Buds and Buds

This is tall and always seems to be hidden from sight.

I had to look it up, it’s a poppy.

The flowers are always too heavy for the stem.

This seed mix has worked wonders.

Never tire of all the stages of a rose.

Morning Glory I think.

No idea what I’ll do with the holly right now.

A mishap with the paint lead to me matching the marble by chance.

A neighbour was throwing this out and I just crammed it into a pot and tossed it in there before I cleaned up properly. Now it’s taking over that corner.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’ve spent today trying to clean things up, my shed has been in a chaotic state, well it always is, but too much so, which involves a lot of rummaging around and walking into garlic and onions, I wish I had a higher shed, but things are what they are. I also reinforced the staging in the greenhouse, it looks a lot more wild in there than it is, the tomatoes are doing so much better than previous years and the basil is doing great, it smell fantastic in there. Some of the early planted basil hasn’t done well, a bad batch of seeds I think, so I’ve planted the last of the seeds and should have plenty. Putting the passiflora in there was great for the passiflora, but not so much for me. Still, I hate to see it empty over
Summer, but I do know I can’t over fill the shelves, despite wanting to so very much. Progress, Dear Reader, towards a lot of pesto and salads.

Such a great mixture.

Imagine the volume of petals right now.

This rose really has taken off this year.

Every year these pop up as lovely spots of colour.

Not sure what I’ll do with it, but it does seem to be Enchanter’s Nightshade.

Something about this look delicious.

Blackgrass in flower.

Rose and Dahlia locked in mortal combat.

I actually forgot to water and feed the tomatoes and had to pop out so they won’t split and on the way back I felt a call, Dear Reader, the roses needed me, the new roses as I call the ones most recently grown from cuttings. I see that at least two of the mystery colour roses have buds starting and the other skip roses are almost open. This is the most exciting part because after over a year I’ll finally know what colour they are. Even the rambling rose from the front planter is budding, that’s the last chance for that because the original has sadly died off. It takes a lot of work, I hear from so many gardeners that they want it just so all too often, but you can’t dictate to plant, just guide it and accept what it needs to do to be healthy and put in the effort. I wouldn’t have all I do if I kept pruning and removing and the plants wouldn’t be as strong either. I do the dirty work so the flowers can bloom and though I may complain, it is so very worthwhile. I’ll be back again soon, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

I planted these under the currants to deter insects, may have worked, either way I have more onions.

Railway line Blackberries are going well.

Just noticed these are back again.

These are all up in the air they’re so tall right now.

That isn’t the front plant, but the one behind that. I see a lot of female flowers right now.

After this I had to move it all and replant the bottom rows.

The bees are always in this flower whenever I go to check on the new roses.

Everything is running into each other.

People are amazed at these, even more so when I say birds planted them.

The Fall of The Pirate Skull

Broken, but not beaten. I’ll paint tomorrow.

When they’re not waterlogged they do much better.

Even the last to flower tree is now bearing fruit. This is the earlier elstar.

The Teasel is stuck in every other plant.

Doing well this year thankfully.

The Rambler is actually weighed down with flowers.

Raspberry Giant, still young, hope they get really large.

Looks like someone rolled it in flowers.

Such a thin stem to support those.

Can’t have a post without roses.

Yo, Dear Reader, today we remember Pirate Skull that was instrumental in the creation of the Gargoyle Gang, it’s not gone, it just slipped off and needed repairing. I think the Rockery has been sinking, which isn’t that surprising considering the weight of the edges, then I went to it to get a planter and I was met with the skull staring up at me. I’ve been meaning to repair the broken edge and now I’ll have to repaint it too. I make things to last, Dear Reader, the Pirate Skull and The Devil are a good half bag, at least, of cement mix between them, a little tumble won’t do much harm. I’m hoping to do a grey wash to preserve the details. Never expected this to be an integral part of the garden, but here we are, Dear Reader, I blame that cheery grin, it’s just infectiously merry.

This is extremely tall and thin.

Stuck in the ground in a bucket and better for it.

The holly chunk I found is really starting to grow now.

Hen and Chicks are really eye catching.

Much prettier than advertised.

