Loads of colour

This is the first thing we see from our sitting room windows, the red just zing, I do like to have a couple pots on my table, as you can see we have had more rain. 

This smaller table is hardly ever sat at, but it does brighten the corner of the decking, I have had the plant in the blue pots for years, The olive tree is a great back drop. 

Our olive tree is full of olives, we are hoping they all ripen, not sure what we would do with them, but I will check on internet and find suggestions. 

The passion flower I moved is racing ahead, along with my sweet peas, which as yet I had no flowers. There is some twisted willow in there as well, again I used a branch off our tree for supporting the sweet peas and it has rooted, so soon another plant I will pass on. 

Our blackberry harvest is brilliant this year, 

already we have a bag full in the freezer. 

I got 9 packs of spring bulbs for under £10, from Homebargains, we popped to B&Q, but they did not have any bulbs, so went next door. You don't get loads of bulbs in the packs, but for my pots it's better to have a few of more plants. I still need a few different ones, but for me it's a case of see them and get them.

 Wednesday it rained all day, any worries of how dry the ground is have gone, the water butts are all full, the balance in the garden is complete. I have more seeds to start for spring flowers, this is the 1st time I am sowing seeds at this time of year, normally I buy the plants, I won't sow the whole packets (you do get less seeds for your money these days), I am hoping to get a good mixture of plants. 

Wednesday morning we had George whilst Will went swimming, he is learning to swim, but mummy does have loads of issues getting him into the pool, Will loves water, so it's strange how he always refuses to get in the pool. Later we popped out for lunch, Will loves our local bistro, which was full as no one wanted to sit outside in the rain. Loads of cuddles with Will and George, and loads of quiet time after they went home. 

Next post will be a craft catch up, I am doing well on the babies dress, I have started another fine granny square blanket, and I have seen a lovely knitted square blanket, which would use loads of my baby merino wool left over from my lap blanket. 

Under glass

My forget-me-nots are doing well, I hope these will fill the garden with loads of tiny floating blue flowers next spring. 

My passion fruit plants and salvia hotlips are all growing well, I hope to get a couple salvia into the garden next month so they can settle in and regrow next summer. The passion fruits will all be given away. 

Violets and Violas starting to grow, 

these will fill my pots with winter colour.  

I have 5 pineapple plants around my home, this one in the greenhouse is the best looking, I have another one growing well in my office, the last 3 are all much smaller.

Succulents, some I have had for years and loads with tiny new growth. I do love my pots, the brown 'chamber pot' I have had since the 70's, I no longer own the onion pot which matched.

My hydrangea cuttings did well in the Perlite, and had lovely roots, so I planted them, but left them were the rain could water them, they have gotten too wet, so I am hoping they come back, if not, I will have to start again.  

 I also have a tomato and cucumber plant in the greenhouse, both are producing fruits, but not as many tomatoes as the outside plants and the cucumbers have stalled, there are a few starting to grow again, I think for a week it was just too hot in the greenhouse. My nasties and succulents both loved the hot days, every plant is looking good. 

My 1st task everyday is to walk down my tiny garden and check the greenhouse, open the door and ensure everything is as it should be. 

We have been having rain most nights, not storms, no thunder and lightening - very very frightening (sorry, sing along), and the days are now cloudy and dull, but it's perfect weather for the garden.

Yesterday Will and George came with mummy, for a couple of hours I also had a neighbour's children, so 3 of them ran around the garden playing, Will was the youngest, but he happily shared the toys we had. Later we popped to our neighbour's to see their new puppy, both of their children were so happy and excited. 

Babies and new life

Walking around the garden, I noticed another passion fruit plant growing, I have already dug one out, and on closer inspection I have another growing here as well. I already have 3 growing in my greenhouse, I will be passing plants on next spring. These have been dug out and potted on, they were all growing from one long root. 

Don't you just love babies,

 I hope for 2 new strawberry plants.

I have babies everywhere

These look interesting,

 one on a clematis and the other on a honeysuckle. 

