Buttercups on a dull day at Pilgrims Hall

I took these pictures a month ago at Pilgrims Hall

and did not get to post them

The day began bright but quickly changed into a dull and grey day

I took them mainly because it was Buttercup time and the fields were massed with yellow

The winds had finished this tree off

A little reflection in the dew ponds

In the dullness the pictures just do not show the vibrant yellow

Horse chestnuts in bloom

and the Wild Garlic in abundance

with a few Bluebells mixed in

Finishing on a bright note

It Must Be June - the Roses Have Begun to Bloom

Some rain, some sun, and they were worth waiting for

don't you think?

The house is perfumed and I ignore the fact that they make my eyes water

Some of the different petal arrangements

Just want the weather to warm up they I will be lunching in the garden amongst the roses

Busy Time in the Garden and with some New Tools

As regular followers will know, I have for some time been scaling down my garden (i.e, borders and shrubberies) in order to cut down on some of the work as we get older.

This Spring I have been doing more of that and have also cut back,very hard,  the shrubs that are staying. 

I think it is now more manageable and I certainly will be keeping all the roses, both back and front.

I have acquired some new tools which are proving very helpful

Wilkinson Sword stainless steel 

This border spade has a kind of platform at the top which really helps when pushing the spade into the ground with one's foot

This Swoe style hoe is a brilliant piece of equipment. I have never had one like this before. It has a push and pull action, severing weeds from their roots.

The handle is also long enough to get right into the centre of beds, especially ones where I am unable to get  right into myself.

I can see this getting a lot of use. Up until now I have done all my weeding kneeling on the ground with a hand trowel and even crawling under shrubs at times. 

http://www.wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk/stainless-steel-garden-tools/stainless-steel-garden-tools-all

Another area where we have been digging out and replacing but poor Alan has had to use the old spade while I have been using the new one!

Well there isn't much colour right now but with 29 roses in bud I am expecting that to change quite soon.

Does not feel like Spring today though - just 5 minutes ago I took this picture of the hailstones in the garden. 

Earl Grey Tea - Exploring Tea - Part 6

Who was Earl Grey

Everyone is familiar with Earl Grey tea, but not everyone will realise it is named after a former British Prime Minister.

Born in March 1764, Charles Grey – who became the 2nd Earl Grey in 1807 – was the Whig Prime Minister of the UK from Nov 1830 to Jul 1834. Among the notable achievements of his government was the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Grey was also an architect of parliamentary reform, and the 1832 Reform Act saw major changes to electoral boundaries and the representation of major cities.

- Grey was educated at Richmond College, Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge

- A descendant of a Northumbrian family with its seat at Howick Hall, Earl Grey is commemorated by a statue on Grey’s Monument in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

- Grey spent his retirement at Howick, died in 1845, and is buried at a nearby church

Grey married Mary Ponsonby in 1794 and, between 1796 and 1819, the couple had 10 sons and 6 daughters. Prior to the marriage, he was already having an affair with Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (as played by Keira Knightley in the film ‘The Duchess’), who fell pregnant with a daughter, Eliza Courtney. Born in Aix-en-Provence, France in 1792, she only learned of her true father following her mother’s death 14 years later.

Dominic Cooper (Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey) and

Keira Knightly (Georgina)

According to the Grey family, the tea which bears his name was blended specially for the Earl, using Bergamot to offset the excessive lime in the water at Howick, but many stories exist as to how he became to be introduced to the alluring blend. There is no doubt, however, that he led an eventful life, both politically and personally, and his name lives on in the form of one of the world's most flavoured teas.

Using only natural bergamot oil, Newby presents its own Earl Grey in loose-leaf form, as well as tea bags and extra-special Silken Pyramids, at the Newby e-boutique.

- See more at: http://www.newbyteas.com/2015/03/earl-grey/#sthash.x8ZhZK6z.dpuf

Crafted from silver at the height of the Regency 

period, this Paul Storr teaset from the Chitra

collection dates from 1810.

His work was found in the homes of the Prince 

Regent and noted aristocrats of the year.