Riparian Dreams...

Well, the cold weather is starting to pass. One good thing that came from it was a timely dry spell (and the frosts may have kicked the tulips into acceleration).

This morning, as I pooled through the vast list of 'draft' posts on blogger, wondering which one I was in the mood to work on, I found this post I had started on Waterways, when I was sourcing ideas for how we could beautify the titular brook at Willowbrook. I thought I would post it this morning, just as it is - a picture scrapbook of possibilities...

Above and Below: Pictures of the Avon at Warwick castle taken 2 years ago.

Above and below: A small stream running through the countryside in Devon, also taken about tht time.

Below: An assortment of riparian scenes...

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Here's a little weather update for all those Ex-pats out there, and others who are interested. It's very cold here at Willowbrook...

The whole of New Zealand is experiencing a freak antartic blizzard, with cold southerlies blowing up from the south pole and conditions conspiring to make it difficult throughout the country.

We have even had an hour of snow at Willowbrook (and the last time it snowed in Hamilton was 72 years ago!).


The Met service says New Zealand is having a one-in-50-year polar blast - a bitterly cold southerly has caused snow to fall in areas of New Zealand which do not usually receive it, making roads impassable in many areas of both islands, closing airports and cutting power to thousands.

Authorities across the country have warned motorists to avoid all non-essential travel.

The new -born lambs and goatlings are not impressed, trying their best to draw their heads back into their bodies like turtles!

... a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

We have now planted all the roses around the border to the potager. The potager lies patient in hibernation, with the brown winter hornbeams and the bare-twigged rose bushes. Most are English roses, in particular David Austen varieties (although we are definitely not going for the one stop shop look). There are a few old fashioned and some French varieties and well as many China roses.

We took much inspiration from Austen's Shropshire rose garden, Albrighton...

The roses we chose were...

Pinks

Gertrude Jekyl

Rosa Centifolia Muscosa


Chatreuse de Parma


Wife of Bath


Heritage


Zephirine Drouhin Climber


Whites

Memoire


Avalanche


Princess of Wales


Purples

Lilac Rose


Blue Sky


Dioressence


Kathryn Mansfield


Yellows

Charlotte


Jude of Obscure


Molineux


Yellow Charles Austin


Oranges

Amber Flush


Tequilla Sunrise



Wild Fire



Mari Dot


Reds

Black Beauty


Lady in Red


Dublin Bay


Loving Memory


Greens

Rosa Chinensis var Viridiflora

(technically the above is a rose, but the flowerheads are made up of multiple septals instead of petals. It works great in white and green flower arrangements).

Some more Austen Roses...