Blooms And Baskets

I spent the whole day today in the garden tidying up,cleaning the greenhouse up,planting my baskets, and taking photos.It was twenty degrees centigrade in the shade.The mystery Poppy in the planter box finally opened its crimson and black petals.It is very silky on the outside,and only opened in the sunshine.When it got cooler the flower was shut back up again.

There are about six smaller Poppy's with single flowers.This is a double flower, and is twice the size of the others.Is it a genetic cross between two Poppies?This is what they bred, but the other flowers are smaller and less showy.Maybe they lose vigour as they self seed and revert back to their parent plants.

The Lady Emma Hamilton is not blooming spectacularly like Harlow Carr, or Darcey Bussell. The LEH blooms are perfectly formed and scented so sweetly.The Apricot flowers seemed to glow today in the bright sunshine.She may not be performing as well as usual, but her blooms are perfection.

The pond has its edges softened now by planting around the pond liner.The pond plants have established themselves in the water, and have started to oxygenate the pond.The water is finally clearing after it became a green watery mess.It has now only been topped up by rainwater.My Norfolk Reed is also acting as a water filter.The pond is bordered by my Wildflower mix.This is a draw for many flying insects.Its busy air space around the pond.I have not seen any Dragonfly's yet this year.

This is a rare daytime photo of one of the Newts that is living in the pond.Tonight by torchlight I counted three frogs and two newts.Earlier I saw some lightning fast dark coloured Newts.They were extremely jumpy.This olive coloured Newt moves slowly through the water and between the oxygenating pond plants.I wander if the Black crested Newts are males looking to mate? They were so quick darting to the surface, before diving back into the deep water of the pond.It is so nice to sit by the side of the pond and look to see whats swimming, or chilling.My water Lily has made itself at home and is widely spreading its kidney shaped leaves.I saw a big frog tonight resting against the edge of a leaf.

Injecting some colour in the sun is the Armeria.It is a small clump of grass, that looks like Chives.It has these lovely pink football type flowers hoisted aloft over the grasses.I put this plant with my other Grasses for contrast to the airy light grasses.

The Rose Margaret Merrill has finally opened a bloom.It is the purest white with a lovely old rose scent.I watered all the Roses tonight with some Rose food.I want to try to keep feeding the Roses so they bloom all summer long.The Rose Flowers are for the eyes, and the scents for memorys and dreams.

The Starlings continue to brawl over the fat balls.There are three fat ball feeders around the garden.The Starlings shriek loudly and fly up to each other in aerial combat.They intimidate each other and eventually one retreats for a while.These are all fledglings I think that are arguing all the time.They are like the Keystone Cops waddling around the garden and pecking each other over the food.

I made the hanging baskets up today.Eight baskets and one wall mounted box.I used up five trays of plants but that did not even dent all the plants I have been growing on Petunia's, Pansy's,and Busy Lizzie's.I planted the Fuchsias and some French Marigolds as the centre plant in some of the baskets, and used different combinations of the three types of plu plants that were growing in the greenhouse.I added the granule food and water crystal mix.My baskets always end up drying out and dying.I hope the water is held in the jelly.

The pathway is lined with pots and planters.I added two brackets onto the old fence,I never realised that I had put these brackets one way, and on the opposite fence fixed the brackets on the other way.Cat told me before she went to work.

Two of the new Baskets are cone shaped.I love the rustic feel off the woven Rattan and black cord that makes the basket up.This was put up near to the Clematis Angelique.

I spent all of my day off in the garden.I have to work tomorrow before going to Birmingham on Thursday night.We have passes for Gardeners World Live/BBC Good Food Show on Friday.I have sorted my camera out.I just need to charge the battery's up ready for the NEC show.

I may well buy a few things to bring back.

The garden is looking lovely now.I just need to try to learn how to sit still.But there is always something to deadhead/trim/water/re pot.A garden is best when its not fully done.

