New paintings and regular art updates.
Despite the sunshine in these photos the rain keeps coming down. We have had a lot of blustery showers over the last few days and I’ve only had to water my hanging baskets a couple of times. I can’t get up the bit next to the house because it’s getting really overgrown. I think I’m going to have to take a few leaves off the tomato plants soon so what tomatoes we have get some sun to ripen them!
This is the view outside the window.
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The hanging baskets were fine last week but when we came home two of them were upside down on the ground. The screw they had been hung on had given way under their weight and with heavy rain they had collapsed down onto the ground. Now they are hanging forlornly lower down the fence. They might grow and recover. I’m feeding them and watering them. Anyway the photos are of the growth of the other ones. Some are doing better than others. I really need to dead head them (take off dead flowers). It will have to wait till I feel better.
Here’s some patterns I did from them…
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.
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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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.
My back yard, fern at spode, carnations at spode.
Just a few plants I saw today. The ones in the yard are mostly in hanging baskets that are billowing out in great waves of colour. The fern is a shuttlecock fern I think because its fronds radiate out from the centre and it looks like the shuttlecock used in badminton. The third picture is of carnation flowers planted up with a blue grass. These last two were taken at the Spode Site at Stoke. There are plants that are planted up by our stairs that soften the edged of the semi derelict buildings there. I love plants.
The hanging baskets I ordered arrived last week so I’m busily watering them to get them to grow. I get them from a farm out on the road between Silverdale and the road between Keele and Madeley in Staffordshire.
They are cheaper if you take the old baskets in. I did spend too much on them but I can’t explain the joy I feel seeing them hanging up. The bright colours inspire me. The different shapes and leaf colours are interesting. Apparently the human eye can distinguish more shades of green than any other colour.
One thing I like doing is hanging one basket under the other, it also means that when you feed and water one the other gets watered.
Happy summer x
