot of tights- I tend to stick the shapes on only to simmer them off- thus I end up with lots of eggs for jarping!!! I get scathing comments about my past religiously themed eggs- as if I would try to sway the vote?! I am going to stimulate ideas with a toasted hot X bun and a cup of tea......