I'm not going to say it...

 We are sitting out this heat wave, I do a bit of gardening first thing, I water later in the evenings, I have a lance on my hose, its a longer pole with spray at the end, allows me to water the base of plants without bending, this is when I am most grateful for a small garden. These roses are stunning, they change colour as they open, I cut it back last year so the flowers are lower. They hide the gap between the fence and garage, by the end of the summer they will reach the top of the fence.

I adore this bed, just 3 years old, these fleabane daisies are a froth of colour, the aquilegia behind are new this year, four plants, I'm happy if they propagate and I have loads more, my snowberry plants (2) are slowly growing and will fill out in time, my astilbe is in the middle and should shoot up soon.

I love pots you can give plants the correct environment to grow, Kirts grass hair is better than I imagined, I do like to have a few pots displayed together. Just a few of the pretty flowers here in our garden.

I will trim our olive tree, its full of blossom and getting bigger than we want, another tree we both love, we have had this tree since 2019, I feed it once a year and clip it often.

Another loved plant is my pomegranate, I started a seed way back in 2017, its been in this pot since 2022, it was moved to behind our seating last year, I've stopped clipping it and would like it to grow higher, its not a tree. I do have herbs in pots at both ends of the seating area.

I have been careful when purchasing new plants to remove weeds from pots before planting, I also prefer to grow from seed, which helps keep weeds at bay, so I don't have too bigger issue. I am pulling the buttercups from my back fruit bed, they are taking over, lesson learnt, they need space. In my side bed I have meadow rue, it's a pretty low green ground cover, all through the summer I am pulling it out, it spreads by root and can be a thug, I do like it around my big herb pot.

We did not see daughter and little ones on Tuesday, they stayed home, where they could play inside in the cool, George was going to have a sleepover, but he's not sleeping well, so we postponed it, whilst sad not to see them, we understand their welfare is always most important. I found sitting outside under the parasol with the slight breeze best, the morning temperature was 29°, as it got hotter we later went back inside.

It's raining again.

Aquilegias around the garden, so many lovely colours, these have self-seeded in many beds, I do love the pure yellow or white ones, they are all very tall this year. 

I have not shown many photo's of my Peonies, my big plant in top photo, is my best plant in the garden, I have had it for years, it came from our childhood house when mum moved. It is full of buds, which have stopped growing, I have done nothing with it, but I do think this year it's going to fail to flower. I have 2 other much smaller plants which are growing well, neither has yet to grow buds, I'm OK with that I can wait. 

I have done more squares on this, I find it very relaxing to make, I am now just over the half way point. I love these cooler colours, all the outlines of the squares are finished. 

This book was on the thriller desk at the library, I have never read this author before, so it was a random choice, it's a good story line, but the ending was all set out, no clues along the way, a good story not a great one. Book 43 read this year. 

Hubby was out last Saturday for a fundraiser, and purchased this book marker, it is very pretty and the lady who stitched it has lovely neat tiny stitches, I will try and keep it clean, it does look much nicer than the big wool band I was using. 

I have had this book for ages, I want to increase my knowledge on our native trees and wildflowers, I could have used it on our walk last Friday, it's by my chair for now, I might pop it into my camera bag. 

The heavy rain has stayed with us, Sunday was a washout, we did not leave the house, Will played lovely all morning, he did not stop eating, he is a growing lad, up rather than out. I spent the afternoon stitching, and then later reading. We moved the cats baskets from their place near the patio doors to the back of the dining area, away from the promised thunder storms. I got up twice in the night to check they were OK, both times they were snuggled in their baskets, the thunder and sheet lightening was very close and very bright and loud, the rain again was very heavy, luckily we do not have issues here with flooding, I was worried the rain would damage things in the garden, but in the morning, everything was good. 

