Tag: dahlias

Which Season?

The side effects of my BCG procedure have subsided today, and squirrels and moles have ceased burrowing.

When I returned from wandering around the garden with my camera on this shirtsleeves-mild-slate-grey-air morning listening to the

trickling of the Waterboy, I found that unless I culled my 57 pictures I would be in danger of flooding my readers, so I managed to reduce the offerings to forty.

Having neglected to water the nasturtiums in front of the garage trellis we thought they had died.

New growth is now flourishing. Will we see them Bloom?

The last of the smaller crab apples seen in this image alongside fuchsia Delta’s Sarah have been abandoned by the wood pigeons,

and blackbirds are moving on to the larger red ones.

Other fuchsias such as Army Nurse continue to adorn the shrubberies.

Busy lizzies and erigerons alongside each other drape the patio’s low wooden wall.

Violas are potted everywhere.

Some can be seen alongside cyclamen beyond the stumpery ferns.

Such as these nerines and this lace cap hydrangea brighten beds.

Dahlias we would of course expect at this time of year;

But maybe not so many pelargoniums and geraniums.

This viburnum and our numerous bergenias are also in season,

but solanum sharing a perch above a dead trunk is perhaps surprising at this time.

Leaves from the copper beech flitter rustling down to

the Rose Garden,

to nestle among seedlings of forget-me-nots, campanulas and aquilegias and rose petals,

many of which have yet to bloom or to fall. As usual all these images are labelled in the gallery.

in closing with this blue geranium, orange and yellow bidens and mauve petunias I have to acknowledge that I have no idea which season we are experiencing.

This evening we dined on chicken Kiev; boiled potatoes, spinach, carrots; cauliflower and leek cheese; and a melange of onions, tomatoes, runner and broad beans, and mushrooms flavoured so well with oregano and basil as to make the delicious smell match the taste. I drank more of the Morgon.

Squirrel Suspect

In the murky light of an overcast shirtsleeves-warm morning I photographed a few garden views from the windows above.

I then dead-headed some of our roses, and

photographed a few still flourishing. The first is Compassion, from above; the red carpet rose is in the Weeping Birch Bed, as is Rosa Siluetta Lavender; the pink Festive Jewel, yellow Absolutely Fabulous, and red/gold Mamma Mia are all in the Rose Garden.

The first of these dahlias was also viewed from above.

Begonias white and pink continue to thrive.

Red/purple Army Nurse, pink and white Garden News, and the ubiquitous Delta’s Sarah are long lingering fuchsias.

These yellow chrysanthemums and red cyclamen will hopefully be safer than the recently planted tulips of which Jackie bought a number in three figures.

Some time this morning the bulbs began to be exhumed and eaten, we suspect by a squirrel which can read the labels. They have already ravaged the area around the patio. Even if these animals are illiterate they will probably eschew daffodils to which they are not partial. If not squirrels, who knows?

This evening we dined at Rokali’s where the food and service was as good as always. I chose methi goust; Jackie, ponir shashlik, and we shared sag rice. I drank Kingfisher and Jackie drank Diet Coke. I may not have mentioned before that the knives actually cut and the forks and spoons do not bend.

Spade Sceptre

Today the air remained stock-still until late afternoon, with the result

that the crab apples hung in portrait format.

There was very little damage from yesterday’s storm.

Jackie righted a heavy pot which had been blown over and straightened the Nerine which had bowed under pressure.

The white begonia remained lowered to the ground; dahlias and hydrangeas were undisturbed.

Jackie has removed a large cluster of mushrooms that threatened to choke Rosa Siluetta Lavender encircling the Weeping Birch trunk, and began clearing the footpath to the tree beside which the chair has lost a leg and will be converted to a plant stand elsewhere.

We jointly transferred more spare paving to bear a temporary throne to replace the rusted chair for The Garden Queen to strike a regal figure clutching her spade sceptre.

Afterwards she began planting up the large pot positioned beside it.

The Summer Wine rose continues to cling to Martin’s Arch.

Just as Jackie finished her planting a heavy shower watered it in.

This evening we dined on flavoursome baked gammon; succulent ratatouille; boiled baby potatoes; firm carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, and tender runner beans with which I drank Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.

Summer Time Flowers

Yesterday afternoon Jackie photographed a snails’ snuggery in a plant pot she unearthed. This contained 52 specimens.

On this still, warm, morning when we prepared the car for another trip to the Efford Recycling Centre, a T-shirt beneath a normal shirt was at least one layer too much. All was quiet, save for the grating rasp of the returning magpies.

