I would like a posh one , but at present am not able to wield a saw , a plane or even a hammer really. My theatre will do for me , cobbled in a corner of my backyard using bricks, bits of bricks and sitting resplendent atop an ageing coal bunker.
My start of the day has an updated routine now
- feel if I'm alive
- take life prolonging meds
- do Lectio 365
- see if spouse is alive
- make us both a cup of tea
- do ablutions
- collect daily washing ,start washing machine
- GO INTO BACKYARD & LOOK AT AURICULA THEATRE
- peg washing on line
- make porridge for spouse
- prepare breakfast for self
- go to Wydale or Filey Parish on Zoom (weekdays except Tuesdays)
Daughter no1, son in law, friend Liz and I have been discussing the collecting and displaying of Primula auriculas. Though recorded in Elizabethan times, and popular in the 19th C when specialist Flower Societies were formed , son in law tells me Geoff Hamilton popularised them , but for me Chelsea Physic Garden first brought a Theatre to my attention.
An aside
Spouse and I love the Chelsea Physic Garden, we went every time we were in town , and in the days when members got in at the front door and had to sign a book, and the gardens were more or less free from the hoy palloy. Now its open most days, and spouse knows he might not be able to visit again. We will have to put the membership in my name. I think being there without spouse might be one of the hardest visits I will ever have to do.
I can appreciate why P. auriculas were popular with the working classes in Victorian times. They are easy to cultivate, tolerant of afternoon shade and take up very little space , are mostly kept in pots and are just displayed once a year when they flower, April and May .
In our last holiday together in 2019, and with family who are seasoned navigators and bargees, on the Staffordshire and Worcester canal we passed a famous garden centre, Ashwood Nurseries, which I unashamedly recommend for Primula Auriculas. I am going to buy only 4 new varieties a year, on the phone of course, so that my delight doesn't become an obsession or I a frightful bore.
When daughter No 2 next visits from East Sussex she is bringing me some more P. a's from the nursery she works in. They are all different again, not doubles but more 'edges'.
My readers will know that I love Echiums, as I have written about them several times.You may not know I also too love to grow Coleus from seed, just so that you know I have an eclectic taste. Daughter no 1 loves to grow onions. She has 82 on her allotment , and counts them every day. I grew Loofahs last year, but have decided I don't love them. I am growing lots of sweetcorn this year, of the coloured heritage variety. I'll let you know what I think in October.
Meanwhile enjoy my Coleus....
*SVR Severn Valley Railway
