Garden – Page 12 – derrickjknight

Garden Less Damaged

The temperature today was cooler, the wind easier, and the sun an intermittent visitor edging out the rain.

Jackie continued weeding and clipping. I helped with some bagging up and photographed

a few garden views and a couple of roses.

I have been persuaded by some of my blogging friends to break my “acquire no more books” rule and complete the Avignon series of Lawrence Durrell with a purchase of Quinx which I began reading today.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s wholesome Monday pie, tender Sweetheart cabbage mixed with leaves of cauliflower the firm florets of which were accompanied with crunchy carrots. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I drank Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley Shiraz 2018 – a splendid wine given to me by Tess and Matt a couple of Christmases ago.

The Phantom

Today was largely overcast yet remained dry.

This morning I carried out a dead-heading session and filled another old compost bag of cuttings and weeds for the next dump trip. I was watched by a robin on the Rose Garden fence, but didn’t have my camera with me.

Later I returned with the camera and photographed

a bee and a hoverfly (lower down to the right) on For Your Eyes Only;

and other insects on or approaching other plants titled in the gallery;

we have more Japanese anemones, and fuchsias;

various hydrangeas, including the phantom which is having its best year yet;

numerous dahlias;

a white New Zealand hebe, a few lingering clematises, some recently flowering blue agapanthuses, the peach climbing rose, and a hollyhock refusing to stay tied to protect it from the wind.

Jackie’s recent plantings include these baskets suspended from the eucalyptus, and the begonia and lobelia perched on a brick stand.

This afternoon I helped Flo to manage my camera and the iMac editing facility for a photographic project she is embarking upon. She is a quick learner. The pictures are hers, so I won’t show any of them here.

This evening we all dined on tender roast lamb; crisp roast potatoes and softer sweet ones; crunchy carrots; and firm Brussels sprouts and broccoli, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank François du Bessis GSM 2021.

Repurposed Bedstead

Quivering leaves of the Amanogawa cherry tree outside my window alerted me to the light rain that freshened my morning garden task as it dripped from the trees above the front garden, in which I completed the raking of green refuse covering the mounds of gravel on the path, bagging all up in two used compost bags.

All that remained were the finishing touches of levelling the mounds and shaving the edges, rather like a barber trimming the neck and eyebrows. I completed this after lunch. When the still fierce winds lessen I might get around to removing the few remaining leaves which just wouldn’t keep still. Alternatively I might simply allow them to dance on.

Meanwhile Jackie reminded herself of the first bedstead repurposed on the Weeping Birch Bed when she erected one to hold back a red carpet rose determined to cover the recently cleared footpath.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s tasty fusilli pasta bake containing boiled eggs, bacon, and chicken; and succulent baked gammon, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Douro.

Appreciative Lilies

Once again I didn’t manage to finish opening up the front garden path.

The bed alongside the house was choked with fruiting brambles, the stems of which rooted in the gravel and leapfrogged to the opposite side. I cut off the stems as far as I could reach, then prised up the roots with this heavy duty hoe.

After about an hour and a half I reached the end of my capacity with this stubborn root, and

didn’t have the energy to rake up the remaining loose weeds and branches. I had already chopped and bagged up two used compost bags, largely with brambles and fuchsia Delta’s Sarah which sadly needed trimming back from overhanging the path.

At least these lilies appreciated the extra space.

Later, I returned to ‘The Trial of The Templars’; and even later succeeded in removing that last bramble root and several more of the less stubborn weeds ready for raking from the gravel tomorrow

This evening we all dined on Mr Pink’s cod, chips, curry sauce, and mushy peas and Garner’s Pickled Onions with which Jackie and I both drank Zesty

“Best Laid Plans….”

I had “best laid (gardening) plans” today.

First, in the interests of passing walkers in our unlit nights, I would prune the overhanging trees along the front pavement, so they are not forced to step into the road;

Secondly, I would weed the front garden gravel path which I had created about 8 years ago, and tidy the borders.

