Wishing it was warm

Finally the temperature is plummeting. Warm days this November are fading as the Jet Stream of wind changes position and cold air tumbles down from the Arctic. Some parts of Britain might see wintery showers soon. Then my garden plants will be hit by the chill. In the meantime I can only think of the glorious plants that bloomed in the spring and summer and the seasons ahead of us. Looking forward to the future again.

Fig tree leaves

Our fig tree that grows alongside the house is well sheltered and has got rather tall this year. The leaves are really big and are just starting to fall off. The one on the ground still looks healthy and green. The laurel bush is towering over everything and really needs cutting back but we don’t have the skills or the strength to do it.

So all in all the garden is thriving. We need to maintain it bit it’s our wild haven. I will maybe post more photos as the year turns.

Still going!

What is going on? Begonias and Lobelia in November! I know some gardeners cut everything back and compost things after the summer. But I can’t do it. I love seeing things grow. The baskets will eventually die back. The tops of them are already looking a bit scrappy, but any sleepy and cold bee or hover fly can maybe sneak a sip of nectar. Our back yard is sheltered by the house, large bushes and a fence, I suppose the plants huddle together forming a microclimate. We also live towards the bottom of the hill so we don’t get hit by winds sweeping down from the north. It’s a haven. Looking forward to next summer. X

Free meal?

A fourth cat is trying to muscle in with my other three cats. We think she’s female and she has spent an hour yowling in the garden. We have two indoor /outdoor cats and one outdoor/indoor cat. Hubby likes the look of her and went out and fed her!

Cats they are cheeky

They know a trick or two

How to get a free meal

And some loving too!

Yowling and purring

Making such a fuss

She will soon be eating

A free meal, will that puss!

Woodpecker

This morning I saw a woodpecker in our garden. I’d never seen one in real life and I’m not sure what type it was but it was climbing up our willow tree, pecking at the bark. Looking for insects? I hope it comes back tomorrow. If it does I will try and get a photo then try and identify it. We do have lots of trees in the garden even though we are in the centre of a city. I guess we are trying to do our bit for the environment.

Old roses

Autumn is coming,

the roses are fading.

Blue sky has mackerel clouds.

Sea breezes are cooler

laden with moisture.

Soon it will be

‘the season of mist’s

and mellow fruitfulness’

that some forgotten poet

(forgotten by me)

once wrote about.

Beauty and the Beast

watch the petals fade and fall….

Will they catch them

before it’s too late?

Overgrown

Too many plants in our garden. A lot of shrubs. There are probably bears in there (not), maybe hedgehogs and the squirrels are back and have started eating the walnuts from our tree which must be sixty foot high now.

A massive two trunked laurel Bush /tree robs a lot of the light, and holy bushes and a small eucalyptus are dotted about. The cherry trees are getting big and we have had to prop up the pear tree which is now laden with fruit. The wisteria is tangled up with the ivy on our kitchen and bathroom extention and a fig tree is growing there too. A few small olives appeared on the olive tree this year but didn’t grow big enough to crop.

Too much shade in the main garden so we are growing flowers in the back yard and on the pavement. We even (weirdly) have a couple of cabbages growing at the front!

Hot

🔥

And humid

Watering the yard

The moisture level outside is about 85%, I’ve got the fan on and the windows closed to keep the heat out. All my hanging baskets had wilted this afternoon despite heavy rain a couple of days ago. Sorry to go on about my garden but I enjoy showing it off. It does need work though. X

We don’t have droughts like other countries but we do sometimes have heathland fires occasionally. We are more prone to flooding. Apparently we have tornadoes but I’ve never seen one and they’re only small scale here.

Weather, what the British talk about. X

Water troubles

Two years after we had a possible leak in our garden which we were advised was a ‘spring’ we had the water company round again. They had renewed the water stop taps and could hear water rushing through the pipe, much more than we would use in the three houses it supplies.

So after contacting our insurers two years ago and being told by the workmen they sent that it wasn’t a leak, it now is! Now I’m waiting for a letter so I can inform the insurance it’s real. Hopefully we are still insured and we can get it sorted out. Fingers crossed. I will be pleased if we stop having pools of water down at the bottom of the garden.