Good old hardy Dracaena. Flowers are getting scarce so I grab them when they’re cheap.

A very old hydrangea.

This was once in what was Pig Side Back.

You take one, you take them all.

I decided that today was the last of the squash planting, I put a few in with the peas that may be starting or not, I’ve given up, Dear Reader, another two went into pots and when I shook out the remaining compost, adding some to another bin to rest I just said that’s enough. Then I walked past the squash seedlings left and said maybe just a few more. I’ll be planting more root vegetables in the pots as they empty, but I won’t need to amend those. I’m not sure what the weather is doing, it isn’t any Summer we’ve known, but things are growing and I may as well try as just give up. I always say no year is ever alike and this year really brings that home, it’d be easier to face if it were wet and dim, but it’d overcast and weltering, then sometimes cold and breezy and often when I’m in and tired, sunny. If it stays dry I may yet get to try out my new soaking hose. Exciting times, Dear Reader, try not to get overstimulated with these posts. Until later, stay safe and take care.

Chaotic, but I love it.

The bees love these self-seeded flowers. Might be wild lupins.

My hands are large, but the Blue Pumpkin leaves are larger.

I just assumed it was ugly and then would go to seed, but it’s actually going to flower. Neat.

Wildflowers are everywhere this year.

Everywhere.

Rose Nostalgia.

Lilies abound.

As it’s a dwarf I assumed the flowers would be too. Nope.

Six Squash Remain

Well, well, well I know I planted this, but it’s a nice surprise.

Tasty, tasty bananas.

Year and year of practice and finally I get better at pruning tomatoes.

99% sure this is yellow.

Feels so empty right now.

With our short Summers you can’t let them get too big or you’ll get no fruit.

Yo, Dear Reader, today we were blessed with a hint of Summer so off I went to try to get more of these pots emptied, amended and replanted, which of course was derailed by the fact the onions needs harvesting, I didn’t realise that alongside the tops falling over they also just pop out of the soil easily when they’re ready to harvest and hang. I tugged a few and met with resistance so I left those, whereas others just pulled free with no effort. You learn every year, Dear Reader, you also find that even with experience that there are still plenty of surprises. I had a pair of shallots just bolt and grow into a mass of unruly green tops, shallots are always fussy, but I like to plant a few. The biggest mistake I ever made was not separating them before hanging which caused them to soft and rot faster. Currently I have room in the shed as I’ve been hanging five bundles on each hook and the curtain rail eyes have tomato hooks hanging from them so the onions can hang and be moved back and forth for no more reason than merriment.

I need to stake that or move it later.

My first mistake was thinking this would be it for today.

The Rambler looks lovely from the window.

Newer rose nearly open. Nostalgia I think, I have one like it in pink, somewhere.

Handing it off to Naru to take care of for a few months.

Passiflora getting ready to bloom again.

Hung in the shed and they’ll be ready to eat in a few weeks.

I’m popping down carrots in the looser soil filled pots, parsnips too I somehow forgot to plant any yet, a bit of lettuce and more squash. I’m just doing what I have been able to do without a sense of dread of possible calls. I’ll see what’ll grow and just generally hope for the best. I should be able to start using the garlic soon, I’ve had some where the tops broke away and it couldn’t store and it is such a different taste, so fresh and firm and just worth the wait. Next year I’m not pre-ordering the onions, the site I bought them from turned into a shambles of missing orders and a botched website so I’ll just grab them as I see them, there are always onions around, Dear Reader, but I often felt a panicked need to hurry up. No more. I have plenty of pots and a good bit of compost yet, but just six squash, I’ve been taking the weaker of the two in each pot, I doubled up because I didn’t need so many, or so I thought, and just stuffing them down, we’ll see what happens, but it’ll be enjoyable if nothin else, Dear Reader.

The bees won’t stay still for photos.

The Rambler has tumbled forward a little because of the rain and all the pulling.

Everything grows how it wants here.

Still a whiles away from harvest.

So much odds and ends stuffed together to make it look better than it should.

Naru’s Carnations are still going.