I loved working outside in the sun with the sound of birds singing (and fighting), and the wind blowing through the tree tops.It was a blissful day off.

Water Crowfoot

The oxygenating plant in the pond has developed these clover like leaves, and these pretty White flowers.My wildflower book called these Common Water Crowfoot.I love the small flower buds that look like floating white tennis balls.

I am on night shifts so I only see the garden in the morning.I have watered the greenhouse and had a cursory glance now.I will be back photographing and gardening on Thursday.

I topped up the birds food and water.I can sleep better knowing I have made sure nothing is dying in my abcence from lack of watering.

It looks cloudy but I do not know if it will rain.The pond needs the rain to top it up.

Sunshine And Shopping

This is the pond today surrounded by the Wildflower area.I sowed more wildflower mix around the pond area.I hope it will be covered in beautiful flowers which will attract Bees and Butterflies.

I was off work today and spent the day with Cat seeing Arthur at the Cinema (With Russel Brand)and some shopping.

I bought a new fan shaped trellis to grow up the two honeysuckles that grow by the backdoor,new Oriental Stargazer Lily Bulbs,Pea and Strawberry netting, and some Supports to hold netting to protect our garden grown Strawberries.

I bought a new garden tea light holder that is very Art Deco with coloured glass panels, and hand painted flowers on the lid.I will illuminate it with tea lights.I also bought a canvas painted with Lilac flowers and leaves from a Lilac Tree.

I have just done my night time torch light patrol of the pond.My little Frog was sat chilling on the pond grass.He has seen Me for the past few nights.I read on a Wildlife site to look at Newts in the pond at night when they are active.I wanted to see the Newts swimming around.I heard the Owls across the road in the woodland corridor shrieking and flying around.A Barn Owl I think.

I have one more day to work before three days off.Friday is the Royal wedding which I am looking forward to.I will do more gardening, and get back to the allotment.

Today I saw the first Butterfly of the year in our garden.It flew off before I could get my camera from inside the house.Every day is a pleasure to go out into the garden to see what is growing, what is blooming, and what wildlife I can see close to the house.When the sun is shining I am very happy.

April Sunshine

I was finally off work today and able to get outside into the garden. We have decided to get a builder to lay down a concrete base, near the shed for the greenhouse to be moved to. When the plastic covered greenhouse has been finished with, I will buy a glass one to sit on the concrete base. I love how the colours of flowers can compliment like the Yellow Daffodil, and the Orange Tulip. Colours can be similar or contrasting. As plants grow they seem to draw the eye to them in certain combinations. I like the colours of these two together.Like a pair of professional dancers together at Blackpool. The sun was shining today and the sunlight illuminated the Tulips like Chinese Lanterns. These looked like the ones from the Disney film Entangled. I can imagine these floating up, up, and away. The late planted Tulips have grown on really well so some of those may flower too this year. I want my Queen Of The Night Tulips to flower. Fingers crossed! Growing on in a rectangular planter on the path is this Double flowered Daffodil. It is unique as all the others in the garden are single flowered. At the Autumn Flower Show I will try to look for double flowering Daffodils as they are very pretty. This one is gorgeous to look at.

This was the garden in the top corner at the end of today. We had to move the pots from the side of the shed, and move the full compost bin across the garden onto the path to join the first one. It was full of black gold (Compost), and funnily even some small potatoes that had sprouted from the Potatoes in there. The material near the top that was not composted down got moved into the left hand bin. The stuff that was nearly composted went into the right hand bin.

We are having a concrete step built as well on our path to be able to sit two water butts snugly to collect water from the sheds down pipe which currently just runs into the ground.

I have about five bags of compost fresh from the bin. This needs putting onto the sunken border or into pots. I'm planning on digging a border that runs along the pathway to be able to plant lots of Asiatic Lily's.

I wanted a watering can for the greenhouse, so I bought the Asda children's red watering can with a Ladybird on the side of it. It works though.

