Tag: Roses

Geum Love

Published on by Catherine27 Comments

The rain finally arrived in the wee hours of last Saturday morning. It rained throughout the day, that night and through the following day. It has continued to rain a lot this week with a couple of sunny days in between – but I’m sure you get the picture! The garden is now looking green and lush, and plants are responding well after 4 weeks of drought. The baked soil had been unsuitable for planting, but that’s all changed and we’ve managed to plant several new shrubs and perennials. Hopefully on Monday I’ll be able to start putting the seed-sown perennials and annuals into the ground too.

It’s cooler too, but I’m not complaining about that as it’s easier to work in – though I hope it warms up as we go into summer. I’m sure that no one on the northern hemisphere needs reminding that the first day of summer, if you go by the Meteorological calendar, is tomorrow. But if you don’t mind waiting another few weeks, the Astronomical start of summer is Saturday, 21 June 2025.

The plants have made up their minds about which season we’re in; roses are starting to bloom, and there are pops of colour all over the garden as buds start to open, most of them, just a little bit earlier than previous years.

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240%

Published on by Catherine27 Comments

A small island close to where I live attracts many home-grown tourists and those from further afield. The favourite activity for visitors is to hire bikes from one of the cycle hire shops and cycle around the island. This can be achieved in about an hour, though most folk take longer as they stop to admire the scenery and enjoy some ice cream or cake from a local cafe. A few days ago official figures were released for the rainfall during August (keep in mind that we still had a few days of August left) and those figures showed that rainfall for August was 240% higher than average. I can’t argue with that, the rain this month has been relentless.

One of our teenage grandsons was visiting recently and it was a challenge to find enough indoor places of interest to take him to. He thoughtfully said he was happy to be in a cooler climate since his home town in the US was having a very hot and humid summer. He hasn’t been discouraged though, as he plans to come back next year, probably in the hope that it will be a rain and wind-free visit!

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We Abandoned the Garden

Published on by Catherine29 Comments

It’s been a better week of weather for us here on the west coast of Scotland, with the best day being Monday and great for gardening – we had a lot to do. We unexpectedly had Littlest Grandson with us on that day (school summer holidays) and he gamely helped in the garden during the morning. At lunchtime, we asked him if he’d like to go to the beach. We knew the answer well before his face lit up with delight. We live only a few minutes from the beach but Monday was the first day where we felt it was warm enough to let him dig in the sand, paddle in the sea and of course, get an ice cream from the van.

So off we went with folding chairs for gran & grandad, a mat that we knew he wouldn’t sit on, a bucket & spade, and other paraphernalia that is needed for a couple of hours on the sand. It was the first beach day, but I hope it won’t be the last. Gardening duties were simply abandoned and it was worth it.

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A Perfect Identity Change

Published on by Catherine29 Comments

First week of the school holidays and the weather’s been dreadful. I haven’t managed to get into the garden to do any work, and it’s been frustrating. But the winds have dropped now, and it all feels a little more hopeful that this cold front might move away before too long and I can pack my winter sweaters away again!

But enough complaining, there’s a new week ahead and it must be better. All I’m asking for is some summer sunshine. That can’t be too big an ask….can it? So here is this week’s Six on Saturday, photographed between bouts of rain, moments when the wind dropped and the clouds thinned a little. Some were even taken with gloves on.

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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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