Having spent an hour on the pavement lopping, chopping, and bagging up the offending limbs whilst ensuring that no part of me ran the risk of being hit by any part of the steady stream of vehicles of all shapes and sizes, often exceeding the 40 m.p.h. speed limit thundering and clanking close to the kerb, I staggered down the Brick Path to add two more bags to the stack for the next dump run, sat with Jackie in the Rose Garden, where Becky bought us each a drink, for long enough to decide that the next task had “gang agley” and would wait until tomorrow.

Following sound advice from some of my blogging friends I have broken my “no more books” rule and allowed Jackie to complete my Avignon quintet with an Amazon order. In the meantime, Durrell’s Inquisition theme has encouraged me to return to Malcolm Barber’s history of The Trial of the Templars, which first read 20 years ago – long enough ago to have forgotten most of it.

For tonight’s dinner, Becky, in her own words, produced dry roast chickun, stodgy potatow salad, lack lustre carretts, and limp brockally, with which Jackie drank Zesty and I drank Entire Quintas Reserva Douro 2021.

New Arch And Continuing Clearance

Martin began the day by assembling and installing the replacement wooden arch;

then moved on to complete his clearance of the Dragon Bed and many other areas of the garden.

I also photographed the Weeping Birch Bed which will soon need further clearance.

Jackie, meanwhile, weeded the Brick Path section outside the Stable Door.

Ian returned home for work before dinner this evening which consisted of The Culinary Queen’s wholesome cottage pie topped with fried potatoes; firm broccoli; crisp carrots; and tender cabbage, with which she drank Pique-Nique Grenach 2022 left by our son-in-law and I drank Vacqueyras 2021 – a welcome present from Shelly and Ron.

Bagging A Carpet

Jackie spent much of the day on watering, planting; and laying a thick carpet of clippings from climbing flora, mostly blue solanum, from the arch above the Brick Path beneath which It had become impossible for anyone much above Ellie’s height to pass without a risk of being garrotted.

It fell to me this afternoon to snip a few more stems from the foliage

and bag it all up for eventual removal to the dump.

This evening we all dined on Becky’s pork and apple casserole hammed up by the chef,

and creamy mashed potato bearing a soupçon of skin, which I photographed prematurely.

Jackie drank Zesty and I drank more of the Cabernet Sauvignon

He Vouched For Their Taste

James the carpenter fitted a new drainpipe and guttering on the west end gable wall this morning

while Martin finished clearing the Oval Bed,

in which could now be seen this clematis attracting a hoverfly.

Wasps and bees were also buzzing around,

and the ubiquitous verbena bonariensis provided numerous trapezes for fluttering butterflies such as Red Admirals

and Small Whites.

Dahlias and crocosmia Lucifer are enjoying their time;

lilies in the Rose Garden have survived their recently bent stems.

As the day’s temperature rose, Martin worked steadily clearing the rest of the Dragon Bed.

In the first of these two pictures he holds up one of the fruiting blackberry brambles, for the taste of which he happily vouched.

Ian returned in time to join us for tonight’s dinner which consisted of oven fish, chips, and peas with which he and Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Louis de Camponac Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.

We Needed A New One

With the windspeed having reduced somewhat today, I ventured out in full sunshine to examine the damage.

Becky’s having laid flat the garden furniture; Jackie’s having taken down several hanging baskets and loosely tied back some plants, like

these towering lilies, bowed but unbroken, saved them from snapping.

Not so the arch spanning the path from the concrete patio to the Oval Bed.

A new one was clearly required, so the Head Gardener and I spent much of the afternoon touring garden centres seeking a rustproof replacement, and eventually found a wooden one at Otter, which is the nearest to home.

Without, Ian, who had returned to Southbourne this afternoon , the rest of us dined on Jackie’s tricolour penne pasta Bolognese, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Malbec.

Windburn

Today we enjoyed more sunshine and less rain than yesterday, but the wind raged at 55 m.p.h. I battled with this on a dead heading expedition and later photographed some windswept plants – I was at least as wobbly as the flowers.

Although Jackie had taken down the most vulnerable hanging baskets they were blowing in the wind,

as were many of the flowers, some of which will be obvious from a lack of focus or a missed framing – sometimes it would be me who wasn’t holding the camera steadily enough, such as with the first of