More cuts

 Is this cause for divorce, I did tell hubby the acer needed a severe hair cut, I had let the front and sides get too wide, this tree is precious to me. Hubby is not so happy. As the Japanese gardeners say, I have let the light in. Here it is just a month ago

The main reason for the cut is this side section close to the fence which can be seen from our house, it's has died back, I removed loads of dead wood last month. I can see some new growth, hopefully the tree is going to thrive again. It will need another chop later in the year to reduce the width, I have already given it a good feed to keep it strong. Having less leaves will help it in this heatwave.

Whilst I had the loppers out, I trimmed the top of the Olive, the sides need a trim, maybe another day.

I have read this author before, whilst the story was decent, it was dull, one nice twist, just not really my type of book. Book 42 read this year. 

Another great book, set in America, a school bus, the driver and children go missing, everyone is searching for them, one mum who's two daughters are on the bus has a different problem, very clever, it held me all the way through. Book 43 read this year.

I often look online to check before doing anything to our tree's, I do treat them like tall shrubs, our Magnolia gets a professional chop every couple of years, it does need some of the new growth cutting back, that's a job for hubby, he has just purchased a better set of step ladders, which should make the task safer. As you know our garden is small, so keeping things to size is important to us, having two trees in the ground enhances our space, the olive will always stay in the huge pot. 

Hubby has sold his BBQ, it went very quickly, he has always cleaned it after each use and gave it a final good clean, the lady collected it was super happy to have it, we popped to B&Q to check their range of BBQ's and saw a perfect model, more expensive than hubby was looking to pay, but everything he wanted.

We are spending more time inside, this red warning for higher temperatures is no joke, our sitting room is cooler at this time of year, hubby made a net covered frame to go into the open patio door, it's not very wide, but it does let the air in and stops the flies, I read most of the time, I am a fast reader and I have always been a bookworm. Our little ones are all on half days at school, sensible decisions were made for their welfare, sadly we missed all the thunderstorms on Monday, my sister in Somerset sent an amazing video, the storms passed to the north of us.

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.

Cold spell.

 We have so far missed most of the snow, we had a sprinkling over night, loads of frost every morning, with the low sun loads of spots stay white, the front of the house is the sunny side. Every day we have bright blue skies and sunshine, looking out it's brilliant, not so good once outside. This is much colder than we normally have at this time of year, which is reflected all around the country. 

 This yellow weather warning map covers most of UK, not covering the south coast, which is where we live, I have everything crossed we avoid the worst of the weather. In previous years we have missed the snow, we have no appointments in the coming week, so we will stay in.

I am keeping a check on my Olive tree, it now lives in a very sheltered corner, they are hardy to about -5° we have had this plant since 2019, I rarely cover this plant, I am keeping a close eye on it, so far it's OK. The rest of the garden is just left, whilst the frost are about it is best not to touch anything.

Meanwhile in my greenhouse the temperature is doing OK, I do not heat inside, it's in the sunniest spot in the garden on a raised base, which always helps with winter inside temperatures. I cleared the setting on Saturday, so these figures are for the 24 hours, it got down to -2.7° and was highest at 31.3°, both acceptable for the contents. 

I have not knitted any socks for a few years, which is a shame as I do love knitting them, I am wearing my homemade ones, much warmer for my feet, I am also wearing a few extra layers, our heating is working well and we try to keep the house between 18 and 20 in the daytime. We are not doing so much, so we do sit down more, which then makes me feel colder. 

We do try and have a short walk most days, wrapped up warm, my duffle coat is the warmest, with a scarf, gloves and knitted bobble hat. Our park is still busy, its a lovely place, the children's play area is always in use. Working on my computer is good, its the sunniest room in the house, my 2024 book is coming along nicely. I try and sort some of my crafting stash most days, there are loads of card bits to get rid of, I am keeping some bits for Molly to use, she does love crafting.

Meals are simple, I have a few bits of cheese left, I have enjoyed having so many different ones to try, there are hardly any chocolates left, I did not get too many this year. Our Christmas cake is being enjoyed, its not so dry now, must of just been one small section. 

Traitors is back on TV, along with Pottery throwing down and we love 1% club. There are a few new series we are starting to watch. I mainly read, not doing any crafting, I am searching for a cross stitch, nothing yet has fired my imagination. 