We thought that the Hagley Hybrid, the first of these two clematises, had suffered the fate of a witch burnt at the stake during an early summer hot spell, but after a severe haircut it has risen once more.

A number of fuchsias, such as Mrs Popple, white Hawksmoor, and Garden News continue to thrive;

the Weeping Birch Bed features one of the several Delta’s Sarah.

Jackie has tried to plant nerines before without success. The first in this gallery, named Lipstick seems to enjoy this position beside the patio. Obviously the cosmetic sharing its name is more delicate than that favoured by Hot Lips salvia.

Some of the many roses still flowering are the peach climber, pink Compassion, red Super Elfin, pale pinks Penny Lane and New Dawn, yellow Summer Time, and mauve Alan Titchmarsh.

Hanging baskets and other pots contain begonias, antirrhinums, lobelia and violas underplanted with daffs.

Dahlias are in their element.

At the recycling centre we left five bags of green refuse and various wood and plastic items with no more useful life, and returned with a fine bevelled mirror to reflect light in the garden and provide a target for birds pecking their reflected enemies.

The lunchtime news on BBC featured a hospital carrying out medical procedures at weekends in order to keep down waiting times. The Hospital was Southampton General; the team Urology; the specialism Bladder Cancer. How about that?

This evening we dined on Hordle Chinese Take Away’s excellent fare.

Can You Tell The Difference?

Before bed last night I watched the highlights of the third day of the third test between England and Sri Lanka.

After lunch, restricting myself to the Rose Garden, I carried out my first session of dead heading since my last cystoscopy.

After a considerable rest I took my camera round the garden.

These images all bear their titles in the gallery.

Bees, Small White butterflies, and even a tiny hoverfly in the last of these pictures enjoyed the day’s warm sunshine.

A smaller bird had a word in the ear of an owl.

Summer Wine (the first) and For Your Eyes Only are two of the roses I dead headed. Can you tell the difference between them?

This evening we dined on maple pork belly slices; Jackie’s fried savoury rice, and cauliflower.

Still Taking It Easy

Last night before going to bed I watched the highlights of the second day of the second test match between England and Sri Lanka.

On this warm, gloomy-overcast day, to the accompaniment of a few neighbouring tweeting birds, largely silent bees, and an occasional distant barking dog, I toted my camera on two very short trips around the garden.

Along with her general pot refurbishment and general tidying

Jackie has planted up the bulbs bought yesterday;

her equipment bearing evidence of her labours. She suggests that the pig has moved itself towards the gate in readiness for the coming pannage season.

Beyond the recently planted iron urn extends the Gazebo and Brick Paths from Jackie’s weeded old well surround.

She has recently tracked down a replacement Summer Wine to replace one that died in the Rose Garden.

On Wednesday Martin worked hard clearing a space for it and planted it away from the original site because it is inadvisable to reposition one in the same spot.

Pink chrysanthemums; blue convolvuluses; white begonias, cyclamen, and antirrhinums are rivalled by the Nottingham Castle bench lichen.

We have all colours of Japanese anemone;

and dahlias;

other roses include Absolutely Fabulous and Lady Emma Hamilton.

The Rose Garden continues to flourish.

The rudbeckias sit well behind the pinkish peeling eucalyptus bark.

The Weeping Birch Bed leads through the cryptomeria to Florence sculpture on Fiveways.

More Japanese anemones photobomb the Brick Path and blend well with the iron urn’s pink petunias.

This evening we dined on succulent chicken Kiev; boiled new potatoes; firm carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli; and tender chopped cauliflower leaves with which I drank riserva privada Chilean Malbec 2022.

Current Condition

Early on this unusually increasingly cloudy morning, clad in my dressing gown, in silence save for the sough of the unusually warm rushing winds, wandered around the garden with the idea of using the diluted light for photography.

When admiring yesterday’s further clearance work by Martin I had

noticed the amount of blooms gracing Lady Emma Hamilton, and determined to come back today with my camera.

More roses, in the Rose Garden

and elsewhere, are clinging on to summer

in this season of dahlias and

Japanese anemones.

I also admired pink petunias, white myrtle and marguerites, pale lilac crinum lilies, yellow St John’s wort, and red/purple fuchsia Magellanica.

Some areas, like the Pond Bed, the entrance to the Back Drive, and the patio, contain their own range of blooms.

As usual, all the images bear titles in the galleries.

When Jackie noticed me pointing in her direction while she was

working on the patio she hid behind an owl.