I got a pack of 3, these are small, but hopefully just what I need, I am not doing well on my cuttings, Monty and Carol on Gardeners World make it look so easy, I have in both cases cut the outer 'bark' on the plant stems, the ball is filled with farmyard manure (better than compost as it stays moist longer) and tied these over the open bark. Now I wait to see if the roots grow, if they do I cut just below the ball and I have a new plant.

My Orchids inside are also showings nice signs of new growth, on the left should yield flowers, probably in September, on the right loads of new growth from the base, I have never regrown this plant, so it's a case of wait and see what I get. 

The weather has always improves my mood, it been a great few days, doors open, pottering early in the mornings, I even enjoy watering the garden in the evenings, outside is such a healing place. Watching things burst into life and grow is the best medicine, grubby fingernails is always a sign of enjoyment. 

We did visit Will, George mummy and daddy at home on Saturday afternoon, another lovely play afternoon, simple pleasures. 

We decided to pop to an out of town shopping center, it's not far from home and is not undercover, they had a one way, keep left system, the outside space is huge as are the shops. Back in March we decided we needed to change our hand towels in the downstairs bathroom, just as lock down started, I don't like buying towels online, so finally we headed to the huge M&S, hubby needed a pair of black trousers, which he got. I decided to treat myself, as you know I do not buy much clothes, as I am trying to wear the contents of my wardrobe, but with my weight loss and the fact most of my shorts are tatty, I choose a couple pair of 3/4 longer shorts, not cheap, but they will last for years. We got what we needed and no extra, we did pop in the £1 shop and got a few things and then home, no coffee stops and we drove past a couple garden centers.

I have done a tiny bit of reading and almost no craft, my grey socks are growing, but I can't focus on anything. My orange knitted top still needs the bands done, but I can't decide on which way to finish it, I don't want to unpick to get more of the same yarn, because the body of the top looks good on me, the orange contrast works, I just need to choose the design and get it done. I still have no idea on what to make next. 

Back home

Just a simple pack of seeds, but I have had so much trouble obtaining these, can't get them or any plants locally, I have a tall pot in the middle back of my herb garden, and I want it full of these daisies. I finally got these on line, after first checking they came in this packet and not sent from China. 

We have new growth on our passion flower, these are tough fast growing plants, we have a couple of months for it to grow, which should allow a few flowers next year, flowers grow on second year and older stems. The clematis is still dormant, I will leave it until next spring, give it a chance to come back. 

Hubby having the best of times.

Blackberries in July.

I have done loads of reading, I did not read The Infirmary, it was a prequel to another murder, and I don't enjoy when story lines go out of sequence, this makes 55 books read this year. I am not going to read anymore of these books. 

We had a brilliant couple of days in Somerset, seeing both Logan and Finn, mummy and daddy was great, we did keep our distance, but might have had a quick cuddle, our boys have grown so much. We spent one day with my brother, sister  and her partner, outside in my sisters lovely garden most of the day, chatting, doing normal things, later we popped to the village pub for a burger, again sat outside, social distancing is so normal to us now. The last day we drove to Castle Combe race circuit, where hubby drove an e type Jag, it was a birthday gift from his children, his birthday was last September, he loved driving this iconic car. 

I found the few days away very uplifting, as I have said before simple normal things make me happy. 

Last night I gave the garden a good watering, this morning we have picked more tomatoes, there is a cucumber which will be ready for  the weekend, we have started to pick ripe blackberries in July, as a child we always had blackberries in September. 

What's growing

The greenhouse is full of cuttings, most are doing well, most of these are salvia's of different colours, I also have a couple lavender and honeysuckle, plus a passion flower which rooted in the garden. 

I am following Monty's advice here and have softwood cutting in Perlite, held in a tray of rainwater. I have a couple of Hydrangeas, a Clematis, a Rose, and a few smaller cutting in the round pot, they have been here for a few weeks and none have died. 

Will loves my string of pearls, 

so I have popped a few in this little pot, just for him

My Amaryllis seeds at the back are strong, I do have a few of these potted up, 

and at the front is one of the pineapple babies again looking good. 

Another Coleus cutting rooted, I have planted in a pot, it will live on outside table, hubby love these colouful plants.  

This lovely looking succulent has taken weeks for this flower shoot to form and it has been promising to bloom for the past week, I do hope it will be worth the wait. 