I bought a Frog weather station too, basically a Frog holding a thermometer, and a glass tube to measure rainfall. I would love to keep a gardening diary to refer back to. Dates I sowed seeds, dates the flowers bloomed, and so on. I can start recording temperature and rainfall. I had a surprise visitor in the pond today. The planting around the pond has been altered to accommodate the greenhouse base. I had to move a Teasel and a Echinacea. I looked under the water and saw a flash of movement. It looked like a baby lizard..

It dived from the Norfolk reeds roots to the bottom of the pond. He stayed very still and you could barely see his outlined form. It was a Newt and im so proud that we have attracted one to our little pond! I do not know which kind though.

The reflections of the sky, and overhanging flowers. The ripples that move across the still water. I like looking to see if i can see any beasties floating around the water, or walking across the top. It is good therapy after the stresses of a working week to relax by the pond.

We have put the bench now between the Pond and the Strawberries raised bed. You can sit and watch the flowers in the border, the birds on the feeders, or the still waters of the pond.

Tomorrow I will be sowing seeds, planting Lilys in Pots, digging the path border once the concrete base is laid down. I will goto the allotment to plant Potatoes,Onions, and Garlic . We will collect some free manure tomorrow from a local stables.

I have baked some Double Chocolate Chip Muffins this evening. Time to eat one, drink coffee and relax on the garden bench.

Pond Sitter

The bamboo fencing has now been replaced around the pond. The end closest to the door has simple green wire frames for easy access for the wildlife. We can also see towards the pond from the Kitchen.
I went out today to have a look at the plants. I spotted a large Frog on the edge of the pond. He dived into the deepest section.
He is chilling under the grasses on the deepest shelf. From the surface he is completely camouflaged.
Only the colouration and a slight movement showed where he was hiding when i was showing Cat.
The sunshine has come out now and started to warm the garden up. The birds have been busy feeding all day. They seem to use the garden as much as I do.
Every day sees a new plant growing, or something interesting to look at. Spring is only a few weeks away now.
I'm happy the Frog found a new home, only two days after we built it for him.

A Thing Of Beauty

The two jobs I wanted to do on my days off were to change the Turtle pond liner for the new Mayfly 250 litre one, and to put up my greenhouse. I have done one of the jobs, but had to abort the second due to losing the instructions on the greenhouse!
The first stage of the first job was to dig a hole big enough to accommodate the new pond liner..

This photo shows how much soil I had to dig. The two rectangular potato grow bags were full of soil, and five 75 litre compost bags were full as well. Two hundred and fifty litres was a lot of soil to remove to fit the pond liner into. I wanted the top of the pond level with the soil. This took around two hours to shovel a hole that I could stand in.

I played around with the direction the pond liner sat in. The original builders of the house left a sandy/stony mix beneath the soil. This was a partially dug hole with the liner sat telling me how much deeper i needed to dig.

Once the hole was dug deep enough for the top to rest at the soil surface I had to back fill the hole around the liner. This exerted some wonderful pressure on the liner. It has some new twisty edges now around the pond top.

I put the top soil back onto the edge of the pond. I split the green grasses into smaller clumps, and planted the Carex, Astilbe, and Bergenia around the pond.
Cat helped me fill the pond with water in a filling ceremony. The oxygenator plants were put onto shelves under the water. I placed Bricks so the birds can drink and bathe on the pond side.
My Flag Iris has moved into the deep end of the pond on bricks. Finally I sowed some Wildflower mix around the soil, and scattered some dark Poppie seeds.
A robin flew in to drink two minutes after this photo was taken to show his approval.
I saved two milk cartons full of old pond water (with all the beasties in it). This was added to the new pond water today. I hope that it will attract Frogs and Dragonflies this year.
The greenhouse needs instructions. It has hundreds of metal bars and connectors. I cannot remember how the top sections are put together.
The Greenhouse has a new cover that we ordered as the old one ripped in the wind. I thought we would use the plastic covered walk in greenhouse this year until we were organised to lay a concrete base for a permanent glass greenhouse.
I had to take it to bits again, to wait for either my old instructions or for new ones. The pond is a thing of beauty. I hope that the plants will grow, and my wildflowers germinate.

