Another Monday… #Journal

Another Monday…

The autumn equinox has come and gone. I can feel autumn in the air and see the sudden brightness, as everything in the garden knows their time is ending and is making the most of the sunshine.

One last Dahlia is almost waving goodbye.

Those yellow tomatoes that were planted late have done their level best. Not brilliant, you understand, but we have a few ripe and deliciously sweet baby tomatoes. I will definitely be trying this again next Spring.

It’s time to ensure my bonsai are ready for their winter sleep. Some are already suffering from all the rain we have been having, so I hope I don’t find any waterlogging.

In the past week, I don’t seem to have achieved much despite turning up every day. There have been some baby steps, though, so I am pleased with that. Quite apt, really, considering our recent and very welcome visitor.

The current WIP is approaching the end, something I never thought I would say. I already have a pile of essential notes for the start of the edits, and I am looking forward to reaching that stage.

I struggle to write a newsletter because I can’t think of an interesting theme. Maybe when the dust settles a bit, it will happen.

I don’t have anywhere to put a newsletter at the moment, as I am still trying to find one I can use. It is always possible that my brain is past its sell-by date, although I refuse to accept that.

Now for an irk. It isn’t a rant yet, but it might become one.

I am referring to WP’s new tweaks to the Reader list. I quite like the simplicity of the new format, just not that we can’t reblog as much as we used to. When I try, I only manage to send a short sentence of the original post. No images either; not the same thing at all.

We must enjoy this first week of autumn, for who knows how long it will last…

Six on Saturday… #Flowers for 2024

It is Saturday again, time for more lovely flowers but this time from the future!

Click on the link to visit them all over at Garden Ruminations!

http://gardenruminations.co.uk/2023/09/16/six-on-saturday-23-9-2023/

I have decided to sacrifice a strip of lawn ( I use that term lightly) to create a new flower bed next year.

So I have been daydreaming about the flowers I shall be putting there.

First up are fuchsia. I have been seeing them everywhere I go lately, such lovely flowers…

Then there are aquilegia, or granny bonnets, as we used to call them. We get the odd self-seeded specimen, but I need more…

I couldn’t not include astilbe. Such ethereal, magical flowers…

Rosemary was the source of this latest plan. Someone mentioned how good it was for peace and tranquility, two things we definitely need more of. So there will be at least two of these.

There will be dahlias, of course, and hopefully better colours this time! There will probably be several kinds of dahlia, as I love them all, and I won’t be able to stop at just one…

We have a blue astrantia in the front garden, and I have become very fond of this strange flower. So, there will be at least one in this new bed, that’s if I can choose which colour!

Dreaming of next summer…

The Perfect Flowers… #flowering #blooms

I just knew today would be special.

I just wandered outside for a quick look around before the heat builds up, and the Myrtle cutting that I showed you last week, has flowered. The flowers are tiny compared to the parent plant, but so sweet.

They say we might get some a thunderstorm later, so that is something else to look forward too…

Wishing everyone a glorious weekend…

Macro Monday…

a very special surprise…

I think this qualifies as a macro image, and I was delighted to spot it.

It, of course, is a cutting I potted two years ago from this magnificent specimen.

My beautiful and unusual Myrtle…

Myrtle is a genus of evergreen shrubs that is cultivated for ornamental purposes and as a source of aromatic oils used in the cosmetic industryThe plant has oval to lance-shaped shiny leaves, fragrant white or rosy flowers, and black berriesThe myrtle flower is a symbol of innocence and purity, and is regarded in cultures all around the worldThe plant was anciently held sacred to Venus and used as an emblem of love.”

I have varied success with cuttings. Some are happy to root and do well. But I have a graveyard of pots where nothing happened at all. Story of my life. I think. But it doesn’t stop me from trying!

The most surprising thing about this little miracle, is that most flowering shrubs usually take a long time to flower, so I cannot wait until the flowers unfold…

Could this be an omen that this week will be a good one?

I sincerely hope so, for last week ended in a blood bath, mine!

Post being written as I speak and should land here tomorrow…

#Six on Saturday…

I didn’t expect to find anything still standing after all the torrential rain we have been having lately.

I was pleasantly surprised to find no casualties, although one of the tomato plants was leaning precariously!

The yellow tomatoes are doing well. Sowing the seeds late doesn’t seem to have mattered much. All we need now is some sun for them to ripen.

I am not a very good gardener, as I don’t know all the names of the things I grow. Those clovers, for example. The large-leafed one is some kind of Oxalis, but no idea about the dark-leaved one! It kinda fell into my basket because I loved the colour.