We are away for a few days, back home in Somerset, staying with my brother, everyone here is good, we have visited family, staying most of the time outside keeping our distance. We have no desire to book a short break away, not wanting to stay in holiday accommodation, but we do have the need to catch up with family.  

We even managed a pint in our local village pub beer garden, just sat outside chatting and catching up, no days out, just family and resting, back home tomorrow. 

Colour all around

Kirk leading the way, his hair is looking good, I moved him to this cooler spot as he was getting really hot in the sunshine. The black cable is tacked to the wall behind and nothing to do with Kirk, my Jasmine  behind which I cut back is now a deep green of new growth. 

Just some of the many flowers in the garden, 

so much colour and loads grown from seed. 

Pot's will always be loved in my garden

The herb bed is done, the poles are there until they grow bigger, for protection. I moved the smaller round hoops to the left of the bed, and popped a bigger round hoop on the front right, to be able to grow a mixture of tender herbs. My pomegranate in the big clay pot I will move once the fruit net is packed away. The Rosemary is at the back, I did cut it back and now I can see new growth.  

My raised bed, not looking so great, but I am watching for new growth on the replanted climbers. I am not planting much in here this summer, I have a plan for next year, but for now I want to be able to watch the climbers come back. I also want to plant a honeysuckle when I have created a new plant.  

These became a main meal for bugs when planted in the garden, so they are back in pots, each is showing tiny signs of new growth. 

This makes me chuckle, carnivorous plants all together in a water bath (they love their roots in rain water)  with a fine spiders webb, mainly around the pitcher plant. 

I treated myself to another planter, this is bronze, I love the handle, and had been watching it on a facebook selling page, once the price came down to a level I felt happy with, I got it. It will have to be placed out of direct all day sunlight as it can become hot, now the fun of deciding what to plant in it. 

We did get a visit from daughter, Will and George, on Friday afternoon, just long enough for Will to eat most of our fruit, typical growing lad, 'hello Nanna, I'm hungry', I do love he is always looking for fruit and never asks for crisp and sweets, I know it will change as he gets older. 

Most of the weekend has been sat outside, watching and listening to the small birds in the garden, they are very entertaining, the warmth of the sun is great again, Saturday we had more cloud, but still warm, Sunday was a beautiful day. It does feel good to be able to sit and enjoy the space we have created, it's full of life and colour, and for a change, I can sit and not see anything which needs sorting, both hubby and I love a chat over coffee and a small treat, home made cake or biscuits.

Hubby has started working on 2 benches, one child's size and a full size, he's not so good at sitting and doing nothing, again purchased second hand, so he has plenty to keep him busy.

I have not done any knitting or crochet, I have been reading, the heat makes me tired in the evenings, which is not a great thing when crafting. I have been thinking about  designs for a glass fusion, I hope to be able to make it soon, I am hoping I can make one good enough for a gift for my sister. 

Just another lazy weekend, no desire to pop anywhere, it's peaceful and safe at home together, 

At the bottom of my garden.

We removed the arch, already there is so much light in this area, we will remove the perplex from the fence, it was there as a back to my original lean too greenhouses, as seen in this post. You can see my 2 tomato plants, which means they get more sunlight. 

I managed to dig out (with hubby's help) the passion flower shrub, I cut back most of the top growth as it was wrapped around the arch, I am not worried as the roots were great and this is a fast growing plant. I also dug out a clematis which had never grown strong, both are in my raised bed, in hope they will grow and fill the fence here at the bottom side of the garden. I have also taken 3 honeysuckle cuttings (after watching Carol on Gardeners World on Friday) in hope to get a plant to grow, this area could be very colourful. I do have other plans for the front of this raised bed, but they are for next year. 

In the corner I was able to remove the smaller square chimney, which was hidden and replace it with the matching taller chimney, both are now planted with begonias, and have enough height for the plants in front to look good. I have cuttings from the English lavender growing in hope to have a second plant on the left of this bed, not much grows in this section the ground is heavy clay. 

The square chimney is at the end of the raspberry canes, this geranium was in the bigger chimney here, I will later this week cut it back it has become straggly.  

