BLOOMING BRILLIANT!

Having had some fun days out I've not caught up with last week's newly bloomed flowers....it still surprises me that there's something new to see each week!

It's also time to do another "changes" photo...these are photos taken from approximately the same position at different times of the year. The first of these two is a "NOW" photo, the other a photo from February.


and FINALLY!!!!!!...one of the Cannas in the front garden is starting to flower...this is the latest they've ever started flowering and I'd almost given up on seeing a bloom this year.....

Before I go (Manda, Nicole and I are off to Colchester to see Leanne & co)...a quick plug for Gledwoods new blog........ANIMAL CRACKERS lots of funny and cutesy animal videos...the EPISODE OF 24 ACTED BY A RABBIT is so funny!!!

and a another quickie under the label of "That's new to me".....I've eaten Okra but never grown it...not even sure if we could in England. When I dropped by Dot's blog STROLLING THROUGH GEORGIA this morning she has posted a photo of an Okra bloom......if you've never seen one please take a look...it's stunning.

GOING BANANAS

I had a lovely stroll round the market yesterday but I had to hold back...with the prices being so much cheaper than the supermarket it's easy to buy more than you need....or at least more than you can EAT! I mean look at all these bananas I got for just £1........ it's not as though they were cheap because the were past their best...some are still ripening. Unless I'm going on a "banana only" diet I know I won't eat them all but luckily Manda & co took some off my hands and if any get over ripe.....well I do make a smashing Banana Bread! You may wonder....why didn't I just buy fewer bananas...well therein lies the rub....it's CHEAPER to buy MORE!!!!

Shopping for one is really expensive........and now I don't have regular weekend visitors to feed I'm having to look at my shopping habits differently. But I'm finding that LESS is costing MORE! Let me explain with a few examples I found at a local supermarket;

Warburtons Medium Sliced Loaf

800g loaf....cost £1

400g loaf....cost 68p

Own brand tinned Baked beans

420g....25p

220g....20p

Nescafe Original Coffee

300g....£5.37

100g....£1.94

Chicken Breasts

pack of 2 Chicken breasts.......equates to £9.64 per kg

bulk pack chicken breasts.......equates to £5.00 per kg

WHOLE chicken.......................equates to £1.79 per kg

Well it doesn't take a degree in higher mathematics to work out that the BIGGER the pack of anything I buy the LESS per kilogram I'm paying; something that worked in my favour when there were more mouths to feed. ....................
but when you're on a limited income every penny counts. Now don't get me wrong, there are bargains to be had and own brand products are often cheaper...and I've got a freezer so it's no hassle to buy a whole chicken, joint it and freeze some...but wouldn't it be nice if sometimes instead of the "BOGOF" (buy one get one free) offers they could have some BUY HALF AND PAY HALF instead!.....after all have you ever tried to freeze a fresh banana...it's not the same when it's defrosted.....LOL

While we're on the subject of food...do you any vanilla pods or essence?.......quickly go and fetch it and while you're looking at the next photo and have a sniff .......................

Clematis Rubromarginata...........hundreds of tiny flowers and the most heavenly scent.

I love this time of year as hardly a day goes by without something coming into flower or bud. The Turks Cap Lily buds are really starting to turn yellow; won't be long before they're in flower.

My Rose of the moment....Rose Nostalgie.....I just love the colouring........................

the gladioli are starting to flower.......................... and so is the Echinacea...................

and my Blue Penstemon is coming to it's peak........................
Now what shall I have for breakfast?...................I think maybe I'll have a banana................

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

SLUGS, SNAILS AND POPPY, FROG TALES

It's that time of year again...

the Rhododendrons need deadheading......we've had a full 6 weeks of superb flowers but now they are looking quite bedraggled. It's a long job and I normally do a few a day over the course of a week. I know some gardeners don't bother to do it but we always have. Our soil is not naturally acidic so it's also the start of the feeding regime. Every fortnight now until the beginning of August I'll give them an acid feed...both directly into the soil and also foliar; Mick heard once that if you feed them too long after August the buds can turn to growth buds rather than flower buds.....as he was the Rhody King around here I'm not going to mess with his way of doing it. Then in the Autumn and Spring a potash feed and a mulch with cocoa shells.

Although our garden is small we still have our fair share of problem areas....caused most by the North facing aspect and complete lack of sunlight in some parts. One of these areas is behind the Red Rhody ......

the Rhody leans out towards the light and there's this SPACE that looks so bare. I've tried sowing seed or small shade tolerant plants there but nothing works.....a few inches to the left a fern happily thrives; I tried the same type of fern in this area but it failed miserably. What a difference a few inches can make!..........(Did I hear a few sniggers then...LOL)
The bare bit of fence really niggles me....even ivy doesn't seem to want to cover it......
so as a last resort I've hung a basket on the fence filled with some left over fuchsia cuttings, some morning glory seedlings I had left and a couple of begonias. I'm hoping that the fact that it's high off the ground means it may get enough light to do something!...only time will tell...I guess I should say "WATCH THIS SPACE!"........
Another problem we have a lot of is slugs and snails......I was hoping that as it had been a dry winter that the problem may be less this year......but I think the whole of the mollusc population has descended on our garden....................why I try to grow Hostas I don't know...it's a waste of time really....it's as though there's a sign saying "SLUG CAFE THIS WAY" pointing towards them. I think I've tried every possible organic and chemical solution there is.......they even climb the walls to get to the hanging baskets! Some seem to have very weird tastes....I'd planted my Hestia Runner beans in a tub with a few lettuce as a catch crop.....well look....they're eating the bean leaves and leaving the lettuce!!!

I've also had to say a sad farewell to the annual poppies that were smashed down in the torrential rain a few weeks back......I was hoping they'd pick themselves up with all the sunshine lately...or at least flower before I ripped them out.....they had to go though.....I was at risk of losing 3 roses, an hardy fuchsia and an agapanthus which were being smothered by them and I'm not losing perennials for the sake of a few annuals.it's left a bit of a gap (do you like my kneeler...Mick made me that many years ago)....but I've a few busy lizzies left which can go in there just for a bit of colour this year. I've some phlox root cuttings growing that I may try in there next year....I'm worried about the light levels for them though as the Open Arms rose throws a lot of shade over the area.
I remembered to photograph the Poppy flower I'd been watching ................
and the Peony flowers are looking beautiful.....they have a slight scent of Germolene!
I didn't see any butterflies or dragon flies in the garden today....very unusual....perhaps they've taken fright of the crazy woman who lives here and cavorts around with camera in hand......the frogs don't seem to mind though...they're always happy to pose.
It sounds as though we are in for a lot of rain this week; after hearing the news about the horrendous weather there has been in New South Wales I must try not to complain too much.

BLOOMING WEATHER