Category: Summer

The Timeless Charm of Roses

Published on by Catherine20 Comments

It’s fair to say that I’d feel my garden would be incomplete without the presence of roses. Despite their prickly thorns tearing holes in my jackets while pruning in late winter, or scratching my arms during summer deadheading, their beauty and perfume never fails to bring me a feeling of genuine joy. I tend to be forgiving of their thorns and often hear myself muttering, ‘My fault for being careless’ as I pull a thorn from my finger or head indoors to get a plaster for another deep scratch on my arm. Would I let any other plant treat me like that? I doubt it.

I’ve found myself, on more than one occasion being so completely trapped by thorns when I’m standing, deadheading between two or three rose bushes, that I couldn’t get free. I’m sure anyone looking would have observed it as a really funny sight. Is it worth it? Well, I’d prefer not to be attacked by thorns, but if you love the rose, you have to be prepared to look after it, and that means you have to come to terms with the fact that most of them have thorns. I love them and never tire of looking at them and breathing in their perfume and that’s my reward for the minor indignities and suffering they subject me to.

Since many of us are enduring a particularly horrible winter, I thought it might bring some warmth to share a few rose photographs from time to time, just to brighten our spirits. I hope you enjoy looking at a few today.

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The Den

Published on by Catherine17 Comments

A few years ago three of my younger grandchildren discovered they could walk under the Japanese Acer at the back of the garden. It became a fun hiding spot. I thought it would make a good Den for the children to play in so we laid a path using a few stepping stones, added a base with old decking squares, and then topped it off with a lot of bark. A few logs became seating and my husband cut down an old wooden chair to make a table. I also discovered to my surprise, that this neglected corner had a few lovely ferns and hostas growing beneath the trees. Perfect.

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Dalia Decision Time

Published on by Catherine28 Comments

There’s been a lengthy debate taking place in my head for months about whether I should give dahlias a second chance. My 2023 dahlias were horribly disappointing. That failure could have been due to many factors, and I’m not sure it’s worth trying to analyse what went wrong. It happened, it’s over.

Before deciding to abandon them, I thought I’d look back over the past few years at dahlias that were more successful than recent efforts.

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Time

Published on by Catherine15 Comments

A long time ago, when we first started working on this garden, I went to our local nursery to buy a conifer. They were all the rage back then. I found one that caught my eye, and the elderly gentleman next to me glanced at the plant in my hands and said, “That plant grows very, very, slowly.” He pointed to a few others that he thought would be a better purchase. He was trying to tell me to put it back and choose a faster-growing plant. I knew he was being kind, and his knowledge of plants had to be much greater than mine. I knew nothing. But I was drawn to this tiny plant, so I thanked him, went to the till, paid and returned home to plant it.

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Not an Ugly Duckling

Published on by Catherine32 Comments

Six on Saturday

Three of the six photos are from this week, and the other three were taken just before my teenage grandsons arrived on their first international trip without their parents (actually, their first trip anywhere on their own!). Am I cheating with my before and now photos? Perhaps I need to read the rules for Six on Saturday, but for this week, I hope our host Jim will forgive me! The boys have gone home now, and I’m surveying the sad state of the garden. It’s looking sad because many of the plants are already fading as autumn creeps in and also because too many have failed to perform this year.

The main failures this season have been the dahlias, two so far, have failed to produce any flowers at all, and the remainder have produced far fewer blooms than in previous years. To add to the problem, the snails, slugs and earwigs have been feasting well on them. Is anyone else having dahlia problems this year?

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