Post Comment Love 16 - 18 August

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.

This week we’ve had a couple of visits from a new friend, who it has to be said isn’t shy. No he’s not shy at all!

MOH discovered the ginger cat on his first visit and to say he was shocked was an understatement. Luckily though he was a friendly cat and was quite amenable to, and quite vocal about, being evicted. Well perhaps not so amenable as his first move was to try and head back in, so I needed to quite literally shut the door in his face. We smiled and joked about the boldness of cats, thinking nothing more of it, cats hey?

He came back though a few nights later, on one of those warm balmy evenings we had at the start of the week - and he had so much fun, what with all of the doors and bifold doors open. We had much less fun trying to make sure he wasn’t in the house - he made it upstairs to my craft room and then had us quite literally playing cat and mouse with the open doors!

We’ve not seen him since, so perhaps we haven’t quite been chosen by the cat distribution system, but who knows?!

Me holding our ginger tom visitor - carrying him to the door!

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My garden in July

The roses from last month, continued to flower and I’ve spent a good morning or two deadheading this abundant rosebush in between showers - but it was so, so worth it as the rose bush has continued to flower throughout the month. The potted roses have also repeat flowered so if you’ve not been convinced before about deadheading, definitely do it!

a pale pink rose bush in full bloom
rosebuds on one of our potted roses

This month the oxeye daisies have also been one of the stars - I just have a single pot of them, but look how well they’ve done. Last year I had three flowers, but this year so many more. I’m looking forward to getting them into the ground at some point so that they can really maximise their potential. My garden plans are starting to form more in my mind, but my challenge is to get those down on paper.

Our previous garden was best in the early spring, but here it’s definitely a late spring/early summer peaking garden, or rather the side border is. I’m loving the flowers on all of the hebes.

The flowers on the hebe bush filling the frame

What has really stolen my heart though are the european smokebushes - we have this green leafed variety, and the darker burgundy leafed version; they are both delightful and well, just, frothy!

A close up of the frothy smokebush

The buddleia is full of flowers, and full of butterflies. Despite being cut down much earlier in the spring, it’s regrown and then grown some more. I’ve discovered that the main stem has a label so it was definitely planted on purpose, and not the self-seeded plant I first thought.

A purple buddleia flower poking over the brick wall

The flowers on the Lady’s Mantle are a beautiful yellowy-green, and also frothy. They have tumbled over the edge onto the gravel.

The flowering Lady's Mantle falling on to the gravel
A close up of the flowers on the Lady's Mantle

The two surviving sunflowers are thriving next to the wall, where they are as I hoped enjoying the warmth from the sun and the wall. It’s been great to measure their progress as they grow brick by brick, edging ever closer to the top of the wall.

Looking down on the still growing sunflowers

Elsewhere in the border there is more colour - the orange berries on the rowan tree, and the pink fuchsia flowers whose stems are also a beautiful pinky-red.

The flowering fuschia standing upright

Ah yes, the burgundy european smokebush - isn’t it a beauty?

The burgundy smokebush in frothy flower

The sunflowers aren’t the only plant that is hugging the brick wall on the boundary - the foxglove flowers are hanging on, and I’m sure there’ll be more to enjoy next year.

At the back of the border the last of the foxglove flowers

Edging towards the top of the wall…

A height check on the sunflowers - getting closer to the ledge on the brick wall

The outside border has grown and got a bit wild, so I’ve spent some time out there pruning and squishing as much as I can each fortnight into our garden bin, priding myself at my ingenuity at packing quite so much in. Instead of a usual robin companion, I’ve been enjoying the company of the butterflies which are regulars at the buddelia.

A butterfly on the brick wall - a new gardening friend?

I found an unwanted and leafy tall shrub, which after some googling I classed as a weed. I cut its leafy branches off, then as it looked to have enough space around it I decided to get the root out.

Mission accomplished. But quite a mission it was.

What better to end this post on though, with the raindrops on the leaves of the lady’s mantle.

PostCommentLove

Post Comment Love 9 - 11 August

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.

There’s been a lot going on this week - the wardrobe inners have been fitted over two days in the early part of week; they look great though the company need to return to remedy the second wardrobe as the incorrect fittings were used for one of the shelves, and while they do the job they aren’t right. I know I’ll be so much happier with them when these are changed over.

We’ve had a logstore/shed delivered and MOH has already started to assemble that, though it’s more involved than he’d expected. It’s the sort that has an open area for storing logs, but at one end has a small shed section, they suggest for tools, however my plan is to use it for storing open bags of compost, bark, grit and gravel and such like so that they don’t take up room in the garage, but mostly so we don’t have to see them when we’re enjoying our garden!

We headed to the pub in the next village this week for ‘burger night’ and enjoyed a really good burger. Our walk there was full of blackberry and sloe spotting, and sadly as well as fly-tipped sofas (which the council have already removed), so I think some foraging will be necessary next week. On the way back I picked up a lovely chilli plant from outside one of the cottages, complete with chillies and even more flowers, for just a pound.

So, all in all a great week!

Blackberries ready to pick, and some we've already missed out on

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