I wandered around the garden in today’s early morning light.
Alongside the magnolia Vulcan stand the first of our rhododendrons in full bloom.
The small diurnal yellow and orange poppies that crop up everywhere have woken up;
forget-me-nots also thrust through soil and gravel at will;
even more ubiquitous are honesty,
and bluebells.
Iberis, aubretia, dicentra, hellebores, daffodils, and primulas are thriving, although perhaps the ant has nibbled the last of these.
Rusty Duck keeps an eye on some of the primulas and the lamiums.
Hairy pulmonaria breathes in the sunshine.
Florence sculpture has a good view of the yellow Japanese maple.
The Shady Path catches the sun.
Camellia petals carpet the soil.
Greenhouse geranium cuttings will soon be planted out.
Elizabeth and Jacqueline came for coffee and stayed for lunch for which
Jackie mixed the coleslaw, after which, she regretted that she hadn’t left it for the superbly competent Louis who
mixed the salad and its dressing. It was only after he had crushed peppers using a couple of dishes that he realised we had a pepper mill. Each ingredient to the dressing was carefully added with a little tasting.
Seven of us sat down to the meal. I am not in my place because I was behind the camera.
My two sisters left to visit our mother this afternoon. The rest of us dined this evening on roast duck; roast potatoes; yellow and orange carrots; cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli; sage and onion stuffing, bread sauce, and tasty gravy. Louis drank Corona, I drank Dragon Hills Pinot Noir 2017, and the others drank Portuguese Rosé.