Phlox in flower

Random Harvest

Haven't really got our act together since we came back from holiday so out today for a bit of minor tidying.......................pulling up obsolete bolted lettuce, chard and rocket and planting more salad, picking beans and peas, cutting down some wilted borage etc. everything very lush................first blueberries now ripening so no need to go all the way down the garden to graze...............first tomatoes appearing too but still green. courgettes cropping steadily, runner beans ditto.............haven't looked at the potatoes yet to see what they're up to. PSB planted for next winter and delphimium seeds harvested...................

strawberries ripening...............

the veggie bed, note artichoke (very tasty) and courgette flowers................

giant teasel flowering - sort of....................

parsley, geraniums and busy lizzie "Pastel Shades" - just looks like the old-fashioned pink one that everybody used to have to me....................

our gooseberry crop. aren't they lovely? - tasted nice too. not bad for only its second year............

patio planters. almost all the nasturtiums this year are volunteers, which makes for nice surprises as of course there's no way to know what variety they are............contrasting nicely with the Mystery Herb in the next pot. patio clematis "Arabella" just visible in the blue pot to the left, looking so happy that we're hoping she might flower....................

And from the front garden.................

marigolds "Gay Ladies" - yes, really - from the Botanics shop..............

the roasted rose

glad to see it flowering this year............i think it may have been a climbing variety called "Compassion" but not sure............runner beans in the background............

morning glory "Heavenly Blue" - certainly is...................surviving outside so far on the warm wall. its little mate "Kiss Me Quick" is climbing away in a pot next door, no sign of flowers yet but i'm hoping it will feel inspired by this one's example............

the day lilies again, showing thmselves off against a background of catmint...............

someone else in favourite sunbathing spot.....................Lysimachia "Firecracker" in background, just not quite out yet...............

this is my best side..................

frog on favourite sunbathing slate. as i approached for my daily inspection there were two sploshes, but this chap is more intrepid, or possibly more vain, and decided to wait while i went and got the camera and came back to take his picture.....................

today's results....................

compost heap 46 degrees. Michaelmas daisies now flowering. tiny squash beginning to appear, very exciting. 3 more sweet peas, 2 large strawberries yum, one gooseberry, lots more rasps. Carrie off to work with the last of the sugar snap peas (possibly...............) caraway sprouted overnight. morning glories now outside, weather immediately turned cool but they are not daunted and still flowering so far. Christmas cacti outside for summer hols. 2 frogs sunbathing side-by-side on the slate this morning, very sweet.................

hemerocallis "Catherine Woodbury".................now fully out. mystery one not out yet, the other bad is less sunny, so don't know what kind it is yet.......................

geranium "Burgundy"...................these didn't do very well last year, like many other things, and have been quite slow to get going, but very pretty so worth waiting for...............

wot a beauty.................

we have already eaten a couple of small courgettes but this one was lurking unnoticed in the veggie bed, about to become part of tonight's stir-fry............

Clematis thoughts

(on Carrie's pruning)
if i'd wanted a buzz-cut i'd have joined the Marines...................

the daily round, the common task.......................

at this time of year the garden is so active that it's time for a daily inspection. it goes like this.
1. Wake up. Prise felines off bed, make drinks, serve feline breakfast.
2. Get up, prise felines off bed again; personal grooming activities
3. Toast in greenhouse. Inspect and praise tomato plants and tender herbs.
4. Inspect containers. Admire courgette flowers and patio salads, praise and encourage geraniums, busy lizzies, morning glories etc.
5. Progress down garden. Note splooshing noises of frogs leaping from pondside sunbathing stone back into pond; wonder again why they don't get sunburn and why they haven't noticed they would be a lot safer under the water where the Kitski can't eat them. Admire planter bench and containers, praise and encourage California poppies, diascia, honeysuckle, lavender and jasmine. Read little soppy poem again. * Marvel at height of runner beans, admire flowers, do witch-in-Hansel-and-Gretel thing again over tiny beans too small to eat yet.
6. Crouch beside pond and observe frogs. Frogs crouch on stones and observe humans. Kitski sits in undergrowth tinkling slightly** and radiating hopeless longing, wondering why hunting skills seem to have gone off all of a sudden.
7. Admire beds. Dead-head roses, cornflowers etc, smell sweet peas. Note new flowers on day lilies, roses, godetias, crocosmias, rudbeckias and anything else just out or about to be out.
8. Worship veggie bed. Test temperature of compost heap (this year's record so far: 48 degrees!) Coo over veg and salads, eat bits of leaf, pick fruit.
9. Return to greenhouse and do it all again...................

*The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth

........sweet, eh?

