Thinking ahead

My wildlife camera is set up, this view covers the path beside the garage, any cats visiting always come from the back of the garden. I will leave it here for a while, it's set to video anything passing at night only for now. The first night we just saw Lilly in the front section of the garden, I do plan to move it to the back section at some point.

I did say I had enough spring bulbs, I was thinking about my garden pots, I have previously purchased some white daffodils, but not paperwhites which I love, the other pack can go in the garden pots. Both of these are for inside, I'm giving up on trying to regrow amaryllis bulbs.

 

On our recent trip to my favourite garden centre, we decided to not stop for coffee, instead coming home to hubbys home made scones with cream.

I have been busy with my 2025 blog book, all my post are in the book, they look neat and tidy, all I now need to do is a final read through and do a spell check. I have already received an email with the promise of Black Friday discounts, coming soon. 

I was extremely good at the garden centre, they had lovely plants, we did have a good look, I don't have much space, so I passed on them all. Hubby is going to redo his front garden next year, so there will be a couple of plants I can use. I also did a quick walk through their Christmas section, again nothing I liked. We did get jams and pickles, we both prefer their brands.

We have enjoyed the sunny warm days this week, quite unexpected at this time of year, sat in our sunroom together, it has been the most fantastic addition to our garden space. It's pouring with rain today. 

I have all the ingredients to make mincemeat again this year, the slow cooker does all the work, hubby does like to use homemade in his pies. I have gathered everything for Christmas cakes, I'm making one cake, slightly smaller just for us, I will make a batch of cakes muffin size for daughter and brother, hopefully with a few spare for gifts.

Whose out there

I dug out nerine bulbs from my side bed a while ago, they had spread, I popped them into a pot, my plan was to plant them behind my daisies once the foliage died back. I'm surprised to see some blooms, one already cut and two more buds.

I am cutting back the two vegetable beds a bit at a time, I have leaf mulch to spread over both beds, the leaves have not broken down enough, which won't matter as the worms will do the job. Both beds have net around to stop Lilly using the space, so the leaves should not blow around. I did pick loads of green tomatoes, these will ripen in the paper bags

I've had an early birthday gift from hubby, I have wanted a wildlife camera for ages, just to see who is visiting our garden, hubby has been resisting, this was purchased in an effort to cheer me up, just for fun.

I can do very little outside before backache starts, I try and get things done, hubby will help, but already he is doing loads of things I can't do, both inside and out has been set out for ease as we get older, which is certainly helping me now. 

I have not done any crafting, I moved my work basket from beside my chair, a certain cat called Lilly was sleeping in there, she is a big cat and my knitting was getting messy. I have suggested to hubby I look for a basket with a lid, which could protect my stuff.

Sunday we had late lunch at a local pub, a good old fashioned Sunday roast, which we both enjoyed, we strolled around Portchester castle afterwards, it was a warm sunny day. On the whole it's been a relaxing weekend, the grandchildren were busy so we did not see them, other than video call. I am feeling slightly more upbeat, it's no use to wallow in selfpity, I've just finished a course of antibiotics, which has helped.

Parcels arriving

In theory I should not need anymore more spring bulbs, the packs on the left I purchased a few weeks ago, on the right are more recent. I was looking for paperwhite daffodils, these are similar, I intend to plant in hope they flower inside around Christmas  time.

My big order from Farmer Gracy has arrived, it's too early to plant them, most will go into pots by early November, the tulips late November, if everything grows I should have a brilliant display in the spring.

These are bulbs which I popped into pots, they bloomed well in the spring, I hope they all come back next year.

This also arrived, I know it's September, but it was on sale almost half price, and those who follow me know I love a bargain. Our old tree is 12 years old and the branches are wobbly. This one is just 5 foot tall, we have purchased a small table for it to stand on. Photo taken from website.

I have been supporting daughter after the disappearance of Noah Woods and his death, George is at runner and can run fast, many times we have chased him, these days I can't take George out on my own, he can be faster than me. The horrendous comments towards the family by ill informed people, daughter has been upset, the parents are going through enough with out negative comments. Through the years nasty people have made unwanted comments regarding our George on daughters social media, her friends and others family with disabled children have supported her every time, we can only hope Noahs family are getting the support they will need.

Friday we took to express bus into Portsmouth, down to the waters edge at Gunwharf Quays, its a outlet shopping area, with plenty of places to eat. We were looking for a good cutlery set, we found a couple designs we liked, sadly the store only had sets of 4 items, knife, fork, desert and tea spoon, we require smaller knives and forks as well. We popped in a few shops, I need to replace my everyday coat, I saw nothing I liked. Most of the shops are brands we do not support, many very overpriced, sadly M&S outlet was closed for a refurb. We did not stop for lunch catching an earlier bus home, we spent nothing, even the bus journey was free.

