This afternoon I accompanied my camera on a walk around the garden.
We have a number of brightly blooming begonias;
of different dahlias;
cow parsley, under the impression that the season is spring;
Summer Wine believing its period prevails;
chrysanthemums confident that it is now their time;
roses like this small pink patio example,
white Winchester Cathedral,
shy Shropshire Lad,
and hollyhocks, all uncertain;
ubiquitous fuchsias, erigerons,
and bidens;
clinging clusters of clematis;
golden Weeping Birch leaves poised to fall – all enjoying this warm shirtsleeves afternoon.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s lemon and herb chicken, wholesome savoury rice, and tender green beans with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021.
Our Waterboy feature had been reduced to a mere trickle by the narrow pipe feeding the fountain from the pump being clogged up. Jackie spent much of
the morning clearing the blockages and restoring normal working order.
I dozed over an Iris Murdoch for most of this very hot day until 5 p.m. when I
adjudged it cool enough for a walk around the garden with my camera. These images all bear titles in the gallery.
Jackie had slept upstairs for a couple of hours, and, refreshed, suggested a drive to Puttles Bridge to investigate the condition of Ober Water, which,
although far shallower than usual contained just enough liquid for
a dog chasing a stick to create a splash.
Unfortunately the first thing I saw as I disembarked in the car park had been
a heap of discarded rubbish. There is of course a bin nearby.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy paprika pork served with boiled potatoes and tender runner beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Shiraz.
Although the sun shone most of this dry day, the overnight winds remained decidedly brisk.
This afternoon I was swept round the garden in search of plants still enough for me to photograph them without panning.
These cosmoses now greet us across the kitchen door.
The patio planters and pots, as usual have caught the worst of the gusts that burst round the side of the house.
Our most rickety shed has happily survived.
Many blooms, like the nicotianas, now lean over paths, and we are still finding broken stems, such as this cosmos in the rose garden. Nevertheless this more sheltered spot still bears
intact examples alongside For Your Eyes Only.
Fuchias, such as the white and purple Delta’s Sarah; the blend of pinks Garden News; and the red and purple Army Nurse, are pretty hardy here.
Begonias, impatiens, and mina lobatas are not yet frostbitten.
Dahlias and Japanese anemones are enjoying their season, and still attracting bees.
Quite what this hollyhock rising from its bed is still doing up I do not know.
For lunch, we visited Elizabeth, Jacqueline. and Frances, at our younger sister’s home in Pilley and naturally continued reminiscing for most of the afternoon.
Later, I scanned or photographed the last of the presents that Mum had labelled for us.
Jackie photographed this Heal’s battery operated carriage clock which I must have bought for our mother more than 40 years ago. My post, “Lymington Quay” details how I managed to persuade Martin Fairhurst of Dials Antique Clocks to repair it 6 years ago.
It was nearer 50 years ago that I gave her these four bird paintings by, as far as I can decipher the signatures, P. Colbert. Each is individually titled in the gallery.
This hollyhock photograph I produced in September 1981.
Destined for Becky are this photograph by Noel Manchee of me running the Windsor Great Park half marathon in 1983;
and this painting she herself made on silk of one of the five stained glass panels from the porch in Lindum House sometime in the 1990s.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy pasta arrabiata with tender green beans, peppers and onions. She drank Hoegaarden and I drank Patrick Chodot Fleurie 2019.
Early this morning Jackie found a robin flapping about in the utility room. She opened the window for him. Was it Nugget? Later she conversed in the garden with a juvenile.
While the Head Gardener completed the strengthening the compost bin that I had begun a few days ago, I carried out some dead heading before and after lunch.
Bees continued to work over the verbena bonariensis and other plants such as calendula.
Autumn crocuses are now standing proud.
In the Rose Garden Mum in a Million has reached maturity; Flower Power is as strong as ever; and Aloha greets us again;
and the Kent carpet is a wrap.
Casting a shadow was sunbathing Geranium Rozanne,
while the same sun in the early evening backlit the last hollyhock we passed on the way to taking our drinks in the rose garden.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s succulent liver and bacon casserole; creamy mashed potatoes; crunchy cauliflower and broccoli; and tender runner beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Fleurie.
This morning I e-mailed a drawing to a fellow blogger as an offering to illustrate one of his posts.
While I sat in the car waiting for Jackie to emerge from Tesco with a fortnight’s shopping that I would load into our vehicle and into the kitchen at home I finished reading
Lent to us by Giles, this is a truly inspirational book charting the despair following a catastrophic turn of fortune partly brought about by physical- and mental ill-health; a loving relationship and the struggling creativity that, phoenix-like, surmounted disaster and contributed to remarkable success.
Depression, anxiety, unemployment, severe physical pain, all experienced while raising a young family are all honestly described. Sub-titled ‘A Story of Despair and Redemption’, this work is about the emotional turmoil the writers have experienced; it is also a tutorial on planning and planting a stunning garden; a journey through the seasons and the effects of sunshine, light, water, and soil. The constantly repeated cyclical patterns of each year from gloom to brightness and back again could be seen as a metaphor for the couple’s journey through life.
In his dynamic media presentation of such as BBC’s ‘Gardener’s World and in his writing Monty Don has been the public face of this partnership. Sarah, however, in their collaborations, of which this work is one, produces equally eloquent descriptive prose. I must refrain from giving away any more detail but ‘The Jewel Garden’ supports the phrase ‘behind every great man there is a great woman’.