Right now I’m in harvest and planting mode and not really thinking much about eating, I am using the Spring Garlic Pesto from earlier in the year and it is lovely and fresh and helps change up my meals, as much as they can be changed. The fruit is being frozen as I pick it and I’ll use that gradually, as much as there is you still feel the loss when it finally runs out. It might not feel like Summer to us, but the plants don’t mind this combination of heat and wet. I’m just taking advantage of it and putting down what I can and moving things around that need extra care or that have gotten too large for the spaces they’re in. I found an old rose I was given, I say given, Dear Reader, the neighbour who gave it to me thought it was dying and it was, I just don’t let that stop me, it had orange lilies in the pot too and self-seed poppies, it just couldn’t compete with the other roses so I added compost and gave it to Naru to look after it. I did that with another struggling rose and it has bounced back. Everything grows around her garden, Dear Reader. I’ll be back again later, until then stay safe and take care.

Someone told me to toss a dogwood cutting and hah!

Revived, overwintered and back again.

Still a while away from harvest.

They’re happy here.

Switching to orange for now.

The Giving Honeysuckle

I’ve lost track of what I’ve stuffed where.

Kiwi is still growing strong.

I’ve had bad luck with that spot, this time it looks good.

New bouquet rose is getting big fast.

These were sets to small to plant, so I stuck them in to protect the berries, now they’ll cure as whole roasting onions.

Still a few new blooms appearing.

It had died twice already. Dwarf Mulberries are fussy I suppose.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’ve been hit by some ingredient that has knocked me for a loop, might be something in a fudge I haven’t had trouble with before, thankfully it isn’t covid, but I am exhausted and itchy. This is why I’m just sticking so much to the usuals, I spent long enough getting away from this kind of thing, Dear Reader, a few basic new recipes aren’t worth risking my health like this. I’m fine, it’s just coming at a bad time because the weather is affecting my joint like Winter and like the fudge the pain killers are a crapshoot and often do nothing but make me ill. If I could get out into the garden more I’d feel better or at least be too busy to think, but the weather is fighting me still. We’re suppose to see heat soon, hope springs eternal I guess, Dear Reader.

I’ll get that down in time.

The apples are getting a colour. Probably won’t get much bigger this year.

The plants don’t mind the rain so much.

Everything is damp, but pretty.

I add more each year.

Better not sprawling everywhere.

The very tall roses are now growing sideways too.

I did get out to get some work done. I was looking at the newer berry bushes and saw they needed stalking, I picked out he loganberry and I learned two things, Dear Reader, the first is that it will shred the skin clean off your hands, I dropped that fast, the second is that they are delicious, there are only a few, but they were so nice it motivated me to clean up. It’s been a few years since I bought bamboo canes, they’re been out of stock in a lot of places, which meant I only had a few long canes left, some were here from the start, a lot started out longer, but I managed to get enough together to fix things up. Then I had to rummage through the honeysuckle for clips, it has eaten various kinds over the years, Dear Reader, including clothes pegs. The reason I’m keeping the berries in pots is so I can do this rather than having them get too wild, I won’t see much fruit, if any this year, I’m looking at you Mulberry, stop dying, but they’re worth the wait. Next up is new canes and more clips.

The first batch of squash are growing well.

The Purple Rose is usually a weak variety, this one didn’t get the memo.

I forget what I have year to year and it’s always a lovely surprise.

More jungle than rose garden.

Gar is happy at least.

I’m still getting the garlic up, I’ve have it done now if not for the weather, but also every time I go out there are yet more raspberries. They are growing the most I’ve seen, I have filled two big bags already and they aren’t done. The strawberries are getting there, but with the wet they’re getting soggy, I fed them with milk and feed incase they need the boost, I’m not sure if it’s blossom end rot, but won’t hurt them. I’m nearly out of bonemeal and that’s reserved for the newer squashes, yeah, I’m still planting them, just going for broke. This part of the garden is just me gathering what I can and not thinking much about how to use it all, the basil will be coming soon and that’ll mean Pesto and Mango Sauce all going well. I’m lucky the nights are warm enough for it to stay alive, it isn’t the easiest herb to grow here, Dear Reader, but it is so very delicious. I’ll just keep doing what I can and gathering it all up to use when the garden has gone back. For now I just complain about the rain while I wait for my canes. Until later, Dear Reader, stay safe and take care.

