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!

Bloody Mary Nasturtium

Just popping by to say hi!  This is my first nasturtium flower to come out.  The flowers are supposed to be dark red and rich cream flecked.  I am looking forward to seeing it in full bloom.

 

Snakes Head Fritillaries

 I have three of these plants in my garden.  When the petals are closed they resemble a snakes head.

 It fascinates me that nature can produce such a perfect checkerboard design.

They are short lived but a welcome surprise when there is not much else in bloom in the garden.

Bulbs Blossom and Empanadas

I used the chickpea flour (gram flour) that I previously posted about to make empanadas.  They were filled with a mixture of tinned black beans and fresh chopped mango.  I didn't have the required salsa to put into it so used the last bit of pickle I had left in the jar.  The result was edible but NOT delicious!

Back in the autumn I planted up bulbs of white narcissus.  There are three different varieties and one variety is just starting to bloom.

Plum tree in blossom. Nectar for the bees.

Flower Face

I often see faces in things.  Can you see the face in this Viola?  It's the reason I bought a whole tray of 20 plants - just to have the one with the face.

Garden in July 2019

The garden has a few splashes of bright colour at the moment.

Gizmo sits daily overlooking the wild area hoping to catch whatever torments him.

My husband planted up some runner beans in late spring.  Hopefully we will be harvesting in a few weeks time.

I've been happy with this begonia called fragrant falls peach.  It flowers profusely and smells of roses.

The petals are tightly packed and just looking at it makes me smile.

Life and Death in the Garden

Last year I put a large plastic container, filled with rain water, in the garden with the view to attracting wildlife.  I put some large rocks in the bottom and purchased a tiny water lily (frog-bit).  Not much happened apart from the proliferation of water snails. 

Late yesterday afternoon I was delighted to see that a toad was quite happily immersed in the water cooling off in the humidity.  Patience paid off and I think the container pond is here to stay.

Here is a close up of toady.  The water is so clear.  I haven't seen him? today.  He is probably hiding among the shrubs in the garden.

It has been a good early summer for the tayberries. They came free with some fruit trees a few years ago.  I planted them up against the washing line post and the fruit has been a bit hit and miss until this year. 

My 'new' water feature has had a few casualties.  I tried to save this damselfly? when I saw it lying sideways on the water.  Unfortunately it didn't survive. 

A new addition to the garden is this small but perfectly formed argyranthemum.  It is only tiny at the moment but I hope it will spread and fill out.

Dutch Golden Age Painting

My tulips this morning.  Their vibrancy reminds me of the paintings of the dutch golden age in the 17th century.  I really want to paint them.

Mood Boards Can Work

I started a mood board back in April.  I had a vision in my head about how I wanted the house and garden to look and feel but was unable to explain this vision to my husband.  It has really helped him to understand what my goal is and if he shares the same one too!  Fortunately we seem to be on the same track with a little compromise.  I had bought some Hibiscus Trionum seeds to add something different to the garden.  I put up a picture of what they should look like on my mood board.

 As you can see from this picture, I now have them flowering in my garden.


I have mentioned on here before that I love Indian hand block printed cotton quilts.  I already had two that were throw sized but wanted a double sized one.  I printed off a picture of the exact quilt I wanted and bought it!  You can see it in the photo below.

I need to make some adjustments to my board now tweaking some original ideals and adding some new ones too.  I really believe that there is value in mood boards helping to stay focused and work towards a goal.  You can have a mood board about anything.  My next one will be on my creative goals.  Have you ever tried creating a mood board and did it help in achieving the outcome you wanted?

Staying Positive Under a Cloud

I have been embracing positive thinking for a while now.  I do find it difficult but I try to look for the positive in every situation.  It is hard.  Some days I find it almost impossible.  The odds seem stacked against me in all that I do.  I know that the weather hasn't helped my mood this year as the grey skies seem unrelenting.  This spring holiday I managed to get into the garden for one day to cut the grass and it has rained ever since.

Yesterday I had a chance meeting with an old friend.  I was so glad to see her.  She is one of those people who make you feel good about yourself.  She is quietly confidant and encouraging and a supporter of chasing dreams.  Our time together was brief but enough to fan the flame of my hopes and ambitions for a while longer..........

In the garden the soil is cold and even the weeds are struggling to thrive.  Looking at the positive - the snakes head fritillaries are doing nicely and have increased in population since last year.

