The weather here has been pretty grim. Howling winds and heavy rain have taken their toll on the garden. This fabulous clematis is now battered and broken. At least I got to enjoy it in it’s prime.
An awful lot of fruitlets have been blown off, but it’s still looking like a good year for the pears, apples, plums and cherries.
It looks like it’s going to be a bumper year for beech nuts too, the red squirrels will be pleased. No doubt they’ll plant the blighters everywhere.
I have the most intelligent peony in the universe, it closes when it rains so I get to enjoy it for at least ten days.
Viper’s bugloss, raised from seed, is flowering, despite the wind and rain. It really is the most delicate shade of blue.
The water lilies are emerging and now the tadpoles have transformed themselves into the tiniest of frogs. Astonishing how a creature can do that.
The Manuka bush, beloved by bees, doesn’t seem to be at all bothered by wind and rain. It’s turning out to be a tenacious little shrub. This picture does not do justice to those gorgeous tiny blooms.
The rose arch is hanging on by the skin of it’s teeth…..this was a “before” shot.
In other news, the greenhouse is full to over-flowing, hundreds of plants now need potting on…..
and strawberries are ripening, and as they’ve not been netted, they are being devoured. I can’t even blame Sam for once! Potatoes are flowering too, time for a little foraging methinks. Everything seems early this year, even the broad beans are setting.
Birds continue to be released, one of my greatest pleasures! Happily, most are still around and are joining my ever growing flock!
Just look at those little darlings, utterly baffled at suddenly being free again!
I spent £70 on durable, robust dog toys. Half of them lasted less than thirty minutes….sighs…
And Finally….
as usual, summer finds me painting Christmas cards. These are for the rescue.
Your clematis is fabulous as are all the other flowers. Love the header with the Canterbury bells and the daisies. Shame they got a battering recently. We’ve certainly had varied weather with the strong winds and then the heat. I hope all your animals are coping and thankfully it seems to be getting cooler again. Oh Christmas! When you think about it we’re halfway through the year already! The pictures you’ve painted for the cards are charming. i like the dog with the red outfit. Take care and i hope you have a relaxing weekend.
Thanks Linda….I think you are the only one who likes the dog so far! It’s hard keeping animals cool during a heatwave, the rescue is a mass of fans at the moment. Oh…how time flies!!!xxx
Lots to enjoy in your garden. What a magnificent clematis. And I am very impressed by your Manuka bush, I didn’t think they were hardy.
Hector doesn’t just destroy toys, he swallows them whole. That dog keeps the vet going.
I love the cards, what a talented lady you are. I don’t know how you find time for everything you do.
I have two Manuka bushes, they are slow growing but seem indestructible! Oh noooooo, poor Hector! Sam was the same, he had to have surgery and almost died eating a dog toy. Thanks Chloris.xxx
I hope everything’s recovered from the wind battering with the lovely weather we’ve been having. I haven’t noticed any froglets yet, I must go and investigate the pond. Your cards are fabulous and I’m sure they’ll raise lots of money for the rescue, you should sell some on the blog.
It certainly has been warm hasn’t it? The weather seems to go from one extreme to the other! I do hope you have mini frogs….it always astonishes me seeing them that small. Glad you like the cards, I do hope they sell well.xxx
I must agree with you re dog toys! Lol….you do make me laugh! xxx
I don’t think there’s a dog toy on the planet that can survive your crew! I’d love to be a frog in your garden. 🙂
Ah dear! I hope to get able to see live your garden… cross fingers! You have so much to do and is hard to figure out how you get time for your beautiful Xmas cards… Here, since few days the weather turned to be beautiful and summery… after we had snow almost at the end of May!
Hugs and kisses will get in touch with you!
:-)c
Thanks Claudine, we have had a scorching hot week, far better than the wind. Goodness….snow in May?!? It would be lovely if you could visit one fine day.xxx
I’m so impressed w how well your clematises bloom. I’m thrilled when I get just a handful and yours throw out dozens and dozens!
Love those whimsical cards. You’ve captured such joy in those images. I’m sure they will do well for the rescue.
For what you spend on those “durable toys” the manufacturer should send you free ones to trial for them. Buddy, Sam, and Annie could have Jobs!
Clematis does well here, unfortunately the roses not so good. What a marvelous idea re trialing toys….mmmm…may dash off a few emails! About time those three earned their keep! Thanks Anne.xxx
The drive here has been littered with branches, not what I expect to see in June! It’s amazing how resilient most plants are.. glad you’ve got some blooms left to enjoy.
The wind is a nightmare! Certainly not what we’d expect in June!xxx
Oh, that wind and rain. My source of figs went kaput because of rain. We got four inches over two days, and a bumper crop of figs suddenly was nothing more than a fig here and fig there. I’d been so looking forward to them — but at least I got two desserts from my share.
The Christmas cards are wonderful! You’re so talented. I should like the cats best, I suppose, but you’ve made me rather fond of hedgehogs, so I’ll go with that as my favorite.
As for your garden — and all those pots in the greenhouse — you’re a better woman than I. I get tired just looking at all that! But the clematis was well worth any effort it took!
What a shame about your figs, my young tree had three this year but sadly they all fell off! You have me laughing about the hedgehog card, that is Buddy’s favourite, he stared at it long and hard. I do get overwhelmed by pots, but each year it’s the same old thing….can’t help myself! Thanks Linda.xxx
You’re absolutely right – that Clematis is fabulous! As for the dogs, they just need to learn how to take care of their things.