Late Winter Changes

Winter is nearly over now. The days are getting longer, and I have been inspired. Two things in this photo are going to be changed.
The fence on the gardens right hand side (from the back door) had seen better days. It had started rotting and was falling to bits.
I agreed to pay half of the total cost of replacing it. The neighbour bought the fence panels for trade price.
I helped him on Saturday morning take out the rotting old fence and replace it with a new one. Nine panels were renewed. The fence is a golden orange colour now and is much brighter than the drab left hand fence.
The second things we are going to change is the pond. The experimental Turtle shaped pool is being replaced by a blacker, deeper pond liner.
We went to Hampsons first, then to Spring Green Nursery on Saturday. There was a 250 litre pond liner there, rectangular in shape, with shelves for pond plants, and rocks for the birds to stand on to drink and bath.
A job on my days off is to make the second pond. I need to take the pond plants out, and my rocks (bricks) ready to be used in the new Pond. It will take a lot more digging though to excavate a hole for the liner.
It is deeper so hopefully will not freeze all the way through when it gets below freezing. I want to attract Frogs and Dragonflies to the garden.
I will go to the allotment tomorrow to continue the big dig. Tomorrows weather is forecast to be dry. I hope to make more progress there...

Plants And Pond

Its Sunday afternoon, and just time for a quick post. I'm working nights again tonight. I thought I would show the pond with its wildflowers spilling out all over the grass.
The pond plants have multiplied like crazy and need thinning down. The one from Hampsons was the most vigorous and has covered almost the whole pond surface.
I have not seen the Frogs for a while so I don't know if they have moved away for the winter.
The compost bin next to the pond is half full now and has lovely compost forming in the bottom half. All the kitchens vegetable/potato scraps go into the bin and is mixing with the weeds/plants/grass mix.
I hope to cover all the borders in the winter with the compost mulch mix ready for the worms to start breaking it down and adding it to the soil.
Once I'm off again I will try to get to the allotment ready to start my end of season clearance. The gardens front and back grass needs one final cut to prepare them for winter.
As one season draws to a close there are always jobs to do for the next season. A gardeners work is never fully done, and that is good.

Pond Reflections

The Sun is shining outside for once after weeks of rain and grey sky's. The only benefit is the garden looks very luscious and green. The Wildflower area around the pond has bloomed magnificently. The pastel colours of the Snapdragons are like sweets in a sea of green. The Bees and Hoverflys are swarming from nectar rich flower to flower.

My idea was to plant around the edge of the mini pond to soften the harsh green edges, and to produce some shaded water within the pond. It has worked successfully. From a distance you can see the grasses and pond plant Norfolk reed sticking up. The water is shaded.

One of the sights of the summer for me is seeing this Frog chilling in the water. He is one of two. He blends in remarkably well with the rocks and the dark water. If you are not looking he is very well camouflaged. The Frogs were drawn to the water by their natural instinct for finding bodies of water across land!
Maybe they have water magnets inside their brain for finding their way to it. I think USA Alligators show the same skill of walking miles to find a source of water..
I hope that the sun continues to shine to help my Tomatoes ripen. There are a handful of Chilli's only, they probably need a nice greenhouse to do really well.
The pond has been one of the successes of this growing season. I want to buy some more grasses or reeds to plant along the edge near the fence. Landing places for winged insects.I am already planning for next year.