October blooms

I have had these two chimney pots for years, I love them at either end of daisy flower bed, both with begonias in, hopefully cyclamen should grow through and bloom long after the begonias fade. The daisies are still full of frothy blooms, I did thin them out a bit.

I love my big blooms in pots, one with the dark fuchsia, the red and purple really stand out, I also love the fushia in my raised bed tumbling over my pond, I often have to pick up the fallen blooms from my pond, neither of these displays are hard work, I just feed them a couple times a year.

The side bed is still blooming, so many colours, the nerines are beautiful, I have 2 tall ones and more which are not so tall, some of the french marigolds have been pulled out, the blooms are thinner now. 

The begonia and lobelia are planted in this tub, the rest are all in pots sat on top of the stones, the hostas have completely died back, I have ensured no pots are over the hosta crowns. I do love the colour here.

I moved our olive tree to this sheltered corner by the house, it does get afternoon and evening sun, it is thriving, again we have a few olives in the tree, they stay hard, so I don't do anything with them. In the warmer months there are more pots in front of the huge tub. 

I dug out another foxglove plant growing in my veg bed, its in my greenhouse, I now have 5 plants for next spring, I also moved a clump of forget-me-nots, again self seeded in the wrong place. My Geranium I split into 5 plants are all perking up, I hope to fill any gaps in my flower bed next year with plants created in my greenhouse. 

My pots were bone dry on Tuesday, pansies were wilting, so I got out the hose and watered all my pots and both veg beds, watering in October, its another unusual month in this strange year.

Most of my spring bulbs are in pots, I have so many different blooms and colours, next spring is going to be fun here, most of the pots I had emptied ready for my spring bulbs. It's still a bit early to pot up my tulips.

I am so happy at home in my garden, I have no more plans to change anything, I don't have any space for new things, October so far has been a mild dry month, I'm sad knowing I will soon have less time outside as the weather changes, the garden is a healing space. Soon it will be reading and craft time, things which can be done inside.

Blooming September

 In between the rain, I popped outside, it's very wet, luckily our garden drains well and has no deep puddles, don't let the blue skies fool you, before I had finished taking these photos it started to rain again. This side bed full of blooms, sadly the rain and wind took all the roses, I really need to do some deadheading, I have staked a few of the bigger blooms. 

The acer is turning colour, soon the leaves will drop which is a shame as it's been beautiful all summer, it does have a lovely shape so the bare branches do add to the winter garden.

I am pleased how this fence line is looking, I have never been a fan of growing plants up a fence, the olive tree is happy in the corner, it has olives growing, they never mature, but it's good to know the tree is healthy. I do not miss my metal table and chairs here, it got very busy, this looks much nicer. 

There are loads of blooms bringing colour into the garden, this begonia will soon be popped back into the greenhouse for the winter, it's a long flowering plant and so easy to keep, I do nothing with it once it's inside until next spring when I start to water it again. The Zinnias and Asters are in full colour.

Flowers at the back, the fuchsia which drops over the back of the pond has done well, I do have to dead head often to stop them falling into the pond, I have sweet willaim's behind and primroses in the tub.  The big tub next to my shed again has been full of flowers, another begonia, the fuchsia was moved earlier this year, I also have a hellebore for winter colour, another pot I just leave. 

These will give winter colour, the fleabane daises will stay green all year, if it's mild they will bloom, I cut them back in the spring to keep them from getting too big, this bed has been a delight. I have cyclamen and violas in pots around the patio nearest to the house. 

Soon it will be time to pack the furniture away for winter, it will stay outside undercover, the chair frames will tuck under the bench frame, and will fit along the wall, we will raise them off the ground slightly and cover them. The cushions will be popped into the back of the attic (loft). The parasol will go into the garage, I'm not keen on this time of year, I feel we are loosing so much. 

The season has changed so quickly this year, my shorts and sandals are succeeded by socks, boots and jeans, fleeces are worn, nights are cooler and much darker. I don't embrace autumn, spring and summer are my season's the garden is my place, I still can watch the garden, often watching the small birds at the feeders, but nothing beats being outside.

After the rain

 The recent rain has done wonders for the garden, all my water buts are now full again, and after the thunderstorm on Saturday, the ground is no longer dusty dry. My back veg section is looking very productive, we are having regular carrots and broad beans, plus salad bits and of course strawberries. My recent planted runner beans are climbing the posts.

