Mark

@markde

Keeper of keys & grounds, unpicker of knots, grower of metaphors and finder of paths.

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Bluesky

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Mark@markde· 6d

Did I expect to see this little bundle of feathers hanging out today? I did not. Have heard a handful of breakouts from windows being left open due to the heat, this little one is likely amongst them. 🌱 #birb #birdoftheday #buddythebudgie #budgiesmuggler

Yeah, so you're not going to believe this, but it's an actual Budgie sitting on a branch. It has an adorable yellow feathered face and is perched under the tree canopy. I'm not suggesting that it's the perfect Kestrel sized snack, no, that would be terrible when it is SO CUTE.

Mark@markde· 8d

To say I have not had time of late would be an understatement. However, with a meeting cancelled, I actually did something I have almost entirely not done this year, picked the camera up and went for a walk in the garden. This benefits mostly @snellis.bsky.social who gets a pretty dahlia. 🌱

The crop is deliberate Steve! a half of a dahlia flower, which has almost an orange core with multiple layers of tightly knit petals expanding out in what could possibly come second place in beauty to Rosa The Pilgrim. the blurred out background is green, this means it's foliage because the notion of green grass stopped in april.

Mark@markde· 12d

August 2nd, what a few months it has been. Can't believe that it's only been a week since #RHS Sandringham which, to my surprise, uprooted Chelsea in our books. 🌱 #plantsky #fujifilm #gfx100rf

a variety of lovely people on some utterly roasted and brown grass waiting their turns to stand in front of a large RHS which is planted up with flowers, that's the thing about East Anglia people were simply kind and naturally just took turns without barging others around.

Mark@markde· Jun 20

Saturday June 20th, 22C overcast for now after a very sticky and humid night. Whilst the Pilgrim may possibly be the perfect rose, Roald Dahl is right up there too. 🌱 🦔 #plantsky #gardensky

Roald Dahl could tell such tales, but who would believe them from a rose that is so pretty. Giant peach coloured with blousy petals. No twits here!

Mark@markde· May 22

Good morning, a wild 20C at 0900, Chelsea draws to a close and the Chelsea chop nears, it has been a spectacular week in the garden. Especially if you’re a bee🐝 . 🌱#plantsky #beesky

A close up shot (ish) of a bee smushing its face, and body, into a lupin flower on a big old light pink lupin flower spike, it spent a good few minutes making aure it was entirely off its face before trying to fly away. Frankly I think we should have some laws around pollen influenced flying.

Mark@markde· May 17

May 17th, 15C strong UV through the high cloud, chilli when the rain clouds pass over. A few mm of rain in the last week has triggered the roses to get going. Today for your pleasure, (DA) Kew Gardens and (DA)The Country parson. 🌱 #plantsky

A bank of green foliage with roses peeking out, bottom middle is the blousy yellow of DA The Country Parson, first bloom of the year. Then a handful top left of DA Kew Gardens, a simple flower with little of the complexity of the parson (we have all met a complex parson haven’t we!). In the back shade are the seed stalks of bluebells which really need to be sorted out, an errant foxglove is also trying to do something, what remains to be seen.

Mark@markde· May 16

16th May, Chilly but risen to 14C, Baby bluetits are bouncing around and off, everything, the gentle, soul piercing, screaming of fledged starlings in the background. The roses are kicking off but the lupins.. the lupins are really back after the absolute aphid driven disaster of last year. 🌱

five lupin spikes, light peach in colour, emerge from between some rose foliage with two bright pink gladiolus behind.

Mark@markde· May 7

May 7th 2026, Would you like a baby blackbird? 🌱 #plantsky #birdsky

The fluffiest of fluffies, one of our handful of fledged baby blackbirds has arrived. sitting on a knackered old wooden gate with associated bird poop stains. a mottled light brown and dark brown pattern and, if i'm honest, looking entirely adorkable. Such derps.

Mark@markde· May 3

May 3rd, for me, it is one of those milestones of the garden year, one which means we are indeed heading towards the halcyon days starting with Chelsea, the day the first early rose flowers head inside to the kitchen windowsill. A reminder (and warning) of what is to come! 🌱🦔 #plantsky

Three (although one is obscured) rosa Gertrude Jekyll in a glass jar destined for the kitchen. Behind are variegated dogwood leaves, acid green with white edges, one of those plants that waits and waits and then you wake up one morning and it has skipped childhood and gone straight to teenager wanting its own car, further behind that is what has become a full bank of red campion. This year rather more pink than previous years, until the alliums and other roses kick in at any rate.

Mark@markde· May 2

Good morning, I trust Beltane treated you well, May 2nd and Happy Eel day to all who celebrate. It begins! Gertrude has arrived. 🌱🦔 #plantsky

A very frilly pink rose, first out of the gate, from Gertrude Jekyll. Gertrude isn’t actually behind a gate, more over an arch. First through the arch just.. anyway, the rose is flowering and looking at the volume of buds, the whole collection is going to go bonkers in time for chelsea.

