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Saturday 6 October 2018

DAPHNE'S WONDERFUL SUMMER

Good Afternoon to you,

Thank you so much for being patient.


It was not my intention to leave you for so long, but during the summertime, family, home and garden took over.  Before I knew it, the days had rolled into weeks, which in turn rolled into months and when I checked how long it had been since I had last written to you, I was rather surprised. I am pleased to say, that  everything has returned to normal, so I can now give you my full attention.

Are you curious to see what have I been doing whilst I have been away?




If you have been reading Ivy, Phyllis and Me! for a while, then you will know that as much as I love cooking, I also love gardening.... and I couldn't be happier with how, in just one year, we have transformed our garden. It is filled with colourful flowers and gorgeous fragrance.


.... and look at the colour of this Evening Primrose. This photograph was taken in the evening, just as the light was fading, as this is when Evening Primroses are at their best.... they truly are this colour when the light fades. The plant lasts for just one year, so I collect the seeds, sew them in spring and when summer arrives, I have a host of new plants to enjoy.



.... and the roses which I received as birthday gifts, have really enjoyed this year's warm summer. This rose is James Galway and it is a David Austin rose.  Nowadays, I buy all my roses from David Austin because I find they are so resistant to disease.

I am sorry about the large pots in the background, but I am moving plants around the garden at the moment. When I divide a plant, I plant one half in the garden and put the other half into a pot, that is until I can decide where its new home will be.




As a precaution against aphids, I have planted English Marigolds mixed with Lavender very close to  the roses. The colour orange is just stunning. When I walk around the garden, like little jewels, they catch my eye.




These beautiful pink Cosmos I planted from seed and they have grown to an amazing height. The other day, my neighbour asked me if I had fed them anything special, because he had never seen such tall Cosmos.  I think it is all about the soil, if you can enrich your soil, then plants will thrive.


These lovely little petunias are in a hanging basket just beside my back door.  Even though we have had a cold spell, they are still doing well. I think it is because they are in a sheltered position. I will miss them when they fade because when I am in my kitchen, I enjoy looking out of the window seeing their beauty


.... and I am absolutely in love with this gorgeous double clematis.  For the life of me, at the moment, I cannot think of its name.  I will be adding some more rose arches to my garden, later in the year, and this clematis is definitely going to be gracing one of them.


The borders as you can see are really filling up well.  On this side, I am waiting patiently for the bushes to grow, but they do tend to be slow in their first year.  I am looking forward to a little more height in the back of the border.  Can you see the obelisk? The stems twining around the obelisk are my French runner beans.  This photograph was taken in July and the beans have since been picked and enjoyed. Next year, I will definitely be growing more vegetables in the border.


I am so pleased with how the garden has evolved in just one year.  Admittedly it took a lot of hard work, but I never mind, because it is such a pleasure when everything grows.

I have to say, the bird bath needs a little tender loving care. The original bowl was broken when we moved house, so we added this bowl, only as an interim piece so during the summer the birds had plenty of water to drink, but we have been so busy, it has stayed as it is. Do you find, when the eye gets used to something, we stop noticing that anything is wrong.


This Constance Spry rose is planted along the back fence of our seating area, and when this jasmine, which I have companion  planted with the rose, reaches its full height and flowers..... the fragrance will be wonderful. Even as a small plant, these little flowers were so fragrant.  


Next year, one of our jobs is to remove the decking at the bottom of the garden, then I can plant lavender and chamomile to increase the fragrance even more.... the bees will be in heaven.

That is the most wonderful thing about gardening, just when you think you have finished, something catches your eye and the fork and spade come out of the shed and the fun begins all over again.

One of the jobs I need to do is to decide which spring bulbs I am going to plant and decide where they are going to be planted....and that is always fun.

I am looking forward to catching up with you to see what you have been doing during the summertime.  It might take a little while, but I promise I will catch up.

Take care and I will be with you next Saturday.

As Always.






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Dear Friends,

It is so wonderful to know you enjoy reading Ivy, Phyllis and Me! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment. I really do appreciate it.

Best wishes to you.

Daphne

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