Sweet Summer Wine

Today was even hotter than yesterday, so we began gardening early once more.

The sweet smelling rose Summer Wine shares the entrance arch to the Rose Garden with the white Madame Alfred Carriere.

One of the casualties of the recent gales was that a number of stems of the sturdy climber were ripped from their ties, and fell across the bed beneath it, seeming to form part of Festive Jewel. Although it then enhanced the bed, our task today was to prise it from its resting place and encourage it to rejoin its thornless French partner.

I was, of course, definitely the under-gardener in this project, essentially employed to hold the ladder and keep stems in place until secured. Not only that – someone had to record the event.

This is the final result. The Head Gardener assures me that all will soon fall into the proper place.

Naturally I took the opportunity to photograph other blooms such as Mum in a Million, gladioli Byzantium, feverfew, foxgloves, and Erigeron in the first of these images; bright red Love Knot and more muted Alan Titchmarsh in the second. The rose named for our popular gardening expert also appears in the final picture in the gallery.

Here is another foxglove for which species it has been a good year. Lidl name their plants quite simply – the second picture is called a white climber.

Special Anniversary appears in the background behind Absolutely Fabulous and a few aquilegias.

Other white roses include Jacqueline du Pré and Winchester Cathedral.

We inherited this pink climber towering above the Rose Garden Arbour, and Paul’s Scarlet which shares the Wisteria Arbour. Jackie planted the blue solanum.

Peach Abundance is in the Oval Bed just outside the Rose Garden.

A wood pigeon silently lurked in the shadows,

while the buzzing bee’s activities somewhat impeded the pruning operation.

The healthy buds of stems either broken or sacrificed to the secateurs found their way to the accident pot.

I had intended to continue weeding the brick paving later, but decided it was too hot and watch England’s football match against Croatia instead.

This evening we dined on oven fish and chips with onion rings and peas, to which Jackie added a pickled onion and I, cornichons with chillis. We both drank Salento Rosato 2019.

82 comments

  5. The garden is looking better and better Derrick, beautiful! So much color and beauty. ❤️?? Or is it Colour!

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  7. glad the foxgloves had such a good year and love the series of jackie shots especially the one where the rose is hanging there with backlight! looks plugged in

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  8. Such a wonderful June garden!
    The bee enjoying the rose is a tremendous shot
    – and I love your Accident Pot; that sounds like it’s a Jackie inspiration! 🙂

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  15. Why don’t Jackie’s arms look like mine after tying back those roses? I need to know her secret. I swear I need elbow to fingertip gloves but I’ve never seen them.

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      1. Thanks, Derrick. Why didn’t I think of the Internet? I just purchased a set of gloves and had them sent to the house of the friend I’ll be visiting in the states when I go in July.

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  17. Jackie is a picture of intense attention and perseverance. She is quite the Plant Whisperer of the Garden. I was amused by the expression ‘under gardener’. You have produced photos of exotic flowers with just the right exposure and angles.

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  20. It’s high temperatures and high humidity for us. Been up early and working hard before the heat settled in for the day. And working in the evening with two hours of daylight left.

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  21. As I am no rose grower, I really appreciate the beautiful blooms in your garden and the work that goes into making them so. The title immediately brought to mind the song Ivor so kindly included in his comment. How fitting that you should end the day enjoying a rosé wine!

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  23. The garden is looking really beautiful, so full of colour. It’s still a bit cooler up here this morning and it has begun to rain. (Needed)

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  25. The flowers seem to fair better in the many-kinds-of-weather than we human-beans do! 🙂
    Love the wood pigeon portrait and the buzzy bee capture! Wonderful! 🙂
    That last photo is such a beautiful end-of-day photo! 🙂
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

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  26. So much work goes into keeping your garden so beautiful, but it’s good that you can take time from under gardener duties to make a photographic record. Beautiful photos. I like your header shot with the bee and rose and the light. And I like the scarlet flowers against the white wall.
    It must be very hot for you to switch to rosé. ?

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  31. It looks like a lot of work for a hot day. Glad you got an early start and stopped when you needed to. Holding the ladder, keeping the stems in place were surely a big help. And somebody’s got to record the event! Yellow roses have always been my favorites.

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