Thursdays favourite plant

(I know, its Saturday)

Lilac Syringa
image via flickr

I'd love one of these in my garden, but alas I have no room for one, instead I've been enjoying my neighbours tree. He's gone away for a week and left me in charge of watering his greenhouse and hanging baskets, this have given me a perfect opportunity to wander round his beautiful garden (he used to open for the ngs)and stand below his lilac tree and take deep breaths of its heavenly perfume. It over hangs his fence too so in the evening when I walk past it to go to the field to shut the chickens in for the night the scent is incredible.

Lilac trees have the most beautiful scent and the flowers are so pretty, tiny little star shaped blooms, grouped together in large panacles or cone like spikes that festoon the tree about now. There are different coloured varieties as well as the lilac lilac I love the white 'Madame lemoine', the dark pink 'red prince' and the beautiful 'sensation' which has purple flowers with a white edge to them.

I say lilac's a tree but its actually a shrub, my neighbour has grown his into a tree by allowing it to develop one main stem that has become a trunk. They grow to about 5/8 metres high so are well suited to smaller gardens. They like full sun and grow on most soil types but like it slightly on the alkaline side. Like all spring flowering plants they flower on last years wood so prune them after they've flowered. To increase the flowers and to keep the shape in check, prune out about a third of the branches each year after flowering. Or you can remove all the branch's at ground level bar one strong healthy one to encourage it to grow into a tree shape. Lilacs throw up suckers like no bodies business, and if you remove these carefully with some roots attached you can propagate lots more little plants. As most lilacs are grafted onto rootstock you might find the suckers are a different variety.

Jess xx

P.S thanks for all the wonky love, she really is a character and is loving being spoilt rotten, I even caught my husband sat with her on his lap feeding her corn from his hand.

someone stick the kettle on, I need a cup of tea

I'm sorry about my absence but I've been so rushed of my feet with all of this,








And some of this





And there was this






And if all that wasn't enough to keep a girl busy this came along







And finally there is this


Yes they are in my bathtub and yes they were throughly dried off with my best hand-towels before snuggling up under a heat lamp.

And if all that wasn't enough fun for me to handle I met up with the gorgeous sara from Completely Quackers who came down to see me for a good old chin wag about chickens and other animals and to take 4 of my bantam hens to join her flock of mad bantam boys. This left me with a vacancy for some more hens, who are currently in quarenteen quarters for the moment, oh and did I mention the little bluebell pullets.

I shall tell all about everything and everyone later, right now the glorious sunshine is beckoning back outside.

Jess x

P.S Bonus points will be awarded to anyone who can identify the chicks in the 2nd 3rd and 4th pictures, I know what they except the little grey one on the right of the 3rd picture. Extra double cherry on top points to anyone wanting to have a stab at telling me the sex.

Thursdays favourite plant

Camellia Margaret Davis



Now I'm not the biggest fan of camellias, I appreciate the fact that they are evergreen and provide good structure in the garden and I love them for their gorgeous flowers in spring. But there is something about them I don't like, maybe its the glossy leaves and frou-frou flowers that I don't like together, or how I often see them dotted in the middle of gardens looking like an old maid in her Sunday best at a party no one else has turned up for. (she says even though she has 3 lipstick pink ones in her garden).

I think planted right they can look stunning, on big estates mixed in with Rhododendrons and azaleas and allowed to be more than just a colourful dot.

However all that aside I love Margaret Davis.
I love the flowers. Everyone looks slightly different like a white powder puff dipped in rouge. They make me think of Alice in wonderland when the white roses were being painted for the queen of hearts.

Camellias must have acidic soil to thrive otherwise you'll just end up with a sad, sick-looking, yellow leaved, spindly plant. They grow really well in containers but remember to regularly feed them with an ericaous feed. Don't plant them where the morning sun can scorch the flowers, very bad if they've been frosted the night before. Watch out for some of the white flowered ones that have huge full peony type blooms, a very wet spring and/or bright morning sun can turn the half opened flowers to brown balls of mush.

In other non plant related news, I think one of my wee silkies (who are 12 weeks old now)tried to let out a crow this mornning, Damn it I knew they'd turn out to be fellas.

Jess x

P.S aha I finally found the charger for my batteries today soon expect lots of chickeny photos soon.

Thursdays favourite plant

What could you want prettier than the humble harbinger of spring....

Primula vulgaris



There are so many different species of primroses, the native vulgaris is my favourite although Cowslips (primula veris) are very dear to my heart and I love the drumstick primrose (primula denticulata) and the gorgeous primula vialii

I adore these simple little flowers of sunshine, the way the appear amongst tree roots and popping out of hedges promising spring, blue skies and sunshine. One of the first flowers I could identify as a little'un, they remind me of walks in the woods with my mum telling me stories of fairies and elf's. I used to lie down on the ground in the leaves and rub my cheeks against the petals. They still seem magical to me after all these years.

Funnily enough there is so much folklore attached to primroses concerning fairies, My favourite is the Celtic and Germanic stories about finding a fairy hill or a fairy rock and touching it with a posy of primroses, it would open a door to the fairies kingdom. A posy left on the doorstep would invoke the blessings of the fairies upon the house, petals scattered on the doorstep will prevent fairies from crossing the fresh hold. Hanging posies in cowsheds will prevent fairies stealing the milk. This is a good one I found, if you see a single primrose and dance round it 3 times clockwise it will ensure your hens lay well.


If you want to have your own magical carpet of faerie loving sunshine, you can propagate them very easily from root cutting (Hmm I should do some propagating how tos) or you can grow them from seed, either sow seed collected when its fresh or if you buy seed it will need a period of chilling to germinate. You can buy the plants but make sure you get ones marked vulgaris otherwise it could be any old bedding polyanthus.

I'll leave you with this by Cicely M. Barker



The song of the primrose fairy

The primrose opens wide in spring;
Her scent is sweet and good:
It smells of every happy thing
In sunny lane and wood.
I have not half the skill to sing
And praise her as I should.

She's dear to folk throughout the land;
In her nothing mean:
She freely spreads on every hand
Her petals pale and clean.
And though she's neither proud or grand,
She is the Country Queen.

jess x