Bluebells. These came from my grandfather Ted Foulds’ garden originally. A lovely reminder of him. There was only a small patch to start with. Now they run from the front to the back garden. It’s surprising how fast they spread, without any help from me. There’s some wild garlic in amongst them too, which I’m trying to control a little this year.
Trees are leafing up so quickly in the sunshine and heat this year. The bluebells will have to be quick to flower and set seed before they are shaded out. This is the path past the summerhouse to the pond.
The view from the summerhouse. It looks like a jungle already. There’s oak, beech, hornbeams, cherry, willow and ash in the mini-wood. All the trees came as saplings from the borough council when we moved here 30 years ago. There was a scheme to plant trees on farmland. I think it was linked to the woodland trust. We applied, and they delivered 260 saplings for us to plant. The whole family set to and helped us plant them in a day or so.
All along the woodland paths there’s a lovely white starry flower, I think it’s called stitchwort. I didn’t plant it, but it’s very welcome here.
It seems to be all green and white shades today. May blossom or hawthorn is suddenly in flower.
Such a beautiful sight at dawn. These flowers were just in bud yesterday. The hedgerow is so beautiful just now with sections of crab apple, maple, hazel and viburnum all in a hurry to wake from their winter sleep. The scent from the crab apple blossom is something I’ve never noticed before. I think the heat is enhancing the scent.
Oops, that eight photos. I’m sure no one’s counting…..
Enjoy your weekend. Here’s a view through my ‘gap in the hedge.’ I didn’t make this portal, nature did. I love to peer through and watch the wildlife. There’s always something happening in the back fields. Lovely to see some green shoots in the fields too. Fields have been bleak and bare all winter, after the flooding.
Links: Six on Saturday : https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/category/six-on-saturday/
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Bramble Garden 
I always like a stroll in your garden, love all the native trees. Stitchwort (and yes it is though from your photo hard to say if the lesser or greater version) shines out in the Cornish hedges. I wish it would land in mine! I might try to get some seeds from them and the bluebells this year and try to persuade them to take root here too!
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Thank you. Thanks for reading and for your kind comments. I really love that little stitchwort plant. I’ve just noticed, it’s spread itself all along our ‘ green corridor’ on the boundary where we planted hornbeam close to the path and trim it each year to make a tunnel to the pond. All by itself, with no help from me. Good luck with your planting. Aren’t gardens a joy.
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Definitely Oak before Ash here – and so far the weather does seem to be following the poem.
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It does indeed. And the ash is only just getting going here, whereas the oak is looking like a ship in full sail.
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I think that means you can cast your proverbial clout.
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Indeed 🙂
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I love that view through your hedge Karen. And your apple blossom is gorgeous! Your garden is a real haven. 😃
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Thank you Cathy. xx
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A beautiful walk! Thanks for taking us along through such a delightful part of your world!
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Thank you Mary. That’s so kind of you. Apologies for the delayed reply. We have had no internet. We live a mile from the village. Best wishes . Karen x
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That was a fair number of little trees to plant but hasn’t it paid off spectacularly well for you. The blossom is beautiful – there’s no better time in nature than spring, it’s so full of delights.
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Thank you Catherine. In truth, we never knew how much those trees would mean to us. They are a source of wonder every day. Plus the logs keep us warm all winter. The fruit trees fill our stores for winter provisions. My youngest daughter has just bought her first house (in the middle of all this crisis- more stress) and the first thing we are doing is planting some tree and putting up bird boxes. Thank you for kindly reading and leaving your message. Much appreciated.
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What species of hawthorn is that? Is it native. I know I asked before, but I ask so many about their hawthorns that I can not remember. I believe yours is a straight species that used to be planted as an ornamental here.
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Yes, it’s just the common hawthorn or crataegus. It is native here.
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Common?! Well, I suppose it is common where it grows wild. It is very rare here. I had to cut down an ornamental (cultivar), but hated to do so.
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Bluebells originating from your dear grandfather Ted Foulds have spread by themselves: looking at them and reminding him must be wonderful, I love it. The path from the Summer House to the Pond is a divine forest: that the bluebells hurry to put seed. The views from the Summer House are wonderful: a forest planted 30 years ago with 260 trees of six different species, planted by you and your family in less than two days, I love it and I love it. You have seen it grow, your daughters have seen it grow and have played in it: it has the story of your life and that of your family, it is wonderful, I love it. I like the white starry flower very much. I love blooming hawthorn. The whole hedge in bloom is fantastic: crab apple, maple, hazelnut and viburnum, I love it. Karen thank you for the walk in your wonderful garden, I loved it. Karen thank you for the magnificent photos of your fabulous garden: they made me smile and gave me strength. I hope that your fantastic garden also gives you the strength to get ahead and never falter, and to always continue fighting. Much love to your dear father-in-law and that he recovers soon. For all your family, Mr. B and for you, many strengths, encouragement, hope, positive thinking and much love. Stay safe and secure. Lots of love. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita xxx
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Thank you Margarita. I’m glad you enjoy my garden walks with me. I really do feel like you are by my side, with the dappled sunshine on our faces, coming through those lime green leaves. I sure one day you will visit here and we will sit in that summerhouse and laugh about how we survived all the ups and downs in life. We know that friendship and a love of nature is a powerful balm. And keeping positive and upbeat is the only way. We can help others if we keep putting one for in front of the other. Sometimes I feel quite powerful because encouragement and support gives us strength. Keep safe. We are not moving from the garden. The girls are working very hard on night shifts for the hospitals. I pray that all their young years spent here growing up with nature makes them strong enough to cope with what they have to see every day. I’ve done my best to give them a solid foundation. Let’s hope it is enough. Affectionate and loving greetings from karen . (Meg and Grace are enjoying all the extra attention they are getting as we are here all the time. ) xxx 😘
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Thanks to you, my dear Karen. I am sure that one day we will sit together in your Summer House and we will talk as much as we can even with a translator of all the things that have happened to us. Your dear daughters working the night shift have their mother’s wood and nothing bad will happen to them. As you very well say you have given them a solid base and the love for Nature and plants that is a healing balm. I’m so glad that Grace and Meg are the spoiled girls now. Give them a lot of love from me and a big hug to each one, I love them very much. Be in your wonderful garden safe and enjoy it. Do not go out on the street except the essentials. Stay safe. I sincerely hope that your dear father-in-law is better. We have to continue being strong and that nothing can with us; and if along the way we can help someone much better. Lots of love. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita xxx
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Keep the comments coming as I do find them interesting.
