Late Winter Blooms

Joe Swift had an article in this Saturday's Times listing his garden highlights for this time of year. It got me thinking and looking in my garden to see what I would list. Well there is not a lot of growth and colour yet. Your list may well be longer. My favourite and a new addition to my garden is cyclamen coum. I choose a white one with a silver leaf called 'Maurice Dryden' and I am really pleased with the colour and reflection it is providing.

I have several types of crocuses in the garden. I like my crocuses just before they are to burst open, as in the photo. I also have blue primulas in flower and a Cornus alba (Dogwood), just one but the red stems are very effective against my front brick wall.

The final star in the garden is left over from last year. Some of the lovely silky seedheads from the Clematis ‘Bill Mackenzie’ which I am leaving draped over a variegated holly hoping to provide the birds with some great nesting materials.

Lynda

Out 2 Play at Kew Gardens

If you live near west London then Kew Gardens is a great place to visit. It has all the elements of a garden on a grand scale. In the summer the gardening students each have an allotment plot to plan and manage so you can even pick up some tips for growing veg.

There is so much there for children, space to run around, fish in two of the glasshouses, a tree top walk, lakes and ponds and my favourite a huge badger sett where the children can run in and out of the tunnels. There is also a large indoor play area with a botanical theme, called climbers and creepers (suitable for 3 to 9 years old, though the littlies can still use it) and a new outdoor area yet to be tested as it will not be open until Easter. So we were there this half term spotting snowdrops and smelling the viburnum.

The Princess Diana glasshouse was hosting a colourful display of orchids, with a parallel craft activity at climbers and creepers creating exotic flowers, with paper plates and tissue paper. Quite an easy thing to do at home. We did go and look at the orchids but the biggest attraction for the children were the other new ( i think ) occupants of the glasshouse, lizards which are roaming around helping to keep the cockroach population at bay.

Lynda

Garden Guilt

Why do I always feel guilty when I go out and do some gardening. There is no such feeling when I am inside and pottering about or outside and hanging up the washing. But as soon as I pick up a trowel or pair of secateurs in the garden then I start thinking about all the household tasks that need doing. And I think that that is the nub of the issue. Although garden designers talk about garden rooms and extending the house into the garden and garden into the house not all of us consider our garden as part of our home in quite the same way. This must partly stem from us only being able to fully use our gardens for part of the year. It may also indicate a mindset that gardens are for leisure and luxury and do not form an important part of family life. Yet you can do everything in the garden you can do inside and more. There is no reason why the time, energy and resources you spend on your garden should not be equivalent to those spent on other rooms in the home.

Perhaps if I think in terms of hoovering the lawn, dusting the borders, and cleaning and tidying the plants my guilt will disappear.

In 2 play in the Garden

As a family this weekend we were very much indoors. However I am pleased to say that we fitted in some garden-related activities. All of us joined in the RSPBs Garden Bird Watch. There has been lots to press recently about how quite rare birds are visiting and depending on food from peoples' gardens. We didn't manage any rare furry friends , but we did clock up 8 different species including long-tailed tits and a goldfinch. Which isn't bad for a small suburban garden.

There was also a visit to another museum. The Science Museum in London. It has set up a 'garden' (recently refurbished) for the under 6s. All the kids love it. The museum has divided the play area into sections - light - shadow - sound - water - mirrors. These complement some of the features I have listed on my website http://www.kidsinthegarden.co.uk . What's fascinating though is that nearly all of the children make a bee line for the water play. You can feel the tension in the parents standing around who want their kids to have fun, but don't want to go home with a dripping toddler. It has got me thinking that maybe I have been too hard line in thinking that for safety reasons there should be no garden water features for very young children. I am now going to investigate bubble fountains and similar.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

I visited the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London today. The photos were fantastic and inspiring. The sort of thing most of us can only dream about taking.

What is most impressive is the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. The winner of the under 10 years category, taken in a 'backyard' in Finland, is an exquisite greenfinch. The reflections on the breast of the greenfinch make the photo. The overall winner 'Clash of the Yellowhammers' taken in Perthshire garden demonstrates real talent. You can see the photo, along with others from the competition on the Museum's website www.nhm.ac.uk

The whole thing has certainly opened my eyes as to how children could be inspired by the outdoors simply by taking pictures. A camera is definitely a tool that should not be overlooked. and opens up all sorts of possbilitites. Projects on documenting a day, seasons, year in the life of a garden or the life cycle of a plant all spring to mind.

BTW the museum's wildlife garden - an oasis in that part of London - is currently closed for the winter, but reopens on April 1 and is worth a visit.

Cbeebies - Gardening and Nature

Sitting watching Dirt Girl World with my son last night got me wondering how much these sorts of programmes will influence our children. There is a plethora of nature type programmes on CBeebies (my son has yet to graduate to CBBC, except for 'the Deadly 60').

Dirt Girl World is in fact my least favourite - something about the animation and those faces - spooky. I prefer the Green Balloon Club and the CBeebies version of Springwatch. Gordon the Garden Gnome was OK and although is not being broadcast at present there are two fun games on the Cbeebies website.

Others have pointed out that even quite young children can list different types of inanimate objects e.g. makes and models of cars and their favourite TV characters, but how many can name more than a couple of plants and shrubs in their gardens. I have to admit that in the fog of sleepless nights with my son it took me a little while to note that all of the Flowertots are named after flowers. Yet I wonder how many children ever realise that violet and pansy are also the names of garden flowers.

Will those who watch grow up to become generation of budding gardeners and eco-warriors? I certainly hope so. Will these programmes encourage children and their families to get out there and have a go? They might. At least they are a starting point. I know I now have a demand from my son for us to grow more vegetables. So that is what we are doing this year.

Its Back Again

Well I got it wrong in my last post. We have over an inch of snow today. The garden looks lovely with a fantastic frozen washing line. One of my best Christmas presents, a ladybird house, although not being used yet, also looks great. Has anyone got any ideas where would be the best place to hang it in the garden? I thought in a tree or against a fence.