What a first week it's been and it's not over yet............

It could not have been a better first week and there's still a few more days to go.... Here are some photos I have taken around the garden. My room is where the two double windows are in the yellow part of the house on the second floor (right below the roof). And as you can see all of the bulbs are going nuts right now......

Here is a closeup of that madness..........



A beautifully done espalier against the wall........The front meadow again with a clipped hedge......Simple pink Camelia blossoms in a simple pink vase in the pantry kitchen........
On the way to Peasmarsh to get some groceries I saw this view down someones driveway. I thought it was pretty appropriate to show that I have officially "landed". There are trails that you can take throught the countryside called footpaths and pedestrians have the right of way even though they go through private properties. I followed some and kept waiting to get shot at but never did. There are so many fields you get to walk to and so many beautiful views. There is a windmill that I plan on walking to and also a castle. So far these guys are the only living things I have encountered....
Another foot path that I call the "scary footpath" because it was dark from all the pines and huge, massive doves kept flying out and startling me, and it was also getting dark. I plan on going back to this spot though to see the ferns when they awaken (they are the brown on the lower right).This is my favorite neighbor so far, his name is Ringo and he calls and calls when I come to visit. You will love my new friend......On Tuesday I had the pleasure of going to Wisley Gardens with Fergus where he was to judge some perennial plants with others. These are the trial fields of Wisley where all of the plants are available to the public in the trade. It was great to see all of the information regarding the plants. And here is my first sighting of our favorite celebrity tree, the Monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). It seemed he didn't want his photo taken as he kept flipping me off.......
Wisley is well known for it's fruit orchards and programs...... I know one fine lady gardener who has been looking into this program.....................The beautiful hillside garden with it's many glorious conifers........And the new glass house at Wisley, a beautiful shape. I also went sheep herding with Fergus' sheep too............ I am now a country boy. And here with any further ado is Ringo...............

The magic of Great Dixter......

On Friday I met up with Andrea, we were to catch a train out of the city to get to Great Dixter. It is about an hour and 15 minutes South of London.-- Great Dixter will be my home base this summer and is one of the best gardens in England. It is home to the late Christopher Lloyd who was very influential in pushing the boundaries in the garden. -- So we finally arrive and it is dark now when Tom picks us up. He is a gardener at Great Dixter as well. We drive down so many windy roads in the rain and the windshield of the car was fogging up. I had no idea where I was going and couldn't see except out of a little patch free of fog near the dashboard. There were huge hedges on either side of the road (of Prunus spinosus) so i couldn't see anywhere but forward. I was beginning to feel like a package that was being delivered somewhere. Once we arrived it was so dark i could not see anything but the wind and rain were definately making their presence known. As we were greeted at the door by Gabby(a gardener from Hungaria) I felt as if I had stepped into a dream. She fed me dinner by the fire in the Solar room and i couldn't even speak. The house is like something out of a fairy tale. This is the front of the house.This is my room, known as the night nursery(that's what it was originally used for) and there were 2 beds. Of course i had to have the one with the red canopy, i have never had that before.My first view of the gardens from my bedroom window the next morning.

Gabby was kind to leave a flower arrangement for me so i took a photo. I realized i could see myself in the mirror without seeing the camera.The front lawn filled with crocuses and daffodils and the walkway to the front door. I feel much more settled now that i have a bed of my own and can unpack. I am off to bed and hope your all doing well........

Friday.......

Today is my last day in London for a while, it's out to the countryside tonight. After 3 failed attempts I was able to finally make it to the Museum of Garden History before it closed. The museum, which was founded in 1977, is in an old church, and is the first museum of its kind. It was filled with old photos and tools. Some quick facts I learned are:
-With bouquets violets represented erotic love and the carnation represented courtly love. The return of one flower from the lovers bunch meant the acceptance of their love.


The vase below is actually a cucumber straightener (c. 1880). It is open on both ends and the young cucumber was placed inside the tube to ensure straightness...... I'm just going to move on... Old and very sixties advertisement for Lawn mowers........
The latest accessory in London fashion. Actually, just read the caption. Do you know where your pony boots are?
And Joyce, and all other Palm lovers, this is for you. The weather is so mild in the city that I have seen many a Palm and Cycad planted in the ground. This one is in a round-a-bout. I am not sure which one it is. Does anyone know? First person gets a free ticket to England... ok, I'm obviously joking. Anyone know?

Thursday.....

I went to the National Portrait Gallery today. So many stories from so many painted portraits. I saw the portrait of Sir Hans Sloane who founded the Chelsea Physic Garden. His collection and library formed the heart of the British Museum. Or there was Robert Blakewell (1725-95) who was the "Father of Animal Husbandry". He worked on better breeding techniques for better livestock. It was quoted he said,"A sheep was a machine for turning grass into mutton." Interesting...... Sandy, you would have loved it here, it reminded me of all the stories in the archives...
Another day, another park..... This is St. James Park looking towards where they hold the Horse Guards parade. There are the Primula again..........