Wildflower Bloom

This is the first flower in bloom from the Wildflower mix that we sowed around the edge of the pond. The seeds were initially eaten by the birds, then tended by me as it was a dry spell.
These Daisy type flowers have come on leaps and bounds, with their ferny foliage. corn Chamomile?
I'm hoping that all the Wildflowers bloom, and set seed. Hopefully year on year they should all return. I wanted a pollen rich set of flowers to encourage wildlife into the garden.
The pond is already an Oasis for Frogs, and Birds who have been drawn to it. The wildflowers will surround the area between the pond and the corner of the garden. It will be pretty much left to run wild..
The Wildflowers were not labelled what was in them so I am going to have to identify flowers as they bloom!
The garden looks lovely but just a bit raggedy around the edges. I need to get the strimmer out to tidy up the edges.
I am expectantly waiting for the Tomatoes that are growing on the fence to ripen. There are about four varieties growing. The Chilli's have not done as well, only the Cayenne Chilli's and the Jalapenos are growing fruits.
Today we walked around Pugneys, our local Nature Reserve. We saw Dragonflies, Jumping Fish, a Heron, and masses of Canadian Geese.
The Oak trees were making Acorns, and the other trees were making Berries. It was a sign of it being late Summer.

Summer Holiday

The garden is looking very lush and full of colour. We are going away for a week tomorrow so I hope that these pictures will keep the readers going. There is a lot of blog to read back through away. I can formulate blog posts when I'm away in the Forest Of Dean. The pond has cleared naturally with all the oxygenating plants. The Snapdragons and grasses have all grown really well, and the Wild flower seed mix has grown great since it started raining.

A new plant in the new garden is this Buddleja Black Knight. I'm hoping that it will draw Butterflies in from miles around. It has a musty earthy smell to it and beautiful dark purple flowers on the flower spike.

One of the Dahlias is almost ready to open. It is a two tone mix of orange/yellow. I wanted it to match the Orange and Yellow Roses. I always love the pomp and circumstance of the Dahlias, Aztec treasure flowers.

The last photo before the holiday is the lilac Larkspur. Cats Dad gave me a tray full of seedlings. They are flowering beautifully all around the garden in lilac, purple, blue, white, and mixed flowers. They have a nectar spur that is behind the flower, very much like a Columbine..
The birds are visiting the garden every day. The buzzing insects are now swarming around the flowers and today I even saw a Grasshopper on the corner of our uncut grass! A few Butterflies have flown through as well.
I am recharging the camera batteries for the holiday. We are going away for a week on a tent holiday, with no electricity point, so no laptop for a week.
Snappys gardens blog is on a summer break..

Five Things Today

Today post is five photos taken today on a wet Wednesday from the garden. They are five things that are growing.
The Teasels I grew from seeds have grown now into the architectural plants with the spikey stems and comb like flowers. These spiny flowers were used in textile mills before to sort out threads. Apparently Goldfinches are addicted to the black shiny seeds within these flowers. I will watch to see in the autumn if they attract birds. I grew six plants from the seeds from a Trilby Street flower head. Originally I bought two Wildflower plant Teasels from the RHS garden at Harlow Carr. Since then I have seen them growing wild alongside a farmers field, and at Pugneys lake. I love how they grow tall, and that the leaves form pouches that collect water and insects. Like a basic fly trap design? They are a bit wobbly though as their rapid vertical growth makes them top heavy and prone to leaning. My six look like drunken sailors on shore leave.

Cats Hosta's are magnificent in pots. They have all started to flower. Some people do not like the Hosta's flowers. We have a new batch of half dozen plants ready to be put into barrel planters to join the five mature Hosta's we have growing already. We also bought some copper tape to see if it stopped the slugs and snails from wreaking havoc on the green leaves. There are so many varietys of Hostas all with fancy names. The leaves are beautiful when you water them. The waxy leaves cause the water to form a ball, and it rolls around the Hosta leaf like a pin ball. It hits where the stem is and slides down into the centre of the plant. Watering Hostas is therapeutic for the pin ball way it collects water off its leaves..