I have very little space to walk around, my bags and buckets are already showing loads of good growth, the flowers are growing tall in their two bags, I'm very hopeful to have cut flowers inside this year, I have finally cracked growing sweet peas, I do love to see them inside, I am regularly picking them. 

My one hosta plant has four blooms growing, both are now much bigger, this new larger pot is working, sadly they both have been munched, the yellow begonia is filling out nicely in the middle front, I have moved it along the fence and it now looks much better, the sun does not reach this spot until the evening. 

We have been moving plants again, the olive tree is now in the corner by the extension,  it's a much sheltered spot, I popped most of the pots with it, the metal table and two chairs don't  really have a space anymore, so I think I might try and sell them.

It's been just too wet to be outside much in the past few days, fortunately there is very little to do, I have a few cuttings, in water, in hope I can add a couple different plants along the back fence and fill the gaps, I also dug out roots from my snowberry plants, I have two existing plants and hopefully made another three, I would like them to fill the back section of my daisy bed. My perennials seeds are very mixed in the greenhouse, I am busy reading up on conditions required, and if I should pop any into fridge or freezer to recreate their normal sprouting cycles. 

I have managed to get some new hurdles (low fences) for my two raised veg beds, I am really disappointed with the split willow ones, they were middle range prices, I expected they would last better than just the year I have had them, the ones I would love are just too expensive, I did look into going on a course to learn to weave them myself, again not at all cheap. So I have gone for budget range, with metal and plastic, in hope they look good from a distance, they work so well in keeping cats off my beds and keeping all the produce from flopping over. 

I've had a cracked tooth removed today, it was not to bad, my jaw aches and I've got to take it easy for a few days, no gardening,  that's going to be fun.

Outside

 The garden is looking tidy, which is the best I can expect at this time of year. I have moved my spring pots onto the table, so we can see them from the house, just to add some colour, I have a pot of snowdrops by the other corner of the lawn.

I did not expect these daisies to stay green all through the cooler months, I will give them a chop soon as I have loads of smaller spring bulbs which should come back this year. 

Veg beds are productive, I still have a few leeks to pull, the onions look good as does the broad beans. I already have plans for the summer growing produce.  

I have pots everywhere with signs of bulbs growing, this cider pot is my favourite, it has mixed spring bulbs and a daisy, should look good most of the year. 

Hubby said I butchered this olive back in the summer, but look at it now, it's a great size for the pot and so dense, I've not covered it as our night time temperatures do not get that low, I do have a cover should I ever need it. 

The hellebores are very pretty this year, I have two other plants still in bud, these are always the first new growth and colour in my garden.

I was outside for just a while, checking the greenhouse, everything inside is doing well, I moved all my spring pots from behind the garage, where they rest when not in bloom. The garden needs a sweep around to collect leaves, for now I have decided to let them lie, it might help all the bugs.

Daughter slept over Saturday night, we watched a film together, shared a curry and a couple bottles of red wine, as much as we love our grandchildren, having her to ourselves is brilliant. Her ex slept over with the children, Sunday we had the day together, she did go for a long walk along the shore, she is walking as part of her fitness program. Tonight we are having a lazy evening together, watching Pottery throwdown. We are also enjoying the third series of Traitor's, neither can decide who we would like to win, I'm leaning towards Alexander. 

Autumn outside

 I do love to see a floral display on this bistro set, it can be seen from our sitting room, and fills us both with joy. I got cheap cyclamen plants from B&Q, these have grow bigger in the few weeks I have had them. Next spring I will get this set dipped and powder coated white, which was the colour when we got it, it will better against our grey fence panels.

I am not adding much to my flower beds for winter colour, I want to allow all the new plants space to grow and come back next year, having said that I do still have some colour, as well as loads of bare spots. I have popped in a few pansies for colour, in a small garden with narrow beds there is not enough room to grow for every season.

Having cut back (butchered according to hubby) our Olive tree back in the spring, I am so happy with how it now looks, I don't move it through the cooler months, our weather in the past few years have been very mild, if a hard frost is due, I double wrap it in fleece. This section looks bare, all I can do is dream of warmer dry weather next spring, it's our first year of looking like this. 

Friday was sunny and warm, I spent a couple hours outside, moving things into my shed, days like that I need to be outside. Later we went to our neighbours at the bottom of our garden for a drink and chat inside his garden pub, it's the building you can see over our back fence, sadly we had a bit of a walk to get there, he has offered to put a gate in our back fence, loads of laughter and brilliant music.

