Another idea

I might do a painting based on this photo that I have added texture to in the Photodirector app. The wildflowers were all in bloom at Westport Lake today. I could not identify many of them but they did make a lovely show. I managed to get a few thousand steps in for a change, I haven’t been doing enough walking recently. It is the season for bees and butterflies. We actually saw a few today.

Greenberries?

They grew, but haven’t ripened yet. I was hoping the hot sunshine would help turn them blue.

In other news we had to move all our plants off the pavement in front of out house. Workmen are putting in fibre optic cables and will be digging in front of our house tomorrow. So the poppies, festuca grass, nasturtiums, passion flower and honeysuckle and ivy all had to be moved. We could see mats of roots under where the pots had been. I hope they all survive and we can put them back.

Back yard

Madly flowering

Looking back down the backyard. It was lovely to get out in the sunshine for a few minutes. I decided to take a photo from near our living room window towards the back of the yard which has an overgrown hedge and Russian vine growing through it. Our yard is a sun trap and the hanging baskets and plants are getting very blousy! I must admit we cram a lot in every year.

Nasturtium flowers

Suddenly overnight, they are in flower. They thrive on poor soil. Some of the leaves have been munched slightly. These are on the front of our house, but when they grow in the garden you can eat the leaves, seed pods and flowers. They are nice to eat as a garnish in salads.

Nasturtiums come in a variety of colours and with plain or variegated leaves. As long as they get some water occasionally they will grow and scramble up surrounding plants or up walls, but they are not frost hardy and will die back when the weather turns cold.

Hanging baskets have arrived

Joyous day, we get a few hanging baskets every year, we had a call from the farm today. They were ready! Even though we were expecting them I was overwhelmed at how big and beautiful they are. If yo buy a hanging basket from a shop they often only have one species of flowers in them. But these are packed with petunias, fushias, begonias, lobelia, and other plants I can’t name. It’s not all their work, the rest is our handiwork. X

Green world

Imagine a green world, floating through space. Surrounded by a spherical forcefield that holds air and water in and keeps damaging radiation out. It can only survive where there is bright enough sunlight to allow the vegetation to survive unless it is equipped with power to keep it warm enough and keep artificial lights working for photosynthesis to happen. But plants have a limited lifespan, then they die and with the right biology break down and turn into compost. So the sphere needs to have enough space to keep growing, and enough resources to maintain a steady environment. Maybe there are large bodies of water to supply the plants.

I could be describing little spacecraft that could travel across space and seed new worlds? Or maybe it’s our planet. In either case, the environment needs protecting so that it can survive and thrive. If we imagine earth to be just a small spacecraft, where an imbalance could end its life, then perhaps we might take more care of it. X

Raspberries

We’ve got a good crop of raspberries coming on the bushes this year. It’s because hubby cut them right down at the end of last season. We’ve never really followed instructions for growing things. We’re more a ‘bung things in and see’ type of gardeners! This was last week. I need to take some more photos but my hay-fever is making my nose and eyes run so I’m staying inside. I hope we will have enough for a few to have with scones. Our cherry tree has more fruit on than I thought. A lot blew off in strong winds but we should get a decent crop when they ripen.