Shh don't tell hubby

After chatting with my sister, I searched for table, dessert, hardy green grapevine, I found one with  5* reviews, so I ordered it, it has been grown in the UK and is already hardy, it won't be ready to fruit for two years, I can wait. She set the challenge with if I can grow them so can you, I have a perfect spot for it once the temperature drops, for now it can stay in it's pot.

I popped to look at the plants in our market, his plants are always sturdy, I'm not a dahlia lover, I do like red pompoms, mum always grew them in her garden, so this one followed me home, plus 6 begonia bedding plants for my big blue pot. I have taken 2 cuttings off the dahlia, they do root well in water, hopefully some extra free colour by next month. 

Kitchen window sill is a sunny spot, my spider plant loves it here, it looks good in my hand painted pot, in front our my latest cuttings, dahlias, white lavender and more gaura 

Foolishly I then saw Farmer Gracy had their tulips listed and went a bit mad, I am determined to have a good show next spring, I already have new pots, I think I had better stop looking and pack my bank card away. Last year the tulip bulbs I got from our favourite garden centre either had loads of bulbs failed or in a couple of cases the wrong colour. These will arrive September time.

To finish the deals, I got this gypsophila at Lidl, just £1.99, it's in my big blue pot with half of the begonia bedding plants. This one does not grow too high, not need, just another I saw it so I got it. I think it looks much better than just begonias, hubby took the other 3 for his front garden.

I used the poppies from my summer silk flowers here, so the arrangement looked a bit pale, I was looking for replacement red blooms, until these orange ones caught my eye. I'm happy it fills the small corner by the patio doors, bringing the garden inside.

It has been an expensive couple of weeks, I can always find nice plants and bulbs, I keep saying the garden is full, but I always find spaces, I happily pass on purchasing anything for the house or myself, I have been recently been good on our last trip to B&Q, I did not look at plants.

We are on our delayed couple of days in Oxford, the weather is cooler for us, it's a few years since we visited, I love all the old buildings, this being our last trip away until September when the children will be back at school, we will stay local for the summer holidays, we plan to pop to Somerset to visit family, the village and towns are not so full of people, our area is always very busy.

Red warnings

The yellow roses are blooming, these I purchased 16 years ago, they are pure sunshine, the climber by the garage has slowed down, it will pick up again once the temperature drops. There are buds on my red rose in the big grey pot.

I have allums in 3 spots in the garden all blue, they are just starting to open, for a while I did focus on just white or blue plants.

Another bunch of sweet-peas, again popped into the bathroom, their scent fills the room.

Lilly is still outside more often, she is not keen on our tower fans, this spot behind the high raised bed is always in shadow, and cool, I often find her here, she is drinking loads, I check her throughout the day, we are not concerned about her. Every day I change the water for the birds, we have different spots around the garden, I often see Lilly drinking there.

I have read this author before, another good plot, your daughter goes missing on a shopping trip, is it linked to your husband's past, the focus is on the adults until the middle of the book when the daughters plight is revealed. Book 44 read this year

Some unwanted excitement in our village on Thursday morning, we missed it all, our local facebook page is full of it as is the local newspaper. 

We spent Wednesday and Thursday hibernating inside, in this heat the sunroom is unusable after 10am, if there is a breeze we can sit under our parasol, we did nothing, went nowhere. Housework was ignored as are other little jobs, all can wait, we are eating loads of salads, drinking pints of cold water. I am watering pots and edibles most nights, the flower beds have dence planting so there is less evaporation, having less bedding plants does help. Our hedgehog has been visiting again, Lilly now ignores it, it can get to water, I'm not feeding it, hopefully it's eating slugs and snails.

Daughter kept her three home on Wednesday, Molly's eczema is flaring, George can't cope with the heat, and Will is exhausted, the schools shut on Thursday, all sensible, they stayed cool and avoided the boiling car journeys, Friday they have a half day, so they can play in paddling pool all afternoon,  it's in a good shady spot.

1st bank holiday weekend

I have finished the top line of this design, it is a a straight line, the frame has pulled it wonky (I love that word), I am stitching a trio of stars in the centre, it stops any issues with different patterns meeting in the middle, and the corners will match up. I'm busy outside so this is the only crafting/reading I am doing.

The garage is coming along well, the wooden unit on the left is going, it's not suitable to pass on, so hubby will cut down some of the better longer bits for shelves, he has started to re-do the electrics, he has lights to move, so he is doing it all. I love my shelves in my garden storage section, hubby prefers to use the metal cabinets along the back wall.

