• A Little Bit About Me

wellywoman

~ A Life in Wellies

wellywoman

Tag Archives: Padstow

Frost, Fields of Gold and a Dodgy Mussel

20 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by wellywoman in Bulbs, Countryside, Flowers, Out and About

≈ 40 Comments

Tags

Cornwall, fields of daffodils, Padstow, scented narcissi

Lavender

The one downside to growing all the plants I need for the book I’m writing is not being able to go away for any reasonable length of time. Dreams of a week away will have to be put on hold this year. I have been known in the past to take seedlings and young plants on holiday with me rather than leave them to fend for themselves but the volumes I’m growing this year would mean hiring a van just for the plants. A mobile greenhouse, now there’s a thought.

Scented Narcissi

Last week we did manage to squeeze in a few days in Cornwall and whilst winter still had its grip on most of the country we escaped to the one place untouched by snow and frost. I could go on and on about why Cornwall is such an amazing place. Whether it’s the quality of the light, the stunning beaches or the rugged coastline they are all great reasons to spend some time there but it’s the milder climate and longer growing season that tempts me to live there permanently. Despite the ear-aching cold wind I was surprised at just how many plants were flowering. At home my garden was slowing clawing its way into spring. In the narrow, sheltered streets of Padstow it was hard to tell what season it was going by the plants in flower. There was lavender and scented narcissi, ceanothus and primroses. So close to the warming influence of the water, frost and snow are rare occurrences in the county, and in the tiny villages which hug the cliffs running down to the sea the extra shelter provides an enviable micro-climate. The red valerian in one garden looked like it hadn’t stopped flowering since last year.

Cornish fields of daffodils

Cornish fields of daffodils

There is one flower, perhaps more than any other that is connected to Cornwall and that is the daffodil. For centuries farmers have grown them as a crop both for cut flowers and bulbs, the milder climate allowing them to pick flowers from October right through to the end of March. I’ve always wanted to see daffodils grown on such a scale but have never visited Cornwall at this time of year before. Then coming back from a visit to Falmouth we saw fields of gold in front of us. At first I instinctively thought it was rapeseed until I realised what it actually was. I was pointing excitedly and saying ‘We’ve got to stop’. I realise that sounds a bit odd, it was only a field of daffodils after all. Finding a place to stop so I could get some photos I opened the car door to be completely surprised by the smell. Although on the side of the road furthest from the field the scent of so many daffodils drifted across to me. After all those years of thinking about how the scene would look I’d never given any thought to the fact that it would smell so amazing and I wasn’t even that close. I love it when that happens. You come across or experience something you’ve thought about for a long time and not only does it meet your expectations it exceeds them.

It was good to get a few days rest, walk on the beach and breathe in the sea air but the general aim of going away was to come back feeling re-energised and raring to go. Unfortunately the bug I picked up on the last day had other ideas. I’m blaming a dodgy mussel. I’ll spare you the details but it may be a long time before I can face seafood again.

Advertisement

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

My latest book – The Crafted Garden

My latest book - The Crafted Garden

My latest book - The Crafted Garden

My Book – The Cut Flower Patch

My Book - The Cut Flower Patch. Available to buy from the RHS online bookshop.

The Cut Flower Patch – Garden Media Guild Practical Book 2014

The Cut Flower Patch - Garden Media Guild Practical Book 2014
Follow @wellywomanblog
Instagram

Archives

  • August 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011

Categories

  • autumn
  • Big Biochar Experiment
  • Book Reviews
  • British flowers
  • Bulbs
  • Christmas
  • Cold Frames
  • Countryside
  • crochet
  • Cut Flowers
  • Environment
  • Flowers
  • Food
  • Fruit
  • Garden Course
  • Garden Reviews
  • Herbs
  • House plants
  • In the Garden
  • Interview
  • Miscellaneous
  • On the plot
  • Out and About
  • Pests
  • Plant Nurseries
  • Plant of the Moment
  • Plastic Free Gardening
  • Ponds
  • Product Review
  • propagation
  • Recipes
  • RHS Flower Show
  • Roses
  • Salad
  • Scent
  • Seeds
  • Soil
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Sustainable gardening
  • Trees
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegetables
  • Weeds
  • Wildflowers
  • wildlife
  • Winter
  • Woodland
  • Writing

Blogs I read

  • An Artists Garden
  • Annie's Little Plot
  • Backlanenotebook
  • Bean Genie
  • Flighty's Plot
  • Green Tapestry
  • Greenforks
  • Gwirrel's blog
  • Hillwards
  • Jo's Good Life
  • Leadupthegardenpath
  • My Hesperides Garden
  • Out of My Shed
  • Oxonian Gardener
  • Plantaliscious
  • The Anxious Gardener
  • Urban Veg Patch

websites I like

  • Chiltern Seeds
  • Hen and Hammock
  • Higgledy Garden
  • Plantlife
  • Sarah Raven
  • The Organic Gardening Catalogue

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • wellywoman
    • Join 959 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • wellywoman
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...