** now wearing a lovely new collar, with bells..............

first sunflower. the ones we grew from seed have not done so well this year.............probably because we waited too long to plant them out and they got all spindly. some are in a pot at the front...................but we think these are self-seeders from last year. i suppose the advantage of that is that the ones which most like the conditions will be the ones most likely to self-seed and reappear, so selecting out the best varieties for our particular soil............the sweet rocket hasn't been nearly so long-lived this year, i think it's really meant to be a biennial so maybe we should plant some now for next year.....................

Crocosmia "Lucifer" !!

meadowsweet

the first sweet pea

giant teasel...............it's the one on the right..................

runner beans doing their stuff...............

tending the veggie bed................look at those beautiful sugar snap peas!

cornflowers "tall mixed" and "polka dot". this time we actually kept the packets so it's interesting to compare the pictures on the packet with what really comes up. i can't honestly say that the flower varieties look hugely different...........the main difference is the height. one Shirley poppy is still hanging in there too..............

i think this might be one of the new lilies i planted....................only it doesn't look like any of the pictures, so maybe it's one that was moved from a container...............no idea, pretty anyway, though..............

each day a new beginning...............

or rather a new flower. the first sweet peas...........................the first sunflower.............the first godetia...............the first crocosmia.............the first California poppy (in the bed)..................rose "Curiosity" now putting up flowers, and meadowsweet fully out and giving great wafts of scent. we have a glut of salad.................lettuces bolting slightly, bulls' blood now ready to eat; the Greek cress turns out to be quite nippy so best used as an addition rather than on its own. dill and chervil sprouting, and the banana mint and mystery herb (?golden marjoram) doing OK in the greenhouse..................we also have beautiful home grown basil "Genovese", and the Thai and lemon basils are loving the warm weather. the blue morning glory is flowering indoors, and the multicoloured one "Kiss Me Quick" has just moved outside, only as far as the doorstep. runner beans now flowering, raspberries cropping heavily, and we've eaten the first gooseberry and the first blackcurrant. the day lilies have flower spikes.............we have no idea where the day lily in the perennial bed came from, or what kind it is, so that will be a nice surprise when the flowers appear......................
Carrie has tidied the pondside in an attempt to stop the Kitski from hunting the frogs, we have also put a bell on her, to which she takes great exception.............she's put in some salvias and a penstemon rescued from Morrison's to fill the gaps.................
we never say much about the front garden, but actually it looks fab...............the patio clematis "Arabella" is now racing away up the front wall and looking very well. Nigella "Persian Jewels" are on their way in a pot and in the ground...............i'v bought a climbing frame for the jaggy rose, and it would be nice to see some flowers from it.................the totally neglected rose under the tree is flowering profusely on what seems to be almost no light. a bit of tidying is needed..............the aquilegia are finished and need to be cut down, ditto Sheila's geranium...........that yellow thing i thought was a weed turns out to be "corydalis lutea" apparently..............however we do have one very large, very strong and very determined dandelion right in the middle of the bed, it is indeed a weed and it will be leaving soon............

Stir-fried greenfly

warm weather continues so more things to eat developing, we have eaten the first raspberries, sugar snap peas are on the way along with spinach, lettuce, Greek cress, borage flowers (for the drinks), radishes and chard. first cornflower now out and the meadowsweet, the yellow rose not of Texas and also a beautiful orange rose next to it. hebes in full bloom and flower spikes now appearing on the day lily. and most exciting, the passiflora is not dead after all! just a little slow to get going obviously. at the front i've put in some busy Lizzies to fill the gaps and self-seeded nasturtiums..............the aquilegia are pretty well finished so some areas look a bit bare. the pot clematis looked extremely unhappy and dead for a few days after re-potting but has now begun to put up shoots, not dead after all, hooray! have moved the pansies and put in some marigolds "Gay Ladies"...........couldn't resist that one really......................

Summertime................

..........and the livin' is easy............or at least the sun is shining and there isn't much to do except admire everything, the warm weather has really brought stuff on so all the roses are out, the Shirley poppies have started to bloom and all the hebes have flowers................raspberries beginning to ripen and lots of lovely salad and spinach to eat............hours of harmless fun frog-watching, they are getting visibly bigger but will not have much chance to do so if not careful..........i guess the frog brain is not very large so thinking it's a good idea to climb out of the pond and sit in the undergrowth quickly selects out the ones that have failed to notice a large furry presence with claws and fangs also sitting in the undergrowth with frogicidal intent..............Carrie has been working hard on the compost and is most excited to discover that it's warming up like it's supposed to................43 degrees!! a proper "hot heap"...............it looks absolutely beautiful and she has just added some Hill House cow poo, these roses and rhubarb don't know how lucky they are.............