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Thank you Derek.
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It must be wonderful to have a garden with woodland walks.
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Thank you. I never realised how much those trees would mean to us over the years. It’s wonderful to see all the wild flowers thriving too, and there’s lots of wild roses and honeysuckle climbing the trunks and dangling down to nose-level. Wonderful scent at the moment. Thanks for reading. All the best. Karen
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Absolutely beautiful photos, I have a small woodland garden : 3 0aks, 1 Scots Pine, 2 Ash, 2 Arbutus, a yew bush and several hazel bushes. I have an infestation of brambles and don’t know the best way to deal with them. Do you have any advice. How do you maintain your paths? Because my woodland garden was neglected for a few years the paths have become overgrown and brambles have appeared.
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Thank you for reading the blog Vivien. Our garden has been neglected too as I was very seriously ill 3 years ago and had sepsis. It’s taken me until this year to have enough energy to return to work and start to get the garden back into some sort of shape. The brambles and nettles have gone mad. So I am tackling a small area at a time. I’m thoroughly clearing that small area before moving on to the next. I’m chopping the brambles down to 12” and then digging the root out. I’m finding that many of the brambles have arched over and rooted where they have touched the ground. If you can’t managed to dig them out, cut all the brambles down to the ground to stop them seeding and spreading. And then do as I’m doing and just select a small area to work on at a time. It doesn’t seem so overwhelming then. I’m mulching the areas I’m working on as I go with grass clippings, leafmould and compost. Our paths are leafmould and fine wood clippings from a Stihl eclectic shredder. We mow them once a week, but set the blades high so as to skim over the clippings and just mow off the weeds. Good luck with your garden.keep in touch. All the best. Karen
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I discovered yesterday that, from a window at the top of my house, I can see white bluebells.
Do you find bluebells seed well? I’d always imagined they relied on their bulbs multiplying.
Specially like the pictures of the stitchwort and the crab apple blossom.
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Thank you. Sorry for the delayed reply. I too have white bluebells. They came from my grandfather. They are very delicate and don’t spread as well as the normal bluebells. The native ones seem to spread really well from seed. The stitchwort is spreading all along the boundary paths as if to escape into the surrounding fields. The crab apples blossom has suddenly gone over -almost overnight, and there are tiny embryo fruit forming. It will be a good year for fruit. Karen xx
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More wonderful photographs. Jackie always names that as stitchwort when we pass it on the hedgerows.
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Thank you Derrick. Apologies for delayed reply
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No problem 🙂
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Now that is what I call a real English Bluebell. Many of the ones rounds here in the wild are crosses now. May I suggest wild garlic pesto etc….You are in paradise there in your little woodland edge.
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Thank you Noelle. I’m going to try the garlic pesto. It sounds wonderful. Anything we can forage seems such a treat at the moment when we have literally nothing in the cupboards! Basically, if we want a treat, I’ve got to make it. I made a lovely creme caramel pudding tonight without any cream. I found a war time recipe involving lots of eggs and milk and sugar. Not terribly healthy, but wow was it tasty. Small triumphs are important at the moment. Thanks for reading the blog. Karen x
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So beautiful – May blossom is the best!
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Thank you 😊
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Lovely Karen, a nice walk (for me) on a Sunday morning.
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Thank you 😊 x
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Do you think the ash was out before the oak? Or the oak before the ash? In my garden I think the oak just has it – now to see if the old saying is right.
If the oak before the ash
Then we’ll only have a splash
If the ash before the oak
Then we’ll surely have a soak
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It was definitely oak before the ash. Some of our ash trees still haven’t got leaves. And we could do with a soak. No rain for weeks. Can’t believe I’m asking for rain. We had floods from October to March. And then nothing since. Strange weather.
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Beautiful to see all the trees in bloom. I love the scent of apple blossoms, right up there with lilac. They are so fleeting, I wish they would last longer!
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Our lilac has been a dream this year. Everything suddenly seems to be on fast forward though .
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I enjoy seeing photos of your winding garden paths as they seem so inviting. The hedgerow must be full of busy insects now and I can almost hear them!
Goodness, 260 trees. That was a real achievement to get all those planted.
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Thank you Jane. All the paths are edged with cow parsley just now. It looks so pretty for a week or two. Thanks for reading the blog. Karen x
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