The colours of your new plants are just scrummy Lia! Your border is going to be a joy! Well this week has been all about raindrops on roses hasn’t it? I’ve got soaked twice - once on a walk when all I could do was sit on a bench under a tree and listen to the pitter- Pat all around me, smell the rainy scent and enjoy the gorgeous view for half an hour. A lovely time which did my soul good, even though I was very wet by the time I got home! Other joys have been - the wonderful birdsong in the garden - thank you blackbirds, wrens, and thrushes. Evening pickings of veg from the raised beds for dinner including gorgeous new potatoes, and a summer concert of music and poetry on Holy Island - lovely setting and very inspiring all round.
Emerald fields of sweet corn. Cicada song so loud it drowns out everything else--the sound of deep, slow, sleepy summer in the American South. Sitting outside with the cats only at dawn and dusk because the other parts of the day are too hot to be pleasant.
I have noticed this week the change in light, to the more mellow, golden hue! This is in Scotland anyway and I do love it, regardless of this noticeable march toward Autumn!
Love the wineberries Lia - my three things are , one, people emerging from school sports day with meddles and rosy cheeks. That “end of school feeling” painted palpably on every face (teachers and students alike!). Second, a colours of July” wildflower bouquet - dried grasses in myriad of browns, achillea in soft pink, sorrel and dock in dusky red, lady’s bedstraw, willow-herb, fennel, knapp weed. These gentle colours are such a strong contrast to the scarlet coloured hippeastrums I’ve seen bending under their own weight in peoples front gardens. Third, an evening with intermittent rain, eating white bean Fasoolia with feta, fresh basil and crusty bread, the backdoor open, to then sit by candlelight with a little expresso sketching in pastel. A very slow sort of week - contrast to all the travelling I was doing last week!
2 large bagfuls of large blackberries from our plant, picked day by day in anticipation of the next ones turning red to black, beginning plying the first lot of yarn I’ve spun during the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry , eating handfuls of podded peas straight from the window box
The weeping saint keeping his promise here in Lake Worth, Florida: We've not had a day without rain since St. Swithin's Day. There's been sunshine, as well, but always some rain.
The pool is still full of tadpoles (some are tiny frogs now!) so the children and I went in search of creeks to splash in. We evaluated two: one full of squishy mud perfect for making little pots, and one rushing over rocks giving the impression of playing in a series of waterfalls. We enjoyed both.
Drunken bees on the alium drumsticks; two gossamer winged dragonflies investigating the garden; an hour of complete peace watching the herons and two inland guillemots at Edgebaston ponds.
I've learnt something new! I've known The Guillemots as a band from Bristol. I had no idea they are also birds. I looked them up and they are not birds we have here in Florida. Our friends Davy & Kristin McGuire directed one of the band's videos. It's lovely and, I think, very magical and summery: https://vimeo.com/37899969.
Sounds lovely! I used to work with a lawyer in central Birmingham who went off to meditate at Edgebaston reservoir every lunchtime. Must be a beautiful place.
Part of my work is running a canine enrichment centre and on Sunday I had a visit from a very nervous and traumatised dog. He is very scared of people, so he arrived and I stepped outside and watched him from behind the gate as he started to explore. He was very tentative and I spent most of my time standing stock still, and holding my breath so not to disturb him. As I stood and watched a butterfly carefully landed on my travel mug and the sunny day became perfect
Ah, good old St Swithin. I love the rain when it's soft and drifty, less so when it's hammering down and wrecking everything. Today it is the former, so I'm trying to be grateful for it.
We are having a cooler and wetter than usual summer here in Alaska. The locals are complaining along with the tourists but the gardens are very happy! Infact every living thing is lush and vibrant. We have two newly paired cranes visiting daily, a family of spruce grouse roaming the bluff and tree frogs everywhere. It would be nice to have sunshine but I agree rain is better than forest fires. A dear friend with lung issues said this is the best weather for her as she can breathe in the cool moist fresh air with out any problems. We need to remember to count our blessings because there are many! I love your post and pictures!
This week has been all about the short sharp rain showers, they come, they go, dodge them if you can! Secondly between those showers the most pristine beautiful newly emerged butterflies putting on a wonderful show in the garden. Thirdly, the garden itself, being off work for 2 weeks I’ve hours to spend joyously flitting from one catch up task to the next, bliss!