I spy the London Eye with Jimmy in St. James Park ..................... hehehe.
This is a Royal Park because it is bordered on it's sides by the Parliament buildings, the Wellington Barracks, and Buckingham Palace. It was originally a swamp that was flooded by the Tyburn stream which flows through a lake in the park. Charles the 2nd had a long canal built into the waterlogged land. He introduced geese, pelicans, and waterfowl which still exist in the park. In 1828 it was re-designed by John Nash in the English landscape style. It has naturalized bulbs everywhere and Platanus trees all throughout the park. These are the dominant trees in the city too. I asked if they were all Platanus x acerifolia (common name is London plane tree.)but there is some debate that it is another species possibly. There habit is much different and more graceful here. These are just some simple gates that enter into the neighboring park called Green Park. It is not planted as heavily but is equally beautiful.This is the Queen Victoria Memorial situated right next to Buckingham Palace in a round-a-bout.
The beautiful coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The crowned lion represents England, the unicorn represents Scotland. The free unicorn used to be considered a dangerous beast. The Guards Museum which is in front of the Wellington Barracks.
Here on the way home I thought I stumbled into a Dr. Seuss story but unfortunately that wasn't true. More severely pruned trees.... It does have a sculptural quality to it though doesn't it?

Wednesday.......

The Tate Modern was the goal of the day today. Alot of the Narcissus are still coming up but one thing that i notice here is the use of Primula. I have seen them in park plantings such as this one, containers and in herbaceous beds too.

The Tate Modern is right on the Thames River, as are alot of other sights too. I have been along the Thames river a few days now. We went to go see a show of Man Ray, Duchamp, and Picabia. The three artists were great friends who inspired and pushed each other for a number of years. This was a special exhibit so there was an entrance fee. I did not know alot about Francis Picabia but know have a better understanding of who he was. The view below is from the cafe on the top floor. That is the Thames (pronounced Temz here, but i kept saying Thaymes and they would just smile at me.......) river with the Millenium Bridge (for pedestrians only) and St. Paul's Church in the background.

Me and Sho-Sho on the Millenium Bridge at sunset..... Thanks for everything you have done for me. Siobhan, friend forever, I love you. The trees here are severely pruned to prevent from touching the sides of the buildings (I think, and please correct me if i am wrong.....) The pigeons took up perching in them and it looked very strange to me.
You can see that this is what the tree will look like later on......

Tuesday.....

Siobhan and I made our way towards the Natural History Museum today. Joyce mentioned this was a place not to be missed(thanks Joyce!!), the building itself is just as mesmerizing as what was inside. It is in a pretty posh neighhorhood and outside the museum were the tents that were just used for London Fashion week (i know theres a few of you...) The exhibits were displayed really well and there was alot to see.

As you know, I have an interest in bones, skulls and skeletons so to see a turtle speciman spliced in half was a favorite for me. Some people think its a bit creepy but were all made up of bones right? Bones and stones.......
In Earth's Treasury I saw some beautiful stones.... I used to collect stones as a child and am still fascinated by them. Just a nerd at heart........ My favorite exhibit was called Plant Power, which highlighted plants that played a part in human development. This was the gourd, coal, coal, silk, poppy, wheat, yam, oak, cotton, algae, sugar, cinchona (used for malaria), lichen, rose, potato, papyrus, grape, tea, and rubber. I was reminded (some i remember from Germany) that lichens are very sensitive to acid rain, car fumes, fluorides, zinc, nickel, mercury and other pollutions. If you measure and compare the distributions of lichen in different areas you can measure the extent of pollution in the atmoshphere. The more lichen, the cleaner the area.

Some cheeky street art found on a side street....
We also went to see a Dali exhibit, with a small Picasso show included, which had some interesting pieces i had not seen yet. I have studied the Surrealists and the Dadaists and their movements for a long time. This statue of one of Dali's elephants was placed in front of the exhibit and looked like it was stepping through the Parliament Building though the Thames was between them.

Monday......

Monday was spent running around trying to take in some galleries and museums while trying to figure out the underground metro. There are some really colorful and intricate murals at some of the stations such as the one below. Arriving at The National Gallery you first encounter Trafalgar Square which has many beautiful fountains and public areas for people to gather. The museum houses a great collection of Western European paintings which belong to the public and there is no entrance fee to pay.
After entering, the first thing I noticed was this large urn holding this arrangement at the top of a flight of stairs. While using forced branches has been done before, it never occurred to mix dormant ones in the way it is done here. Call me a beginner I guess....... It was a mix of Prunus sp., Malus sp. , Salix sp., Hydrangea macrophylla 'Nikko Blue', sticks wrapped in moss and Aspidistra elatior (?) foliage (commonly called the Cast-iron plant-it's a very, very easy houseplant for those not good with plants... I know who you are....). The whole arrangement held its own in the large entry hall due to the weight of the arrangement at the top of the urn.
Collection highlights included the famous Van Eyck painting 'The Arnolfini Portrait', 'Sunflowers' by Van Gogh and many other pieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Turner, Poussin, Seurat, Cezanne, Vermeer, and Michaelangelo. Alot of the great museums here are free which is welcomed since the the pound is worth twice the dollar. Leaving later than expected, this was the view upon exiting, which is Trafalgar square looking towards 'Big Ben'.