Delphinium

First Shirley poppy, with catmint

Oriental poppy

California poppies

June is bustin' out all over.............

amazing what a difference a wee bit sunshine makes, although the cold North wind is not very summery...............back from idyllic week on Iona to find everything burgeoning, no other word for it. organic rose absolutely covered in flowers...........the paeonies have taken a bit of a beating but some still aren't out yet. two California poppies out beside the patio rose. all the seedlings seem to have survived, the cerinthe, sunflowers and sweet peas.......... salads looking lovely and little onions and bulls' blood emerging in the veggie bed. many raspberries appearing.............. Chinese cabbage are bolting so we need to eat them.............the patio veg still a bit shocked from being moved but i'm sure they'll soon start growing away..................French tarragon to which i spoke severely has got a grip and looks much healthier, and so does the lemon basil...................

Oriental poppies out at last!

this is my best side.............

so besides photographing the frogs i have actually done some gardening............most of the stuff in the greenhouse is now out. the French tarragon and i are having a bit of a battle of wills, it doesn't seem entirely happy and i'm not sure what to do to cheer it up, it certainly didn't like being outside so it's in the greenhouse and seems a bit better, but not doubt spends the night along with the Thai basil lamenting how bloody cold it is in Scotland and why can't it go back to France.................
chinese forget-me-not out in the annual bed, no doubt to be forgotten and stood on accidentally or dug up by the cats. busy Lizzies into pots, sweet peas in the ground, sunflowers at the back of the perennial bed. tomato plants into tubs, climbing French beans by the door, although if they take the same attitude as the tarragon we can forget eating any beans i think...........one courgette in a container, just to see. canna lilies outside...............i don't think it's warm enough for them here but they've never flowered in the greenhouse so we'll see how they get on.............have thrown some coreopsis seeds in the ground, we tried them in the greenhouse last year and they were abysmally slow, no point in saving them i don't think so they might as well be in the ground and take their chances, Cosmos ditto..........everything watered, and hoping for some more of this good weather.................

the Welsh poppies and Lysimachia "Firecracker", the poppies are volunteers but have placed themselves very nicely to show off their contrasting colours...........

the organic rose, just as beautiful this year as last..........

diascia, so pretty.............

Norma's rose

ths s the same view of the annual bed as last month..........the catmint much bigger, the rose now out and all the cornflowers and sweet peas coming up..............note patio apple in its pot, just finished flowering.........

wildlife photographer of the year..........not..........

finding the frogs has of course been terribly exciting, and we are as determined to take their pictures as they are not to have them taken. i have put in a nice bit of dead wood for them as a posing platform, but they prefer to lurk in the undergrowth or under the water with just their noses showing. Kitski also likes to lurk in the undergrowth, but possibly for a different reason.............today is very hot, and Katisha is out cold in the sun and not doing any type of lurking at all. the lawn is growing very fast, and the first paeony is out. so is the organic rose, and Norma's rose is flowering for the first time, beating the orange patio rose by some distance. the Greek cress has started to come up already..............no idea what Greek cress is but i gather it's something to eat so will be joining the salad party...............
the Oriental poppies are way behind this year, usually they've flowered and finished by this time, however they have loads of flower buds so the slower start doesn't seem to have done them any harm. i've put the Cerinthe seedlings in the perennial bed, after moving the potentilla, which has already started to produce its very pretty blood-red flowers. the sweet rocket took extreme umbrage at my attempts to tie it up and quite a lot of it died, but the lower clump is still thriving, so i've trimmed the dead bits off the upper clump, it clearly wants to do its own thing and lie along the ground so i've let it, and it looks very pretty, pure white against mum's yellow spirea and the purple dragon-wing plant............. i also moved a little clump of something growing at the front, may be weeds but did look a bit intentional, although i have no idea what it might be. anyway it's now at the back beside the lilies...............a few self-seeded sunflowers have appeared too, and their greenhouse friends will soon be coming to join them.........

right in front of the coconut shell is a little pair of bulgy eyes...........

Yes there really is a frog in this video, if you look carefully you can see a wee slimy nose............they were not co-operating with having their pictures taken, but there are at least four and possibly more. We are thrilled, after Kitksi ate their mum and dad last year we thought there would be no froglets this spring and certainly couldn't see any spawn, but there they are all splooshing about............hope to get some better photos later............

Veggie blitz.............