Mark@markde· Apr 19

This is ridiculous. 🌱

An absolute army of gooseberry sawfly larva on a leaf, defoliating and decimating our bushes. Sigh, come on bluetits, get those eggs hatched.

Mark@markde· Apr 19

Good morning, April 19th, 9C and set for sun for the day albeit chilly in the shade (dropped to 3C last night), tulips, bluebells, wild garlic and gooseberry. 🌱🦔

Some tall pinky red (not reddy pink) tulips in the foreground with green leaves and grass lining a wood chip path which was not the best decision for bare feet but absolutely was for mud reduction. Further down the path some bluebells are flowering and further down, out of shot, a wood pigeon is snoozing under a weeping mulberry, having learnt the mistakes of Norbert, the mulberry acting as camouflage netting from the sparrow hawk, peregrines and red kites, perhaps this one shall last longer than dear Norbert

The wonderful white bells of Wild garlic growing through the base of a gooseberry the leaves of which are already under attack from the blinking caterpillars. Some small drops of blue in the background of more bluebells (there are many this year). Best not to confuse any of those three, although gooseberry pesto is a thought. Hmmmm will think on that. Tasty tasty gooseberries.. oh now i’m thinking about the baby blackbirds stealing my gooseberries damn their cuteness.

Mark@markde· Apr 18

Good morning,10C, April 18th(how?!). The quince are in full blossom, the gang of goldfinches bouncing around,the wren is yelling at me,bluetits are on the budding roses cleaning the aphids off, Mrs Blackbird has been absent for a week so babies soon, red kites calling overhead. Spring has arrived.🌱🦔

A medium sized tree (actually given quite a hard prune for shaping over winter) in full blossom, blossom very lightly tinted pink set amongst new green leaves that emerged over the last week.

Mark@markde· Apr 11

Good morning, 10C and grey. I have however got some help dead heading the daffs🌱

A lamb in a field who has decided that is particularly likes eating gone over daffodils. This is very handy as the lamb is surrounded by blooming and gone over daffs

Mark@markde· Apr 5

They have, appropriately for the day, risen.

The (fourth?!) batch of yorkshires sitting in their pan to be consumed no doubt as the afternoon wears on.

Mark@markde· Apr 3

Well, it's Easter weekend which can only mean one thing: That there will be salt beef served in several forms over a couple of days... until there's roast lamb. Bagel shots tonight.

Cuts of salt beef in a pot (a different pot from the soup pot, you'll notice that this LOOKS like it's circular, however it is in fact oblong having once bounced on the floor, about an inch from a big toe of a left foot, the dent in the floor is, on reflection, probably more annoying that the broken toe would have been) along with onions, black pepper corns, bay leaves (four of them, i'm not driving) star anise (half of) and chilli flakes). It will now sit pooting away until some point this afternoon and then shall sit and cool until it is magically enjoined with bagels, sauerkraut and other things that are very good for you (mentally at least).

Mark@markde· Apr 1

Made the mistake of a pre-done 'root vegetable tray bake' with sausages last night in an act of supreme laziness (as everything is bonkers atm), it was mostly carrots and parsnips, no-one was hugely a fan, the soup I have made with the leftovers today, with a chicken stock and cumin.. MUCH better.🌱

It's a deconstructed root vegetable tray bake in a pot. In so much as the vegetables were deconstructed with a stick blender, cumin, chicken stock and pepper. No, just the stick blender was used for the deconstruction, hard to blitz vegetables using chicken stock.. oh come on you get the idea.

It's (mostly) carrot soup in a pan.

Mark@markde· Mar 23

Good morning! 8C heading to 14C and the damson blossom is out. 🌱

A twiggy damson that has not featured on this winter’s episodes of deer food weekly. (Albeit armoured to the hilt) light lime green leaves and gentle white blossom. Mmmmmm damsons…

Mark@markde· Mar 18

Good morning! 7C heading to 17C, March 18th. The magnolia is out. 🌱

An open(ish) magnolia flower off white petals with pink central streaks. The only streaking allowed after the judge made themselves very clear.

Mark@markde· Mar 14

With the cold clear sky tonight, I am fearing the same having saved this camelia last year. It had a single bloom last year. To lose it now would be very sad. 🌱

A cluster of off white camelia blooms against lively dark green waxy leaves.

Mark@markde· Feb 24

Good morning, 10C, Feb 24th (bonkers!) and the first bloom on a Camellia. This was a total failure last year so was dug up and given a huge pot to itself, summer and autumn watering was kept well balanced during the drought and here we are! 🌱