Report about a trip to a plant nursery and some birds thrown in:-)

I LOVE proper nurseries where they grow their plants and today Himself and I had a wonderful trip out to one such place. I had to be in Bideford for an appointment so we started there then ambled through Devon country lanes, seeing on the way, swallows, swifts - these were when we stopped at a manorial church (very handsome painted ceiling - William Morris type painting) and they were flying around the churchyard as someone was cutting back a hedge (nasty man!) but the swallows and swifts were hoovering up the resultant disturbed insects. Beautiful garden next to the church, really gorgeous, lovely azaleas amongst other things. Then we continued along a very quiet single track lane and came across a little group of red-legged partridge strolling in the road, yellowhammer darted from one side to the other as is their habit. The various lanes were a riot of wildflowers, stitchwort, red campion, bluebells, ferns, speedwell, ramson - lovely! We also saw some raptors, a buzzard and one I didn't recognize (no surprises there!) but by it's scythe shaped wings I'd say it could have been a hobby(?), it was hovering and something that struck us as enormous but with similar shaped wings to the hobby (any ideas anyone?) Apart from these, it was the usual suspects, blackbirds etc. We arrived in deepest Devon at Carol Klein's Glebe Cottage nursery where we've been before and were served by the lady herself - who was exactly as you would expect her, friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and wearing a great set of earrings. We bought a whole bunch of unusual plants that were grown in Devon on the kind of heavy clay we have and of course, a similar climate - so we know they should be good doers here. Bought yet another Astrantia (I like 'em, what can I say, more importantly bees like 'em), this time a hybrid with pinky red flowers. Yet another Knautia Macedonica, one of my all time favourites, deep crimson, maroon pinchushion type flowers beloved by bees, needless to say, a member of the Scabious family, also a member clover family whose name I can't remember off-hand (the brain cells are definitely deserting), but I think it's Trifolium Ochroleucum, it's tall, has sulphur yellow flowers and is of course beloved by bees. Pimpinella Major Rosea, looks like pink cow parsley and you've guessed it beloved by bees and Roy Lancaster (his favourite plant) Ranunculus Aconitifolia flora plena little white flowers a bit like baby's breath (Gypsophola(sp?) but tighter little buttons and a member of the buttercup family, believe it or not, I'm not sure if bees like it or not:-( Patrinia triloba, Aster divaricatus, Zantedeschia Ethopica (a marginal water plant) and the Iris Rajah. Now I'm not sure what some of these look like in flower, but the majority are bird and bee friendly, always a big bonus. And that's the reason I prefer nurseries to garden centres, if the nursery is in your area the plants will like the local conditions, nursery owners know their stuff and better still, are enthusiasts, the plants are often unusual to say the least and they've all been lovingly propagated, hardened off and the chances are they are grown without the aid of nasty chemicals or greenhouse gas producing hothouses - so they're environmentally friendly and finally, being locally grown plants, the only travelling they do is from the  nursery to your garden, so carbon emissions are kept to an absolute minimum. Carol Klein is an organic gardener and she too has a passion for bees and earrings - a woman after my own heart. We had such a lovely time, despite coming home quite a bit poorer but richer in plants, good garden chat and many a laugh:-) Light relief that was much needed after the recent sturm and drang on and off the forum. Finally, a piece of transcendentally wonderful lemon cheesecake bought in Bideford to complete our day. Lovely, the whole thing.