The Garden Year: August 2024

August 1, 2024

Welcome back to this month’s Garden Year linky - if you were here last month, it was great to see you. If you’re joining for the first time, you’re very welcome. The linky will stay open for the whole month, so I hope you’ll pop back during the month. I’m looking forward to reading about your garden projects and garden visits.

It’s hard to believe that we’re on our second August in this garden - plans are starting to formulate, but they need more detail, a lot more detail. We’ve started by measuring the garden, every which way you can imagine, and I think MOH ‘gets’ the concept of the zones I’ve tried to convey, but a picture says a thousand words and all that, so hence the more detailed plans.

But until then, there’s still too much gardening to do!

Advice, inspiration and places to visit

RHS advice: jobs to do this month
Gardeners World advice and inspiration
National Trust gardens and parks to visit
English Heritage historic gardens to visit

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Walking East Stoke's lanes: June 2024

July 30, 2024

Following on from last month’s update I was right to think that the cow parsley would be more of a thing, and along with the elderflowers the hedgerows around our local lanes have been full of white ‘frothy’ flowers, and so much more besides.

The wild roses and oxeye daisies were a particular favourite of mine, and still seems unusual to see these growing so well on the side of the road - but that’s the Londoner in me I guess!

The big news for Moor Lane this month is less pot holes - which is no mean feat. A complete resurfacing would have been preferable, as it is for many country roads around here, but patching the pot holes is a close second - especially when it’s whole sections like this. That’s a much better approach to the literal patching holes approach, as that never seems to last very long, and must be more expensive in the longer term.

That said while it was good to have the pot holes tackled, tarmac-ing the edge of the verge seemed less than ideal.

A patch of tarmac filling the (many) pot holes — MOOR LANE

Tarmac on the edge of the verge too — MOOR LANE

For the first time in this series I bumped into a tractor along my walk - and a tall one at that. I was glad to be able to stand on the verge and watch this one pass with a friendly wave from the farmer.

While a walk down Moor Lane and back again may not be the most interesting of walks, I do enjoy seeing the walk in reverse. Somehow the same scenes take on a different feel, and the trees and the pylons against the sky are always a favourite.

The pylon against a large blue sky - with wild roses in the foreground — MOOR LANE

There were more elderflower bushes - and large ones at that - along Church Lane. We didn’t pick any this year, but have previously made elderflower ‘champagne’ with mixed success, and thankfully no exploding bottles - though it came close!

When we reached the banks of the river we were able to get much closer than previously, and the grass paths were looking especially verdant. As we looked over to the pub and buildings on the opposite bank for the first time we saw the glimpse of a wooden pier, though this was as close as we got as wading through comfrey and nettles wasn’t going to happen.

A verdant green grassed path heading towards the River Trent

A glimpse of a wooden pier in the distance looking through the overgrown pathway

And how pretty are those comfrey flowers?

Thanks for joining me this month, I’ll be back to sharing the next instalment around the third week of the month, but in the meantime if you enjoyed this post you may also like some previous series where I revisit the same place - there’s my year in Greenwich Park and remember that time when I followed a tree?

Post Comment Love 26 - 28 July

July 26, 2024

Hello there, and welcome back to this week’s #PoCoLo - a relaxed, friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed from the linky, and if older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

It’s been a busy week here - catching up following a full on day trip to London, prepping for and enjoying birthday celebrations for my dad’s 90th birthday at the weekend, and then a day out in Nottingham yesterday making the most of our time to explore our new city while my car was in for its service and first MOT. All of it went well - even keeping the buttercream cake cool on the warmest days so far, and much fun was had by all - and the car passed its MOT too, though this really should never have been in doubt!

My photo this week is something else we’ve finally got onto the wall here. It’s a ‘colour wheel’ side plate from Anna Stark’s reimagined range - where her strapline is ‘vintage inspired homeware with a modern twist’. It was a present from my SIL at Christmas and while I always knew it was going in the craft room, I was between two spots for it. I finally decided so it’s on the wall!

Have a good week!