More Penpont Pics

Penpont House, in common with most old country houses and estates, has a huge walled garden. Produce from this Soil Association certified garden is sold in the little shop at the back of the stables.

 Flowers are also grown and make a lovely splash of autumn colour

I love the combination of this echinacea with the agapanthus.............

Old and new: life in the garden

This time of year is always so exciting; seeing the world come back to life!
I wander around my little garden, musing over developments with my morning cup of tea. I love the anticipation; looking for much loved plants beginning to emerge after their sleepy winter, and equally the surprise of seeing something for the first time, especially having completely forgotten that I had planted it in the first place!
I had picked up this simple little primrose for 50p from the charity stall in the market last autumn, having no idea of the colour at all...!


My garden is now three years old, and I feel an enormous satisfaction seeing autumn plans come to life over the course of the following year.
However, one of my favourite happenings in the garden at the moment is a quite serendipitous combination of the bright new pulmonaria flowers and spotted leaves seen through the burnt, rusty coloured sedum heads, left from last year.


We are always inclined at the start of the new year in January to sign off on the last and start a fresh. And yet here in my garden is a beautiful demonstration of how the remnants of past seasons go on to inform the developing masterpiece; nothing is ever really over, or ever really forgotten.
As I sit and ponder this with my morning tea I feel happily comforted. Life is a collection of experiences, one informing the next, and still the most beautiful moments are always the ones that happen by accident.

Forms in Ice

 The continual dampness of a watermill comes into it's own when the temperatures plunge. It's been jolly cold indoors - we have yet to turn our attention to the kitchen here and its been 5c in there lately! But there's been enough of interest outside to keep my mind off it.

 The water leaks out from the pond and goes through a pipe over the top of the waterwheel. It splashes down into an old barrel and overflows into the tail race - with freezing temperatures the water is transformed into magical forms.

At the end of the leat (where the water comes down to the mill) there is a water pipe that drains the surface water from the road and the field across the lane. With a drop of about 3 feet, splashing onto rocks and stones, the water again freezes into the most intriguing forms and coats everything around with a layer of ice.

 

 

Computer age Dressing up Dolls

Remember those paper dolls that you played with as a little girl? The ones that had cut out clothes so you could mix and match outfits. On the 'Vogue' website I found this link http://gb.looklet.com/create It's the new age version!

How Green is my Valley

It's hard work walking here - whatever direction you take from the village the first thing you have to do is go up a steep hill, but the reward is fantastic views, and on a clear day these stretch as far as the Cambrian Mountains and on into the start of Snowdonia.

I think - I'm lucky to live in a place like this. But then, actually, it's the result of years of hard work and no holidays. But then - living here, why would you want to go away?

Autumn Knits

Oliver agreed to do some modeling for us - makes a real change to have a male model!

Here's our Pwll y Wrach pullover - in English this means 'Witch's Pool'. The water tumbles down from the Black Mountains above Talgarth, falling into a pool at the top of the woods before rushing on down through the trees in the valley. The whole of the wooded valley is a nature reserve - home to dormice, rare plants and much beauty.

As the sun shines through it creates splashes of brightness and dappled shade, reflected in the colour sequences in the patterning on the front of this pullover. The greens and yellowy golds come from weld, coreopsis, oak, and goldenrod.

Late Summer Colour

After all the wind and rain it's lovely to have August ending on a high. The sun was warm yesterday and the wind had droppped, bringing out a mass of butterflies into the garden to enjoy the last flowers on the Buddleias.

We have four varieties - Lochinch, Empire Blue, Royal Red and Pink Delight. I love the warm scent of them, filling the garden on a still afternoon and the flowers follow on perfectly from the June roses. And of course, they are a magnet for butterflies, bees and hoverflies.

As someone who works with colour, I have to say the marmalade shades of the butterflies are rather prettier on the bluer flowers!

There is a purple fennel self seeded amongst Lochinch and it's lacy acid yellow flowers look lovely with the pale lavender blue. And those huge berries on Arum italicum Pictum light up the black leaves of Viola Labradorica.

Cardigan Bay

On Sunday I had an afternoon off and went for a stroll along the Cardigan Bay Coastal Path. Well - it was going to be a stroll, but we forgot the map. Having decided not to go back for it - after all, this path is well promoted and therefore bound to be well signed - we carried on into Newquay. Fortunately, we had a hunch where the access point is to the path as there wasn't much signage going on. Once above the little town, there is a fantastic view back towards Aberaeron, and to Snowdonia on a clear day.



The path is quite steep in places, but very well maintained. There's a mass of wild flowers and butterflies, and the willowherb against the blue sky was quite stunning. Further on around a corner, the bay stretches off towards Cardigan with a beautiful coastline of cliffs and coves.




We had planned a short walk, but got completely distracted by a half hidden path appearing to lead down to a little cove. Of course, we had to investigate. It was quite a steep descent, and involved much growling at my Cocker spaniel to not rush on at the end of her long lead! I wasn't going to let her off - anyone who knows spaniels will know how they can disappear when they get a scent of adventure.....so just had to hope for the best.

Fortunately the tide was well out so we had lots of time to explore the rocks - and the geology is fascinating (not that I know anything about it, but I just love the patterns and evidence of all that upheaval; some of it seems quite violent!) the area at the base of the cliffs is smooth rounded pebbles, quite large, but not a patch on the rocks a few yards further on - massive boulders. Rock pools abound with baby lobsters trying to be threatening if you looked at them. And where streams form waterfalls down the cliff face and filter into the pools, rusty deposits colour the pebbles. Beautiful colours here! Just as we like at Llynfi - all those natural shades with sparks of rusts and acid yellows and greeny- olivey- greys.

