Gentle Reader ~~~ how I wish I could share with you, not only the fragrances that scent the air but the sounds of The Shire ~~~ for this very morn I awoke to golden sunlight streaming through my window and when I opened it wide to let in those sweet scents of the rambling rose and pinks just outside, the sounds of The Shire tumbled in too ~~~ the bees are a buzzin' in the buds that are blooming and burgeoning with pollen for them to make honey for tea ~~~ the birds are a twittering and a tweeting their songs ~~~ and the most joyful sound of church bells pealing out across the valley and the parish on this blissful Sunday morning in The Shire ~~~
Today there are raindrops and sunbeams, a mystery and a find ~~~
Over on Facebook, where some of us are Friends, I have been taking part in a "One Hundred Days of Things that Make me Happy" ~~~ right now we are up to day 31 ~~~ but yesterday I said that one of the things that makes me happy is looking at things differently ~~~ so here is the underneath of one of the cream Oriental lilies that opened this week, and we are looking at it differently ~~~ one thing that stands out to my eye is that it is anything but cream! Look at all those colours within the petals ~~~ from the normal view it would be more or less just cream but from underneath there are the most vibrant and delicious deep purpley~reds ~~~
The farmers have been making hay while the sun shines ~~~ at the end of last week these fields were cut and already they are starting to show signs of greening up again for the next cut of hay or silage ~~~ I love the patchwork effect, all the different textures and colours too ~~~ and the old, red clay ridge tiles of a chapel abandoned long ago and now turned into an art gallery ~~~
I told you there is a find and here it is ~~~ are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin ~~~ a long time ago
my dear Aunt gave my mother a clematis as a
birthday gift. With all honesty I cannot tell you exactly how long ago
this gift was given, but it is at least eighteen years, maybe more, for it was in the ground a long while before I came to live in the cottage in The Shire ~~~
The plant did not thrive and eventually did not return and so was
proclaimed lost, never to be seen again ~~~ until this very afternoon
when the bad weather suddenly lifted, the grey clouds disappeared, the
sun started to shine brightly, and my eye was drawn to something
purple~pink in the middle of a very large patch of Japanese Wind
Anemones ~~~ I went to see what it was {for curiosity always gets the
better of this enquiring mind} and Oh! My Giddy Aunt ~~~ if it isn't a
clematis flower ~~~ I began pushing back the anemones and carefully
tracing as many of the multitude of spirally tendrils and stems as I
could unravel and could hardly believe my eyes as they traced right back
to the very spot where my late father planted the clematis all those
years ago ~~~ indeed it must be the very same plant given to my mother
all those years past and that has not been seen in the garden for nigh
on twelve years. It has either lain dormant until the conditions were
right, or it has grown in the deep shade underneath the planting of the
border, not coming into the light until this year. It is a miracle ~~~
The climbing frame that supported it has long since rusted and been
thrown out, so with nothing to hand but a few bits and pieces and my
imagination I have rigged up an emergency support from two shorter
supports and a few iron poles that were lying around ~~~ I have twisted
the fragile and spirally growth around and will shortly {after my tea and
cake} go and tie it on to the support for added stability ~~~ a small
piece snapped off so I shall pot that up too and see if it takes ~~~ I
do love free plants ~ what gardener doesn't? Here are some photographs and it looks in a very healthy condition to me, despite the adventure ~~~
Now to the mystery ~~~ isn't this a lovely blue flower? Well ~~~
this was found in my 'waiting to be composted' corner ~~~ I knew it came from a packet of Seeds of Italy Radicchio seeds and had been overlooked and run to seed, but had no idea what it is. It was correctly identified by one of my Facebook friends who follows A Garden In The Shire page as a chicory flower! How amazing is that? Now I want to grow these just for the pretty blue flowers ~~~
One of my favourite things in the garden are my herbs and this corner is alive with busy buzzy bees all day long ~~~ with lavender, oregano, rosemary, and more to attract them in ~~~
The fennel blooms are tight and ready to unfurl ~~~
The borage, brightly blue against the feverfew, will make a lovely garnish on a Pimm's or G&T
Do you remember just last week I showed you this? These are the tiny transplanted mixed leaves I sowed a few weeks ago ~~~
Well, less than a week later here they are! My goodness they are growing well ~~~ I will harvest some today for a small garnish which will encourage them to grow more quickly ~~~ soon I will have a salad bowl a day ~~~
Bees love the verbena bonariensis and they are now opening up with another source of pollen and nectar ~~~ I started with just three plants about twelve years ago and now they grow, self seeded, throughout the garden ~~~
The poor verbascum carries on blooming beautifully despite being denuded of leaves ~~~
The Nigella has started going over into these magical seed pods ~~~
and something is growing in a discarded pot ~~~ I know not what so it will have a chance to prove it's worth and then I will decide to keep it or not ~~~
Looking at things differently again ~~~ the reflection of my garden and deer antlers in a shiny silver orb ~~~
and never despair when it rains, for we need the rain, and then it gives us rainbows ~~~ or in this case ~~~ some bright clouds and raindrops on a window pane ~~~
When the sun comes out after a long, cloudy, grey day over The Shire it does it in style ~~~ how magical is this ~~~ the radial rays of sun through the cloud ~~~ like some old master painting or an Art Deco pattern ~~~
Finally ~~~ when life gives you raindrops ~~~ take photographs! More of the garden from a very different angle again ~~~ upside down and back to front ~~~
Until next time Gentle Reader ~~~ remember that ~~~
~~~A Gardener's Work Is Never Done~~~
