The Garden Today

This morning I received by Facebook Messenger the pictures taken by Danny’s sister of the “human train across the stones” and added them, amending the text, to

They feature Dan helping me across the stepping stones with his mother bringing up the rear.

Jackie and I each spent two good sessions weeding, sweeping, bagging up refuse, and dead heading in the garden on this cooler day on which the sun on brief occasions peeped nervously round clusters of cotton clouds, and the avian chorus was replaced by the whoosh of the stiff breeze on its way to thump into our ears as it sent arboreal foliage and flowering plants alike quivering up, down, round, and about.

The Head Gardener continued work around the Brick Path which had begun with the circle around the filled old well.

These petunias are in the iron urn shown above;

others are included in numerous hanging baskets,

one of which features in this first picture of the red Bottle Brush plant.

The pond bed contains more petunias, French marigolds, phlox, and day lilies,

of which we now have a number of flowering varieties.

The phlox are also quite prolific.

Roses today are represented by yellow Absolutely Fabulous, pink Compassion, white Jacqueline du Pré, peach-red Mamma Mia, and another pink climber.

This clematis climbs in the Dragon Bed; the Weeping Birch leaves are apparently prematurely ageing.

Elizabeth spent the afternoon with us, having brought another timely bag of clothes for Ellie.

This afternoon she returned to her home and the rest of us dined on Red Chilli’s excellent home delivered fare. Our choices of main meals were lamb korma, chicken dansak, chicken dopiaza, and prawn pathia; rices were pilau and egg fried; a paneer tikka and peshwari naan were shared, Having opened another bottIe of it I drank more of the Shiraz.

74 comments

  1. Red Bottle Brush phoeniceus is called ‘Birdak’ by the Noongar people. We see a lot around here and they are drought resistant which is why people plant them in their gardens.

    Beautiful flowers. Beautiful garden.

  2. ‘Chicken dopiaza’ stopped me, and sent me to my recipe file. Sure enough, I have a recipe for ‘Do Piaza Meat Curry.’ Long, long ago I had a friend who’d been Peace Corps India — specifically the Punjab — and it was his recipe. I think I’m going to have to make it again, although I might wait for the weather to cool a bit; it’s a little heavier than I enjoy in the heat of summer.

  3. I enjoyed all the flowers in your lovely garden and also revisiting Deep Water. The additional photos show how much more we can do with a little help.

  4. I love your garden. I had not seen the red bottle brush flowers before. How lovely. We had a similar dinner tonight.

  5. So many colourful flowers in bloom – just glorious.
    I’m glad you added the new photos to the Deep water post, it was kind of them to send them to you, and nice for us to see the train you three formed on the stepping stones.

    1. Thank you very much, Sue. And Danny had to work hard to get them to me because for some reason the e-mail didn’t work.

      1. That’s a shame but at least you got them eventually.
        Unfortunately, your comments are once again not getting to me.

  6. Brilliant photos of such brilliant colourful plants and flowers!
    The work you and Jackie did is magnificent! The Brick Paths is stroll ready!
    (((HUGS))) ❤️
    PS… “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero

  7. I went back to see your human train. It was kind of them to send you the photos.
    Your garden is stunning. Such a variety of flowers and color. And of course, I love your description of the day: “on this cooler day on which the sun on brief occasions peeped nervously round clusters of cotton clouds, . . .” 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Merril. I’m especially pleased when you appreciate my phrases 🙂

    1. Thanks very much, Steve. It is part real bricks, partly fabricated stone ones

      1. Looks very nice. We live in a neighborhood that had a brick manufacturing company at one time. Our soil is clay and a nice walking trail is named , ‘The Brickyard’.

  8. I was about to list my favorite blooms but, alas–I decided they all couint as favorites today. Such a sight for sore eyes. Glad to be reading your posts more often again.
    As an aside: I picked lavender from a lavender farm today–what a pleasure. And now all smells delicious in a couple of rooms!

  9. The flowers are beautiful, Derrick and Jackie. It is hard to pick favorites, but I especially love the pots of petunias. Our purple clematis seems to have quit for now, though it is getting quite hot out there now. No rain in sight.

  10. Today I might love the pot of petunias best – the white plant in the center sets them off beautifully. But also the bottle brush and the clematis. Ahh, what a lovely task to be caught in: choosing a favourite flower of the day.

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