So if you ever venture along the Coast Path - take a map! The path is signed, the exit points across the fields are a bit hit and miss. Our 2 1/2 mile walk ended up at over 5. Not that we minded. And it tired the dog out. No mean feat with a Spaniel...

The Importance of a Garden

Knitting, apparently, is one of the less wise occupations to follow when you have a bit of a crooked back. The osteopath wags a finger and reiterates " no more than 20 minutes sitting at a time!". In practice it depends on what's being knitted ( I find). Hand knitting isn't so bad - a good seat that supports one's position, and concentrating on relaxing, rather than tensing every muscle in order to get the job done - and an hour can pass quite happily. Knitting at the machine is a different kettle of fish. It rather depends on the item. Small things, like mittens, aren't too bad, but get a wider piece on there and the trouble starts. You'd think it would be good exercise - all that side to side, waist whittling movement. But no...even the 20 minutes allowed seems too long. And that's where my garden comes in.

The garden is up a flight of steps, curving among ferns, primrose and London Pride, shaded by a sycamore tree. So that's the first bit of exercise, the first change of movement. Then a short slope continuing upwards, past the mill pond and through an old gateway. And into the garden proper. A brisk walk around soon puts things in order - but then......what a time waster! How hard to get back to the machine when William Lobb beckons with seductive shades of magenta and lilac and grey?



And Cornelia and Penelope vie for attention with their distinctive perfumes? And is that little day lily open yet? And you can't help but look into the huge poppy that has just unfolded, with still crinkled skirts round the frills of it's centre.




There's been some rain - poor Smarty, drooping in the damp like little hankies hung out to dry, hiding amongst the blue campanulas. But what a sweet scent, filling the air.



And then there's the beans to check - have they been safe from the slugs? - and the necessary Japanese Knotweed patrol. Our current approach is to not let it have any leaves, but it takes diligence! The slugs seem to like to graze on it, an unexpected observation, and it means we have to have a love/hate relationship with them, forgiving the ravaging of some more favoured plants.




Where was I? Oh - the knitting. See what a distraction the garden is??

St Fagan's Open Air Museum

We decided we deserved a day out - well, an inspirational day out at least, so we could still justify it...
St Fagan's, just outside Cardiff fitted the bill perfectly: buildings of historical interest re-erected amongst trees and fields, the Castle and gardens, and indoor galleries containing all manner of items relating to past ways of life, including a costume gallery. And being part of the Museum of Wales, it's all free!

The guide book reckons that most visitors take between 2-4 hours to go around - we got there at noon and by 5pm had only seen half; we didn't make it to the Castle and gardens, or all the houses, but we did 'do' the costume gallery. Standing inside the old farmhouses, cool and dark on such a bright sunny day, was strangely calming. The simple furniture and lack of adornment makes you realise how busy our modern lives are with trivia. 400 hundred years ago, life was undoubtedly harder than now, but I can't help feeling that we have lost something along the way.
Anyway - do visit if you get the chance, and do take longer than a couple of hours to really absorb the atmosphere of the buildings. http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/stfagans/

The photos here are of some details and textures, especially the undersides of roofs. Old buildings didn't have the underfelting and insulation that we have today of course, and it's really interesting to be able to see the construction.

layers of stone in a wall

Wattle on a barn


Underside of thatched roof

contrasts against the blue sky

Flowery hedges

All the recent rain has at least resulted in lots of green everywhere. I took the dog for a wander round the lanes yesterday, in between the showers, and could have stood and stared at this hedgebank all afternoon. This particular hedgerow is managed for conservation and it's so beautiful at this time of year. There's Sweet Woodruff, Bluebells, Red Campion, Yellow Archangel, Cow Parsley, Ferns, Dandelions, Wild Strawberries, Avens, Buttercups, Stitchwort and more, with Foxgloves and Meadowsweet to follow. Earlier there was Broomrape and Primroses, and carpets of lesser celandine to brighten the gloom.
At the Garden Show at the weekend I bought some more lovely plants for my garden, including pink cowparsley - can't wait for that to fill some spaces!

In the Woods

No apologies for some more about our woods! Walking in our local woods, or on the hillsides, has to be one of the great privileges of living in such a beautiful area of Britain as this is. And being able to do so without having to get in a car to get there just adds to the experience.


The way the woods are managed for wildlife means that there is always uncleared timber and wild areas; decaying stumps covered in mosses and lichens; ferns and fungi pushing up among the old leaves.


The little river at Pwll y Wrach makes a constantly damp environment, keeping the woods lush and overgrown, in contrast to Park Wood on the other side of the hill. Park Wood is drier and crisp to walk through in the Autumn when all the leaves have fallen.

Pwll y Wrach

Pwll y Wrach - Witches Pool - is a wooded nature reserve on the edge of Talgarth at the foot of the Black Mountains; and it's in walking distance. It is a tree lined valley with a little river at the bottom and a voluminous waterfall higher up the river, falling into the Witches Pool. In the spring there are carpets of anemones and ransomes, bluebells and sweet woodruff, and of course, all those amazing ferns. It's always green and cool and shady and damp in summer, and changing leaves and intriguing fungi in autumn. There are high rocky outcrops and fallen trees, left for the wildlife.
It has struck me though, that its very easy to miss the detail. The countryside can be quite monotone - varying shades of greens or browns, but punctuated by bright glimpses and short-lived sweeps of contrast. In the spring I started to think there may be an idea to explore here. Historically, colours were far more valued than now and carefully used. Using colours, especially the more precious ones such as Madder, in small quantities with undyed yarns may even make them stand out more........And the textures are there - in barks and plantlife, and rocks and stone - but easily overlooked

Violets are typical examples of overlooked detail - their tiny short stemmed flowers hidden among the dead leaves in spring.