Monday was a dull day more like October than May, I had loads planned but the grey skies hung on, I did spend 2 hours outside, the new bed has been sorted, I have already planted the bulbs from the pots and our new rose, until rain stopped play. I did waste a few hours on here, just relaxing and reading new to me blogs and some housework was done. I am happy to see so much rain, we do live in a dry part of the UK, so to have all this water at the start of our main growing season is good, and I won't need to water the garden for ages, just ensure my pots don't dry out. I am always happy at home, I can find things to do inside and out, and can lose hours reading I am a book worm. 

Today we are meeting in our village café for coffee about 8 of us, should be fun, then I hope to pop to a garden centre, I want a packet of Thomson and Morgan seeds, which they sell, hopefully they will have what I want. We have blue skies again and it should be lovely and warm. 

Triffids

 I have been digging out plants from around the garden, some like the aquilegia's have spread and got huge, I am going to need plants for a new bed. I am taking some daffodils from the side bed, and other spring bulbs. 

We popped to B&Q, whilst there we looked at roses, hubby has chosen a new bush one, it's dark red with big blooms, I also saw they had their spring flower packs at half price, so I got 4 different ones (2 of each), I will pop them into the ground, I'm sure they will grow. The plants had 20% off so this rose cost us £8.

I am using gloves more often, normally I would use the knitted ones, but I now wear waterproof ones, I have leather ones which I don't often wear as they are too thick. My neighbours partner gave me the Traffi brand, they are work gloves and brilliant, we could not get them on line, my size was sold out, so the other set Site are from B&Q, they feel the same, only time will tell if they are strong enough and at £3 a pair not to pricy.  I can't wear latex, so I have to be careful what gloves I choose, I'm not getting paid for these comments, I'm just pleased to have found so great gloves. 

Elsewhere in the garden we still have loads of spring colour, we have both enjoyed the start of this growing season, all the years of hard work has paid off, we sit with our coffee through out the day, just listening to the bird song and enjoying the view. 

The greenhouse is full, still to early to put out bedding and tender plants, the chance of frost here is very slim, it is cooler but we are sheltered here, but still I wait. The tomato and cucumber plants are both in their huge pot, the tomatoes both have flowers, I am harvesting salad leaves. I always pop a plastic bottle into the ground next to my cucumber plant and water through the bottle, I have cut the bottom off, saves the stem going rotten. 

The bank holiday did not make any difference to us, I spent some time in our garden moving slate, we do have alot of it, I have spread the task over a few days rather than do everything at once. 

I had a very lazy start on Saturday, I managed to sleep in, and then played with my new model Fitbit, sorting updates, it's easy to change device on the apt, hopefully I won't get any issues, the previous model had bad comments on internet, same issue as I was having, not pairing and recording my stats. We spent most of the time outside, plenty to do in the garden, later we had pizza and wine for tea. 

Sunday our plans changed, it rained, not heavy just steady, so day inside reading and stitching, the garden can be done another day, we are in no rush, we have plenty of time. I spent time with daughter in afternoon, George is poorly again, he does go downhill quickly, he and Will both have had a sickness bug, George bug again is lingering, he spent all evening in A&E, where they are so good to both child and mummy. 

Today Monday we plant to drive to daughters, she wants help with planting, but we will wait to see how her night went and if they all slept, we will visit but maybe the garden can wait. 

Crafting time

The skirt of the baby dress is done, I have decreased the stitches and now have to bodice to knit, but my circular needles are too big, I can't get the brand I love using locally so I am waiting for an order to come, hopefully today or Monday. 

The decrease section was done in one row followed by garter stitch with a row of loops holes in the middle, I now have more pattern to do. 

I have finished my 1st grey sock, I decided at the last moment to knit the toes in the pale grey, I had intended to knit them in the darker grey. I just have the toes to finish and a few ends to stitch in. 

This is the most amazing honest book I have ever read, a story of the preschool years of Oscar's life, making sense of everything Downs Syndrome can bring. What people (some professional), friends, strangers can utter is unbelievable. The thoughts of a mum on a long unknown journey. It's the feelings from a mum who has a son with a label, how she chooses to live her life. Full of love, fun and hope within a family. 

