Been so long since I got up early and did a morning run. Not exactly feeling unmotivated, just somehow haven’t been. Perhaps I needed a rest. This morning I made myself get straight up, however, and it was well, worth it. The most beautiful ribbons of mist hanging over tree circles on The Flats, the sun coming up brightly in an otherwise clear sky, rays of sunshine hitting the windows of the blocks of flats in the West making them twinkle like fairy lights and then golden reflections rippling in the pond.
As usual I took more pictures than I ran but somehow managed a semi-energetic 5K and have definitely got my exercise mojo back. Might also be to do with the tunes that were coming up on Radio 6 this morning, which were particularly motivating.
Back at home, Tom took the kids to school and I did a good few hours in my studio getting on with the first section of the plant directory in my new book. First up, the world of ferns, joining the dots between natural habitats and their place in our modern world. Which ferns work well indoors or outdoors and why. Which ferns hail from shady woodlands and which ones are native to sun-dappled rainforests. What conditions will make an epiphytic fern such as a staghorn or bird’s nest fern thrive, including limited organic material and a structure on which to reside.
On that note, I also ordered some more ferns for the front garden: three royal ferns (Osmunda regalis), a host of male ferns (Dryopteris filix-mas), a trio of hart’s tongue ferns (Asplenium scolopendrium) for around the pond and some shuttlecock ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) to give the woodland some lowland height when the spring bulbs are done.
Hopefully, between this lot and what’s already in, we’ll have a kaleidoscopic perennial spring and summer but also a burgeoning year round carpet of evergreen.