How I avoid hayfever

Posted on July 15, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Cats, Dappled shade, Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Hay-fever, Mammals, Plants, Sunshine, Trees2 Comments

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……

Cherries

Posted on July 14, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Beak, Birds, Cherries, Eating, Fruit, Fun, Garden, Gardening, Humour, Life, Pecking, Poem, Poetry, Red, RhymeLeave a comment

Loads of ripe cherries

High in the tree

Out of reach of human hands

But not from beaks you see.

Blackbirds, pigeons and magpies

Each have their fill

Of sweet red cherries

They have the skill,

Of flying high above me

Pecking at the fruit

Eating all the ripe ones

In their aerial persuit.

Sweet red cherries

Small and round and neat.

I go without

And the birds get a treat!

This years baskets

Posted on July 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Back yard, Blogging, Colour, Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Hanging baskets, Life, Photos4 Comments

I took a few photos of them this morning. The sun wasn’t shining so I think they don’t look as bright as they could. There’s lobelia, fushia, begonia, surfinia, pelargonium, nemesia and other plants in them. There are other plants in the yard and I’ve taken a photo of the cala lily as well.

THUD! Patter, patter, patter……

Posted on July 10, 2019July 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Environment, Fun, Garden, Humour, Kitchen extension, Life, Magpie, Pigeon, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

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On my kitchen roof

Bouncing around,

Pesky magpies and pigeons.

I like them,

Don’t get me wrong,

But just as I’m about to

Pour a coffee

THUD patter patter,

Or get the bread out of the oven…

THUD patter patter

Delicately lining up some icing

THUD! Patter…. Patter!

Do you have to?

You make me jump…

THUD!

View

Posted on June 25, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Design, Environment, Garden, Life, Plants, Trees, View, WindowLeave a comment

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Looked out of a friends window at the weekend. I decided to take a photo. I love the delicate frame with thin wooden sections to allow more light in. Shrubs and perennials surround a neat lawn. Mature trees grow up on the boundaries of the property. The large spiky leaved plant is Gunnera I think.

I’d like such a beautiful view (apart from the cars). I would love such a beautiful house. It will never happen though. I could never afford anything like this, but I can dream.

Blueberries

Posted on June 21, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blog, Blogging, Blueberries, Ericaceous, Garden, Gardening, Plants2 Comments

One plant is doing really, the other is partly dying off. I wonder if its too shaded out. I’m going to move it into a brighter place.

Anyway one of them is covered with blueberries which are starting to ripen, the other has a few flowers on it. I might also clear the slate off the top of the pots to allow the compost to breathe a bit more.

Summer flowers

Posted on June 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Poem, Poetry, Rain, Shade, Sun, Sunlight, WindLeave a comment

I’m craving bright plants and flowers,

Summer sun and bright blue skies,

Hanging baskets

Piled up with blousy flowers

Swiss chard and marigolds

Poppies and antirrhinums

Names that scramble on the tongue

But bloom on the ground.

Days to sit on the patio getting hot,

Or in the summerhouse keeping cool

……. Instead? Rain and wind!

No……

Posted on June 7, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Creative writing, Dreams, Funny, Garden, Gardening, Hose, Humour, Life, Noooo, Running water, Tap, Water, WritingLeave a comment

I have really interesting, involved dreams, marvellous fantasies. The trouble is when I wake up they are gone. Dissappeared, dissolved into the mists of reality. I have just woken up from one marvellous concoction. But it’s gone. I can’t grasp it back from my sleep. Today as I woke I could hear myself shouting Noooooo…..

In other news, I just heard the very quiet sound of running water. A hiss that signifies something is happening outside? Went out. My partner had switched the outside tap on last night with the hose attached… He’s left it on all night! I’m surprised the garden hasn’t floated away! We don’t have a hose ban, but I might ban him. Thank goodness we are not on a water meter!

Another reason to wake up shouting Noooooooo!

Part of paradise

Posted on June 2, 2019June 2, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Etruria, Etruria festival, Garden, Ladybird Su, Life, Paradise, Pop up garden, Potteries, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

My friend Su (ladybirdsu) has a op up garden at the Etruria festival. Blue boxes are laced in a geometric grid which is based on Islamic tiles. The whole effect is calming with a small solar powered fountain at the centre. Set on slightly sloping ground the whole piece sits on an unused part of the grounds between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the Cauldon canal. It is by lock 39 of the Trent and Mersey if you are looking for a specific location. It’s good to see art and history coming together in an effort to integrate the two.

Other projects in the area include greening Stoke, where areas of the town have had wild flowers planted and Spode Rose garden which has been more formally planted. In an age if climate crisis I think we need more of this work.

I would post other photos but I appear to have reached a limit on WordPress. I will see what I can do.

Rhododendrons are out.

Posted on May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Countryside, Dorothy Clive garden, Garden, Life, Photo, Plants, Rhododendrons, Rode hallLeave a comment

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This is an image from Rode Hall that I photographed a couple of weeks ago. As you can see the rhododendrons are in full bloom. These showy shrubs originally come from the far east, China I think? They are grown for their flowers which can come in a variety of colours.

They do spread though and can shade out native plants which is why they are sometimes drastically cut back in wooded areas, allowing light to penetrate the canopy of leaves.

I must visit the Dorothy Clive garden soon. They have a large and mixed collection in their quarry garden. They are in the countryside west of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Garden