Snowdrops ....or to give them their Latin name..... Galanthus.

Unfortunately the snowdrops in this picture aren't in my garden. It's four years since blog reader Jan brought me a bag of snowdrops 'in the green' . I planted them in various places in the back and front gardens but  like everything else planted here (except trees) they mostly vanished. A few re-appeared in 2023 but since then only one small clump .  The back garden gets no sun in winter and can be a frost pocket when the weather is bad and the soil is poor anyway. No point planting more.

These snowdrops that I photographed last week are across the road on the bank of the churchyard, right by the road. They have spread really well recently coming up despite being among grass, with water splash from traffic. The bank faces south-west so is in the sun for hours which must make all the difference.

 

The word Galanthus comes from from the Greek words gala (milk) and anthos (flower). Originally a native of alpine areas of Europe and Asia, it was considered to be a holy plant, a symbol of purity, chastity and hope and was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. According to my little book of plant folklore Snowdrops should only be brought into the house with a 'white purification' ceremony  and it was considered unlucky to bring them into the house at all before Candlemas. They were often called Candlemas bells.

Many poets have written poetry about these small flowers

Brother, Joy to you

I've brought some snowdrops; only just a few,

But quite enough to prove the world awake,

Cheerful and hopeful in the frosty dew

And for the pale sun's sake.

Christina Rosetti

SNOWDROPS

I like to think 

That, long ago

There fell to earth

Some flakes of snow

Which loved this cold,

Grey world of ours

So much, they stayed 

As snowdrop flower

 Mary Vivian

Many, many welcomes,

February fair-maid,

Ever as old time,

Solitarty firstling,

Coming in the cold time,

Prophet of the gay time,

Prophet of the May time

Prophet of the roses,

Many, many welcomes,

February fair-maid.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

*******************

My plans for no shopping this week went haywire as Son said he'd bring a chicken over on Sunday and cook a roast dinner for us all.  I provided some of the other bits so I've used up all the carrots that were in the fridge and used most of the eggs to make Yorkshire puddings.. I had half a packet of stuffing mix left from the nut roast made before Christmas which was handy and an ice cream dessert in the freezer also from Christmas - so that's been used too.

 I don't like a fridge with no eggs and no carrots - one of my basic veg to have on hand so will have to shop after all.

Main meals this week will be............

Portion of nut roast from freezer with roast potatoes left from Sunday and veg and gravy.

Leek fritters with bacon

Baked fish in batter with sweet potato chips and peas

Portion Quorn Bolognese sauce from freezer over spaghetti 

and other things that I've not thought of yet......I'm not much good at meal planning now it's just me!

At Last......

 .....my snowdrops have appeared.

These are the ones that blog reader Jan kindly brought me 'in the green' last spring. I put some in the grass out the front and others in the border and round the fruit trees out the back and slowly, slowly they are appearing.

There are signs of all three clumps that I put out the front and I've pulled the grass away from them. It's odd that they look as if they've been planted too deep - as I'm sure they weren't. More have popped up around the apple trees in the back garden. Good to know they've not all been lost in last years dry summer.

In autumn 2021 I put tulips in 2 different layers and crocus on the top in a deep planter by the front porch and last spring the crocus flowered well before the tulips. But for some reason this year the first tulips are through at the same time as the crocus. After they've all flowered (or not) this year I need to tip the lot out and re-plant..

This week has been a busy with something happening every morning. I shopped at Asda and it was just like the 'old days' as so many of their very basics range have reappeared in the yellow tins and wrappers - like they had  few years ago before Covid. I took advantage buying spaghetti, feta, coleslaw and tinned tomatoes. Next time I shop at Morrisons or Aldi I'll see how many Value range products have reappeared in their shops.

It was good weather for getting washing dry  and the forecast is much the same for most of next week too - so this is the "One Fine Week" that the folklore books mention. I'm not looking forward to the "One Cold Week"! The window cleaner was reminding me of the snow we had in February 2021 and March 2018.  Feb 2021 I was snowed in up the lane for a few days not long before I moved out and 2018 was when we couldn't get out of the village to get to Addenbrookes hospital for one of Col's appointments. I have no idea if there will be any this year - nothing in the long-range forecast at the moment.