I’m hoping that clematis performs as well next year…a curse on the wind! Thanks Jason.xxx
Good morning Dina….Your garden looks fabulous….and yes at last the winds do seem to have dropped. In fact yesterday and today are beautiful…..warm, sunny and not too hot. My hummingbirdHQ.com lady and her husband came to see me yesterday and we were able to then go to local pub and sit in garden. Hope to do that with you one of these days.,
I LOVE the Christmas cards, especially the one of the three kitty kats…I will need to do some ordering.
Sending love and wishes for you and family – furry and otherwise – to have beautiful summer days. Janet xxx
Thanks Janet. I look forward to sitting out with you…sooner rather than later! All my love to you too.xxx
I love your garden, everything seems to be doing very well, especially considering windy weather. I hate wind in the garden, and I hated it even more when I was teaching…I think children and horses go crazy in wind, running around banging into each other…enough already!
Your Christmas cards look gorgeous, I can’t quite tell how big they are…keep showing us photos.
Thanks Gerrie, to think wind drives kids and horses crazy….never heard that before, I live and learn. When the cards are printed they’ll be square, probably five by five inches. I shall post when they are printed. xxx
Oh, Dina, life and beauty are just bursting forth from your sweet holy corner of the world! I’m not familiar with manuka, but it’s beautiful! Everything looks glorious! I would find such satisfied joy just wandering in your gardens and taking in all the smells and sights.
The greenhouse looks like a good day’s–or more–project. I hope you’ll get the time.
Hooray for freed birds! Yay! Good work, Dina. They obviously love you for it.
The pups looks so sweet and content…please give them smooches for me.
Arghhh! Storms! we’ve been out of town, but in touch with our in-home babysitter of all the 4-leggeds, and they’ve had storms, too, this week. I’m sure my gardens will look knocked about, and we learned another tree fell across the drive. Luckily, she can drive around it, and we’ll have to cut it down and into manageable pieces when we get home. Always makes me sad. Time enough for all that when we return.
But your beautiful post made me so very happy tonight: Thank you, Dina, and much love…
Oh dear…..storms when you are away are such a pain, we came home to a right mess in February. So glad that tree did no damage though, a shame as you say to lose it though. Hopefully your garden has survived the trauma. Thanks Kitty, all my love to you all.xxx
You are such a gem !
Why thank you Judy.xxx
Such a lovely post.
I think your garden looks very nice, with some lovely colour. It never ceases to amaze me how the plants and trees do their very best no matter what the weather is like. We’ve had a few nice sunny days recently and our neighbours roses are looking so good, I think they make me happy seeing them over the fence as they do to them! LOL!
You mentioned Christmas EEK!
I like the look of your cards …
Enjoy the up-coming weekend
All the best Jan
Thanks Jan.So sorry to mention Christmas….lol.xxx
Your garden is like the one in the nursery rhyme, “Mary, Mary etc…how does your garden grow…..” followed by fulsome descriptions, though, in this instance, it’s bright and lively photographs.
The weather has battered the fauna and flora rather a lot hasn’t it. It’s same here. I’m still waiting on a couple of dry hours for a bit of planting of things, although, working with and in squidge, isn’t a tempting prospect.
Xmas already: those cards should make a lot of people happy.
xxx
Thanks Menhir. We have had a heat wave this last week, I do hope you have been getting your share of the fine weather, here’s to your garden drying out.xx
Great photos, Dina! And the cards are so colourful – I especially like the two cats. Hugs xx
Thanks Gill, most people opted for the cat pic! xxx
Despite the destructive high winds your garden still is managing to look lush , colourful and full of life. Love that it is also so evident that there is a wealth of life and activity in your garden~ wee froglets, birds , dogs and all sorts! Superb paintings too( !) for the Christmas cards for the rescue group. A beautiful, uplifting post. xx
Thanks Val, we are having a heat wave this week, the weather certainly is changeable of late. I am always fascinated by frogs and butterflies, incredible isn’t it, how a creature can utterly transform itself.xxx
A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures.
As you say it looks like being a good year for fruit. I laughed at the picture of the dogs and their durable toys.
Well done on the Christmas card paintings, they all look really good. xx
Thanks Flighty. I’m amazed at how many strawberries we have this year, they are lovely when picked warm. I have yet to come across a durable toy!!! xxx
Super Summer is here…looking at and savouring these images of your garden. Most delightful…..Enjoy!!!!!! Hugs! 🤗🤗🤗💕💕💕
The weather has certainly been beautiful this last week, hate to say it but a little too hot for me. Hugs.xxx
Those Christmas cards are exquisite. As for the robust dog toys, I feel for you. The only toys that survive our dogs now are kongs and moose antlers. Anything soft is simply a challenge to see how fast it can be shredded.
Thanks Brenda, kongs are the only toys that last here too, you’d think someone could come up with a more durable dog toy, but I suppose they want to keep on making money!xxx
The wind has a lot to answer for – I hope that we have seen the last of it. Netting fruiy was one of last week’s main tasks
Lovely paintings.
Those winds certainly were ferocious, hopefully we’ve seen the back of them. The strawberries are doing well this year, plenty for us despite been eaten by birds and mice. Thanks Sue.xxx
Your garden is looking beautiful and I’m so envious of your red squirrels – I’ve never seen one in real life. Your Christmas cards are stunning; I’d love to have the talent to paint. xx
Thanks Veggiemummy, we are lucky having red squirrels to enjoy.xxx