The end of a busy day

After another hard day's graft, it was time to sit down for sundowners and supper all supplied by Al!




As there was a bit of chill in the air we lit the fire for the first time this year (and last!) and all sat back enjoying darkness settling and the owls calling.

Trimming & Titivating Topiary!

Chris & his Helter Skelter

My results

Having done a summer prune on an Acer and cut the hedge in the lower border, it was time for a break from the noise of a hedge cutter.  Instead, for the couple of hours it took for two of us to snip away the Yew topiary; the only sound to be heard was that of gentle snipping of 2 pairs of hand shears. 

This is an annual task and Chris did the Helter Skelter whilst I did the 2 either side of the steps.  (Yes, I know they look a little wobbly but it's due to uneven growth on the one on the left!) The mess it makes can't be depicted photographically but, suffice to say, all peace and quiet was broken by Chris using his blower to blow away a whole year's build up of debris, dust and detritus inside each tree as well as the freshly accumulated clippings on the ground.  Having done these 3, it was off to clip the Yew by the greenhouse and then try to rid myself of the Yew clippings which filled both my hair, my clothing and my boots!

The creatures people have in their gardens!

Sometimes we gardeners grumble about animal damage in the garden. Here in the UK, many animals are unwelcome as they eat so many plants, shrubs and vegetables. Our friend Steve has these little creatures to deal with in his garden in Tsawwassen south of Vancouver Canada!!  I don't even know what these actually do in a garden and maybe they're not too much trouble but, I just couldn't resist putting Steve's photos of his own garden visitors on the blog!  Looks as if they might like plumbs and it would take more than rabbit wire to keep them out!

Casually agile!!

Do racoons like plumbs?

Butter definitely wouldn't melt.....!

Seasonal Produce

Autumn Kings & Lady Christl's

Potatoes continue to crop well.  We've eaten all the peas and more broad beans are fattening up. The runner beans are really late but flowering well and the carrots are perfection!  The onions are looking good and the pumpkin is sprawling across the empty potato rows.  The outside sink has been a boon as it's so much better being able to wash fresh vegetables before they come into the house.  With the recent heatwave, it's been used for full preparation!

Home made cherry brandy

Meanwhile the home made cherry brandy is infusing on the kitchen window sill - reminding us to shake them daily.  How could I turn down the chance to pick some of Maureen's delicious cherry crop? For anyone wanting to make some: fill a bottle one third full with pricked cherries. (Be warned - pricking fruit is the world's stickiest job!) Pour in 1" of sugar (which can be brown) and top up with brandy then shake until Christmas!  We went to Lidl's for brandy as I didn't see the point in using expensive brands. Roll on Christmas - hic!!

Table laid ready..

This is exactly what Monty was demonstrating on this week's edition of Gardeners' World.  

Sempervivems laid for one!

It's just that his didn't look nearly as interesting...........or so I thought!

Leaning chimneys & Foxgloves

Writing about working in a garden should really be done in the garden.  It's so much easier to describe the scent of damp earth and the heady fragrance of the late Wisteria blooms and Lavender at the same time one's senses are being evoked.  This is such a peaceful and tranquil garden in which to work. The only sounds here are provided by the the buzzing of bees and the occasional hum of a distant tractor and birdsong if it's early morning or evening.  Occasionally one can hear a distant church bell drifting over.  The gentle clucking of young blackbirds as they scavenge the very last berries on the Daphne and a gentle breeze in the trees above.  As dusk falls, Mr. & Mrs. Hooty begin to call to each other and bats swoop low scooping up moths.  The moon rises low in the sky and the stars start to appear.

The old leaning chimney & foxgloves - hopefully seeding everywhere.

 I don't even find the sound of a lawnmower offensive and I love the smell of green wood smoke drifting up from the bonfire.  They're all sounds and smells of the various seasons.  At this time of year, it's so hard to remember accurately the silence that a snowfall brings or the smell of damp leaves on an Autumn morning. 

But then perhaps we're being a tad sentimental on a very showery July day!  I'll break this spell of rural perfection and describe the swatting of Dun flies - attempting to get them before they actually bite.  How exactly DO they land without us feeling them?  By the time I feel one and squash it, I squash my blood out of its body and then there's the infernal itching that goes on and on...! And where's a Dock leaf when you really need one?  Back to reality!

Tricky work in the rain

Chris working flat out!!

Gardening jobs began with  Chris pruning the Pyracantha by the old chimney. Now there's never a good time to do this because you either lose berries or flowers. This one needed a hard prune at the top to try to get it back into shape as it was heavier and wider at the top than the bottom.  It was so vicious, we didn't even try to drag it down to the bonfire and instead Chris bagged it up in a builders bag and took it away for burning.  That was an absolute first but there was so much of it and the thorns were just SO awful to deal with.   Having done the pruning, we decide to lift its 'skirts' and reveal the base and that was when we found all the rubbish - brick ends, broken slabs and chunks of mortar  We - well, mainly Chris began to remove all the rubble and lowering the level of soil in order to replace it with gravel.  That was when Al came home and asked if we were going to edge the York stone flags which surround it with some old Victorian edgers.  

A very wet Chris

A very wet me!

The finished job!

Now it's not easy working beneath the world's most vicious Pyracantha and half way through setting in the edgers, the much needed rain started to fall heavily - typical!!  Despite a distinct lack of waterproofing; work carried on.  I was in a wax jacket with no wax left and Chris was in a cotton jacket.  Both our jackets were soaked through in minutes and Chris took his off.  His T shirt was so wet, he took that off too.  To finish off and have blow round, he put on body warmer.  Due to the arrival of the rain, this was all we managed to complete all afternoon.  Annoyingly, I forgot to give the poor old Pyracantha a good few handfuls of slow release fertiliser prior to its top dressing of gravel.  Hopefully, I can water some in.  After such a severe haircut, it deserves a bit of a kick start!  What I'd like to know is why so much concrete and rubble had been hidden on its roots and why.................!