I have always loved reading all the comments and finally got around to adding my own three things - picking cherry plums from the tree in our garden that nobody remembers planting; watching and hearing the newly fledged young buzzards calling to their parents as they swoop over the old quarry behind our house; spotting a very bold Great White Egret in the local pond fishing for it's breakfast.
Our first growing season with our little French potager is starting to bear fruit - literally, in the case of the plums. Courgettes aplenty, tomatoes ripening, two fennel bulbs maturing ... oh and so much beetroot, perfect as we live in goat cheese territory.
I walk in the garden dwarfed by acanthus towers blissing the bees with pinky white petalled flower heads . The studio is full of nettle yarn and sketchbooks detail plant tassels noted on walks and close up encounters with our wild plants . Nature at this time of year with the rain and sunshine seems to blush with emerald greens and the wink of red admirals painted ladies and little blue butterflies -tis a wonder in the city -gardens are our sanctuary 🙏🌀🌿🥀
The colours of your new plants are just scrummy Lia! Your border is going to be a joy! Well this week has been all about raindrops on roses hasn’t it? I’ve got soaked twice - once on a walk when all I could do was sit on a bench under a tree and listen to the pitter- Pat all around me, smell the rainy scent and enjoy the gorgeous view for half an hour. A lovely time which did my soul good, even though I was very wet by the time I got home! Other joys have been - the wonderful birdsong in the garden - thank you blackbirds, wrens, and thrushes. Evening pickings of veg from the raised beds for dinner including gorgeous new potatoes, and a summer concert of music and poetry on Holy Island - lovely setting and very inspiring all round.
This might be my favorite description of a week of British summer !
I love the image of you enjoying the rain from under a tree.
That all sounds magical, Sue!
Emerald fields of sweet corn. Cicada song so loud it drowns out everything else--the sound of deep, slow, sleepy summer in the American South. Sitting outside with the cats only at dawn and dusk because the other parts of the day are too hot to be pleasant.
You’ve really conjured up a very different world there. The daytime heat must be a challenge, but what beautiful dawn and dusk moments.
Hopefully you have the leisure to slow your schedule to accommodate the heat.
I have noticed this week the change in light, to the more mellow, golden hue! This is in Scotland anyway and I do love it, regardless of this noticeable march toward Autumn!
I need to pull out my atlas to see if we share a similar latitude. The light here in central California also has a new intensity.
I think latitude here is same as Labrador on the east and the Alaskan panhandle over on the west…
Quite a difference. Thanks for the clarification.
Love the wineberries Lia - my three things are , one, people emerging from school sports day with meddles and rosy cheeks. That “end of school feeling” painted palpably on every face (teachers and students alike!). Second, a colours of July” wildflower bouquet - dried grasses in myriad of browns, achillea in soft pink, sorrel and dock in dusky red, lady’s bedstraw, willow-herb, fennel, knapp weed. These gentle colours are such a strong contrast to the scarlet coloured hippeastrums I’ve seen bending under their own weight in peoples front gardens. Third, an evening with intermittent rain, eating white bean Fasoolia with feta, fresh basil and crusty bread, the backdoor open, to then sit by candlelight with a little expresso sketching in pastel. A very slow sort of week - contrast to all the travelling I was doing last week!
I love the sound of your wildflower bouquet and it’s soft hues Ella - and the white bean Fasoolia sounds just delicious! What is it exactly?!
It’s a kind of Middle Eastern bean dish - very simple, made with tomato and white beans. Like a very elegant baked bean dish!
Lovely way to use your precious home grown tomatoes!
Must try that Ella
2 large bagfuls of large blackberries from our plant, picked day by day in anticipation of the next ones turning red to black, beginning plying the first lot of yarn I’ve spun during the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry , eating handfuls of podded peas straight from the window box
The weeping saint keeping his promise here in Lake Worth, Florida: We've not had a day without rain since St. Swithin's Day. There's been sunshine, as well, but always some rain.
