April Colour

 

We are very fortunate to live in a very green country, people from overseas travel to visit this island just to enjoy our green vistas and as a resident I can appreciate what they see when the end of April approaches and we start to see that lovely fresh green of this year's new growth, add some sunshine and it is the perfect antidote to a long and very wet winter. In the churchyard the fresh greenery is punctuated by lovely highlights of primulas, hellibores and assorted other spring plants. The Wallflowers are a real statement of colour on the corner near the West Door and considering the wet weather we have lost relatively very few, interestingly we put three varieties in and I think it is one variety that has suffered. Gardening, the constant learning curve.

March

 

The start of March it felt at times that the Winter would never relinquish it's grip on the weather but as we approached the end of the month the Saturday mornings were sunny, that early spring sun that cuts through the still bare trees picking out bits of the Churchyard, one such beam shone low across picking out the top of a very old headstone that is a Celtic cross, a moment to stand and stare in wonder. Elsewhere work continues on tidying around the grave slabs gently cleaning the surface so they can be read and cutting around the edge with a lawn edging tool leaving a nice crisp outline. At the foot of one next to the path a slightly raised area has been created using cuttings from around the Churchyard, backfilled with our own compost and planted up with English Bluebells. Against back wall of the old Churchyard the living green Saxifrage roof of the bug hotel is a wonderful display of white flowers and a very welcome source of food for early pollinators. 

February

 

I have a gardener's almanac written by Alan Titchmarsh in his usual well informed and amusing style, one thing we definately agree on, February is neither here nor there, neither Winter or Spring, a month of waiting for those first early signs of spring. In the churchyard in the past week those first signs are to be seen, Tete a Tete Daffodils, Snowdrops and bright yellow Primroses all very encouraging bright spots on dark rainy days.

Of recent we have had a little companion whilst working in the churchyard, a Robin very friendly and very bold, announcing itself by flying past my head alighting on a nearby branch singing merrily away until I start digging and then the freshly turned earth is scrutinised for anything edible, frequently using my trug as a perch closer to the area.

Until next month enjoy the seasonal display.

 

January

 January and another wet month but fortunately a couple of dry Saturday mornings one in fact extremely pleasant with winter sun filtering through the framework of tree branches and illuminating the hillside beyond, a time to stop and just take it in after so many gloomy dark days and it makes you want to get on with something. After last year's success growing Yellow Rattle another area was cleared including tidying around the adjacent gravestones then sown, since then we have had a very cold snap down to minus ten which is exactly what Yellow Rattle needs to trigger it into germination so here's hoping. We were also gifted the branches from the Old Glossop Christmas tree so they have been trimmed to size and used to top up the dead hedge at the top of the path. Whilst working on the hedge it was good to note that the Honeysuckle is firmly established and starting to spread over the top of the hedge. Honeysuckle is a great source of food for night time pollinators, moths to you and me.