Garden in July and Magic Lights

agapanthus

jasmine

nemesia

It’s been a lovely day and just so nice to see the sunshine again.  There has been hardly any wind either so it was a perfect morning for cycling.  When we got back we had lunch outside on the terrace and then an afternoon just pottering around in the garden.  Paul is cooking paella for supper and then we shall probably watch a film on Netflix.

lacewing hydrangea that was so badly hit by frost

We rarely venture out into the garden after dark, there aren’t many warm, balmy evenings in this part of England.  However, we do have a lot of outside lights fixed to the side of the bungalow so we can light up the terrace should we want to.  Paul has been busy replacing the old and broken lights with nice, sturdy new ones.  He has also connected them to our virtual assistant, Alexa, so she can turn the lights on for us.  All we have to say is, “Turn on the garden lights” and hey presto, the lights come on.  This sort of magic fascinates me. The only drawback is that our daughter, Kat,shares our Alexa account and can probably control our lights from Brize Norton.

not a Lincolnshire photo but the view from my daughter's (Sarah) flat in Sydney

Masks

The rules keep changing but the requirement to wear a mask or face covering seems to be increasing.  I believe it is now mandatory in the UK to wear a mask if you are travelling on public transport and anywhere in public where social distancing is not possible. 

My daughter, Kat, made herself a stylish face mask a few weeks ago so I asked her to send me the pattern.  Yesterday, as it was a rainy day, I decided to make some.  In the past I would have had plenty of old linen or fabric to play with but I have no such resource here in our new home.  But in Kat’s room I found a bag of clothes earmarked for the charity shop and decided to use a red t-shirt and blue striped skirt to make my masks.  For any fans of the Sewing Bee it was a cross between the pattern challenge and the transformation challenge.

Paul and I now have four stylish masks at our disposal in case we decide to venture out into the big, bad world.

A Splash of Colour

When we lived in France we took great delight in having pots of colourful geraniums scattered around the courtyard, it was a very French thing to do.  Every spring we would visit the local nursery and stock up on plants.

The previous owners of our Lincolnshire bungalow were clearly fans of hanging baskets and numerous rusty old brackets were fixed to the walls at the front and back of the property.  These have all been removed now and Paul and I decided we wanted a more understated look as you approach the bungalow.  We placed a stand alone bay tree in a large planter by the front entrance and were very pleased with the overall effect.  Not a geranium in sight.

Except for this...

surviving against the odds

A self-seeded geranium growing out of a crevice between the bungalow and driveway.  It's survived two winters here and we can't bring ourselves to get rid of it!

Obelisk

April 2020

Earlier this year I wrote about this broken lamp stand that we recycled and turned into an obelisk for our climbing rose.  The rose is now in full flower and the obelisk is doing a great job supporting the blooms.

I have waited almost two years for my agapanthus to bloom.  Finally some flower heads have appeared.  I hope they don't get washed away by the rain before they fully open.

agapanthus

A Bit Fed Up

Rick looking out of the window (he is not actually allowed on this chair)

It’s not so much about lockdown, it’s this stupid weather!  Another grey, rainy and miserable day.  Rick can’t play in his garden and Paul and I can’t go cycling.  Well, we could but it wouldn’t be much fun.

I’ve done my household chores (I actually polished the door handles and sorted my underwear drawer today), got some bread out of the freezer to make sardine bruschetta for lunch and some chicken for tonight’s meal and it’s only 9.00 a.m.   I’ve just been thwarted by a scrabble move (Words with Friends) on my phone.  I knew exactly where I was going to make my next move to score really high points and then my coffee morning mate, Ralphie, got there first.  He’s a hard chap to beat at scrabble. And now it looks like Bob is going to beat me too.

Rick is also fed up.  He is sulking because his dad is outside tidying his garage.  A tidy garage?  Whatever next!

sulking dog

Feeling GIddy

I know I'm not supposed to be up here...

I had a strange giddy spell last evening.  I can’t blame it on the wine because I’d only had one glass but every time I moved my head just a fraction I felt dizzy and couldn’t keep my balance.  I staggered off to bed early and couldn’t even manage to read my book.  I kept my head very still and eventually fell asleep.  When I awoke this morning everything was back to normal so I expect it was a temporary disturbance of my balance sensors.  I hope it doesn’t come back, it was very unpleasant.

I was going to have a quiet day but somehow it’s turned out quite busy.  I took Rick out for his early morning walk.  The wind had blown over all the raspberry tubs so I picked them up and relocated them in a more sheltered spot.  It didn’t work, they got blown over again.  I stripped the bed and put a load of washing on.  Pottered about in the garden dead-heading roses and trimming some bushes in the driveway but it hasn’t really been a day for being outside.  Paul presented me with some salvia flowers that had been broken by the wind, I added them to the vase full of other garden casualties.  I washed some lettuce and boiled some beetroot, we are going to have a chicken salad for dinner tonight.  The chicken breasts are currently marinading in a garlic and herb concoction I threw together.

Rick has now been out for his second walk of the day and is fast asleep on his rug.  He doesn’t like being outside when it’s windy, I think the noise of the trees makes him nervous.  Our supermarket delivery is due shortly, it is very efficient and making us quite lazy.  We often used this method of shopping in the past when the children were young and we were both working full time but Paul is one of those people who love wandering around the supermarket aisles so eventually we will return to our pre-lockdown method of shopping.

Ah, the shopping has arrived.

Windy Day

The wind is gusting this afternoon and causing some damage in the garden.  The lupins and foxgloves were completely snapped off.  I don't often pick flowers from the garden but I gathered a few roses and a hydrangea head to keep them company in the vase.

Our apple and plum trees are laden with unripe fruit at the moment, I fear that this wind will break a few branches.  Well that's nature and the weather isn't it?