Thank you for reading the blog through yet another week - Have a good weekend.

I'll be back Monday

Sue

A Good Weather Week and a Snowdrop Surprise

 Still no sign of winter here in Suffolk and several days have been better than forecast with more sun than the previous weeks and only a couple of frosty nights.

  And good weather made for a good week for me with my adventure into Cambridgeshire and some gardening done (and don't anyone dare say there's no such thing as bad weather, in my opinion any day that the sun doesn't shine in winter is Bad Weather!)

The Snowdrop Surprise was yesterday when there was a knock at the door and there stood a lady with a huge bag of Snowdrops in-the-green. I was so surprised and babbled a thank you. The lady is Jan, a blog reader and she must have worked out which village I live in and as she had lots of snowdrops she had very kindly brought me a bagful.

Look at these......absolutely beautiful and so many! Thank you so much Jan.

Straightaway I went out and dug some slots in the bit of lawn that's not going to be cut so often under the pear trees. I also put some out on the front lawn . The Anglesey Abbey snowdrops have been planted in bare soil in various places in the borders so between those and these new ones I should have a good show next year.

Blog readers are so kind.

Last Monday I'd  planned to go back to the WI that I used to go to but after reading the parish magazine for that village while I was visiting Brother-in-Law, and discovering the subject was Yoga my re-starting has been put off until March. I know I said that sometimes the subject is better than it sounds but honestly Yoga is something I can do without!

The bargain offer of patio/greenhouse portable bed with onion and shallot sets arrived. The bed's been fied with some rotted down turf that came off the new veg beds, then a piece of cardboard to discourage any of the roots to re-shoot and a bag of multi purpose compost on top. Onions don't need a lot of depth but another bag of compost might be needed on top before planting in March

The bed is a bit floppy so I've pushed one of the strawberry pots up against it to hold up the side. . 

I emptied another bag of multi-purpose compost onto one of the vegetable beds and tried to rake everything level.Then covered it with the plastic cloche tunnel - should help it warm up a bit. The other two beds need weeding and compost added to prepare them.

 

 Haven't had flowers on the table for weeks until I was in Aldi and saw these bunches of mixed tulips. Lovely colours - a late winter treat.

A Marshalls gardening catalogue arrived during the week and I'm debating about trying Alstromeria plants for the 99th time since leaving the smallholding or give up and just buy a bunch now and again. I think I will be tempted to buy some Osteospermum plants as the ones that the previous owners had planted last spring put on a wonderful show for months out in the front garden.  (BTW the snowdrops in-the-green for sale in the flower catalogue were even more expensive than those from Anglesey Abbey!)

This week I have been grateful for

• A surprise gift of snowdrops
• Watching Winter Olympics on TV
• Letters from penfriends in Canada and a Windy Scottish Island.
• Feeling better about driving further
• Good weather for gardening

Have a Good Weekend where ever you are

I shall be back Monday with my February library book haul

Sue

Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire

An adventure to Anglesey Abbey. Along the busy A14 with all it's huge trucks from Felixstowe Docks. Past Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and the A11 junction and off at junction 35, through the village of Stow-cum-Quy and into a very busy car park. The world  and his wife were visiting the beautiful winter gardens and parkland belonging to The National Trust.

 Lord Fairhaven left Anglesey Abbey to the National Trust in 1966 and since then the gardens have been developed. The winter garden - which is that wiggly path through borders on the right of the map above -  is a more recent addition so that there is something for people to see all year round.

The very early Daffodils were a surprise and then there were Snowdrops, Helebores, tiny Irises, Cyclamen  and many winter flowering shrubs. By standing and waiting here and there I managed to avoid getting too many people into the photos. It really was busy.

 

Many of the snowdrops were labelled.

 

The House itself wasn't open, but looked beautiful in the winter sun ( I waited to see if the people standing by the house would move away - but they didn't )

Then I walked along by the river which was straightened to power the mill. There has probably been a mill on this site for several 100 years, originally a corn mill it was converted to grind cement in 1865 and the mill and it's adjoining cement factory were added to the estate in 1934.