My daughter was passed this book from another mum, and my daughter suggested I should read it as well. It's not a suggestion of how our George will grow and behave, but it does give so many answers to thoughts swirling around my head. I did ask my daughter have I said anything stupid or thoughtless to her, or please let those thoughts have stayed in my head. She has a couple time corrected me, but I've not said anything to hurt her. The hardest word is 'normal' what is normal, no 2 children are the same, they develop within guidelines, it's a concept not spoken here.

 

George was 9 months old this week, we like every other family feel blessed to have a baby in our lives, already we can see differences, but he also has some strong determined actions, he will hold food and feed himself. When Will is playing he watches him and can roll around the floor to get to his toys, when sat on our lap he will rock until you sing row, row the boat, he will develop at his own pace, but already we can see his sweet personality shining through. 

We have done very little in the past few days, it has been so very windy here and with all the plants, trees in full leaf they have been thrashing about, it's still warm, we have had some rain most nights, so no watering duties. We are picking loads of blackberries, most are in the freezer to enjoy through the colder months. I did sow some more seeds, aquilegia and sweet peas, and I have found all the spring bulb pots and they have been cleaned, having the greenhouse to work in, is just brilliant.

We are picking Will up after lunch for a sleep over, just Will as we all feel it's important for him to have his time and space with us, last time he slept over was way back in February, he slept over with grandma and Grandpa last Saturday. We have promised to make pizza's so he can add his toppings. so it's going to be a toy day here, it's not nice enough to walk to the park. 

I have stopped watching the TV news again, I am really fed up with so many people complaining 'it's not fair' I have always grown up with the feeling life is not fair, we have to make the best and in these strange times, life is different, no government can save everything and everyone, we already have horrendous national debt. As my dear mum would always say, 'pull your socks up and get on with it' 

 

Flowers in the rain.

This hydrangea is in the corner of our front garden, by the house, this is hubby's area, he planted this 3 years ago, and it's taken it's time, but here are the 1st real flowers, it's tiny and will never get too  big. It's not a plant I would have in the back garden, but it's lovely. 

This Clematis was dug out of the ground over 10 years ago, before we moved in, Win next door moved it in her garden, but it decided it liked being here next to our front door, so the bit left grew and we love it. 

I have 3 pots all identical along the drive at the side of our house, they are starting to bloom. The Lobelia at the back has blue flowers to add colour. 

This raised bed was new last year, it's in the shade most of the day and therefore behind the rest of our back garden, I love Aquilegia, I did have a 2nd plant, but it choose not to grow this year. The summer plants are beginning to show, soon it will be full of colour. 

I got 2 plants locally 50p each, last year in a local garage/garden sale, Salvia hot lips, they are growing well, I have taken 4 soft wood cutting from them, I have a 2nd rose bush on the other side of my Peony and would like to plant hot lips around it to match. I only need 2 plants, but any extra which grow can be popped elsewhere.

This plant is years old and has been in this chimney all through our winter, we moved the pot when the fence behind was replaced, and now it has little soil. I will take cuttings soon to grow new plants and late summer we will move it to another pot and give it better soil. 

I love this area, English Lavender is my favorite, again I have soft wood cuttings, I would like more of these plants in this bed, I love the way it tumbles forward. The love in the mist growing through it just adds to my joy. Behind is a hedge full of flowers and later in the year berries, the bees love this area.

This pot hangs above the Lavender, I popped a spare Lobelia plant in this pot last year, it decided it wanted to grow again this year. In the pot below are Begonia's, which stay in the pot all year. 

I've been told off, I don't use these much, they sit in a drawer in my shed, the pair on the left was new last year, hubby was looking for my topiary snips to trim plants in front garden, he's going to clean these and oil them, my pair I use all the time, are in the greenhouse and are clean, I always clean them after use, as I do with all my tools.  