Just thorns all the way up. Loganberry.

Everything is falling onto each other. Makes for new displays daily.

The main point is will the bees like it, then will I like it.

The plants think it’s Summer at least.

The clematis is stuck inside the rose and behind the blackberry, but it is blooming.

Fine, That’s Your Berry!

I am always surprised at what pops up.

The bees love the honeysuckle, which is great as it will only get more and more plentiful.

Still getting inside the rose garden somehow.

This is about six feet high currently.

They’re all huge with no end in sight.

The biggest astilbe is out.

Daylilies are lovely when they clump up big.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’ve been saying that I’d lift more garlic when the weather stayed dry long enough to dry out the pots, since that isn’t happening I just decided to tackle it in a few sections over whatever days aren’t compete washouts. I ended up clearing out the garlic bed area, it will be forever known as that despite the bed being gone, and also amending the pots in there, seventy five litres of wet compost is heavy let me tell you, Dear Reader, took them out, mixed up the soil, it’s getting better now I have it split up, before the lowest soil was heaviest, and back in it went. I fed the pots with bonemeal and a few additives and added liquid feed and popped more squash in. The squash I put down the other day, might be yesterday, might be a week ago, what is time with no seasons to mark it?, bounced back straight away and looking at other growing squash in Ireland I should be okay for time to establish. This is a new way of getting more out of the garden, I was lucky to have the compost ready, but I usually have it at this time anyway.

Ah, one of the old orange lilies has popped up!

Dwarf Buddleia sis flowering.

Bundled, tied and hung already.

One of the old roses in a sunken bucket.

Worth all the work reiving and recolouring.

These were all super cheap and so young and tender many moons ago.

The bees have been so busy I haven’t been able to capture them much, I did almost pick one when I was out harvesting raspberries, it was hanging onto a berry and I didn’t want to bother it, I need them happy and pollinating my squash, Dear Reader. They’ve been literally bouncing from flower to flower all over the garden, between the established flowers and the wild flowers there’s a lot for them. It’s been the plan for many years and I’ll never stop adding more for them. I took in a huge jug of raspberries and a big bowl of currants, the blackcurrants are getting to be doubled sized. The tayberries are starting and are lovely and sweet with a depth of flavour beyond tartness. The golden raspberry plant, the elder, is starting to fruit well, it’s hit a growth spurt too so next year should be better. The newer plants are still establishing, but I’m in no rush. I’m just storing up right now, it’s hard to think what I want to do with all of this abundance, it’s a lot of work so I’ll just focus on not wasting anything. The strawberries are being attacked so I’m mulching and have tossed coffee grinds over them with a spray of neem oil and essential oils. Hopefully I get more, but I’m doing well enough. They’re so tender even the rain damages them.

I had to corral them as they kept hitting people.

I bought this during a flare up of arthritis, didn’t help, but it’s a nice rose.

My blackberries are more foxglove at this stage.

These are years and years old.

Another differently coloured rose in the big pink.

I hope they all selfseed.

Should look good when the roses come out more and the lilies bloom.

Hard to imagine it’s nearly July, I used to feel this divide in the year, when the surgery was les and less likely to be scheduled, so I didn’t tend to plan, partly because I just wasn’t in the headspace to do so. This year, the first of many better years, I am tossing down squash like they’re all guaranteed to grow and bear fruit. It isn’t easy here to do much Autumn growing, we don’t get warm, bright Autumns, we get rain leading into cold rain. There are things I could grow, but many would be wasted, I wish there was a community drop off for fresh produce so I could get it to people who’d want it. It is what it is, Dear Reader, I’ll just keep growing what I can and storing it away for dreary Winter days. I’ll put down more beetroot and carrots once I lift the rest of the garlic, my shed is getting packed and smells just delicious, and the onions shouldn’t be far behind. Plenty to come yet, Dear Reader. I’ll be back again soon, stay safe and take care.

This worked out well and was much cheaper than buying trays.

A scion that I planted. Going to keep it as a decorate apple tree.

Lot of work, but I hope it’ll pay off.

To think that was a wasted space.

Bought a few years ago to mark the first surgery.

This is a top down because I had to reach up and over to take it.