By lunchtime the Head Gardener had finished clearing the patio and its surroundings, including refurbishing the Butler sinks. The wind, though now much cooler, persisted in blowing down the pot planted on the water fountain – she had already righted it 5 times before I set it on the ground.

I have chosen to display these blooms in location and current condition.

Jackie rarely uses a recipe and is sometimes reluctant to apply a name to a dish she serves for dinner. So it was today; it was certainly a delicious minced beef sauce containing chillies, onions and stuff on a bed of pasta which probably has a name – it was one of those where you can stick the prongs of your fork into the tubes making it easier to manage than spaghetti. I drank more of the Merlot with mine.

Garden News

Although still a little unsteady I have largely recovered from yesterday’s swimming head. I was therefore able to help Jackie load more refuse bags into the car and transport them to the Efford Recycling Centre.

I then attended to administration on which I hadn’t been able to concentrate the day before.

After lunch I wandered around the garden which had freshened up after much overnight rain. I have photographed flowers in situ, some still bejewelled by raindrops and two with bees.

The gallery images bear the titles of the main flowers in each picture.

By dinner time I was fully recovered. Our meal consisted of fat-free Ferndene pork and chive sausages; creamy mashed potatoes; carrots, cauliflower, and cabbage all well cooked, with meaty gravy.

Another Warm Sunny Day

Because we had been dilatory in dumping the garden refuse, Martin, while waiting for the spent compost bags, has been piling the green waste wherever he can until today, when he began

collecting up some rather rich smelling material.

In the meantime, I wandered around the garden on another fine, sunny, day and photographed this gallery.

Later, despite having a plethora of plants seeking permanent positions into which to be squeezed, Jackie, to quote her, had been “allowed out unsupervised to escape to Otter Nurseries and come back with three more” for which Martin managed to find room in the already packed Palm Bed.

At the end of the afternoon Max from Peacock Computers visited to make some adjustments to the settings of our telephone system. We ended up having a most convivial conversation.

This evening we dined on our usual three prawn preparations and Jackie’s mushroom and onion rice with the addition of leftover sweet and sour chicken and pancake roll from our last Royal Chinese Takeaway with which I drank more of The Reprobates.

Floral Provenance

On an even hotter day than yesterday I took my camera on a walk around the garden this morning.

We are not always sure how some of our plants arrive. This poppy is certainly a self seeded volunteer, but we don’t know about the red hollyhock. It could have been from a seed scattering exercise by either Flo or Jackie last year.

The colourful little lysimachia Firecracker is a plant bought by Jackie after she had seen one in Elizabeth’s garden given by Frances.

Pollies Day Lilies, very nearby, is the home of the National hemerocallis Collection. Some of ours have been bought there.

Delta’s Sarah and Mrs Popple are two of the many fuchsias planted by Jackie that have proved to be hardy in our garden.

This small white hydrangea will grow bigger. It is a cutting from a larger plant Jackie bought from Lidl some time ago.

Years ago our Head Gardener bought phlox plants from pity benches in centres like Everton. They all now thrive under her nurture, as do

various clematis, some of which we inherited,

as we did numerous moon daisies and several hostas.

When we converted a heap of rubble and rubbish including a buried bath complete with taps into the Rose Garden we had a free run to select roses like Roserie de l’Hay, For Your Eyes Only, and Créme de la créme largely for their scent;

low lying lavender, rambling bee-attracting sweet peas, and tall lilies provide variety in that plot.

Some dahlias we have planted, other flowers were in situ when we arrived ten years ago; examples of these are

red and yellow Bottle Brush plants.

Crocosmias red Lucifer and golden George Davison and their neighbouring penstemon are all part of our replanting of the Palm Bed.

This evening we dined at Rokali’s where I chose Jaipur special prawn; and Jackie, Poneer Shashlik. We shared a plain paratha, special fried rice, and Tarka Dhal. I drank Kingfisher and Jackie drank Diet Cola. A truly serendipitous event gave us rather more than we bargained for. As the waiter served us he tipped the rice bowl over so that much of it ended up on the table cloth and my serviette. He took a clean cloth and began scooping it up to dispose of it. The table and everything else was unsoiled. I encouraged him to sweep it onto my plate, saying I was more than happy to eat it rather than have it wasted. It seemed to me quite a result in that any mess I made of the cloth could be blamed on this event. Even better – he did this and gave us a new bowl of rice. Ultimately we couldn’t eat it all and were given a doggy bag to take home. Another good outcome. Also, great fun was enjoyed by all, including other customers.

Needless to say the food was all very well prepared and otherwise efficiently served. The waiter, a family member we had not met before, finished by helping me to my feet.