Shady Little Spanish Balcony

Ever seen a little quiet corner that makes you feel both relaxed and inspired? On holiday in Spain recently, I found just the perfect spot to sit, enjoy and do a little writing. Lined with bamboo plants and up amongst the horse chestnut trees this pretty little Spanish balcony looked out on a beautiful cool courtyard filled with greenery to add some soothing freshness to those hot Spanish summers. 

Conifers, palms and chestnut trees sit comfortably together to form a high canopy and shade above the shrubs below. The chestnut trees were in full flower - I've never seen the flower of a chestnut tree so close up before and didn't realise just how beautiful and intricate they are. Their petals flutter down in the breeze as I write and they gracefully blow inside ... petal snow.

There is a gentle trickle of water down below, as I write  - I spy a terracotta fountain hidden amongst the palms, water cascading down into a pool below. Hidden little pathways surround a sitting area and parasols help the trees shade the day. Ivys, new spring green and whites ... I imagine the heat of the summer and the tranquil and cool this small oasis might give. 

A calming little place to both start and end the day. I'm inspired...

What's a special little place for you? 

Parque del Retiro, Madrid

I was lucky enough to visit this lively, interesting and colourful park in Madrid recently. The park has many interesting features at every turn from sculptures, statues, decorative gardens, follies, lakes and ponds. 

Adding to all these is the lively and ambient atmosphere - street entertainers and buskers performing for the crowds with a whole assortment of music, magic, puppets, fortune telling and circus acts. You can feel the atmosphere of a carnival as you wander around.

The boating lake is busy with tourists and locals enjoying themselves with a leisurely row around the lake against the stunning backdrop of the Monument to Alfonso X11 - its colonnade scattered with sun worshippers just watching the world go by in Madrid's own relaxed pace. 

The Palacio de Crystal is another stunning feature: framed with trees and its lake mirroring its grand structure. The lake is teaming with terrapins, which elegantly swim and duck and dive and give more entertainment for the crowds. 

There are plenty of cafes, shady trees and grassed areas - it is a huge park with big open spaces to wander around or just sit and picnic and enjoy a mixture of hustle, bustle, yet tranquility at the same time. 

Somehow it manages that perfect balance of both as you step in and out of the liveliness and go back and forth into pockets of calm and greenery. 

Colourful flower displays, monuments and statues are scattered around, as you wander the large pathways.

Freshly flowering lilac trees mix with exotic palms evoke calm and tranquility.

The boating lake is a lively area, lots to stop and see besides the stunning scenery.

Fountains, water and greenery surround the Palacio de Cristal and terrapins swim calmy and serenely oblivious to all the hustle and bustle. 

Cherry blossoms in full bloom spill over the waterways. 

The Fuente de la Alcachofa makes a stunning sight, further down the pathway is another stunning view across a formal garden area of pools and box plants. 

Ancient trees add to the magnificent vista. 

For more about my journey to Madrid and why I wanted to travel there click on the link below to my Transplant Blog:

Dreams of Madrid

Tulips from Amsterdam!

When we visited Amsterdam last autumn, I couldn't resist buying some packs of bulbs to bring home and plant in the garden - well the song kept going round in my head, 'Tulips from Amsterdam'! I always like to buy a souvenir or two wherever we travel at home or abroad and couldn't resist the lovely and colourful packs of bulbs we came across at the floating flower market, so thought I'd treat myself to some. 

I've often picked up plants when we've visited gardens and places around the UK, but it isn't so easy to do when you are abroad, so we do have reminders of many places we've been to, but not from overseas. 

It was exciting to think that if I planted them when we got back home they would be bursting into flower by springtime and give us a constant reminder every year of a truly wonderful holiday. They didn't disappoint and I've been watching them in anticipation for a few months now, pushing through the soil, the leaves growing bigger and then the buds coming up. Now with all the spring sunshine they have opened up in full flower 

Tulips from Amsterdam - a lovely memory! Enjoy the pics! 

More April Plants...

There is so much colour now in the garden - the forget-me-nots have seeded themselves more and more and are making bright ground cover in all the empty nooks and crannies. The wallflowers have sprung back into life and will usually carry on flowering right through the season. 

The 'bridal wreath' shrubs or 'foam of May' as they are also known are in full bloom and look stunning. Geums we have planted here and there are also flowering and will continue to do so now as the summer comes and goes. 

Pink and white saxifrages are dotted around and have spread since we newly planted them and then divided them again last autumn. There are also some late flowering daffodils with multiple dainty flowers, as the earlier daffodils begin to die back.

We have a few more shrubs that I have to mention, as they add so much intetest to the garden at this time of year. A couple of forsythias add a strong yellow zest to the borders and we have a couple of small magnolia bushes flowering in crimson and pale pink, which I'm pleased about as they were recently planted and one didn't flower last year. 

That's the fun in gardening - it's hard work that pays off if you are lucky and you get to enjoy the delights and look forward to more. I'm hoping the magnolias will make spectacular specimen shrubs in years to come. 

A couple more plants that are giving so much pleasure in the garden at the moment are the forget-me-nots, white alyssum and the bluebells. Our first bluebells are flowering now, bright blue and fresh - they are in a sunny spot on the front garden, but we have many in the back garden in shady corners, which are now coming up fast on their heels. I always look forward to the blue bells. 

The garden really is so uplifting at this time of year, adding to the exciting anticipation of summer and warm days - and so far, so good with the sunny, milder weather! 

April in the Garden

April is a beautiful month in the garden, the longer days and all the beautiful sunshine we have had this last few weeks has really brought the garden to life. There have been some stunning sunrises if you're an early starter and the song of the dawn chorus has been waking me up every morning - it is sounding at its loudest. 

There are so many gorgeous plants in bloom now - our recently planted miniature peach tree has been gorgeous, brightening up the front garden along with the deep red blooms of a well established quince.  Hopefully between them we will have some fruits later in the year. 

We've a few patches of hyacinths growing here and there - you can almost catch the powerful scents wafting as you pass them by. I often have hyacinth bowls in the conservatory and then we plant them out when they've finished so we can enjoy them in following years too. I love the purples of the aubrietas too as they bubble up in flower and spill over walls and rocks.

The blues and pinks of the lugwort are always at their brightest in April too and spilling into the pond we always enjoy the sight of the marigolds. The pond has been full of frog spawn this spring and now there looks to be millions of tadpoles. Rob has been clearing it out and the busy birds are enjoying bathing in the waterfall pools. 

One of my favourite plants in April, is the pretty and delicate Easter flower. It always flowers during the Easter holiday and is a welcome sight in our garden. I've brought this little plant with me each time we've moved house and replanted it in each garden we've had over the last twenty five years! 

The mahonia shrubs have flowered spectaculary this year too, giving a lovely contrast to the aubrietia in a little front corner plot. The butterflies are back in force again as well, fluttering around the front garden especially. 

There have been so many plants enjoying the sunshine and bursting into flower there are too many to feature in one blog - so watch this space, there is much more to follow.