After a few little tempests of our own, the skies cleared at last for a production of Shakespeare’ last  play, The Tempest. The storm which opens the play swept us into the world of Steampunk complete with flying machines and a genuine ship’s wheel. So much happened in those first few minutes, and we were quite astonished to see a QUEEN of Naples! And TWO Ariels , now twisting together & now dividing to become two spirits as they obeyed Propero’s commands. From then on, we were hooked! And the magic continued as a towering, blue-black Caliban,( radiating danger and futile rage) encountered Stephano and Trinculo, as neat a double act as you could meet, and plotted to kill Prospero.

There wasn’t a dull moment in this production, every character was strong  and clear cut, this island was indeed full of sweet noise and brilliant colour – Prospero’s cloak deserved  a round of applause of its own – so our thanks to Southend Shakespeare Company for a truly magical afternoon. 

“Loveliest of trees,the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough..."

and every other tree is showing off for Spring – the blossom in the cottage garden is almost overwhelming. I’ve never seen the magnolia so magnificent!

Maybe,unlike us, they appreciate a cold  winter?

Spring fever has touched the birds too! Goldfinches, nuthatches, tits of all kinds, chaffinches and robins surround the feeders, while blackbirds, thrushes, wrens and woodpeckers sing their presence in the hedges.

On Sunday, Florence (Sarah’s little dog) found a hedgehog in the shed. He wasn’t quite ready to wake up- so he’s been put in a ‘safe house’ !

And now

“About the woodlands I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow”

Why don’t you join me?

Spring is coming to Willow Cottage! The tender shrubs and roses have shed their fleeces, birds are singing, bees are buzzing and snowdrops are out in force. Last Sunday we had our first visitors of the new season, and we hope that the next few Sundays we’ll see many more to cheer us up. Look out for the new yew hedge at the back of the border, tulips and daffodils coming up everywhere, and in the “little treasures” bed just outside the cottage, the reticulata irises are a small delight.

Welcome to all our visitors!

Dick’s Day and the Beekeeper’s Meeting are behind us, and summer is here. Dick’s Day was a great success, in spite of a cold wind and massed clouds. The music was beautiful,the poetry inspired and the picnics abundant. 

The sun came out to light our way home! So we shed our fleeces and pretended it was summer.

Thanks to Ken’s very successful classes, there were a record number of beekeepers, and it was encouraging to see so many young people honing their skills. After a fascinating talk, we sat on the lawn and enjoyed the delicious tea with yummy home made cakes provided by Jenny Johns and many other beekeepers.

 Now we look forward to Henry the Fifth and Cinderella – and what a bizarre evening that would be!!

Hope to see you there!

Programme details: http://www.willowcottagetheatre.org/page2.htm 

The missel thrush (who built her nest in the antlers of the deer head outside the shed) is now raising her second brood, and we hope they will fledge before Dick’s Day! That is next Monday, Spring Bank Holiday! when we hope the sun will shine…the garden looks beautiful, full of scent and colour…look out for a spectacular peony in the round garden.

Ed's note: image rights demanded by the resident missel thrush have proven extortionate,
so we've had to make do with this snap of a near relative...

...and the garden is filled with cherry blossom, magnolias and rhododendrons - all especially beautiful this year after the harsh winter.  The whole place is alive with drifts of forget me nots and  the blazing colours of tulips.

The cupresses trees at the back of the long border are down, and already everything looks better for the light and warmth and rain.

Trays of seedlings fill the greenhouses, waiting to go out as soon as the temperature rises above freezing!!

And we’ve had many visitors already, a great encouragement to us, as we do like a bit of appreciation!

Pictured left - Bee in training for the

Essex Beekeepers' Meeting...

Saturday, June 12th. Garden open at 1 p.m., no entrance fee..

Some time has passed since my last blog post but we have been very busy with the theatricals. This entailed preparing the stage area and lots of mowing and edging. Now it’s all over for another year and we can concentrate on the continuous jobs of weeding and watering. Also, happily, on picking our produce from the veg garden. Sally and I were delighted to win prizes at our local show for our broad beans, potatoes and peas. And now the French and runner beans are starting to crop well.

I thought I ought to mention a bit about the history of the garden and especially about the trees as they are not, in the main part, anywhere near as old as the cottage. The garden only came into existence in 1952 when Dick and his first wife, Freda, bought the cottage. Prior to that, the area around the cottage had been used as a compound for dogs. The first part to be cultivated was the vegetable gardens to the west of the cottage on either side of the round garden. All the produce grown was a great help to the family and one or two existing fruit trees added to the bounty.

The cottage got its name not from the existing weeping willow at the front but from a row of huge willows that were growing behind the ponds. These came down in the 1987 storm and none survived. Luckily, the weeping willow had been planted as a sapling in 1973 so the name of the cottage is still appropriate.

The conifers around the garden were either purchased from Woolies for 6d or grown from seed collected by the family on their travels. For example, the towering one by the front gate is from seed collected in the south of France; and the one next to it is from Corsica. Behind the greenhouses and along behind the back of the ponds are several from seed from the Welsh hills. The land must be very fertile as the trees have become huge and we are having some taken down to give others room to thrive and to be seen. But we are also planting many new ones for future generations. Behind the ponds we have put in a Handkerchief tree, a Paulownia, a Himalayan birch and a Cercidiphyllum  and apple, plum and a medlar have gone into the orchard area by the bee hives. So far they are all surviving despite being nibbled by the deer and attacked by caterpillars.

If you come to visit the cottage over the next few weeks I think you will agree that the dahlias and the vegetable garden, festooned with nasturtiums and sweet peas, are looking fantastic. I think Dick would approve.

Another warm day at Willow Cottage. The cottage itself was beautifully cool inside – something we don’t appreciate so much in Winter! But outside the sun burned and the ground baked. I was trying to finish transferring the dahlias from their big pots to their site in the Hot Bed but had to water the bare earth before I could manage to dig the holes.

Christine decided to start off by watering our burgeoning collection of seedlings and plants in the greenhouses. Unfortunately, it was so hot that she spent most of the afternoon as a hose attachment watering one or another recently planted area. The heat has not triggered a thunder storm so we may have to repeat the process on Thursday.

On the up side, the delphiniums are still looking fantastic – all 8’ or more of them- and they have not been blown over. And the clematis around the cottage are all flowering in shades of purple and maroon as if we arranged it.

We shared our drinks breaks with some lovely visitors – Mary and Stella from Chingford and Ann and Beryl from Chigwell. Ann even helped with the watering. All volunteers are welcome!

The birds are not singing as much now but the blackcap sang for long enough for Christine to identify. The robins have fledged from their basket in the shed: they practiced manoeuvres in the shed for a few days but now they’ve gone. However we’re enjoying spotting butterflies instead: we had a comma and a red admiral today.

Although our gardeners are more at home with spades and trowels down with keyboards and mice, we are hoping they will find time at the end of their tiring but rewarding days to write a few words here on the continuing development of the garden...

If they resist my cajoling, then you'll see the evidence here (or rather, you won't!). To persuade them further, I might even threaten a few non-horticultural posts here myself!

Don't forget, your comments very welcome on any aspect of Willow Cottage Theatre or Garden matters, whether covered on this site or not. Please use the Guest Book facility to let us know your thoughts.