Saturday was another lovely day, I worked on finishing my bug house, hubby was finishing sorting the stairs for decorating. Later, we walked to the village for our Covid and flu jabs, hubby is fine I have a sore arm, I have to have both shots in one arm, which does make them ache. We are enjoying watching Strickly again, it always helps with the dark nights and the build up to Christmas. Sunday we had drizzle most of the day, hubby sorted ladders on our stairs and painted the ceiling, twice, it's a job I'm glad when it's finished, he's 75 and active, I worry when he's doing things at height, we did get quotes, all of £1000 or more for such a small area, which he refused.

Monday we popped into town, I had a prescription to get, my dentist is worried about a cracked tooth and we have a break in Spain coming, so I have 'just in case' antibiotics. We stayed for a hour, not many good shops left, I do like home section in TK Max, and B&M for a few bits.

Blogger is playing me up again, often it's not showing post on my reading list, and loads of comments are in spam, oh well at least I'm aware. 

Sadly

With heavy rain due for a few days we decided to pack away our wooden table set on Saturday, the seats are over 20 years old and still in good condition, the table new this year, we store them each winter in our garage, it goes along my wall, which takes away space for me, but as I'm not doing so much it's OK. This space looks huge, all my decorations again are packed away, I do leave out the bunting, lights and a few pots. My Olive tree is looking good after the huge trim I gave it in the spring.

The chairs sit one on top of the other, with the outside toys on top, so on dry days we can still get the toys out. The benches do cause more issues as they sits infront of my unit, I have checked and pulled out anything I might need from the unit, I can still use storage space under and on, which will help. The table has had the legs removed and is in the back of the garage, that's in hubby's space. 

My space outside my greenhouse door does not please me, I've tried a few different bits there, using what I have, but the space is not earning it's keep. I have been missing my shed, it was so convenient to store loads of my tools just where I needed them. The garage space works but every time I want something it's a walk through my garden space, and the same to put things back tidy. So with that in mind I have ordered this tiny shed, it fits the space, keeping my poles and other bits which are just used for the veg section, things I don't want in my greenhouse. 

Hubby has been busy sanding down our stairs, he is removing all the paint, we want (by that I mean me) to stain the upright post and hand rails and paint the spindles and everywhere else white, it's not a fun job, the dust is in every room of the house, hubby does not like doing half jobs, so it's taken a couple of weeks. I've been outside working, the stairs are very cramped so he works alone, Friday we cleaned everywhere, hubby hopes to start painting soon. Then it's the turn of our bedroom, which will be a much simpler job, there is one small build section to be done, then decorate and new carpets.

Most of the garden work is up to date, I'm leaving the flower beds to die back naturally, I will tidy them in the spring. I have my potato bags to empty, most of my pots and buckets are cleaned and packed away. I need to get some onion sets, my favourite garden centre only sell prepacked, so we will pop to a different place to get loose ones. I have a tomato plant to sort and my runner beans, all will go in composter. I have 8 cabbage plant seedlings in my greenhouse, hopefully they will get big enough to go out soon.

Outback

I've been working outside in my veg section at the back of the garden, this narrow path is the only way to get to my raised veg beds and my greenhouse. I am pleased once again it is clear and safe to pass along. This is the view from the house, so I like to see it looking nice, the older paving is staying in the working section of the garden, so this won't change.

I did have my strawberry tower here in front of the sink, it was temporary put there until the garden refit was done, but it was a pain to get by, the plants were always wet. This is how it should stay, plenty of room, the yellow bucket is full of topsoil, which I will use soon. The corner is not huge, but I have plenty of space to walk by even when holding bigger items.

Once again behind the garage has changed, moving the strawberry tower here works, but it means my raised bed is not in a great spot, but it can stay like this until next spring, other than adding to composter, I should not need this area.

My nice clear path in front of the greenhouse house is full, most of these pots have herbs in and will be placed back at our seating area, again probably next spring, I have no need to access anything here. The bricks will be placed at the back by the fence when we can get to the area. 

Our Olive tree is full, best crop so far, renewing the compost this summer has worked well, this was taken just before we covered it for the winter, if I cover this olive, it's normally in January, which is the start our colder months, this week our temperatures are due to drop, so I am being cautious. It's being moved out of the garden for a couple of weeks and then it will have a new spot, so I am treating it very carefully.

