Joe Swift tries out Acme™ hair growth scarf

Last year we brought you the Acme Rapid Omelette-Making Device. Now, new from Acme Products Inc. is the patented Hair Growth Scarf™.

Just leave the scarf on your head for a few moments,

and when you remove it...
You'll have a full head of hair*

*Acme take no responsibility for style of hair regrowth. Acme recommend you test on an unobtrusive part of the body before use on head, in case of strange regrowth. Strictly no refunds.

Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperors*

A dream, an idea, gathers momentum, and soon VP and Patient Gardener, supported by James A-S and people at the Malvern Show, organised an international blogger's meeting. It might have been cold, wet and windy but the greetings and friendships were warm.

Despite being rather...

...and a little worried about meeting 'strange people from the internet', it was so good to put names to faces, to meet, to chat. I didn't have enough time to speak to everyone, but hopefully will be able to do so in the future. I had a blissful time chatting to Yolanda on Saturday evening at the restaurant, and it was so good to meet Gail and Frances who made the trip from Tennessee. I would like to list everyone I met but I'm worried I'd miss someone out, so "hello everyone" and thanks for making it such a memorable couple of days.

To VP and Helen, a floral "cheers"

The gardens and flowers will fade from memory, but the people will not.

*A quote from Mary Cantwell.

A word to the wise...

...if you are thinking of starting a blog and are likely to meet people off the internet, it is perhaps wise to think about your username.

I have spent today meeting a lot of wonderful, friendly people at the Malvern Show. I have spent today saying "Hello, I'm HappyMouffetard".

Thank you to VP and Helen for all the organisation. More shenanigans tomorrow, and no doubt lots of great posts over the next few days. In the mean time, as a little teaser, here's three men who don't need to introduce themselves with silly names...

Wordless Wednesday - Carnaval de Nice

Spetchley Gardens

A trip to see my father combined with a glorious weekend a couple of weeks ago meant that we made the most of Saturday afternoon with a visit to Spetchley gardens, just outside Worcester.
As with my recent trip to the Dorothy Clive gardens, there will be more flowering in a few weeks time, but it was interesting to stroll round somewhere so completely different form the Dorothy Clive gardens.

The gardens have four herbaceous borders (imaginatively named North, South, East and West) surrounding the walls of the kitchen garden. The rusted gateway invites you into the borders, towards the kitchen garden.

Herbaceous perennials were emerging from their winter slumbers, such as this peony.


The trilliums were looking good in the sunshine. I hope to see plenty more of these at the Malvern Spring Garden Show next week.

The copse area is more arboretum than copse, with borders planted with woodland flowers currently at their peak before the tree leaves fully emerge. Below is a beautifully pretty Anemonella thalictroides.

The name 'Garden Pool' doesn't really do justice to the lake which the lawn sweeps down to. At the side of an inlet into the pool, a swamp cypress impressively shows off its knobbly 'knees' or pneumatophores - structures which help it get oxygen down to its waterlogged roots. You can see a swamp cypress's knobbly knees at Tatton Park too.

At this time of year, the magnolias in the gardens are looking gorgeous, such as 'Leonard Messel' below.
Growing below many of the trees are swathes of primroses and of cyclamen - well worth a closer inspection.
The walled kitchen garden looks like it has been neglected for a while (perhaps I'm unfairly comparing it with Tatton's garden), but you can see that it has some history to it - the photo below is of some rather venerable looking fruit trees.

And to continue my obsession this year with greenhouses, below is Spetchley's vinery (sadly out of bounds for closer inspection).


SomeBeans wants a Cedar of Lebanon. I've told him that if we live in a house that fits in with the scale of this tree then by all means he can have one. Or two. And the monkey puzzle trees he hankers after. I think I've found a house which suits the scale of the cedar...

Acme™ lily beetle destruction technique

I've blogged before on the destructive tendencies of lily beetles. I've practically stopped growing lilies, except for one cultivar. But I don't want to give up my beautiful fritillaries :-(

And so, I am spending an inordinate amount of time at the moment, kneeling on the floor, peering. And I have discovered how to kill lots of them. Ha ha ha ha ha (maniacal laugh beloved of evil villains).

Step 1: To catch the easy ones... If you can see any of the red devils on the plant in question, quickly put your hand (or a piece of paper etc) underneath - if they see you coming, they will drop onto their backs on the floor, making them difficult to see. Having caught them in your outstretched hands, deal with them how you see fit. As an evil villain, I will naturally feed them to my subterranean pool of circling sharks.

Step 2. Some of the wee devils will be lurking around, trying to avoid looking as though they might be wanting to eat your fritillaries. They're difficult to see, sitting upside down in the undergrowth. So, shake the nearby vegetation. The lily beetles will drop to the floor. You may see one or two land, in which case deal with them how you see fit (perhaps subject them to decapitation using a butler with a sharp-edged bowler hat).

Step 3. Wait. Wait a little longer. But keep your eyes open. Soon, they will come. The dislodged devils will right themselves, and make their conspicuous way back towards the smell of their favourite food. And then you pounce. And then you deal with them how you see fit. By this point, I have had enough of devising evil genius-style methods of death (well, they always escape, don't they?). And so I crush them. Bwah hah ha hah ha haaaa.

Make sure you squish their eggs, too.

Wordless Wednesday - moss on old apple tree

A drum roll please......

...And the winner of the RHS competition for biodiversity in the garden is... Kay Halley with her amazing front garden. Congratulations, Kay, and thank you to Rosie and Liz for taking the time to enter the competition. I will be in touch with details of the prize, Kay. For thiose who didn't win, and for anyone else who would have liked to enter, I believe that there may be competitions coming up on other blogs in the near future - I'll let you know.

Thank you to the RHS for donating the prize and highlighting what we can do to help wildlife and to encourage biodiversity in the garden.

If you wish to enter a similar competition, head over to VP's blog, where you could again be in with a chance to win a year's RHS membership.

GBBD - April '10

After a hard winter, most plants seem to be almost catching up with where they were last year. The plum trees are smothered with blossom. The hellebores have been out for an age but still look good. The daffodils are going over quite quickly, after a few warm days at the weekend. But to just stand in the garden, and smell the spring, and practically see the plants growing before your eyes - happiness.

For more flowers in April, visit the host of GBBD, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Wordless Wednesday - feel the forcing