It’s been too hot to plot…

this week so all I’ve done is have a look round early on and water where needed.  Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far with the temperature almost 35C/95F.  Needless to say the air quality has been poor which has meant that I’ve done little more than spend much of the time lounging about indoors drinking cups of tea.

I’m pleased to see the knee-high cornflowers Polka Dot starting to flower.

Thankfully it looks like being cooler and fresher from tomorrow so hopefully I’ll spending the mornings happily plotting again.

Have a good weekend!

This morning…

I was on the plot well before seven just for an hour or so before it got too warm.

I heard plot neighbour Fran talking to Foxy so I sat down and waited to see if she would appear.  Sure enough she did and sat down between the cosmos and strawberries to have a scratch.

I waited to see where she’d go next and was delighted when she came to within little more than arm’s length away then going over to the pond for a drink.

I’d been told during the week that she was limping but thankfully she wasn’t today.

 

I just watered what needed doing then picked these first raspberries, along with some more strawberries.

 

 

The collomia grandiflora has done better than it ever has before, flowering en masse for most of this month.

It looks like it’s going to be very warm  through this coming week so I’ll be doing little more than I did this morning.

Have a good week!

It’s been dry and warm…

this week, as well as being less windy.

 

I’ve been picking strawberries every day, a few to eat whilst plotting and the rest to bring home.

 

 

I’ve sown poppy seeds some years which have never done well but a few have appeared this year,  small red ones and larger purple ones.

     

I will leave them to seed and see any appear next year.

I’m not growing any California poppies this year but a few self-seeded from last year.

It looks like getting warmer over the weekend reaching  30 degrees C/ mid 80’s F. That’s way to hot for me so I’ll be going to the plot early just to water and pick some strawberries before coming home for a welcome cup of tea.

Have a good weekend!

It was windy…

most of last week, with Tuesday being particularly bad as it rained most of the day as well. Thankfully when I looked round on Wednesday morning I found only minor damage apart from two toppled teasels which had been uprooted so I righted then staked them.

The pot marigold flowers are increasing daily providing a patchwork area of bright colours,  including this one.

 

This cosmos is from one that self-seeded last year.   The plants below are from seeds I sowed a couple of months ago being a mix of the white Purity, red and white Veloutte and an unknown variety which is white with a hint of pink.

I always give Nikki a rose Pretty Lady for her birthday, which is tomorrow.  Some years I’ve wondered if it would start flowering in time but this year I had to remember to take a picture before it finished!   She’s also starting a new job so Good luck and Happy Birthday Nikki!  xx

It looks like being a better week ahead so I’ll be hopefully doing plenty of plotting.

Have a good week!

Tree following, June 2017

Liz’s Tulip popular…Apologies but I’ve been rather busy lately so just a few words and a picture.

 

During the past month this tree here in my Lexington, Kentucky garden has surprisingly grown another two feet so is now around six feet tall.

 

 

Flighty’s Dogwood (Cornus)… Following on from last month this tree was in full blossom by mid-May, and on several warm sunny days it was good to see it buzzing with bumble and honey bees.

Sadly it lasted all too briefly and within a couple of weeks had finished. 

Our thanks, as usual, to Pat, The Squirrelbasket,  for hosting Tree following.

Have a good weekend!

It’s rather surprising…

to see the second early potatoes Charlotte  starting to flower, and even more surprising that the main crop Desiree are as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The same goes for the blackberry bush which is already covered in flowers.

 

 

 

 

I’ve noted at least a handful of colour variations for the pot marigolds (calendula officinalis) Flighty’s favourites so far, with more to come. Here are an all yellow one, and a yellow one with dark centre.

   

I planted out the cucumber Bush Crop during the week so the only plant left to grow on the window sill at home is the tomato Tiny Tim, now around a foot high, which I’ve replanted into a seven inch pot.

Have a good week!

Another month gone

Following some welcome overnight rain Sunday into Monday everything is growing well.

The first row of beetroot Babybeat have finally appeared, and the first lot of climbing French beans Sultana and runner beans Moonlight have all germinated.  The Borlotti beans have yet to show but I seem to recollect that these take longer and are rather erratic. The sweet corn seeds are showing and so far the juvenile magpies haven’t hoicked them out the ground.

It looks like there’ll be lots of strawberries,  raspberries and blackberries this year. Amazingly the grape vine which was frosted towards the end of April has not only grown new leaves but is showing signs of grapes forming.

 

Some of the cosmos Xanthos and dwarf sunflowers Musicbox which I planted out recently already have flower buds on them.

The poached egg plant flowers have finished but the love-in-a-mist are now flowering.

 

 

 

The rose Pretty Lady has already shed it’s petals so I dead-headed it yesterday, which seemed rather strange as it’s usually only just starting to flower around now.  Here it is a couple of weeks ago in all it’s floriferous glory.

 A robin was around yesterday and this morning Foxy appeared, had a drink from the pond then wandered off.

Have a good weekend!