Finally, I would suggest that anyone – TanGental, for instance – planning a garden event at any particular time of the year would do well to read this book.
After lunch I finished pruning the poplar, the chopped branches of which, supplemented by a few more of Jackie’s rose clippings, filled another bag for recycling.
I managed to knock this dahlia from its stem while wheeling the barrow of poplar cuttings. Never mind. We have an accident pot indoors.
Petunias still proliferate,
as do the ubiquitous Japanese anemones.
Today’s roses are represented by a pink carpet variety; a paler pink Generous Gardener, planted to scale the lopped cypress; and Shropshire Lad, bearing the freckles formed by raindrops.
This pink gaura is the most successful we have tried in this garden; the white begonia has always delighted.
Just one hollyhock bloom has so far resisted adding to a column of seed pods; clematis Julia Correvon has shed her colourful petal-like leaves.
At the end of the afternoon Jackie finished trimming the lawn.
This evening we dined on plentiful scrambled egg on toast.
In the meantime Jackie continued her weeding and clearing, leaving offerings for me to transport to the compost bin.
This climbing Cobaea Scandens, or Cup and Saucer plant is now blooming on the kitchen wall near one of the many
petunia and pelargonium planters,
all of which have perked up nicely since the storm. The ornamental grass in the first image of this pair,
like the Addams Family’s Cousin It, has returned to its righted perch.
A number of fuchsias, like Delta’s Sarah in the first of this triptych, Mrs Popple, and Garden News, have benefited from the rain
which has given this Absolutely Fabulous example pink spots, caused Alan Titchmarsh to flag a bit, refreshed Crown Princess Margareta, and kept the red climber bent over.
Nicotiana Sylvestris stands proud,
as do hollyhocks; Japanese anemones remain abundant; black eyed Susan cascades down the chimney pot; and kniphofia penetrates the gap between wooden chair struts.
We are wondering whether to replace this rather struggling little lawn with some York stone paving. Otherwise I might have to mow it before it gets out of hand.
After lunch Jackie bagged up my further rose clippings, then took over the pruning. The hard, woody, old stems we have now reached are not suitable for composting.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s toothsome cottage pie; additional fried potatoes; tender cabbage and kale; with crunchy carrots and cauliflower and tasty, meaty, gravy, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Flores de Seligmar Rioja 2018.
On another hot summer’s day visiting traffic continued to pour into our area, so we stayed at home and I made do with garden flower photography.
During the morning and later in the afternoon Jackie concentrated hard on irrigation, including filling the Waterboy’s shell, the level of which suffers from dehydration and thirsty birds.
Butterflies and bees didn’t seem to mind the heat as they flitted from plant to plant. There is room for both Small White butterfly and a bee on the hibiscus in the first picture; bees had sole occupation of the bidens and the saxifrages; the Meadow Brown and the Small White butterflies were unwilling to share space on the sedum or the verbena bonariensis.
Today’s lilies are the heavily scented pale pink double and the freckled beauty seen in better light.
It is the season for dahlias including the two-toned Puerto Rico.
The season for this rhododendron is long over, but the plant doesn’t know that.
Pale pink phlox coexist with rich rust-coloured chrysanthemums.
Lady Emma Hamilton and Ballerina dance on in the Rose Garden, while soaring Altissimo and an unknown pink climber once more reach for the skies.
Hollyhocks, rudbeckia Goldsturm, California poppies, petunias, and hydrangea Tricolor all lend their colour.
Much as the Head Gardener tries to train her clematises, some, like this Niobe, insist on trailing where they will.
As always, the galleries can be accessed by clicking on any image, each of which may be viewed full size by clicking on the box beneath it and further with another click.
Later this afternoon Elizabeth visited for a cup of tea and didn’t stay for dinner which consisted of Jackie’s egg fried rice, mini spring rolls, and tempura and spicy prawns. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Carles.
We enjoyed another very hot temperature with clear, pale blue, skies today.
In the garden bees laboured on rudbeckia;
Small White butterflies were ubiquitous;
sun produced X-ray images of such as hollyhocks and pelargoniums;
and cart wheels spoke to the low bark of the eucalyptus.
I wandered around for a while. As usual, titles may be found in the galleries.
Nugget flew at the closed utility room window while expressing his dissatisfaction with Jackie because she spent her time watering plants instead of digging up his breakfast. Bouncing onto the paving below he appeared to have recovered
enough to continue on his own chirpy way.
This afternoon we visited Shelly and Ron with birthday presents, just after Helen and Bill had arrived. We spent pleasant hour together, assisted with the crossword and accepted that we couldn’t put the world to rights.
Giles collected me early this evening for a birding session at the Milford on Sea hide.
As we left by the kitchen door, Nugget, perched on the patio rocker waved us on our way.
Such a hazy mist hung over Sturt Pond that visibility was somewhat shrouded. The Isle of Wight was quite invisible;
walkers on the spit and the bridge were given a nebulous quality.
A crow surveyed the scene from a wooden wire fence post.
We were joined in the hide by 8 year old Will Ryan and his parents.
I managed to identify the spread wings of a cormorant, but
I was at a loss to be sure about the redshank to which this engaging young man did his best to guide me. I may have one or two in this collection. Ornithologists among my readership may be kind enough to let me know. Bigification can be obtained from the gallery.
This evening Jackie and I dined on spicy pepperoni pizza and plentiful fresh salad.
