A Leap of Faith

Hello Friends!

I have taken a huge Leap of Faith and now the border in front of my patio and French window that looks out over the lawn sports a gaping gap, almost end to end, where the Pieris, buddleia, and Frances E Lester rambler bloomed of late.  They are still there, but greatly reduced in size as they were getting out of hand, blocking my view of the garden and keeping all the late afternoon sunshine off the low, raised borders that mark the edges of the patio and the lawn restricting planting choices. 

It's a risk I've had to take, a Leap of Faith, for I needed to open up the space so that I can find the original edges to the lawn border to enable me to get in and clean it.  It's hard enough weeding on your hands and knees to begin with, but even more difficult when you can't see what you are doing because of leaf laden branches on shrubs, or worse, being impaled on dagger like rose bush thorns. 

I know the rambler will be fine.  Most roses, delicate though they appear, are tough as old boots and respond well to a good pruning.  

The buddleia, well, we all know that they are nigh on impossible to kill.

It's the Pieris that worries me.  It was a gift from Dad's niece.  I have researched it well, and apparently they, like camellias, can take hard cutting back, almost to ground level.  It was getting leggy, all top growth and woody stems, so I've made the Leap of Faith and cut it right back, hard.  Very hard.

 

Now all that's needed is to clean around them, feed them, and tidy up the remains to make good shapes as they regenerate and regrow.

I had planned on making the borders deeper and having a little less lawn, but now I have found the stone edging, which has been hidden for years, I realise it's the original edging put in place by my Mum about thirty eight years ago, and I like it more than I remember, so am leaving it as it is.

Finally, the small, raised border will have better light and fair play for me to plant out the potted and patio roses and lavenders that I so long to see from my window.

Storm Ellen battered us, followed by an unprecedented second named August storm in under a week with Storm Francis. On the day in between I got out and did as much post Summer tidying up as I could manage, and picked another 2lbs of blackberries.  That's four pounds in two picks.  I have already enjoyed an apple and blackberry pie, and turned the rest into juice for making jelly.

I successfully avoided walking headlong into these lovelies and although I doubt they survived the recent weather I know more will have already taken their place.  It might be time to cut those seed heads if I'm going to use them this Autumn.

One of the great comforts during lockdown life has been rediscovering bread making. What a joy it is, to create something so simple yet so immensely satisfying as a loaf of bread.  Here's one I baked the other day, a rustic Farmhouse loaf.  Perfectly crusty on the outside and delightfully light and soft on the inside.  Absolute heaven toasted and slathered in unsalted Welsh butter with Marmite and slightly softened cheese on top.  Of course, you may prefer a different topping.

Then, there have been several bowls of windfalls after the storms.

Sometimes, these apples are Snow White red all the way through.  So pretty, and often the applesauce turns out quite pink, but not this time.

My favourite way to use these up is to make applesauce, but think I'd like to make another applesauce cake again, or an apple topped cinnamon cake. Delicious.  This time, I kept it chunky.

In clearing some corners, I found these.  Mum and Dad were given some garden centre vouchers about twenty years ago, and picked these garden ornaments.  I had forgotten all about them but am so happy to have found them, and I love how they are weathering.

It's funny, I have never been a fan of garden ornaments, but now I cherish these dearly.  I've cleaned them up, not too much, for I love the aging affect of lichen growing on things, and now they adorn the lawn, along with my Ddraig Goch.  I wonder what he dreams of?

Do  not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup!  

He needs a small make over, and I think we can arrange that.

In honour of the turning seasons, I have brought out my Autumn Sunflower socks.  They're ever so comfy as well as looking pretty.  Almost too pretty to wear shoes with, but in the cottage of a seamstress, going barefoot, no matter how comfortable, is not a good idea at all.  

My Happy Socks! How can you not smile when you see Happy Sunflower Socks?

Until next time

Be responsible, and stay safe

Deborah xo

When Summer Rain and A Treasure Arrive at the Cottage

Hello Friends!

Thank you, and a heartfelt welcome, to several new followers who have found their way here in the last few days. I hope you enjoy my ramblings and photography, and I love it when you join in and leave a comment to say “hello!”

Before I share what’s happening in the garden, you may recall I mentioned that my favourite author, illustrator, and Happy Person, Susan Branch, has so brilliantly and thoughtfully arranged for her beautiful bone china mugs to be made available here in the UK for all her UK followers.  Well, it has since happened, and you can buy them from Nursery Thyme in Devizes {in person or online} and guess what? My Autumn mug arrived in today’s post! I could not be happier with it, it is so perfectly Autumn, and just a darling mug, both in pattern, shape, and to hold ~ as well as to treasure!  Do you see the attention to detail by continuing the pattern down the handle? Can you hear my squeals of utter delight? Although my birthday is not for a few more months, this is my very special birthday gift to me ~~~

Perfect companions! 