The pool is still full of tadpoles (some are tiny frogs now!) so the children and I went in search of creeks to splash in. We evaluated two: one full of squishy mud perfect for making little pots, and one rushing over rocks giving the impression of playing in a series of waterfalls. We enjoyed both.
Drunken bees on the alium drumsticks; two gossamer winged dragonflies investigating the garden; an hour of complete peace watching the herons and two inland guillemots at Edgebaston ponds.
I've learnt something new! I've known The Guillemots as a band from Bristol. I had no idea they are also birds. I looked them up and they are not birds we have here in Florida. Our friends Davy & Kristin McGuire directed one of the band's videos. It's lovely and, I think, very magical and summery: https://vimeo.com/37899969.
Thanks for sharing this enchanting video. It gave me another 4 minutes to put off cleaning out that closet under the stairs.
Some things are better left put off.
Beautiful video, thanks for sharing. The song is now on a playlist 😀
I was muddled - they were cormorants rather than guillemots. Guillemots still a real life thing though!
I’m glad you were muddled; I never would have known about guillemots otherwise!
Sounds lovely! I used to work with a lawyer in central Birmingham who went off to meditate at Edgebaston reservoir every lunchtime. Must be a beautiful place.
Eek - they were inland cormorants, not guillemots! Still a surprise to see inland.
Part of my work is running a canine enrichment centre and on Sunday I had a visit from a very nervous and traumatised dog. He is very scared of people, so he arrived and I stepped outside and watched him from behind the gate as he started to explore. He was very tentative and I spent most of my time standing stock still, and holding my breath so not to disturb him. As I stood and watched a butterfly carefully landed on my travel mug and the sunny day became perfect
The most amazing peaches that tasted as good as they smelt!
A fabulous brioche, berry and mascarpone dessert.
Drinks at twilight.
I love the flavours of summer food and the long evenings outside enjoying it.
When you hit that small window of a perfectly ripe peach it’s like winning the lottery!
Ah, good old St Swithin. I love the rain when it's soft and drifty, less so when it's hammering down and wrecking everything. Today it is the former, so I'm trying to be grateful for it.
We are having a cooler and wetter than usual summer here in Alaska. The locals are complaining along with the tourists but the gardens are very happy! Infact every living thing is lush and vibrant. We have two newly paired cranes visiting daily, a family of spruce grouse roaming the bluff and tree frogs everywhere. It would be nice to have sunshine but I agree rain is better than forest fires. A dear friend with lung issues said this is the best weather for her as she can breathe in the cool moist fresh air with out any problems. We need to remember to count our blessings because there are many! I love your post and pictures!
Tree frogs everywhere! What an image!
This week has been all about the short sharp rain showers, they come, they go, dodge them if you can! Secondly between those showers the most pristine beautiful newly emerged butterflies putting on a wonderful show in the garden. Thirdly, the garden itself, being off work for 2 weeks I’ve hours to spend joyously flitting from one catch up task to the next, bliss!
Have a wonderful week ahead everyone. Xx
I’ve noticed so many butterflies in my garden this week too! Enjoy your blissful garden tasks!
Thank you xx
The best kind of gardening - enjoy!
Thank you x
I have always loved reading all the comments and finally got around to adding my own three things - picking cherry plums from the tree in our garden that nobody remembers planting; watching and hearing the newly fledged young buzzards calling to their parents as they swoop over the old quarry behind our house; spotting a very bold Great White Egret in the local pond fishing for it's breakfast.
Love the mystery of the tree 😄
A beautiful three and full of lovely “ word picture images” - thank you Tracy!
Delighted you're joining in. Gorgeous things x
Our first growing season with our little French potager is starting to bear fruit - literally, in the case of the plums. Courgettes aplenty, tomatoes ripening, two fennel bulbs maturing ... oh and so much beetroot, perfect as we live in goat cheese territory.
Mmm home grown roasted beetroot is so yummy!
I walk in the garden dwarfed by acanthus towers blissing the bees with pinky white petalled flower heads . The studio is full of nettle yarn and sketchbooks detail plant tassels noted on walks and close up encounters with our wild plants . Nature at this time of year with the rain and sunshine seems to blush with emerald greens and the wink of red admirals painted ladies and little blue butterflies -tis a wonder in the city -gardens are our sanctuary 🙏🌀🌿🥀