Out side my shed, I have planted one of my new plants, and I have moved this triple planter away from the back corner, it can be seen now from the garden, my sunflower plant is growing but still not big enough to go into the ground. 

This spot along the fence outside my greenhouse is really pleasing, the triple acer which I have just popped into the bigger pot is doing well here, it's now full of flowers and colour, as before it was a messy corner.  

Looking towards the garden and house, this is along the steps to the back section, I have a Belfast sink next to my big acer, and a yew growing in the blue pot, the wall it is next to is the garage. 

I purchased this stand a few years ago, I have the idea to plant it with french marigolds, which looked pretty as seen in this post, but they only looked good for a couple of weeks, so I found another use for this, I do like pebbles around the garden, these came from the dried riverbed I removed from the greenhouse. At some point these will all be used and then I will have to find a new use for it. 

My rain chain which holds water I popped under the Magnolia tree, the small birds love using it, I always ensure there is clean water in each flower. I do have a bird bath here as well, just a plant pot saucer filled with water. We also have another water feeder near the back of the garden.

This rain chain, which is watering cans allow the rain to run through, the cans have no bottoms. 

I am really liking the garden without the arch, when we first put it up we had a climbing rose, which was always green but only ever a few flowers, it grew so fast I am sure it must have been a rambler, we took the rose away, and then in 2019 I added the passion flower, it was great, but the sweet peas I planted every year in the raised bed never grew, so the arch was never balanced. We can now see the whole of the greenhouse, it's does look much lighter, we did agree we would purchase another arch if we missed it, but I don't think that will happen, I am really pleased how the bottom of the garden looks. We did the work on Friday afternoon and I watered in everything, and was pleased as it rained through the night and on Saturday, allowing the plants to have a good drink. 

No other outside work has been done, we have had the most blustery few days, it's felt more like a warm autumn rather than summer, we sit and watch all our plants thrashing about, luckily nothing is being damaged, but I'm sure it can't be doing any good.

Will enjoyed being back at nursery, even if it has changed for him, he did not want to go, but mummy received photo's 10 minutes after she left him, he was happily playing with friends. Saturday we walked to the village and had an early lunch in our local Bistro, we were one of the 1st customers, it was great to be doing something normal, as said before I am happy to be in our village. 

Today daughter is bringing Will and George for the day, we have blue skies, so hopefully we will be in the garden, I want Will to help me pick blueberries and blackcurrants and check the raspberries. I also want him to see the tomatoes and cucumber growing on their plants. 

I have done some crafting, I will post photo's in my next post,  and I've started another book, reading from my kindle.

Crafting, or lack of it

My Christmas socks,  I love the colours and the stripes in these, a comment made on my last post about these socks was, you are making for Christmas already, yes I am knitting these, but only because I wanted to use some colourful yarn, I'm not that organised at all. 

A second pair started for hubby, this time I used the green 1st, I will knit these both at the same time.

 My next choice of book, another new to me author.

 Beautiful blooms are coming

 Blueberries with loads of flowers

 Blackcurrants doing well

 Loads of gooseberries

 I moved my passion flower to a sunny spot, near my arch for support, it is doing well here, can't wait to see the flowers. 

I spend lots of time wondering around the garden, looking at things, willing them to grow, and in my greenhouse, nothing big left to do, just tending to plants.
Hubby did some work in his front garden, he has removed all the Spanish bluebells from his corner raised bed, it's looking good. We also need to weed our gravel where we park, I do hate the gravel, but it works well, other than pulling weeds out. He has two big pots, which he needs to choose plants to go inside.
We did pop to B&Q for my chicken poo pellets and a low wire boarder fence, hubby spotted a English Lavender plant, which he liked, so it's now in our back garden. I am loving he is choosing plants for the garden, before he always left it up to me. I have added the pellets to my stash list, the other things were for the garden upgrade.
Bank holiday Monday we met daughter at a cafe at our local sailing club, nice lunch sat inside watching everyone on the water. We then took mummy and Will for a walk around the waterfront, it was great to be outside.
I am full of cold again, so no sign class, I'm keeping my germs to myself.