Kari's Garden

Uggi the dog sitting patiently outside of Hlöllabátar subs

Nobody noticed Uggi 🙁

'Still life with Daffodils.' (1890) Although an established portrait painter by the time he made this work, John Singer Sargent had a growing preoccupation with still-lifes; the forms of the flowers emphasizes the sense of joy he derived from painting them. #StDavidsDay2026

A patch of lilac flowered carpeter Cardamine quinquefolia with some purple Cyclamen coum which have been partially weeded of the cardamine foliage.

Over on insta people are saying this is a lovely plant - don't believe 'em. Cardamine quinquefolia is early up and welcome for that, then dies away fairly pronto, but it runs like crazy and is about to swamp my wood anemones (the cyclamen has been partially cleared of the cardamine foliage)

A group of smaller daffodils in the sunshine

My daffy-down-dilly contribution to the day. Narcissus pseudonarcissus enjoying the sunshine

🚨PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE A PETITION FOR BY-ELECTIONS TO BE TRIGGERED AUTOMATICALLY WHEN MP’S DEFECT YouTube video by Peter Stefanovic

🚨VERY IMPORTANT!

ON 16 MARCH PARLIAMENT WILL DEBATE A PETITION FOR BY-ELECTIONS TO BE TRIGGERED AUTOMATICALLY WHEN MP’S DEFECT

Make sure your MP attends!
youtu.be/LPO_ZWlyb7Q?...

Close up of annual poppy Papaver rhoeas Mother of Pearl strain selected originally by artist Sir Cedric Morris - this one a stippled rose on white with a black centre

Random flah pic from 2025 for @lucyantal.bsky.social. Poppy Mother of Pearl strain 🌱

Yay!

Tried to send the link but getting an error from BS - BBC good food Squash Mustard and Gruyere Gratin .

A group of galanthus 'Magnet' in the sunshine

Wiltshire: how absolutely glorious it was to see the sun today! Now for another few days of unrelenting rain. Galanthus Magnet doing its thing.

I have yet to see this in the wild - it's on my wish list, the hunt is up this February!

I shall renew my efforts to find some - one site (old) in S Wilts tried so far but no luck. I have a few other 'leads' so I'll keep looking.

We have tufts of sprouting corn in various beds and borders - presumably mice taking it from the chicken feeder and stashing it in the autumn.

I agree with the poster on the previous fish dress - if he had put the screen with the magical fish on a dress, that would have been magical. And the browns do look a little dingy, perhaps they were more intense when they were new.

Chickens like lettuce - guess there aren't any running wild thereabouts!!

The story I read was that the chap who bought it actually went to the auction to buy some furniture - he did give Stonehenge to the nation later.

Spent some of my childhood in Leicestershire - Jitty it was

Thank you - an interesting lecture as always. Had no idea re the 1882 buildings listing act.

I have good reminder...

A small thing of beauty

Black & white photo of Alderman Stairs, ancient narrow stone steps, along a narrow passage way leading down to the river Thames. A stone causeway is visible and, across the river, the misty outline of Butler’s Wharf.

Portal to the past. Alderman Stairs, featured on John Rocque’s map of 1746, also known as Alderman Parsons Stairs & Lady Parsons Stairs, probably named after a previous owner and his wife. Connecting river to land, these steps once bustled with people & activity, now quiet, eerie & full of ghosts.

Hair Ice, tiny strands of ice that looks like a fine silk fabric.

Hair Ice - I've seen this on the socials before but never in reality. This morning on a frost-dead heliotrope - apparently a fungus creates the conditions for the ice to form as fine hair-like strands.

Delightful. Have enjoyed the series so far!

A very moody scene today.

There's a Blaise Castle in Bristol. Wiki tells me the origin was a chapel to St Blaise sometime before the Norman conquest now a big house, village and sham castle.

Brilliant new and re-published nature books (mainly UK) - lovely small independent publisher - enjoy!

A black cat with a white face is curled up under the sun with a kitten. The short poem by Taneda Santoka apparently reads, "The cats enjoying sun bathing together are a mother cat and her kitten."

'Sun Bathing' - Kozaki Kan.
#Caturday #JapaneseArt

A lovely piece of community spirit and identity in these embroideries - I feel sad too, 'All that land is now houses'. The Victorians woke up to the fact that too much land was going under housing - time we woke up again too.

Very large frilly scarlet and purple fuchsia flower

Flowering late as usual, a hugely big fuchsia floof - I think it is 'Phénoménal' bred by Victor Lemoine in the 19thCentury,
(labels got muddled so could be Baron de Ketteler which to my untrained eye looks similar)

Camellia 'Snow Flurry' white doubled flowers

Hardy autumn flowering camellia bred by William Ackerman in the US, 'Snow Flurry', said to be scented but I can't detect much if any scent - perhaps it needs more warmth than here in the UK.

It's been a good year for persicaria - 'Amethyst' particularly long flowering