Always counting our blessings

attention to detail!

I’ll take a moment to gather myself before moving on!

~~~~~

Summer rain, sweet, soft, gentle summer rain has fallen for days across the garden, and sometimes it has been not so soft, sliding sideways like needles in horizontal torrents with a rare summer gale blustering in from the Atlantic Ocean.  There’s not much to be done when the weather misbehaves other than hunker down inside and wait for the gales to blow over and make yourself comfy and cosy indoors with a big pile of books and plenty of hot tea and cakes ~~~

Once the winds and rains have passed, it is time to nip out quickly between the showers with my camera to see what is happening. Some of you know me well enough by now to know that rain on plants is one of my favourite subjects, so this morning was another such excursion ~~~

There was a little damage, my poor Verbena Bonariensis were lying down and having a rest across the path as their whippy stems failed to keep up with the lashing winds, but they are now snugly tied back up using the hydrangeas as support. The Alchemilla Mollis is also flat, but once the sun comes out and dries it, it will perk up and be resplendent as ever. It is one of my favourite plants: it fills gaps in borders well; is very tolerant of both lack of care and too much fussing; its acid yellow makes everything around it come alive with colour; and it makes a pretty addition to any small arrangement of flowers. A most appreciated plant indeed.

Everything looks pristine, freshly showered and still sprinkled with raindrops, and yes, some raindrops on roses, but no kittens, not today, I think the rain has driven them away!

The Musk Mallow is looking very pretty indeed as it wraps around my ‘corgi’ which was a gift from a corgi loving friend.   The Monkshood {which is not doing so well this year} is one of my favourite colour schemes as it has a Bindweed {Morning Glory} twined up its spike, and I just love the striking contrast of purple, green and white in combination.

"IGRAINE"

The succulents, despite the rain and cloud cover seem to be preparing a few more blooms in the cluster ~ I am looking forward to this!

And in a rare moment of sunshine, a beautiful butterfly settles on a raspberry leaf to warm its wings while opportunity strikes ~~~

Until next time ~~~

~~~Deborah xoxo

Papaver Orientalis "Coral Sea"

Gentle Reader ~~~

Today, I'm sharing with you one of my favourite stars of my flower borders ~ my Papaver Orientalis "Coral Sea" ~ a beautiful, oriental poppy in the most delicious shade of orangey pink ~~~ {the colour reproduction here does not do it justice}

I bought a small potted plant from a local, independent plantsman's garden that just took my fancy about five years ago, and when I got it home I struggled to find a spot for it. In it went though, with not much thought other than concern to get it into the ground, and it obviously loves its spot, for it flourishes ~~~ the first year it rewarded me with about eight tea cup sized blooms of the most delicate tissue papery flowers I think I have ever seen. The following year, the plant nearly doubled in size and gave me about eighteen blooms, slightly bigger, and staggered in their flowering so that the beauty graced that corner for a few weeks longer than the previous year.

In its third year, the plant was even bigger and there were so many blooms {I lost count after thirty} that I now no longer count them, I just look for their arrival and eagerly await their grand entrance, for, although short lived {only a few brief days each bloom} they are big and blousey now, each bloom around five inches across, but still of the most delicate nature, like tissue paper dresses to adorn a prima ballerina as she sweeps across the stage, delighting all who see ~~~

The buds are gorgeously green and fabulously fat, and quite hairy, resembling a misshapen Kiwi fruit ~~~

For days the slowly appear, pushing upwards from the mass of leaves that form the plant, teasing me as more and more appear in the wings ~~~

Each passing day, they plump and fatten ~~~ until ~~~ one sunny Saturday morning as Spring is slowly turning to Summer ~~~

~~~and then the real magic begins ~~~ on Sunday ~~~ as the bud bursts open ~~~ and the true beauty is revealed ~~~

It is quite unfortunate that, as the buds begin to burst, {and many are ready to do so in the next few days} a band of torrential rain and high fifty to sixty mile an hour winds is set to sweep across us from the wild Atlantic and this is not the first year this has happened ~ oh! Timing is Everything! The first few buds will be sacrificed to the weather, but after that the forecast calls for lighter winds, warmer days, with no rain so the buds~in~waiting have a better chance of showing off their splendour.

As each year turns the seasons, the plant just goes from strength to strength, and now I am watching as it spreads around a nearby rose shrub and now covers several square feet in my border! I maybe should consider seeing if I can divide the root and make more plants to spread around the borders, increasing the beauty even more ~~~ there are more Papaver Orientalis too ~ a Royal Wedding {white petals and darkest navy blue centre} and a perfectly plumptiously plummy Patty's Plum and they sit in my 'holding bed' where they, too, are multiplying madly! Hurrah for Free Plants!

~~~A Gardener's Work is Never Done ~~~