Bare Ruined Choirs

[callmemadam]

It’s freezing cold and even with the heating on I’m wearing furry boots indoors. In spite of this, I love the winter countryside. This morning I drove to my usual garden centre to check out greenhouses (20% off until the end of January). The bleached look of the fields; the neatly trimmed hedges of a well managed countryside, russet where beech leaves hang on; black tree outlines; subtle greens and browns everywhere. These are the real colours of winter. I’ll have no truck with ‘winter gardens’ full of gaudy dogwood stems and phormiums; nor with claustrophobic conifers and heathers. No need to pretend that winter is actually some other season. I’d rather see the bare bones for a while and surely snowdrops, hellebores and a few select winter-flowering shrubs should be enough for anybody?

While I was at the garden centre I bought some hyacinths (white, of course) in a pot, so that I can enjoy watching them grow and eventually catch that wonderful scent. When I told the man in charge of greenhouses that I’d just moved he said, ‘Where’r yew tew now then?’ I like that. It’s strange that I’ve only moved a mile from my old house yet feel so much more in the country.

Comments

[ramblingfancy.livejournal.com]

I love those old Ladybird books. You are way more in the country! Leaving your place in the dark Christmas Eve, I was hopeless lost in 10 minutes and in deepest, darkest Holt! It felt all delightfully Thomas Hardyish. The greenhouse sounds exciting.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I only kept a few Ladybird books, of hundreds I had, but the nature series was a keeper.

Lost? No! I'm finding new routes all the time I must admit, as I know the roads on the Blandford side much better than I do these.

The greenhouse will be a comedown after my Alton Cedar but I really want one and these will do. Am about to settle down with the catalogue and price list.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

The Ladybird books boom is over but people are still nostalgic about them.

Thank you!

[lurpak.livejournal.com]

Those illustrations are just beautiful... the sky here has been the colour of the second picture the last few evenings.

(and I couldn't agree more about gardens in winter)

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I thought that picture was really appropriate just now.

Good!

Ladybird books - What to look for in Winter, etc

[(Anonymous)]

What a coincidence! These books, the What to look for in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter series(Ladybird) have just been mentioned by Sal on www.salssnippets.blogspot.com. I love these books, have all four of them, and the Winter is my favourite, and you have chosen to show my two favourite illustrations (by C F Tunnicliffe) - the one on the cover, and the one with the pink winter sky. Every winter I put these books out, along with another favourite, John S Goodall's An Edwardian Christmas, to enjoy again, and again.
Margaret Powling

Re: Ladybird books - What to look for in Winter, etc

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I have all the Tunnicliffe ones and Autumn & Winter are my favourites.

[(Anonymous)]

I always find your forthright style of writing so refreshing to read. I'd have no truck with phormiums and dogwoods either - if I knew what they were!

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Well thank you!

[lethe1]

Haha, in the entry below yours on my friends page someone in New Zealand complained about the heat (32°C)! I love those contrasts.

Beautiful illustrations.

I love the scent of hyacinths, but unfortunately it is too heavy for my tiny one-room apartment.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Bournemouth, about six miles away, has been the coldest place in the UK for the last few nights. As it's right on the south coast, this is unusual! -6 last night and a mega frost this morning which is still crisp at 10.30.

I don't find hyacinths too bad. I once grew paperwhite narcissi and the smell was really overpowering; too much for me.

Winter colours

[(Anonymous)]

"subtle greens and browns everywhere. These are the real colours of winter." here we have white = real. :<)

Re: Winter colours

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Ha ha! Another hard frost here today but no sun so everything is off-white. Nothing to you folk, but -12 the other night on the south coast of England is quite exceptional.