All from a inch cutting years ago.

Strawberry Sharing

Naru’s Royal Mallows are starting to bud.

Don’t know what changes the colour from yellow, but it’s lovely.

I’m still pruning carefully, it never ends, but might be worth it.

Roses are a joy.

The Rambler is blooming again.

A busy bee hanging around Naru’s flowers.

Yo, Dear Reader, another mishmash of photos from a few days ago. We’re apparently trapped beneath some strange weather phenomenon which is causing a lot of rain, wind and some sun, but no Summer. As usual I’ll just keep planting and hope for the best, I’m getting more squash down day to day, I have to amend the used garlic soil and am trying to mix the heavier soil with the lighter, it call came from the vegetable bed when I first started, think heavy, heavy clay, and after years of sitting in a raised bed and finally being sieved and split up it is a lot better, but the squash will need feeding and the compost bin needs emptying. We could see Summer next month, but I won’t hold my breath, Dear Reader.

I shorten the back chain and suddenly the baskets look good.

All the small waste cloves I planted together for Spring Garlic and instead grew them into single bulbs. Ideal for roasting.

Next month, even that’s a stretch, is the last time I can plant squash here.

They change a lot over the season.

Why the best part has to face the wall is beyond me.

They looked so bare before and now don’t. A few links less and here we go.

They might self seed if I’m lucky.

Started off as a discounted damaged bareroot iceberg rose and is now a bushy pascali.

I am busy hauling in various soft fruits, still need to lift garlic too, and there is a lit more to come. Things are doing well, the work pays off, Dear Reader. This year I have strawberries again and they are so sweet and tender, a little too tasty and soft as they keep getting attacked, but I cut away the bad and I’ll look into mulching with cardboard once the weather settles a little more. I’m out everyday, but there’s only so much you can do with thunder rain pouring down. It’s funny, Dear Reader, that when you’re harvesting and storing you don’t really realise how much you have, it’s when the season is through you can finally stop and really look. I think there should be a decent crop of wild blackberries this year and I shouldn’t have to go too far afield for them. Though I’m not making much I’ll still make a few pots of jam with them, it’s a tradition at this stage. I’ll be back again later, Dear Reader, until then stay safe and take care.

The older roses are strong.

Just tossed the seeds in there.

Apples are getting big.

Nestled in the big back rose, I guess I have three of these now.

A lovely mix of meadow flowers scattered around.

The wind hasn’t knocked off a single rose head.

They just grow and grow.

Squashes are doing well.

Thunder Tap

Finally found another gasteria. Took years.

Rain won’t stop me getting out.

Plenty of roses coming out.

Standard Rose, that arrived near dead, is retiring after five years or so. I cut the top, potted that and will let the base do what it can. The other is the white cup rose cuttings.

Lilies are no work for such stunning blooms.

I think I remember this.

There are just so many types.

A bud on the second of the two bouquet roses!

A new rose. The stripes are really unique.

Dogwood is doing better in the greenhouse.

Yo, Dear Reader, been a varied few days since the last post, I’ve been sitting on photos I mean to post, but then I get sidetracked. I actually bought a hose sprayer a few days ago, but having misread it it turned out to be huge, and was going to post after I used it. First I had to get it fitting to a standard hose with some of my Jack of All Trades Magic. The hose literally fit inside the sprayer, loosely at that, so you can imagine, Dear Reader, it is a trifle larger than I’d expected. I duct taped the hose, slotted that inside the sprayer, three massive nozzle on top, then I used silicone tape to seal it up, connected it via a few attachments and finally turned it on. It is a drencher, Dear Reader, but as I tested it it started to rain. Two days of thunder rain. It’s an effective hose after all, Dear Reader. I’ll get to try it eventually.

Well, that’s new. Might be a hybrid seed.

Despite it being a weirdly out of tune Summer the plants are doing well.

The rain didn’t hurt them at all, they’re tough.

Some feed and care and they should revive.

The Rambler is a very, very pale pink.

A friend on the Shasta daisy.

Buds on the thornless blackberries.

It was being cut every year and look at it now.