In the Pink

I don't feel in the pink at the moment.  In fact I am in a really foul black mood.  Tiredness, anxiety and mild depression and having been told to 'speed up' my work at my monthly appraisal, has brought out a side to me that I haven't experienced since being a teenager.  Thank God that I have my blog in which to express my feelings otherwise I don't know where I would turn.  Taking myself off for some retail therapy today I bought a small pot of scented roses.  I hope that the delicate hue and pleasing scent will help to soothe my soul. 

 

 

The sight of sticky, fondant covered doughnuts delighted my senses.  I don't even like filled doughnuts and really shouldn't be eating such things with my problem teeth and gums but I bought them anyway.  Once again, I was drawn in by the pink colour.

Something for the bedside table - The Ashes of London.  Hopefully reading this before I slumber will take away my dreaming of work.  London burning is preferable to dreaming of buttering and filling 240 rolls and baguettes each night.

Happy Days

I contacted the local garden centre to find out if there were any job vacancies.  I had a quick response to my inquiry and was told that if I took in my CV they would keep my details on file should a vacancy arise.  Yeh right.

Anyway, I took myself up to the nursery to buy some pelargoniums and plant food.  The pelargoniums (or geraniums as they like to call them) were housed in a very hot greenhouse.  In fact it was so hot I could hardly breathe and I was thankful that there hadn't been any job available to me!   I don't think I would have lasted more than a day. The pelargoniums looked sparse and unloved and I couldn't find any that I was drawn to.

There was a welcome cool breeze out in main nursery and I found a bench of perky looking dahlias.  There were big flouncy ones and cute pom poms but I was drawn to one in particular called 'Happy Days'.  This plant was lemon with dark foliage and the name resonated with me.  Happy days, happy days, happy days........

I picked up Happy Days and headed for the counter where a chinless man pushed his trolley in front of me with his purchases.  Brash and loud he took a call on his mobile whilst the cashier waited for payment.  I stood observing, unnoticed.

I forgot the plant food.

Mood Lifting Colour

Good morning!  The colour of this California Poppy should certainly wake you up and lift your spirits!  It was a lovely surprise to see the seeds germinate and rise up from the soil again this year and they are bigger and bushier than ever before. 

I can almost feel the Californian sunshine emanating from its petals!  I hope this burst of colour will send positive vibes your way and set you off on a great week ahead.

Mid May Garden

I am still on a blogging break but wanted to record the garden's progress so far this month.  Things of note include the white wisteria which always has more foliage than flowers.

The wild patch has been overtaken with pretty blue borage. EDITED:  Thanks to Toffeeapple's observation I now know that this is not borage and is in fact pentaglottis sempervirens otherwise known as bugloss or alkanet. 

The strawberry patch is covered in white flowers with little berries beginning to form in the centres.

Friday Thoughts and a Tutorial

It took me forever to find out how to add a tutorial to a stand alone page on the blog.  Anyway, I finally cracked it and if you would like to have a go at making the pincushion in the previous post then click on to the 'Dinky Pin Cushion' tab above and you will be taken straight there.  The instructions are by no means comprehensive but I have tried to be as informative as I can. 

It has been a strange week of mixed emotions.  I just want to make things but sometimes other people's needs come first.  I can get so wrapped up with creative projects that I think that if I lived alone I would just make things until I lost consciousness!

There are some jolly bluebells in the garden right now.  Alas, not the wild native Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta but the Spanish Hyacinthoides hispanica which is threatening to take over our native species.  They are pretty all the same and I will pick them later and put into a jam jar.

I hope your Friday is going well and that you have a cheery weekend.  If you do decide to make a pincushion from the tutorial above let me know how you got on.

Happy Weekend!

Painting Blossoms

I felt like painting today so I went out and bought some cheap acrylic paints and canvas boards.  I have been eager to start to learn how to paint flowers from the book Painted Blossoms by Carrie Schmitt since receiving her book as a Christmas present last year.  I do feel a bit vulnerable putting my first attempt here on the blog but it will be a good reference for me in the months/years ahead to see how (or if!) I improve over time.

I can say that I really went in the 'zone' whilst painting and enjoyed the process if not the overall result.  I shall paint over the bits I don't like once it has fully dried and redo them. 

A Sign

I had a walk out today.  I walked quickly and purposefully to Bury Lodge Gardens to look for signs of spring.  A small cluster of crocus flowers glistened in the late afternoon sun.  A sign.

Behind the Garden Gate

This pretty flower grows up behind the garden gate adding natures beauty to an otherwise dilapidated scene!  Does anything interesting lurk or grow behind yours?