Do You Like Your Name?

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently.  Thinking and planning and sorting and gardening.  I found this huge mushroom under the leaf/compost pile that I have been adding to all year.  We no longer pay for the council green waste collection - why pay to give away our own plant waste when we can put it back to the earth?

The weeks roll over one week into the next and yet I feel stuck with this cycle of trying to get rid of things I have accumulated over the years.  It is taking longer than I envisaged.

In a reflective mood I started to think about my name - Simone.  It is pronounced Sim-on and yet for most of my life people refer to me as Sim-own.  Even when I have corrected people they have continued to call me Sim-own.  My family refer to me as Simbo, Simmy, Sim-on-ee,  my husband calls me Sir- mon and my Great Nan used to call me Sommy!!!

I wonder if my life would have been any different if I had been given another name.  I think my name is ugly and it means snub-nosed and I do have a snub nose!  I don't even have a middle name that I can use instead.

Do you like your name?  Do you think your name has had a negative or positive impact on your life or not made any difference at all?

In and Around the Garden - Getting Wilder

 

 

 

Some Garden Views June 2021

It's pouring with rain today.  I took these photos late on Tuesday evening when the sun had been shining all day.  I mowed a pathway into the long grass.  I've made it a bit wider since this photo was taken.  I intend on keeping the long grass - just mowing the path on a regular basis.  

Tiny apples are forming on my potted Braeburn tree.

The strawberry patch has turned into a wild area but I can see that there are many strawberries to come.  The photo only shows a small area.

A bright pink clematis  clings to the top of the washing line pole.  I'm not too fond of it but if it attracts the pollinators then it is fine by me.

Late Afternoon End of May 2021

 

Growing an Ecosystem

The elder tree was once a modest bush but I removed the lower branches to raise the canopy quite a few years ago.

I'm taking part in NoMowMay  in which we are encouraged to let the grass grow and encourage wild flowers to germinate to provide food for the pollinators.  After May I am going to leave the grass long and just mow a path to walk through.  

At the base of the elder tree some shoots were growing so I carefully pulled them away and planted up into pots to grow on.  Three out of the four 'cuttings' are thriving.  I am so excited at the prospect of growing my own elder trees! 

The plant above is a Rowan tree.  Much folklore lies around the Rowan and it is said to protect against evil!

I used to pull up the green alkanet (above with the blue flowers) as it is invasive but the bees love it so much and it will have to stay.  It is scattered all around the borders and grows happily alongside the rhubarb and strawberries.

The white borage has gone mad and self sown in abundance!  I bought the seeds during lockdown last year and sowed a few pots of it.  It looks almost luminous on a dull day and it is another favourite for the bees.

The water 'feature' is not too appealing to look at just now but it is essential to have water in a thriving ecosystem.

The potted apple tree - Braeburn has lost most of its pink blossom and I am hoping that it produces some apples this year. 

Autumn in the Garden

    And as if by magic the autumn appeared in the garden.

    New life growing on old lives.

 

    Greens and browns and rich earthy tones grounding and comforting.

Garden Early July 2020

 There is good and bad things happening in the garden.  Let's focus on the good.

 The sunflowers are bursting open!

 The seeds will be a welcome feast for the birds come the autumn.

 They look interesting at every stage of their development.

 The night scented stocks fill the evening air with delicate fragrance.

I expect many people have lawns like this right now.  It is a shame to cut the grass when so much of it is full of food for the bees and other insects.  Some days this clover is smothered with all different types of bee.

My beautiful Desdemona rose is coming to and end for now.  Hopefully she will produce more buds.  Her fragrance has been intoxicating.  The most recent addition to my garden.  I hope she will be with me for many years.

Garden Late June 2020

 Bloody Mary nasturtiums are out in full force now! 

 The delicate creamy milkmaid nasturtium isn't too far behind.

My kitchen garden isn't as full as I would like it to be.  I have had many plant casualties with dwarf beans being decimated by black fly no matter how often I squirt them with soapy water!

In this bed I have planted courgettes, dwarf runner beans, dwarf french beans, beetroot, sunflowers, carrots, peppers, borage, cucamelons etc.  The only thing I have harvested from here so far have been some unconventional looking courgettes!

The white borage has been disappointing.  A huge mound of prickly leaves with some barely visible white flowers with their heads down-facing.  Perhaps they will perk up when we get some cooler weather.

I had far too many cucamelons than I knew what to do with, so I put two into this angel wall container. 

There is much more to delight in the garden such as my tomatoes and newly purchased David Austin rose but it is far too hot to photograph out there today.  The next time I will be in the garden will be before sundown to water the plants. 

Happy Weekend!