I thought it would be nice to show the flowers with the wet stuff on them, it did not rain as much I hoped in the early morning, later it rained enough for the garden to be watered well, but not enough to fill the water butts. We have found a place where we can add another (our 3rd) small water butt, our springs and summers are now having longer spells of dry hot weather and often our stored water is really low, we hope the extra storage will be enough to see me through the dry spells. It should be delivered next week, another small task for hubby and I to get done. 

It's the time of year where I watch to see what plants return to flower in my garden, it's a time of joy and planning, there is always an empty space, I am trying with most of the plot to have less bedding plants, which has to be purchased each year. With more established plants I am hoping they will require less watering, I will always grow bedding plants to fill gaps, I just find it easier as I cut their numbers back. 

I have been busy with softwood cuttings, I hope they work so I can fill some gaps, and with the lavender fill the front of a small bed in which very little will grow, it's solid clay and in this bed, nothing I do seems to improve the soil, so far everything I have added has washed away. My hope is next year I have a garden full of colour with less gaps to fill, when I purchase a plant I try and choose carefully, I have lost so many plants to our clay soil or pest eating them.

Today is dull, after more rain overnight, but like most gardeners I'm happy to have a few wet days, plus the smells and flies from next door almost disappear, making us able to open windows and patio doors.  

Are you singing The Move, Flowers in the rain, I am, it's a great tune. 

1st May bank holiday

Like this for ever, was brilliant

I could not put it down, the story line was against all my normal choices

Sharon Bolton is becoming a favorite author of mine.

The Stranger in my home is on my pile to read. 

 Aquilegia's are back in the garden

this one is huge with loads of buds.

 I love these flowers, I don't have as many as last year

waiting to see what colours I have. 

 Just a single flower on my Peony

It survived the frosty morning this past week. 

I have no idea where the Iris came from, it's not a plant I would grow. 

Different reading

It's a bank holiday here so no work until Tuesday, we are spending the time at home, I have just one task in our garden, we will dig out a small bed and enhance the soil, replant a few nice flowering plants I have in my greenhouse.
My plan is to have time to read, and for a nice change I got a few gardening magazines, I can't remember when I last purchased magazines, way back in 2016. I never have to justify Gardeners World, Amateur Gardening, had a lovely packet of Dahlia seeds and an article regarding regrowing Orchids, I hope to get a few tips. Modern Gardens, is not about plants and growing things, it's all about putting together gardens, a bit like DIY ground force, without Alan Titchmarsh.
Tonight we are at our daughters house, whilst pregnant she had to give up soft cheese and Pate, so we promised her a cheese, pate and wine party with a bit of port. It's easier for us to go to her's so Will can sleep in his own room.
Tomorrow I'm having a Pedicure, so I can get my summer toes out.
I want to do some sewing, but I've not planned which day, and hubby will not want to spend 3 days at home, so I am hoping a trip out with our trusty camera's will feature.
It's much warmer along the south coast, so a promise of a nice weekend.

In my garden tonight

Granddad by the back door

 Lovely coloured foliage 

 The snapdragon I never planted

 Love in the mist

 Colour at the back

 I feel sure this is bleeding heart

loads of other plants from scattered seeds

 Nice corner

 More colour

 Mini garden

 Orange pip

 Melon seed

 mild peppers

 Hot peppers

Just some of the things in our garden, as you can see I love pots

Nothing much happening here, Wales's football match later

Flowers in June

Flowers in the garden, up close

 Above and below Love in the Mist

I love the bud just about to burst

 Saxifraga 'Primuloides

Pretty little alpine

 I love yellow and white flowers

 Roses

 Pretty in pink

So many different Aquilegia's

 A bit of blue, 

coming along well

I have done nothing this week other than stitch, not alot to do in the garden, just enjoy everything. We have had the boys every night after school, which has been fun, Sammy loves being outside.
I'm home alone tonight, so loads of time for relaxing, I've just finished left over pizza from the boys tea, so no cooking tonight. It rained last night so no watering to do, as you can see I have done my walk around the garden with camera in hand.