Whilst hubby was sorting the garage, I foolishly decided to tidy the greenhouse, I got very hot and bothered, it was 30° inside and sunny, a shower afterwards sorted me out. I'm really pleased, plenty of space for seedlings, cuttings and more seeds sown. I do love my two shopping trollies a store manager gave me one on his last day of trading, I very cheekily asked if I could have one, they second one found its way here, they are perfect for a bag of compost.

 These are camassias, white blooms, the bulbs was planted back in 2023 along with the blue blooms, the blue flowers have gone over, and looked good, they have bloomed each year. These white blooms have not flowered before, I had given up on them, so a lovely surprise to see them final after almost 3 years in the ground.

We have ordered the supplies for our part of the garage work, we sat together working out how we wanted it to look, rustic comes to mind, so later this week, we (I do mean hubby) can start the final bit. It seams as if hubby is enjoying this project more than me, he has said he was fed up with reading so much. I am back in the greenhouse, my seedlings are all doing well, I have also taken cuttings from around the plot, I have 12 small fleabane daisies for daughters new raised bed, she loves our display and is recreating it in her back garden. 

The weather is changing, Saturday was cloudy from the start and cooler, it rained mid-afternoon and in the evening, lots of wonderful rain (sorry to those on days off). Sunday was another dull start, a bit cooler, it did brighten up later. Today, Monday we have nothing to do, best day to have, roads will be busy so a lazy day at home.

I popped to daughters to sit with the boys, Molly has swimming on Friday after school and a party on Sunday, George read to me both times, he is slowly picking up words, rest of the time home with hubby.

New life

My pomegranate is coming back to life, I love the colours of these new leaves, hopefully I may get a few flowers on it this summer, I moved the pot last summer and it does seam happy, no signs of any distress, before I kept it trimmed to a lower height, now I will let it grow, it will make a nice backdrop for the seating area, along with my herbs. This plant I grew from a seed, started back in 2017.

I mixed loads of flower seeds and sprinkled them into these two bags, I used these for cut flowers last year, I also have freesias in here as well, most of the seeds should do well it's a warm sunny spot. This for me is proving a successful way to start seeds, the bags protect them from the worse of the weather and snails.

I removed six lupins seedlings from the above bags, I love to grow them, sadly they never return after their first year, these will be useful to fill gaps. The tray at the bottom of photo I have completely forgot what seeds I have sown, I checked with Lens, it can't make it's mind up, could be forget-me-nots or cornflowers, its a case of wait and see.

I also planted some bulbs, liatris spicata, they have tiny flowers on stalks, I put two packs in the back of my square bed last year and nothing grew, so once these are bigger they can go out.

My hubby purchased a plant for our garden, it was market day on Wednesday, the plant stall is good. I made comment I loved these bottlebrush plants and one would go in my pot, which is in a sunny sheltered spot, I had just popped my astilbe in it, but I can place it elsewhere in the garden. As I was deciding hubby paid the man, I'm happy with my latest addition. 

I have been out most days looking for snails, I know where they hide, catching them early helps my crops, I do have beer traps I can use, for now I search by hand, there are not many weeds, I have them under control for the moment. My cucumber plants is growing well, I have 4 tomato plants, hoping for a good harvest this year and loads of lettuce plants at various stages.

I have also purchased another astrantia, it's a pink flower, I do love these plants, I want to dig out my penstemon, it's too big for the spot, plus last year there were hardly any blooms, I also got 20 french marigold plants from B&Q, my own seeds failed germinate. It's truly naughty to purchase more plants, I have plenty growing in the greenhouse. 

It's been a quiet few days, I have hurt my left shoulder, I've had problems since 2010, when an operation left me with nerve damage and a weakness, all I can do is rest, which is not so bad with the sunshine, I do wish the very cool wind would drop, it's nice to work outside but still cool to sit for too long. Today they have promised the wind will disappear, I have high hopes, I have a few jobs to sort in the square flower bed.

Thank you for your kind comments regarding our garden, whilst I do most of the work these days, it's a space for both of us, our refit back in 2023, was the final stage, ensuring its a much easier after 17 years we have done all the hard work, we know what grows here, I am an organic gardener, I use no chemicals anywhere, watching the wildlife gives us as much pleasure as seeing the blooms. I don't regard anything here as work, I'm happiest with a set of snipps in my hand, either deadheading or keeping things in shape.

Tulips

 I fell back in love with tulips a couple years ago, I do grow them in tubs and love them, pops of colour. These were the first to flower and were new last year.

These were new this year and stunning.

I did not plant many bulbs last year, I have plans for a bigger display next spring, so far the wind has not caused too much damage, they are not playing to well, the flowers are popping up one at a time, so no big burst of colour here. 