It was later converted back to grind corn

And of course I had to include a look in the second-hand bookshop, where I found a copy of an old guide book for the Abbey - dating from 1986 -  to read when I got home.

 

On my way out I looked around the garden centre and bought the in-the-green snowdrops on yesterday's post. I was a bit disappointed that they only had one variety for sale as I would have loved some of the double flowered. 

My new snowdrops are now out in the garden in little groups. Fingers crossed they last and grow and eventually spread.

 

More about the Abbey is HERE on the NT website

Back Tomorrow

Sue

I Found A Snowdrop

 When I say A Snowdrop that's exactly what I mean ........just the one! 

Arriving here in May last year I had no idea if the previous owners had planted any spring bulbs. A few shoots have started appearing and one of them turned out to be a snowdrop although a couple of days later the flower head had gone....fallen off.....eaten....?

 A pot of snowdrops picked up in Diss a few weeks ago produced leaves but no flowers - I should have known they were planted as bulbs and would come up blind. Joy in Essex kindly offered me some from her garden but it would be Very mean to take some from someones winter garden!

 

I've written about snowdrops in some old posts ....................(or to give them their Latin name Galanthus.)

Sometimes known as 'Fair Maid of February' they are originally a native of alpine areas of Europe and Asia, it was considered to be a holy plant, a symbol of chastity and purity. According to my little book of plant folklore Snowdrops should only be brought into the house with a 'white purification' ceremony otherwise it's unlucky to have them indoors.

Brother, 

Joy to you

I've brought some snowdrops; 

only just a few,

But quite enough to prove the world awake,

Cheerful and hopeful in the frosty dew

And for the pale sun's sake.

Christina Rosetti

 

 

SNOWDROPS

I like to think 

That, long ago

There fell to earth

Some flakes of snow

Which loved this cold,

Grey world of ours

So much, they stayed 

As snowdrop flowers

 

  Mary Vivian

 

But back to my new garden - with it's one flower and some leaves - unlike Clay Cottage where there were clumps everywhere. Then I had a brainwave.............Anglesey Abbey! I wanted to go there in 2019................

 It would be good to make an effort/be brave enough on my own, to get to the National Trust  Anglesey Abbey which is along the A14 just into Cambridgeshire, they have a collection of dozens of different species of Snowdrops.Their snowdrop gardens are open from mid January, I've made a note.

 I wasn't brave enough in 2019. I'd had nearly two years of driving along the busy A14 and A11 back and forwards to Addenbrookes Hospital but after Colin died in May 2018 I didn't need to drive so much and lost a lot of the confidence previously gained .

But just recently I've been making an effort to drive on busy roads more, rather than always going cross country so felt it would be a possibility.

And it was, and I went and came home with these from the Garden Centre there, ready to plant out today.

Tomorrow I'll post about the winter gardens and everything else I saw at Anglesey Abbey.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

 

 

Back To a Saturday Round-Up

This is post number 901 on this blog, I did 1,068 on the old blog so by summer I'll have overtaken myself!  There were 410 followers on the old blog and now 548 on here - hello and welcome to a new person. Stats are so interesting 😀

I'd almost forgotten about my Saturday Round-up posts with the things to be grateful list because I've not  done one since November.

Finally after 5 weeks I got back to the swimming pool. It was the knee injury that made me miss it to start with, then Christmas. More weeks without swimming than since I started in May 2018 and so good to swim again although I limited the number of lengths to save aggravating my knee too much too soon.

On Wednesday I had my Physio appointment, she showed me some new exercises for my knee and my back but said the knee was healing well, although swimming breast-stroke is not the best for knees apparently (trouble is I sink doing anything else).

Popped over to the coast to visit Youngest and Florence, she's just started ballet classes and showed me how she could point her toes 🩰

And at last I finished reading my first book of the year. I need to read more - it's library van day next week and I've still got a large heap to read and that's without counting the 9 books I had for Christmas


This week I'm grateful for

• Swimming again
• Free easily accessible physio treatment.
• First snowdrops in the lane

The Snowdrop

Already now the snowdrop dares appear,

The first pale blossom of th'unripen'd year

As Flora's breath, by some transforming power,

Had chang'd an icicle into a flower,

Its name and hue the scentless plant retains,

And winter lingers in its icy veins.

