Making Do

On another hot summer’s day visiting traffic continued to pour into our area, so we stayed at home and I made do with garden flower photography.

During the morning and later in the afternoon Jackie concentrated hard on irrigation, including filling the Waterboy’s shell, the level of which suffers from dehydration and thirsty birds.

Butterflies and bees didn’t seem to mind the heat as they flitted from plant to plant. There is room for both Small White butterfly and a bee on the hibiscus in the first picture; bees had sole occupation of the bidens and the saxifrages; the Meadow Brown and the Small White butterflies were unwilling to share space on the sedum or the verbena bonariensis.

Today’s lilies are the heavily scented pale pink double and the freckled beauty seen in better light.

It is the season for dahlias including the two-toned Puerto Rico.

The season for this rhododendron is long over, but the plant doesn’t know that.

Pale pink phlox coexist with rich rust-coloured chrysanthemums.

Lady Emma Hamilton and Ballerina dance on in the Rose Garden, while soaring Altissimo and an unknown pink climber once more reach for the skies.

Hollyhocks, rudbeckia Goldsturm, California poppies, petunias, and hydrangea Tricolor all lend their colour.

Much as the Head Gardener tries to train her clematises, some, like this Niobe, insist on trailing where they will.

As always, the galleries can be accessed by clicking on any image, each of which may be viewed full size by clicking on the box beneath it and further with another click.

Later this afternoon Elizabeth visited for a cup of tea and didn’t stay for dinner which consisted of Jackie’s egg fried rice, mini spring rolls, and tempura and spicy prawns. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Carles.

83 comments

    1. Visitors from cities like London, Southampton, Portsmouth. The whole coastline at Bournemouth and Poole in Dorset, the next county, was declared a red alert area – so crowded that cars were being turned back. Thanks very much, Merril.

  1. I love the way you try so many different wines.

    My two rhododendron were short-lived but were very beautiful while they were in flower.
    My balcony dahlias are well behind yours and very slow to come into bloom. Why am I surprised? After all you have a warm and sunny day while my day is cool and windy!

    1. Apart from the winds this is the kindest climate I have ever enjoyed, Sue. Most of the wines come from Lidl which are cheap, of good quality, and supported by a good rating system. Thanks a lot.

      1. I think I would need to drive farther afield to find my nearest branch of Lidl. I shall keep a look out though.

  2. Staying home and appreciating your beautiful garden is much better than venturing into heavy traffic. The variety of colors in your garden always amazes me. Maybe that’s why the bees and butterflies love it so much.

  3. Sometimes it’s a good idea to “make do” when there are too many people driving by to enjoy the weekend countryside! Your garden is beautiful, and it’s good to see the bees and the butterflies thriving!

      1. Thank you, Derrick — yes, I am staying safe. I seldom leave the house, as I have great neighbors who do most of my grocery shopping for me, and can make most of my other purchases on-line. I normally stay away from crowded areas anyway, so weekends are “stay at home” days, and I do my forays into the world during the week.And right now, if Covid-19 doesn’t get me, the heat may — it was 95 degrees here a couple of days ago, and only a little cooler today (within a mile of the ocean, it’s unusual to get that hot)! Just another reason to do quiet activities at home!

  4. another feast for the eyes, Derrick. i could almost smell the lilies. everything looks beautiful and wonderful. thank you! 🙂 🙂

  5. I enjoyed my tour through your beautiful garden.

    I’m amazed at how many delicious meals Jackie cooks.

  6. Who needs to go out when you are surrounded by such a marvellous array of floral pulchritude and can look forward to a top class dining experience accompanied by fine wine – money cannot buy that here at the moment. Never fear though: birds, and nature’s surprises continue to enrich our pandemically-induced restricted existence.

    1. “Floral pulchritude” is a wonderful expression. You are right, who needs to go out when surrounded by all this beauty, good wine and Jackie’s fine cooking?

      1. Thanks Derrick, good advice. Kim bought some tubers this year and I was wondering what to do in the winter. My dad always lifted them, drained them and stored them but I don’t think that I want to go to all that trouble!

  7. Yes, making do in your beautiful garden is better and safer than being in the midst of all of the traffic.

    All beautiful photos…but I’m really moved by the rhododendron AND the last photo…so lovely and so wonderful…sometimes we just have to make our own way, do our thing, keep bloomin’, keep moving. 🙂

    I’m so glad you got to visit with Elizabeth! Joy-bringing for all of you! 🙂

    I always love seeing the bees and butterflies! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS…How is Nugget and his family doing?! I’ve been thinking about them a lot.

    1. Thanks very much, Carolyn. We haven’t seen any robins or any other small birds for about ten days. We were only talking about it yesterday with Elizabeth. X

  8. The flowers are glorious, especially the lilies.
    Staying put, at home, must be a million times better than venturing out to mix with the traffic jams and overcrowded roads.
    Take good care.
    x

  9. I am really partial to the Rudbeckia Goldsturm – because yellow is such a refreshing color in these days of stifling heat. Jackie’s meal sounded absolutely marvelous. Wish I could have shared that egg fried rice, mini spring rolls, and tempura and spicy prawns with you!! I may have to shop tomorrow for those ingredients and see if I can create something that resembles it for our Monday dinner.

  10. The lilies. I just love them. This could be the end of my blogging career. I’ll look at the Molière posts. I doubt they are bilingual. That is too complex for the new editor. Why?

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