The tulips in this pot are blind again, not one flower bud, its a shame as they were lovely frilly colourful blooms, the giant snowdrops looked good and soon the fleabane daisies will flower, so all is not lost.

These are special and a few years old, all fake, I do love a display inside to cheer us.

In the past couple of years I have only purchased 'named' brands of bulbs mainly from garden centres, but it does not seam to make any difference, my failure rate is still high, especially in the second year blooms, I am aware tulips blooms often fail to return in following years, also often I get a completely different colour than on labels. This year I will purchase from a different suppliers, if you have any trusted sites please share them with me.

Daughter came with children on Sunday, Molly is a lot better still not eating or drinking much, she did join in playing with George, she has missed the start of the new school term, and will be off a few more days. She has suffered eczema, rashes and sore patches all her life, she can't have any traces of dairy products, she is still under hospital care trying to sort all her allergies. Thank you for your kind comments on my last post, it was scary to see her so poorly, it was the worse attack she has ever had. 

We have a busy week ahead, so I'm resting when I can, not much to do in garden, the greenhouse is full, all doing well, I plan to sow more next week.

Nana on call

Just another view of my side bed, so full of blue, the camassia blooms whilst pretty don't last too long, there are two yellow rose bushes just about showing, and loads of other plants starting to regrow. 

 George has new glasses which he is now wears all the time, his first pair was a specific design to help children cope with wearing glasses for the first time and rather expensive. These are a standard design, he is very happy with them.

Daughter called me at 5.30am on Friday to come and sit with boys whilst Molly was checked out at A&E, at first they tested for sepsis, thankfully it was negative, she has not been well for a couple of days, it was confirmed it was a severe reaction, no way of knowing to what. This photo was taken late afternoon when the rash was settling, the earlier photo is too horrible to post.

I've spent days at daughters house, Thursday morning looking after the children whilst daughter and hubby took a trip to IKEA, Will now has his new bedroom, hubby got a few small bits for us, I got the better part of the deal. In the evening I went to WI, it was a relaxing music evening, which was well attended.

Friday I was out early, both boys were still in bed, so first hour was very quiet, George and I had a couple hours together. Once home Molly was very subdued she listened to her favourite music most of the day, she is still unwell. I had planned a sleepover which helped daughter as they were all tired.

Saturday was an early start, George woke at 6.50am, we snuggled on the sofa for an hour, Molly looked better, but is still unwell, she is not eating much which probably helps her, I really hate to see any of them sick. I stayed until mid afternoon, it was a lazy time, loads of cuddles. Back home I did nothing just rested, we both had an early night.

Today we woke up to cloudy blue skies, it blew like mad last night and lots of rain, the wind died back a bit, it was warmer than previous days, but still cool, daughter is due to visit, they had not been out in days, George had been poorly before Molly. We did consider a BBQ, but decided best to wait a bit longer, doing the children's favourite food for lunch

Going Blue

 Another new author to me, this being a very light read, a good plot, just not enough of it, book 28 read this year.

A favourite author, hubby popped this book on my kindle, brilliant story, spoilt only by it being 48 pages long. Book 29 read this year.

Another favourite author, a husband goes missing his famous actress wife has to find her way through this horror, her back story runs along side, her very alternative childhood, just brilliant. Book 30 read this year.

The garden is changing again the yellow and white blooms have faded and it's time for blue to shine, I have bluebells all around the garden and a few clumps camassia's, which are also blue, both had self-seeded, so the bed is full of blues, you can get white blooms as well. This side bed always has a great start to the growing year. 

I have camassia's in the centre of this bed as well, I love the way their height gives an extra level to the bed and then like all the other bulbs they disappear until the next spring. My fleabane daises have loads of tiny flowers forming, my summer bed returning. 

It's been a glorious few days, the breeze has been cool and I have avoided working in the shade, we have had coffee and cake outside, I have pottered doing small tweaks around the garden, I cleaned behind the garage, loads of tiny leaves everywhere, I have put away most of my spring pots in their summer protected spot, out of view in the garden. I sold some of my ceramic pots, the rest have been packed away gor now.

I have also sat more and just enjoyed our view, it's now an easy garden to keep how we like it. Football is being played, my poor plants are under threat, luckily they do not kick the ball very hard, I have also watered everywhere on Tuesday evening, I was only going to do my pots, but our ground is just so dry. 

We did pop to our favourite garden centre just for a few bits, I did not spend much and came away with just what I required, which must be a first for me, I have also purchased 4 strips of bedding plants from our local pet shop, these will be grown on and planted out in a few weeks once much bigger.  

April arrives

 Season almost over

New bulbs this year 

Still holding on

New season

And blueberries 

The garden is looking good, shame about the weather, no rain just cold and dull, my pots need watering.