AS ALWAYS, CLICKING ON THE IMAGES WILL ENLARGE THEM. REPEAT IF REQUIRED
For the best part of the day there were two consistencies in the weather: it was very warm and it was dry. This meant the overnight rain soon evaporated. The sun, however, vied for dominance with the clouds.
Stopping on the way to buy a necessary sack barrow from Milford Supplies, we drove to Molly’s Den in search of two more stone urns for the rose garden. We were successful and installed them into position.
We also bought a red-painted wrought iron planter.
Early on, in the front garden,
tulips’ in-built umbrellas protected their stamens.
Bees preferred the pollen from the clematis Montana. If you can’t spot this insect filling its thigh sacs, you may choose to enlarge the image,
or opt for this one instead.
Pearly drops slipped from aquilegias.
The viburnum plicatum had benefited from the warmth and the rain.
Two years ago, outside the utility room door, stood the stump of a wisteria that had clearly been heavily pruned, we imagine to make way for the plumbing for the en-suite bathroom above. It has responded to nurturing the first year, and training the next, to produce a fine drapery which should increase even more next year.
Another stump, this time on the grass patch, has recovered to produce a pieris that now shows signs of feeling crowded by the Castle Bench.
Offspring of the erigeron, outside the French windows to the sitting room, have been adopted by various other parts of the garden.
Just before the thunderstorm hit at 4.30, after Jackie had planted up the urns, I joined her for cold drinks and a rest in the rose garden.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s prize chicken jalfrezi, now nicely maturing; meat samosas, egg fried rice, onion bhajis, and parathas. I drank more of the Cotes du Rhone, while The Cook abstained.