Bit busy but just took quick photos of some flowers in the garden. Used my phone on magnification.
Tag: Garden
Indoor and outdoor cats
Seamus (top) on the bookcase at the top of the stairs keeping cool.
Gracie (middle) on the bed, in the shade
And welcoming Woody (bottom). He’s a cat that keeps coming in our garden, he’s not ours but does get fed, however he’s twice as big as our indoor cars, and well fed so I think he’s one of those cats that make a living visiting people and as he’s very friendly we let him. There are other cats that come in the garden but they don’t get fed.
I make sure to wash my hands if I stroke the outdoor cat incase he has any illnesses.
Why Woody? He likes sitting in the garden and it’s full of trees.
Heat
Some of the plants got bashed by last night’s storm. The temperatures are very hot although there was a bit of cloud cover for about 5 minutes and with a gentle breeze it felt quite pleasant in the garden. Now though the sun’s come out again and I feel like I’m being bitten by gnats or midges. I also realise I should have used some sunscreen. I think it’s around 32°C?
Last night I made gooseberry fool for dessert using the gooseberries we had picked from the garden a few days ago. You have to top and tail then first, which took a while as we had loads of small fruits. I boiled the goosegogs with some sweetener, let it cool then added the mashed fruit to mixed yoghurt and whipped double cream. Delusions cool and green.
Oh good, sun’s gone back in for a bit.
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Rainbow garden
My hubby shouted to tell me he had made a rainbow today. The hose was spraying water and the sunlight was behind us and bright.
In one of the photos there is even a double rainbow.
Rainbow
Coloured with light,
shining with sparkles,
water in flight.
Rainbow
glittering brightly,
wonderful vision
droplets so spritely.
Rainbow
water drops glisten
spectrum of sound
making you listen.
Rainbow
to see your smiling bow
happy to watch
your coloured sparks flow.
Resting bee
My husband almost sat on this bee. I tried to give it some water but it flew off.
As the paper said in the seventies “phew what a scorcher”.
I managed to get quite close then used the zoom on my phone. The metal look plastic weave on the chair make it interesting and I like the detail on the bee and the folded wings. You can just see the antenna on the left side so that’s the head end x
Blueberries
We have two small blueberry bushes on loan from a friend. They sit either side of the back door. One bush is sad and half died off. The other is healthy.
But it’s the blueberries on the tatty bush that are starting to ripen. As you can see they start out green, gradually swell and then the blue works it’s way over the fruit from the top to the base where it is attached to a stalk. I think they will get darker blue than this.
I haven’t been on line much today because I’ve been tidying up the jungle if a garden we have. Deadheading my hanging baskets. Watering the plants and tidying up the shed. I’m pooped! 
Here are a couple of the baskets I’ve been working on. I like the multilayer look. There is ivy growing up the wall so it looks quite nice.
Gooseberries
The crop! These are off one scraggy bush in the garden that was surrounded by stinging nettles. There is one red one somewhere in the jug from another bush but that one didn’t fruit well and we only found the one. I’m thinking if making a gooseberry and apple pie or cake. I think I’ve got the ingredients in to make one.
Gooseberries are not that popular and have a distinct taste. I can’t explain it, sour, green and fresh? I don’t know if you can buy them from a shop or supermarket, because they are a bit unusual. If I make something I might post a photo.
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Sitting in the summerhouse
I was sitting in the summerhouse this evening and I felt happy for the first time in ages.
Keep going
Keep doing,
Making art,
Meditating.
Seeing positives.
In our garden,
I love the light,
The green,
Refreshing,
Surrounded by life,
By inspiration,
By colour.
Art and imagination,
Release of creation
Serenity
A madness of baskets
A roar of colour, even in late evening light. The triffids have arrived, my hanging baskets are blooming lovely and are growing blousier by the day.
It happens every year, they are not fully grown when I get them, but add water and they burst into life. Plants that I didn’t know were in them are staring to flower, fushias and long trailing pelargoniums. A profusion of colour. I’m probably going to bore you with more of this until the last lobelia dies in the frosts of December! Some of them will survive until spring as they did last year.
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How I avoid hayfever
This is how I avoid hayfever in our garden. By completely eliminating a lawn. Luckily I don’t have an allergy to tree pollen. Over the years the trees have grown big, but I like having my own personal forest glade with bird life and small mammals like hedgehogs and of course cats who patrol the garden and mug my hubby for fresh cat food. At least that stops them getting interested in the birds…. Tweet tweet tweet pounce! I’m sitting here with a busy road just yards away and although I can hear the traffic it’s not as loud. I can hear the tsee tsee tsee of birds singing. The flap of wings as they look for bird food in the garden. The rustle of vegetation. At the moment I’m sitting on a bench in warm dappled sunlight. I guess this type of garden is good for capturing CO2 and for feeding the birds. We got very few cherries this year but the blackbirds are gobbling the ripe ones up high in the tree. In previous years we’ve made the effort to climb step ladders to get them but this year we are being generous!
A few years ago we rented the garden from the previous owner of our house. She then decided she wanted to build on it, and while she sought planning permission we were not allowed on it except for a four foot strip of path alongside the house, she even painted a line along the length of the path to show where we could go! Luckily she was refused planning permission so after three years we bought the garden off her. But the damage was done. Everything had grown enormously and out if control. We have struggled to get it back to some sort of tidiness.
I’ve been very busy with the election and the mystery play over the last two months so I haven’t been able to sit and chill. But today is dry and sunny, came and ate breakfast out here and since my WiFi seems to reach this far I thought I would write about the garden. No sneezing, my eyes are not running and I don’t feel like I can’t breathe, bliss.
Later I will do a bit of pruning. There are a few stray Ash and Sycamore saplings that need removing. Also I want to try and let a bit more light through.
Gardening, never-ending……
Mallaband-Brown 