And to partner the Ginger Cakes for the concert today, I made Coffee Cakes –
Cakes for Concerts at Cratfield
Month: July 2013
Cakes for Concerts at Cratfield
It is concert weekend in Cratfield and that means cakes!
Firstly two ginger cakes –
and another view, because I think they look nice, and because I am trying to find the best way to photograph the cakes, something much more difficult than I ever imagined!
I think the recipe is now ready for The Book…
East Ruston, The Old Vicarage Garden
The Old Vicarage Garden in East Ruston, Norfolk, is a remarkable and amazing achievement. I visited on a hot day and in the smaller courtyards, surrounded by hedges and high trees it felt like the tropics! The gardens are only open from 2.00-5.30 and you need all that time to really enjoy the plantings and understand the garden. And a tea house will provide a half-time break.
The gardens cover c.32 acres and were established about twenty years ago. The first action taken by the owners was to plant trees around the property, providing protection from the sea winds and creating the micro-climate so obvious on my visit.
The fuchsias were beautiful, planted in over-size containers and many years old. The container plantings reminded me of the importance of scale – to make an impact, even in a small garden, you need to plant big! I have no idea how to identify the varieties but will try with the help of this site.
There were many vistas and views and I could do a whole post – but I need more photographs!
And plants which were beautiful on the day –
- Angel’s Fishing Rod – Dierama
And plants which I have never seen before –
I took away an idea for planting my patio in London – I need to think of BIG containers, and I need to grow standard and bush fuchsias.
A small terrace over three seasons
The back ‘garden’ in 2010 –
Starting the hard landscaping –
Taking shape –
One year later –
All the plants are behind this year, and the hydrangea has not flourished, but I love the change. The anenomes are all staked and won’t be falling over this year, and the rose is starting to grow well.
David Austin’s ‘William Shakespeare’
My roses are flowering abundantly but the flower heads are so heavy the stems are bending downwards and when I tried to lift and stake I broke a stem. I phoned David Austin and was told that the roses will get stronger as they age, and that I should consider pruning in November, rather than February. I think I should also provide stronger stakes, in a kind of cradle shape. So far I can’t find anything on the internet…
I wondered about this shape, which I found on Pinterest –
Or perhaps a more natural material –
The support seems to look like this –
Or perhaps a combination of the two, a vase shape, with an inner ring, and made out of willow, or hazlewood –
The Fernery ideas
I want to create an atmosphere – relaxed, cool, slightly old, but with a dash of excitement.
The ‘Patio’, aka ‘The Fernery’
Garden planning has started, which means Jason Lock has cast his eye over the garden and we are going to commission a plan. He designed a beautiful village garden for me in Cratfield, but I want this, London garden, to be different.
Where the blue of the night….
The light this evening was beautiful again, and I wanted to share these flowers.
Evening light
The light at the end of the day has a beautiful quality. The David Austin roses (‘William Shakespeare’ and ‘Graham Thomas’) are heavily in bud, and well-staked and sprayed, so I hope we will have a good show this year after the unkind weather last year.
I enjoyed the evening, and the flowers, with a glass of pink wine, but I would have liked to share the enjoyment. I remembered something a friend once said – ‘My soul is lonely’.