I’ve been wanting to get to the graveyard to see if they had anything to fill the small planters and finally decided to take the walk up there, it’s a good two miles up and back, mostly dull walls and traffic, but it’s been bugging me so off I went and thankfully there were a few plants worth salvaging. I may have ended up with a small orange plant if the ID is correct. They may revive, they look pretty decent, probably all the aforementioned rain. People pay a lot for these and then toss them a few months later. On the way home I grabbed a cutting of an extremely fragrant wild rose, which made me realise I don’t actually know what the rooted wild rose looks like. I’ve never seen it in bloom. Part of the fun of gardening is that you can never predict all that much of what’ll happen year to year, or even day to day: See the hose debacle. Still, I’m getting there, Dear Reader, one day I may know where there is. Until later, stay safe and take care.

Here I go again I guess.

The Rambler is really blooming now, look even better at a distance.

Colour variations in older roses are really striking.

I have to go out and get more raspberries, this was just a few days ago.

Not sure what this is, but I don’t think it’s geranium.

Orange lilies are popping up all over suddenly.

Lilies are very long lived.

The rain did them a power of good.

Next Year: A Skip Of Garlic

You can stand a few feet away and still smell the roses.

There are a lot of orange lilies around: These were being dumped, another set I bought, another I saved from the skip and the main ones are very rare old lilies.

A colour reveal isn’t faraway for one of the new bouquet roses.

Clematis are reliable and always available cheap.

Yo, Dear Reader, has it really been nine months, that is such a long time and yet so short and yes I’m building up this slightly boring story up with a element of suspense. Not working huh, Dear Reader? Okay, okay, the first third…little over a third…of the garlic has been lifted, some was lifted, whereas some had welded itself to the soil and had to be hacked out. I no longer care about the size or the variety, I just grabbed the wheelbarrow, started with a riddle, then a big tray, and off I went taking up what was ready, freeing up space for squash, forgot I had seventy five litre pots in there too so that’ll be interesting. I hung it in the shed and in a few weeks I’ll have my own garlic again, it’s already cramped in there and when the rest is up and the onions, well, it’ll smell lovely if nothing else. Instead of taking up the onions I grew from leftover set I’ll cure them as small onions for roasting whole. I may have basil when the garlic is ready to eat. Nothing compares to homegrown, Dear Reader.

Birthday Girl if I’m not mistaken.

Saved these as broken bulbs from the skip and look at them now.

Tied and hung. I have a new rail for the rest, aka the curtain rail.

I put down more basil, you can never have enough.

The weather isn’t Summery, but I am seeing a lot of growth still, I’ve also been monitoring the hotbin composter in that vague, but exact way I do most things. No notes, just a lot of memory and I have discovered that it does work in an absurd way. Basically you need a balance of two brown, cardboard etc to on green, grass, kitchen waste, to really get compost nicely broken down. With the hot bin this happens faster, but you need more a four or five to one, which means if I put in green it’ll hit forty degrees at most, but if I put in brown it’ll hit sixty. Which is fine, but put in a little green at sixty and down it goes. If I turn it and keep adding paper I could maybe get faster compost, but less and for more work. Naturally I have my own way and I’ll get great feed from the comfrey and seaweed I added in layers. I haven’t bought liquid feed in years and don’t miss it at all. I would like to get more seaweed, but I’ll just settle for what I can get my hands on right now. Lots to be done yet, Dear Reader, but things are starting to come to fruition, various fruits, herbs and vegetables are all being harvested. All organic and fed with the best of natural feed. All the waste it produces, like the garlic tops and roots, all goes back into the bins to feed next year’s crops and flowers. Good times for gardeners and gourmets, Dear Reader. I’ll be back again later, until then stay safe and take care.

White Orchid is back too.

Might see more passiflora flowers soon.

Yeah, just threw seeds down and here we are.

Smells lovely in there.

Summer Whether

This is coming out of a pot stuck in among others.

The Rambler is hard to capture well. Too close you miss the scale.

Too far and you lose the detail of those lovely flowers.

Still enjoying watching these grow, these must be the Grenadier, I bought that to pollinate the other two.

Lily season is starting.

I think I threw seeds there, but it grew itself.

I got them and they fit just right.

Such a delicate pink with so many folds.

