Yesterday, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, perfect for taking photos of the garden. The herbs outside the kitchen door are doing well, but we haven't had any strawberries yet, as the birds have eaten them!
the olive tree has a lot of new growth
this is a perennial sweetpea
which is just about to flower
I love the curly tendrils
when we moved in, almost all of the garden was covered in grass, so we have gradually been adding plants for colour
this is looking over to the far corner of the front garden
the raised bed which Malcolm built is looking established already
and the two clematis are twining round the tree stump
this little apple tree has been sadly neglected. It leant way over to the right, but having put in a stake and a pro
per tree tie, it is gradually straightening up. It will need a good prune next spring
the apples might look good, but they aren't even as big as golf balls!
this is looking the other way across the front garden. The little bit of red that you can see is an ancient old supermarket trolley bag, which Malcolm uses to collect the trimmings when he tidies up the hedge
one of two small beds Malcolm dug out at the end of the path to the front door
this is the other one
the log store is now painted - it was only when I saw the photo on the laptop that I realised that I had taken it at a rather strange angle!
there are rather a lot of nasty nettles under the hedge at the back of the garden. I tracked down a weed killer specifically for using under hedges, and Malcolm sprayed a trial patch of nettle today. Hopefully it will get rid of the nettles, as I find nettle stings to be particularly painful
the compost bin is filling up nicely, and the rhubarb is growing well
this plum tree only has a few plums on it (sorry about the washing on the line!)
whereas this one has lots
some of which are changing colour
I have designated this area the orchard - in addition to the plum tree, it now has a raspberry cane and a blackcurrant bush. I also plan to add a gooseberry, and perhaps a blueberry
there is a narrow verge in front of the house which is mostly grass (or perhaps I should say weeds masquerading as grass!) There were two small completely overgrown flower beds with a small strip of grass between them. Having tried to prune and tidy the overgrown plants, I decided to dig the whole lot up, including the scrappy bit of grass, and have planted some new plants
I will plant some bulbs in the autumn to give us spring colour
when I was taking the photos, these two starlings were keeping an eye on me
as was this pigeon. The weird contraption it is sitting on is a chimney guard, to stop birds getting down the chimney
and now for the cake! When Stuart and Alison's friends Fraser and Linsey asked if they could come down to visit us, I said of course they could ........ as long as Linsey baked one of her special cakes for me! So when the four of them arrived on Saturday afternoon, this was the first thing unloaded from the car (even before the beer!)
I had made a compote with strawberries, fresh orange juice and vanilla - a perfect accompaniment to the very rich chocolate cake (and did you spot the caramel sauce in the middle!)
it has been another lovely day, but clouds are beginning to gather, and thunder is forecast for later ..... so just typical British summer weather!