Beautiful warm sunny day. Much pottering. Have mowed the lawn twice because it didn't look any different the first time..............maybe need to set the blades lower..........Carrie planting out the small veg, sweet beetroot seedlings, sugar snap peas, rainbow chard, plus sweet peas and sunflowers. i've put the potatoes in their barrel and put in some more salads. first organic rose just out............have rescued the diascia from the pot by the pond and put it in beside the delphinium. mulched the container plants and fed the fruit. planted out the marjoram. cumin looking a bit unhappy but i don't know what it's supposed to look like at this stage.............

PS

thanks you and goodbye to the purple sprouting broccoli. it was fantastic. so tender and tasty............welcome to the rhubarb, still a bit skinny but also tasty..............and thanks for your efforts to the volunteer nasturtiums in the veg bed, nice try but that isn't where you live, you'll be much happier in the window box trust me..............

red lettuces in the veg bed. note also giant chard which has been there all through the winter............

tamed catmint..............annual seedlings and volunteer Shirley poppies.........

the lilac tree. i must admit the description "dwarf lilac" seems a little misleading..........but as long as it's happy.........

Angi's bay tree and friend. note carrot seedlings in the tub just developing tiny leaves...........

Lilac time

Flowering madly, and great wafts of perfume in the garden which is lovely.............showery weather but not cold and some sun so everything really bursting out and growing fast. the organic rose and the paeony are just about to flower but the oriental poppies are lagging a bit this year and we even have one or two daffs still going. lots of borage coming up everywhere it's not supposed to be so i've moved some out of the annual bed........the new potentilla has a flower, deep red, very pretty. in the greenhouse the salads have now moved outside, some red lettuce into the veg bed and some in a pot, and i've planted some cucumber seedlings. new bay tree from Angi in a nice square terracotta tub looking very elegant. have tried to tame the catmint to leave room for the sweet peas which are all ready to go out..................the basils are very slow, but it has been quite cool, ditto the marjoram and busy lizzies.
front garden has gone completely mad, to think i once thought nothing would grow there...........once the bluebells have finished there will be some tidying to do, but not yet, it's all too pretty at the moment................

corner by the pond looking pretty, Mum's spirea, Welsh poppies, persicaria and lemon balm

sugar snap pea "Sugar Bon".............mmmmm, those were lovely last year, hope they do OK.......plus volunteer bit of wild garlic

the veg bed. radishes in front; spinach and chard in the middle; sugar snap pea at the back, yum, and the artichoke trying to get in the picture........note cat-proof cage!

perennial bed. new potentilla beside the tree peony and new rudbeckia "Irish Eyes" at the back, also fennel, sweet rocket and euphorbia. oriental poppies not out yet.

annual seedlings just starting to come up. also many weeds.................

delphinium again

runner beans and parsley in their barrel. delphimium in its slug-proof (we hope) pot. beans were slow to get going last year but when they did zoomed right up to the roof and produced loads of beans, so here's hoping.........

the herb area - note lovely chives (with flowers) and rescue rose (v grateful)

look at all this beautiful salad..............rocket, lettuce x 2 and Chinese cabbage......

seedlings in the greenhouse

I'll be with you in apple-blossom time..............

which is now. very pretty, the three patio apples in their pots are all flowering, and the cherry at the front. the front garden is positively verdant, it's obviously decided it doesn't want to be paving so stuff is growing everywhere and it looks rather nice. a small cherry tree is sprouting by the front door, i guess we'll have to pull it out in case it undermines the foundations but it isn't doing any harm for now...........
greenhouse seedlings well away and we are now eating fresh salad ever day, soon be time to move the salads outside. carrots and parsley sprouting, basils off to a slow start but appearing at last, and for the first time the cumin as well. damned lovage back again and we also seem to have a mutant variegated borage seedling in the herb bed................
annuals in the warm bed sprouting, lots of weeds too but easier to pull once they're bigger..........some self-sown Shirley and Welsh poppies have appeared, and a clump of honesty in the wild wood. Epimedium very pretty this year with yellow flowers, but the Cystis much slower to flower than usual. have planted some more lilies for summer flowers against the wall. the Dame's Violet is back, a bit frostbitten but ready to flower...............not sure that the Passiflora has survived after all though, no sign of anything happening which is a bit sad........
bought some new things at Redhall, a potentilla with silvery leaves which i think will have red flowers, and a Rudbeckia "Irish Eyes" - in honour of the ancestors! a delphinium too which we're keeping in a container to try and slug-proof it, i've never succeeded in growing them but the flowers are so pretty....................
paeonies just about ready to come out..........and maybe even the one at the front, which has *never* flowered............that would be exciting. we will certainly have blackcurrants this year; the rhubarb is up and we've eaten the first of it, strawbs are looking healthy, gooseberries have tiny fruit forming, and there are even figlets on the tree................