Filling them will take time and luck finding free plants.

I just call all of the small bushes hebes.

Yo, Dear Reader, the Summer weather is still not coming, we’re getting some scorching days followed by muggy overcast days, not ideal for growing, but thankfully not so cold as to do any damage. I’m just trying to keep everything weeded and cleaned up because between the weeds and me things can get messy, Dear Reader. A neighbour decided to strim today so with the open windows because of the heat, no air conditioning here, Dear Reader, just whatever blows in or out, I had just a constant spluttering noise. I decided to done headphones and trim the laurel hedging in front of the Secret Garden. I have mesh to guide it, but the tops needs a cut back, I somehow avoided the just reaching honeysuckle, which should fill it in in time creating a much nicer hedge.

They’re really growing well now. Been over a year already.

Looks like I’ll see strawberries this year at least.

All these silvery plants have incredible foliage colouration and oddly mismatched yellow flowers on long stalks.

This is the front rose, the mother plant died, but this is looking good.

I scattered a lot of these around.

Hoping the wildflowers self seed. I’ll save some if I can too.

So, so many pinks.

They were being thrown way.

Back Honeysuckle is flowering.

Took up a pot to check for blight, they’re just fine thankfully. Sad I can’t eat them, but a friend loves them.

Next month it should bloom.

The weather dictates a lot of gardening, Dear Reader, which is why I so often talk about it, it also affects my joints in various ways so it can make it harder to get some things done. I’ve learned to work on what I can when I can, even if it means leaving what seems important right now. Having a day when nothing needs watering may be the ideal day to fix things up even if I have planting to do, trying to guess the weather to roughly figure a few days ahead for newly transplanted plants is tough these days. It can be hard to put it into words, it isn’t some grand and esoteric knowledge, more practical that has been lost to most people. It’s why if you were here, Dear Reader, you’d hear me lamenting that people are cutting their roses or burning their grass, that plants are going to waste and invasive weeds aren’t be treated. I know what should be done and what needs to to a degree, I just can’t turn it off when I’m not in the garden! Hah.

Stuck them everywhere.

Plenty of roses still blooming.

Big teasel flowers coming out.

A fun little variegation in the purple basil.

Wild roses will establish fast and are sprawling, but I wanted just one from the railway line.

They all look different, all the B roses are from three different roses.

Patience like no one knows put to good use.

Squash is one the loose.

Can still walk in, just about.

I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I was talking to someone about the Christmas Market we attended last year, and sold everything at, but the costs are now at a point where it’d be a risk to sell fresh breads and a hassle to make enough jam and jelly, not that they can store indefinitely either, but much longer than fresh breads. I enjoyed it and am glad to end it on a high note, but the price of ingredients would be far too much to take on and keep prices as they are and people don’t often want to support small sellers. It is sad how little community spirit exists in so many places. I would’ve taken a risk if I had still been waiting on the surgery, just for distraction if nothing else, but looking at the way the country is headed with our refusal to accept the government’s, and the people’s, attitude towards covid being a mess of selfishness and anti-science I know I could be met with no support, feels people are getting worse in all aspects not better. So, Dear Reader, let them ask if they want jam, let them come to me, I’ll be in the garden, taking precautions whenever I’m anywhere else. I refuse to back down on my belief that we should support and protect others. Until it’s over for everyone it isn’t over. I’ll be back again later, Dear Reader, hopefully with stories of sunshine and smiles. If not then I’ll have plenty of plant photos. Stay safe and take care, Dear Reader.

I think this and the other in the back are not the same, but very similar.

Red Hydrangea is coming along nicely.

None last year, but they had been moved and it was a really bad year for some fruits.

Bouquet Rose, will need to call it the First Bouquet Rose in time.

Hoping at least one is red.

Bouquet Rose 2 and 3.

Everything has mingled so perfectly.

Lily that survived the Rose Garden renovation somehow. No idea how it came up, but it does year after year.

Thought it’d die after me carving it out of the ground during a storm and nearly tearing my arm muscles in hauling it to a roughly planned spot.

Okay that’s interesting. A wild mix that took two years to flower.

Peaceful Proceedings

Nearly fell over turning back to see this.

