Nurturing

Our good friend Carole has given me the perfect illustrated information on yesterday’s mare and foal colouring. I have added this to the post which now reads: https://derrickjknight.com/2021/07/08/my-little-snipper/

Warmed by this morning’s sunshine I completed my work on the front garden gravel path, and, ignoring a nesting sparrow’s warning cry, and scattering slithering woodlice seeking safety, opened up the stepping stones to the compost bin that stands behind the hydrangea and the red carpet rose.

This afternoon I dead headed Félicité Perpétue and in the process stripped out yards of binding convolvulus. Much of this prolific white rambling rose needs tying back and pruning. This will be done tomorrow when I will also have to cut down many of the Leucanthemum Superbum marguerites in the corner which obscure Jackie’s view when driving out.

After this I settled down to watch the second Wimbledon Men’s Semi Final between Novak Djokovic and Denis Shapovalov. During a tie-break in the first set we experienced an hour long power cut. There was nothing for it but to go into the garden and clear up some of the debris from Jackie’s all day long weeding, pruning, and planting. The following photographs are hers:

The first two images are of the Pond Bed which appears at the bottom right of her work in progress along the Brick Path.

She is very pleased with her dahlias, kniphofias, and day lilies.

The Westbrook Arbour has received further planting; the Shady Path Bed’s recent planting is flourishing; the Owl Urn has been cleared of a surfeit of obscuring Japanese anemones, and the bed fed with compost.

These giant mulleins seem to reach the top of the greenhouse; The Head Gardener is particularly pleased with the arching diorama; the plentiful Polish Spirit clematis; the climbing Brownie rose;

and most of all with the Japanese maple that, as a spindly seedling, she dug out of a gravel path and has nurtured into life.

We had our electricity back in time for me to watch the second half of the match.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s tasty cottage pie; crunchy carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli, and meaty gravy, with which she drank Blue Moon and I drank more of the Cotes du Rhone.