Anna Laetitia Barbauld

Dilemma of the week
If I want to be ethical about shopping would it be better to

1. short drive to shop locally at the Co-op in Eye or Debenham (both about 5 miles away) even though all their fruit and veg is packed in plastic bags?  OR
2.  drive to Stowmarket or Diss (both about 12 miles) so I can shop in Asda or Morrisons where they have loose fruit where I can use my new produce bags?

The blinkin' obvious thing of the week............in a leaflet about Vegan food from the Co-op

Well, I'd be a bit worried if I found dairy, eggs or meat in a fruit juice!

Have a good weekend
Back Monday
Sue

Coincidentally

Last week I looked through my Flower Fairy books to find the Snowdrop Fairy picture for the post about Snowdrops but I didn't have the right book and ended up finding a picture online. I looked on Amazon and put in "Flower Fairy Books" and the ones that popped up were really silly prices. So that was the end of that idea.
During the week I popped in some charity shops and spotted this on the shelf for £1.50 ...........and  I wasn't even looking for it.

Came home and looked on Amazon under "Flower Fairy Treasury" and there were loads available for 1p plus the £2.80 postage of course. If I'd have found these first time I would have thought £2.81 was OK but because they didn't pop up first time I saved the grand total of  £1.31p................................ of course if I hadn't got into my head that I could use more pictures from the book on the  blog through the year I would have saved £1.50!............. Writing this blog is damaging to the purse!

Thought I would find out more about Cicely Mary Barker. She was born in 1895 and  as a frail child was taught at home and using correspondence courses in Art and Drawing taught herself to draw and paint and then went to the Croyden School of Art. She said her influences were Kate Greenaway and the Pre-Raphaelites. In 1911 she sold four drawings which were turned into postcards and then in 1923 Flower Fairies of the Spring was published.

In 1924, with her parents and sister, the family moved house and Cecily had a studio built in the garden and her sister conducted a kindergarten in a room at the back of the house. The family lived frugally and were devout Christians. 

 In an interview in 1958, Barker said, "My sister ran a kindergarten and I used to borrow her students for models." She also painted the children of relatives^. The plants were painted from life, and if a specimen was not readily at hand, Kew Gardens staff would provide her the specimens she needed. Cecily designed and made the Flower Fairy costumes, and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated. She used books on English costumes for reference too.The costumes were kept in a trunk in her studio along with wings made of twigs and gauze. Each was broken down after an illustration was completed and the parts recycled for other costumes.

Flower Fairies of the Summer was published in 1925 and Of the Autumn in 1926. Flower Fairies of the Seasons was published in 1930 and The Flower Fairy Alphabet in 1934. Flower Fairies of the winter wasn't published until 1985, twelve years after she died in 1973. There are also other Flower Fairy books listed.....Of The Wayside, Of the Trees and Of the Garden.
She also did several religious themed books and pictures and designed a stained glass window for her church.
 There are 120 different Fairies  in  The Treasury but it doesn't include some of the flowers and trees that are in my smaller books and according to a dedicated website there were 170 illustrations altogether.
 Son and DIL rented a home called Thyme Cottage for a few years and there was a print of "The Wild Thyme Fairy" in the porch when they moved in. He looked on line and said The Wild Thyme Fairy only appeared in the original "Summer Flower Fairy " book and wasn't in many of the newer editions and isn't in any of my books either. There are Complete Flower Fairy books available too but reviews say that recent editions have taken the Fairies out of their surroundings rather than the complete picture originally painted, so I won't be wanting one of those.

These are the little books I had before finding the new one, most have been around since the children were small

Who knew that looking for a snowdrop fairy picture would lead down the path to finding out so much about an author and her illustrations.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

Snowdrops.............

....................or to give them their Latin name Galanthus.

Originally a native of alpine areas of Europe and Asia, it was considered to be a holy plant, a symbol of chastity and purity. According to my little book of plant folklore Snowdrops should only be brought into the house with a 'white purification' ceremony otherwise it's unlucky to have them indoors.

Brother, Joy to you

I've brought some snowdrops; only just a few,

But quite enough to prove the world awake,

Cheerful and hopeful in the frosty dew

And for the pale sun's sake.