Self-seed wild flowers are strong.

Indoor plants from the supermarket are all so cheap and more often than not you have no clue what they are.

Don’t tell them, but the little green one is a favourite. One of my first too, arrived nearly dead.

The birds aren’t eating the raspberries this year, not that I mind, just odd.

Someone was throwing it away. Looks like I framed terrible plant photos.

Yo, Dear Reader, I’ve been wondering if the somewhat unseasonal weather has been leading to this strange feeling I keep having in the garden and I think it might be more that the pressure to forget about surgery calls, to push through ungodly pain, to maintain my weight bordering on dangerousness is gone, or maybe more of a shadow. It’s there, I can’t den all that time hasn’t had an extremely detrimental effect on me, but I often wondered how the garden I started during that would feel after. Strangely it feels like someone has flipped a switch to peaceful. There are things going wrong, not so many as usual when this kind of weather pops up, but I don’t need to rush to correct them, nor is the fear I’ll be taken away before I can here. It feels good, Dear Reader, not what it should be, I won’t lie, I’ve spent my life with depression and the ways you lie to survive are endless, but it is so much better. It feels like a gift I’ve given myself if that makes sense. Sorry if I’m getting a tad introspective, you come here for the endless adventures in the garden, but thanks for providing a space where the words can go somewhere and perhaps to someone.

Biollante popping out where it pleases, it’s over six foot long now, but growing at all points when it suits.

The huge yellow rose needs guiding, rough, but it’s all I can do with it right now. Will take years of work.

Looks the same because it mostly is, bar the nettles I ripped out.

Welcome back, buddy.

The roses shape varies a lot due to weather.

Every tree goes through a shedding and regrowth if they’re going to live inside. That they’re wilder looking is just part of the charm. This ficus is fairly new, but it’ll shape out in time.

I did say I’d tackle the rough corner of the Secret Garden, which after a lot of work overtime is much less rough. A few staples smashed into who knows what, there’s a lot more wood and blocks under the matting there, Dear Reader, and some stones to help level pots and it mostly looks the same, but I managed to squeeze in the pots and gain a little more space in the front. I have the trough plants to place yet, but I am not rushing to fill them. I’m just going to see what comes up as I work on everything else. Not easy for me, Dear Reader, but an important project to help me lose the sense of a clock ticking down. Thankfully the weather has been warm, the basil and tomatoes are now all that’s in the greenhouse, I have way too much basil seeds, might’ve panicked, so I’ll plant more. I’m keeping the tomatoes trim, I realise now that the large branching, er, branches are where I fail, two branches where one would yield more fruit. Not this time, they’ll be little trees when I’m finished pruning.

They’re all growing as they want, nothing has a shape anymore bar hat nature intends.

So much for the bees.

There’s a lovely mix of colours right now.

This is why cutting the older roses is bad.

The white and black aren’t ready to harvest yet.

Another little slowly fill up project. I find so many small plants that would get lost anywhere else so this, either that or salad.

Such a lovely scent.

The squash seedlings have gone to the cold-frame, I have the potatoes still growing, I checked one and they’re blight free thankfully, they won’t be as large as they may have been, but they should be edible. Once they and the garlic come up I’ll start stuffing squash into every space, I’ll also amended the soil and empty the resting compost bin. Things are working out well, we might see a later Summer heatwave, or we might see rain and cold, at this stage I just have to be ready and also be ready to forget it. I have more peas to try and I hope they’ll start, some might be starting, but this has annoyed me and I won’t stop retrying until I have to. The cabbages and cauliflower are looking good, tiny yet, but healthy. Hard to imagine the time spent growing so much of this, the garlic is nine months of waiting and watching. The fruit bushes are years of care, seem to have a raspberry in the currants that I’ll watch, might be a yellow one, might be a wild one. The new ones are just establishing, but looking good. Lots to come yet, Dear Reader, I hope you’ll be here to see it with me. Until later, stay safe and take care.

The pink rose from the yellow, I pulled it through to protect it, this must be the graft because i’s so much weaker.

The coffee plant has such a lovely sheen to it.

Star-shaped Cymbidium is putting out a spike again too.

Orchids are really enjoyable.

Such a lovely flower.