Hopefully this will be the last photo of a messy garden, our guy was due next Monday, we have been told he is running a week late, with all the horrible weather, it's understandable, we are fine to wait, knowing his work is brilliant, can't wait for a new layout. 

Everything we needed to do is done, it's been hard work, but we did enjoy creating new beds, and working out where things will go, the strawberry tower is the only thing where we have not found it's spot yet, but it's OK where it is until next May. I have a few thoughts for next spring, but mainly tweaks, I have always made full use of our garden, there is little space, but I will always want to grow more.

It's such a nice change to have dry days, it has not been too cold here either, like everyone else I am sick of the constant rain, its nice to be outside. The cold air from the north arrived over night, it's much colder, today will only reach single figures, which is cooler than the overnight temperature here over night on Wednesday. I have not done anything on my pond area, I have everything except the energy to get going, it's not an issue, it will get done in time.

 My cold and cough is full on, headache and aching limbs, hubby has the same, we make a good pair, neither of us are sleeping very well. Hopefully we should start to feel better soon and find some energy, I am beginning to think I have man-flu. Thank you for George's birthday wishes, he like all our grandchildren bring us so much joy, but to me he is one special little boy.

Spring, almost

I moved these 2 pots from the side of the garage, we could not see them, they have started their 1st blooms, sadly the frost has damaged the left hand pot, the bottom is broken, after the bulbs have all finished we will pop the pot on the garden and use it as a raised pot for as long as I can.

I love different pots on this table, I have blooms in various pots for most seasons. In these pots I have forgotten what I have planted, so it's a lovely surprise to see what grows. I did click on the tab bulbs on my blog and scrolled back to see what I had purchased. 

I put bulbs everywhere,

 these are under my triple acers. 

This raised bed by our back door has loads of hyacinths growing along the front and mixed bulbs everywhere. I transplanted a pink peony in the centre, but I can't see any growth, if I have lost it, I will purchase another. There is a fuchsia at each end, so the bed should fill with colour until next autumn. 

Buds on an important plant is our garden, mum's peony, I love to see it's shoots every year, it loves this spot in the garden, all I ever do is mulch it each October, to protect it from any harsh winter weather. This is in the middle of my side bed, between 2 yellow rose bushes. 

Not the best photo, look closely and there are loads of buds on our Magnolia tree, and in a few cases you can see pink. This tree for me is the start of the growing season, the bloom grow before the leaves, so soon we will have a beautiful pink tree. 

Our Olive tree has survived the winter so far, I say so far, as March can be a cold horrible month, we have had snow many times in March, it has thrived in this spot, I do feed it every year. 

Our weather is very mixed again, we have had lovely sunny days and now the days are grey with a bit of rain (not enough), all I can do outside is tidy the space, I did cut back some plants by half so we can see the emerging bulbs. I only have one simple job to do this spring, I want to move the 2 arches from behind the raspberries to the back of the garden, so I am not as yet itching to get outside. My greenhouse is full, I have a few pots which look dead, I will wait and hope, most plants can be replaced, but I have a geranium with variegated leaves,  which looks gone, I will be really sad if I have lost it.

It's a nothing week, I have helped daughter babysit, her hubby is away working for a couple of weeks, it's always a joy to do the bath and bedtime routine, loads of stories before hugs and kisses and sleep. 

I am getting very frustrated with a neighbour across the road, we go to sign group together and share driving, within two weeks she has been moaning about our solar light on the front of our house, it illuminates the house number, we have had it there for 3 years, now it irritates her, she lives in the back of her house, so only see's it when going up the stairs, she does not have curtains in that window. The lights are bright, but not bright enough to shine across the road and into her house, I've been out after dark to check, 4 times she has had a huge moan, and also commenting on Pauline's lights next door to us. This Tuesday she has a loud huge moan regarding some old decking planks we gave to her neighbour years ago for burning, she can see them in their garden and it's an eyesore. I have been friendly to her for years, she can be very harsh with words against other people in our sign group, which makes me very uncomfortable, I do see less of her, and this could be the problem, as others in the group don't call to see her that often. Then someone's harsh comments have hurt me, I don't even think they realise how I feel, we are also looking to get the fence replaced, so I am feeling a bit down. I will bounce back, I always do, but so many people now think it's OK to speak their minds harshly, I am a soft touch, I always see the best in everyone, giving second chances all the time,