Various Veg

Again a mixed week of weather, rain and sunshine and still the occasional cold night.

The greenhouse is bursting with plants that need to be planted out.

Can you see the paraffin heater?

I have started to stake some plants and have used my pottery heads.

I say what a wonderful view

Has anyone seen my trowel?

Should I have eaten all that rhubarb?

A pottery sunflower brightens the flower bed.

Sunseeker

Bonny violet violas.

Violet faces

The bluebells form a blue carpet.

Blue hues

The apple blossom is very delicate.

Dainty shades of pink

The leaves on the grapevine are just beginning to open.

Last year we had a small grape harvest

The peas I planted two weeks ago are just showing.

Hunt the peas

I have had to earth up the potatoes.

Earthing up is putting soil over the potato leaves as they grow

My asparagus bed got hit by the frost so I only have about 2 stalks ripening.

Not a lot

A wonderful coloured evening sky.

Golden hues

Fantastic Flowering

Another week of rain warm days and cold nights. Everything is growing very fast including the plants grown from seed in the greenhouse. I will have to wait a couple more weeks to avoid the frosts before I can plant them out. I have planted out the cabbages and cauliflowers. I have spent several days weeding flowerbeds and under the fruit trees. Yesterday I sowed a bed of wild flowers and a bed of calendulas and poppies.

The dandelions are now gracing the verges.

An army of golden spiky discs

Such an intense yellow.

Vivid acid yellow

Dainty Welsh poppies are in bloom. They love to open their petals to full sunshine and close up at night.

Fragile beauty

The aubretia is looking very striking.

A purple cascade

The rhubarb and cardoon are responding to the manure feed.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb

The strawberry plants are in flower.

We will know that summer is here when there are strawberries to eat

We have cut back the Autumn raspberries and applied a liberal dose of manure.

In a season the raspberries grow to the top of the posts

The aconites love the sunshine and only open on sunny days.

Starry, starry white

My red rhododendron is in flower. 

Very frost sensitive

I have been dead heading the daffodils.

A stew of daffodil heads

On a trip to Skipton I saw the converted former water tower that has been featured on Grand designs.

A glass viewing tower on the top. Situated next to Skipton station

Yarn bombing in Skipton.

Spinning a yarn

How to brighten up a fence

What type of shop is this?

Not any old cobblers

Shoes from a former era.

Do we have your size?

A selection of old fashioned sweets. 

Tasty

Can you see your favourite.

I love the designs on the tins

Plastic strips on a maize field look like a silver lake.

 A plastic lake

Rust in many guises.

All these objects have been dug up or found in the Artful Garden

Stunning Stirling

The hedgerows are now in full fresh green leaf. This week we have had rain and cold winds.
We have had several rainbows. 

A rainbow promise

Yesterday we had the helm wind blowing. As I drove up Hartside when I got out of the car I had difficulty shutting the car door against the force of the wind.

The band between the clouds and the land is known as the Helm bar

Cowslips are in flower on the roadside.

Cowslips on the verge outside Langwathby

Dainty trumpet bells

Early morning sunrise with the mist floating across the river.

Drifting mist

The sun has risen higher in the sky.

Atmospheric

Last week I visited Stirling Castle. The castle entrance.

Friend or foe

A statue to Robert the Bruce.

A brave warrior

The Chapel Royal.

The Royal Palace in the background is painted in 'Kings Gold' a sign of wealth

 Stirling Heads on the ceiling of the Royal Palace.

Hi

A fresco.

The unicorn a symbol of purity

A tapestry.

A captured unicorn

A tree illuminated by the sun setting.

Actual colours

Spring and Scotland

What a difference a week makes. Over the weekend there was several inches of snow, hail and cold winds. The severity of the frost has killed many of the newly opened leaves on the beech hedge and various plants have suffered from the cold.

I took these photos in the Artful Garden last Saturday before the bad weather.

The spirea looks beautiful a frothy cloud of white.

White  fireworks

The forgetmenots and tulips decorate the garden path.

Bonny blues

The delicate plum blossom has just appeared.

Blossom beauty

The damson blossom looks very fragile.

 A delicate shade of white

A two toned daffodil.

A washed out daffodil

I visited The Bridge of Allan near Stirling in Scotland on Monday. The Post office looks like something out of the wild west.

Tie up your horse and enter

We climbing up through Mine Wood. The mine entrance where copper was once mined and used for the mint at Stirling.

No entry

The rock face.

Can you see any traces of copper?

Fern fronds just about to open.

Ready to uncurl

A view north from the top of the hill.

Looking towards Dunblane

Looking over towards Stirling.

Looking towards the rivers Forth and Clyde

Moss on the tree and the dry stone walls.

A woolly jacket of moss

Amazing Kelpie horses. They are 30 metres high and situated next to a new extension to the Forth and Clyde canals.

Neigh

The horses were designed by Andy Scott.

Viewing highly recommended

A closer view of the metal panels.

Look at the shape of the cutouts

Rapeseed growing in the local fields.

Acid yellow rapeseed

At an antique fair I saw this South African pheasant, stunning plumage.

What a show off said one parrot to the other. Just go with the glow replied the pheasant.