Send for Farrow & Ball!

Cerinthe major purpurescens

Not too many plants exhibit leaves which are nearly as blue as its flowers.  I bet Farrow and Ball would come up with great names for these shades of blue for their paints! Even their common name of Honeywort is attractive - common that is for Cerinthe, not Farrow & Ball!.  It's quite intriguing and I have a couple of groups both in sunny positions. Hopefully they will choose to seed everywhere! Talking of seeds, I also have some Smyrnium perfoliatum seeds which, by all accounts, are tricky to germinate.  I know that they are triennials (which is unusual) and need to be sown in situ and with eternal patience!!  Since I have never had any luck getting any of these seeds to germinate yet, I shall try once more 'cos I do love their acid green foliage.

Could only be a spitfire!

The sound of a Merlin engine can only mean one thing round here!! Yes another spitfire display from the terrace at PTC!  How lucky were we??  After a 10 minute display of loops, barrel rolls, stall turns, it was off home again over the Wisteria!

More Artists in the Garden

The finished result!

Judy Foulsham's Art Group at work

Today, we had more lady artists painting and sketching in the garden.  These were some of Judy Foulsham's Art Group and although it was a tad breezier than ideal, the sun shone and the weather was warm.  They all seemed to enjoy themselves - and the teas and cake!  Judy will be bringing more artists in the next few weeks and is happy for more enthusiasts to join her happy band!  It means more money for St Richard's Hospice.  Judy kindly gave us the colourful example of her work which depicts many garden features and one of the other artists.  More photos

Judy painting the phone box

Hedge cutting, mowing and biting flies!

Before

and after.

After the door that leads nowhere, it was back to reality with grass and hedge cutting - all afternoon.  Chris cut the hedge in the lane, the Beech hedge and the Yew topiary - in fact he hardly put the hedge cutter down.  I mowed all the lawns and the verges and, as we'd had some rain dosed the roses with some Top Rose and hoed it in.  Earlier I took loads of cuttings for propagation so fingers crossed.  We both fought of swarms of biting Dun flies which were an absolute pain!  We have been troubled with plague proportions of these flies for the past 3 years.  prior to then, they were hardly noticeable. They suck blood and leave nasty swollen and inflamed bites that itch for days and days!  They even bite through fabric!  Long sleeves are a necessity right now.

Pediment, Pillasters & Portico + Pear!

Door to nowhere!

We have been busy building a new garden feature in the Yew hedge at the end of the house.  Chris Genever and I have built a mock door frame complete with pillasters made from decking board and pediment made from left over bits of timber and moulding. We bought 2 @ 8 foot 4"X4" posts and a sheet of ply plus 1 decking board.  The door step was made from half a left over kerb stone topped with some left over York flag stone pieces.  At present it's just a blank door frame in a hedge but,  the addition of a mirror should transform its appearance and give the illusion of an entrance through the hedge with garden beyond.  In reality, the Yew hedge hides a brick wall and there's nowhere an entrance could lead to. Some more Asplenium Trichomanes are on order for planting in front of the step and hiding the concrete. Admittedly, it looks a tad weird at present but, watch this space and see exactly what a mirror will do!

Artists Everywhere!

A sunny day in July and the garden was full of artists.  They sat everywhere sketching and painting.  One lady even sat in the Creosote Yard!  They were ladies from the Worcestershire WI Artists Group - well, I say ladies but, there was one gentleman.  MI 1 perhaps?  As well as giving a generous donation to St. Richard's Hospice and also enjoyed teas and cakes which was more money for our cause!  I was given a lovely purple Oxalis plant for which I shall find  a special place - probably in the conservatory.  We really enjoyed having them and hope they will return.  More photos can be seen here

Chicken Changes - A Flock of Five

Henny Penny

Fiona Fenton

Sadly we lost a couple of chickens (due to illness) and so have increased our flock by 3 sixteen week old girls. Why 3?  Safety in numbers! We knew 2 remaining residents would show their darker sides and they have lived up to expectations!  Their thuggish and vindictive behaviour to the new youngsters was serious enough for them to be separated by some chestnut palings for a few days.  That way, they could look at each other and become a little accustomed before being put in together.  They have had 6 days acclimatisation and have been allowed to mingle today.  Hopefully, there will be no nonsense at roosting time! All are hybrids and Henny Penny is a Copper Maran, Fiona a Fenton and Cicely is a White Sussex.  The remaining villians are Marigold and Winifred. 

House for Hens

Cicely Sussex

 Anyway, They've just been inspected and all are roosting quietly (for now!) in the House for Hens - their Medieval style pole house.