Two tall roses in the Oval Bed have responded so well to nurturing that they needed more stakes. This morning, after embedding stout wooden poles and tying up the plants, we moved back into the rose garden the bench I had built last year using the cast iron sides we had found in the makeshift fence alongside our neighbour, North Breeze.
I then walked down to Roger’s fields, and across to the woodland at the far end, then along the footpath beside the trees. The day benefited from a strong breeze.
Seeding cow parsley applauded wispy clouds scudding across a bright blue sky;
submissive grasses bent in the hedgerows;
and golden barley billowed across the fields.
Beyond the first section of the footpath through Roger’s land lies a further stretch which has, until recently, been too overgrown for me to tackle in sandals. The kind farmer has now opened this out so ramblers can easily reach the woods and look back up the hill.
A Red Admiral butterfly flickered among the barley as a poppy in a cornfield;
and a tattered Dark Green Fritillary reflected shiny ferns.
What I think were damselflies, stately, never still, blunted my focus.
After lunch came the hard part of positioning the bench. This involved digging a shallow pit, lining it with a membrane, filling it with sand, embedding rows of bricks to form a platform, and finally adding stepping-bricks for access. Only then could the seat be sited.
This is the current view due south from the bench.
St John’s wort embellishes the bed by the entry arch;
and a potted clematis Florida Sieboldii ( Passion Flower) fronts the kitchen window.
This evening, Jackie enjoyed her Hoegaarden as a cooling aperitif to our dinner of succulent chicken marinaded in lemon and lime sauce served with her famous egg fried rice, carrots, green beans and corn on the cob. I finished the merlot with the meal.
Amaxing Derrick…
Thank you Chitra
I am a fan of benches Derrick. Great photos !
https://mariececile525dotcom.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/public-benches/
Thanks Sylvie – also for the link
What is this world, if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare,
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep or cows?
-Willian Henry Davies
Thank you, Bruce
That’s a lovely view back to the new garden from the bench
Thank you Matt
The new bench will be enjoyed by all, I’m sure, especially as the blooms fully open. But it is the flying things I love this time–and the rambling in general!
Thank you Cynthia
You are also a poet Derrick! I think the view from that bench is going to become quite something as the years roll by – and the last photo of passion flower and lobelia – just glorious!!
Thank you, Pauline
I tend to quickly skim your post, to see what you’ve had to eat/drink, then I go back to enjoy your well written offering!
🙂 Thanks Yvonne
I do love reading about your delicious meals Derrick – Jackie’s dinners are quite a treat. Nice work on the bench, it will become the place to go too sit and enjoy the gardens.
Thank you Mary.
The flowers look great :-). bilere
Thank’s Bilere
As always, wonderful photos! Let’s hear it for the good life.
Thanks, Laurie
Oh so lovely! Benches just belong in a garden!
Thank you, Dale