The Love in a Mist I planted have gone over, leaving all those seed pods. Hopefully, there will be a lot of them next year.

I don’t remember planting that petunia, so wherever he came from, he’s most welcome!

The yellow flowering bonsai has been my sister’s pride and joy for years. I used to know its name!

The next few days are going to be the summer we haven’t had, so there should be opportunities for catching up on everything that has been neglected. I have treated myself to a cordless strimmer, to help with all the overgrowth at the bottom of the garden. Affectionately called the Jungle!

The days of bending double or kneeling down are sadly over, I must find easier ways of doing everything, in the house and garden…

Hoping you get some good weather where you are!

Nothing New This Week…

I like taking part in #Six on Saturday, but unfortunately, I have nothing new flowering in our jungle this week…

As my teachers used to say, “must do better…”

Macro Monday…

Our weather really can’t make up its mind. None of the reports are accurate either; it seems determined to rain, no matter what they say. It was on one of my brief trips outside that I found this little gem.

I remember sowing this seed, Love in the Mist, at the beginning of the year. I say sowing, which makes it sound very technical when all I did was toss sprinkles anywhere there was a patch of bare ground. Since then, the mare’s tail weed has taken over; their leaves are very similar, so I wasn’t aware of their pending arrival. I love surprises like this! BTW, does anyone know of an effective way to get rid of this stuff?

Not much of anything was done over the weekend, as Anita hasn’t been well at all, and my carer duties have stepped up a notch. She should see a doctor, but that would take more than my suggestion, unfortunately. We normally have to wait until she is too ill to argue. As for me, I am to have another x-ray, as my back is no better. I also have a cardiac appointment on Thursday.

All in all, not the atmosphere for creating anything worthwhile, but knowing me, I will still try…

we need to get well soon!

Friday Flowers…

Today, we are going to rest. We are both feeling a little delicate and not up for anything much. The sun is shining, so I might wander around the garden later. I will try not to notice how long the grass has grown, as there’s nothing I can do about that, even if I had the energy, as the ground is soaking wet.

I might curl up with a good book, my current work in progress!

See you all tomorrow!

Dahlias… #Flowers

Way back at the beginning of the year, I bought five dahlia tubers as I was determined to finally manage to grow one of my favourite flowers. I did all the right things and was rewarded with green shoots in every pot.

After what seemed like an awfully long wait, the flower buds appeared. There were no clues as to the colour of these buds, but I was confident I had chosen well. Five different colours were what I expected to see, so when the first bud to open was white, I wasn’t disappointed. When the buds on the second plant opened and were yellow, I smiled and continued to wait.

The third plant had huge buds, but disappointment began to creep in as I could see a definite yellow tinge…

Yesterday, the flower opened. It looked amazing, huge with spiky WHITE petals…

Don’t get me wrong, folks. I am delighted to have dahlias in my garden, although the last two are struggling. One is still very small, and the other is constantly being eaten.

But what happened to the colours I chose?

Like these…

I could close this post without showing you something else I have always wanted to grow. It is two years old, so again, patience is a virtue!

My little grapevine, which supposedly will have black grapes… I shall have to wait and see!

Looking forward to a better week for us all… XXX

Truthful Tuesday 25th July

Today, I thought we would do something different, so when I spotted this post on pensivity 101, the idea of being truthful about our miserable excuse for a garden really appealed to me…

Unlike Fibbing Friday, the concept is quite simple in that Di asks a question, and you reply honestly and truthfully.
You can either leave your reply in the comments or write your own post and pingback to pensivity 101 and leave a link in the comments so that Di can find it.

Her question this week is about gardens.

Does your property have a garden?

We live in one of a row of four cottages, and we are all allotted a thin strip of garden. There are no fences, just a path separating our plots. Not ideal, but better than nothing, we thought.

It has never felt like our garden, but we tend it and try to grow flowers.

There are rules, of course. The garden layout is to be maintained as is, nothing added or taken away, so most of the time, I feel like a visiting gardener.

Do you prefer a lawn or paving slabs, hedges, or walls?

There is a lawn, if you could call it that. Moss and weeds make it hard to maintain but maintain it we do. If it were our garden, I would prefer the low-maintenance option of paving. There is a massive hedge on one side of our strip. Over six feet tall and four feet wide. Cutting this used to be my job, being the tallest in the family, but I am too old now. Unfortunately, Luckily, our neighbour cuts it for us now.

I dream of a walled garden, somewhere of our own…

If not, do you wish you had one?

A day does not go by when I don’t wish for a garden of our own, but we do have a courtyard that is private. This is where we sit in the summer and where all my bonsai live…