Christina Rosetti

The first little clump have appeared in the garden but the ones across the lane are only just showing

Historically they were called "Fair maid of February" or "Candlemas Bells" but now usually appear long before February 2nd.

 I've got a few of the little books of Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker but not the one with Snowdrops, so this is borrowed from on line images, it was on a blog called Inkspired Musings which is no longer being used.





 It would be good to make an effort/be brave enough on my own, to get to the National Trust Anglesey Abbey which is along the A14 just into Cambridgeshire, they have a collection of dozens of different species of Snowdrops.Their snowdrop gardens are open from mid January, I've made a note.

Back Soon
Sue

Winter Flowers and Bird Watching

I think winter flowers are more precious than any others. Aconites and snowdrops are pretty but tiny but Hellebores must be the best. We seem to have 4 different ones here.
                                                          White with pink middles

Completely white

                                             
                         White with purple flecks and green centres, these are not quite open yet

              And my favourites, the earliest and tallest - shades of purple, dark in the buds and lighter the longer they are open

I expect these are all have proper Latin names but I don't know them.

With so many clumps of flowers I was able to bring a few in to enjoy in close up, which was a mistake that I should have foreseen - flowers that can stand up to minus temperatures are obviously not going to last long indoors - two days and they had keeled over.

 Of course one of the good things about the Christmas or Lenten Rose is that as it's leaves are evergreen you always know where they are when weeding the garden and I've got a lot of clearing to do as soon as the weather warms a bit. We had our coldest night of the winter here on Wednesday night, after waking to the most snow we'd had in the morning..........although only half an inch!!.

Compared to the showiness of the Hellebores poor Primroses look quite pathetic when there is just one little plant but it won't be long before they will be out everywhere and make more of a display.

Colin did the RSPB Big Garden Bird watch and saw all the normal visitors to the feeders and the ground beneath..............

Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long Tail Tits, Coal Tits, Goldfinches, Robins, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Hedge Sparrows, House Sparrows, Wrens, Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons, Pheasant,  Dunnocks, Starlings and Blackbirds.
It was only a few days later that we also had a visit from a pair of Greenfinches and best of all.......a Yellowhammer.
The squirrel has been back once or twice but since I repaired the big feeder....above.... with a flower arranging Oasis holder on the base, (fixed on by heating a tent peg over the gas and going through plastic and wire on each side) and a plastic tub over the top, he hasn't been able to get into the feeder. Ha! Mr Squirrel !
( Col had sent for a squirrel-proof feeder but, luckily as it turned out,  it didn't arrive and were refunded by the ebay seller. So mending the feeder and failure by seller saved £7)

Welcome to a new follower - I'll soon be up to 300 at this rate. Thank you to everyone for comments, hints and tips on various things.

BackTomorrow
Sue

                                                                            

Galanthus......

More usually known as Snowdrops

It's a very good year for snowdrops, we didn't know how many there would be here but seems there are several clumps on the other side of the lane and a few on the house side too.

The word Galanthus is derived from the Greek words gala (milk) and anthos (flower). It has always been a symbol of purity and hope and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was often called Candlemas bell. It was considered unlucky to bring them into the house before Candlemas.

I looked on the National Gardens Scheme website and there are gardens open all over the country on Snowdrop days which are mainly in the middle of February. Plus the National Trust have woods full of snowdrops at many of the houses they own.

Not quite enough for an Open Gardens event!!

Snowdrops don't grow very well from bulbs and it's better to buy them "in the green" - a small  pot-full in flower will soon spread when planted out.

It seems that many poets have waxed lyrical about the Snowdrop, The Famous





 and William Wordsworth

TO A SNOWDROP

          LONE Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
          But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
          Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
          Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
          Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
          The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
          Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
          Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
          Shall soon behold this border thickly set
          With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing                
          On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
          Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
          Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
          And pensive monitor of fleeting years!

 And the not so famous.............. this was in a children's poetry book

SNOWDROPS

I like to think 

That, long ago

There fell to earth

Some flakes of snow

Which loved this cold,

Grey world of ours

So much, they stayed 

As snowdrop flowers

By Mary Vivian

  Back Soon
Sue