The Busy Lizzies skirt my garden nymph statue. She is dwarfed by the foliage of the New Potatoes growing in bags. These are so easy to grow. You only need one grow bag, about five small seed Potatoes and some compost to fill the bag with. The soil just covers the foliage until it breaks through the top. Each grow bag averages about five pounds of new Potatoes. Yummy with butter and parsley. It is so easy I have been extolling the virtues of it to people at work. It is a simple grow your own project anyone can do even with the smallest space!

The Pond today is slowly being surrounded by the growing plants. We have three Frogs that take it in turns to bath in the cool waters. There are lots of flies walking about on top, and black larvae hanging under the water surface beneath. According to the forums we should just let the pond achieve a natural balance of pests and predators. We attracted the Frogs within a few days of putting the oxygenating plants. I love pond watching and seeing what wildlife has moved in already. I want more marginal plants around it to keep it cool during the very hot days. The birds already love this. Its like a House Sparrow car wash with them splashing around on the stone steps.

I love these Baby Apples. These are the first fruit that has formed after three years of growing. The picture of the Apple tree could have been done in a trade description act. It showed a mature tree laden down with masses of fruit. The first year I had one flower which the slugs ate, and the second year there was no flowers at all!
This third year there were masses of flowers and finally some Apples have formed. The Apple Tree is growing in a pot at the moment. I think I will plant it once it has gone back to sleep in the Winter. I want to get more Apple trees for this garden. I want to grow Bramley Apples, especially for freshly baked home made Apple Pies.

Pond Life

Before this picture was taken there was at the end of our garden some very ugly decking panels nailed around a swing and a plastic slide. It took up the bottom third of the garden and made it appear smaller.The wooden structure has been dismantled and stacked up against the left hand fence ready for removal at a later date.
This left the right hand side with some bare earth and a compost bin half way up the garden. I moved the compost bin to the corner near to the shed building.I shovelled the yukky compost that was left from the previous occupants. As I did the clearing work I saw a Frog in the earth besides the fence. He was grinning at me and hopped away. I had seen in our garden a Toad at night, and a Frog during the day. Chris Packham from the BBC's Springwatch said he had used a baby bath before as a mini pond when he was younger. I sent Cat looking for one at Asda. She did not find one but suggested we use the Turtle Sandpit that was by the bins outside. Its big, round, and green.
I dug a Hole around where the decking/compost bin had been, and sunk the Sandpit into the ground. I heaped the earth up around it trying to make the mud come up to the edge. I left a triangular bit of soil between the pond and the compost bin. This will be the natural part of the garden. I planted some Ferns, Grasses, and Bergenias around the edge and filled it up with water from the outside tap.

I read on the internet that you should never use tap water to fill a pond. But I had no rainwater to fill it with. I let it settle down for a few days before I bought some plants. I was worried about animals falling into the pond and drowning. I made a small set of steps from bricks and rocks. The garden birds immediately walked around the pond to the stone steps to drink and bath. They have used the water ever since I filled it up.
I had a eureka moment and when we went around Newmiller Dam I borrowed three jam jars of lake water. The third one was teeming with beasties. My own water was sterile, topping up with other pond/lake water brings the first signs of life. I guess they would occur naturally over time but adding some beasties speeds up the process. Cat photographed me adding the jam jars lake water.

After four days this was the pond. I had bought two plants because I read you needed oxygenating plants to stop the water going green with algae. I had bought some Astilbe to go along the edge. I thought of the planting around the pond to cover the earth up. I sowed a packet of Wildflower seeds around the pond. I want them to germinate, flower, and self seed. I want a wild area full of nectar rich traditional wild flowers. Bee's, Butterflys, and Hoverflys will flock to it I hope. It has been so hot and dry that the germination has not been quick.

This was the second time I saw this Frog in our garden. He was the frog that launched the Pond experiment. I have never gardened with water, and aquatic plants. This Frog is the reason why we now have a pond on the right hand side.

A few days ago the pond looked like this. I have since bought new plants to fill the pond up so it has one third plants. The water has got darker in colour and is swimming with beasties in it, and insects on top of it. When I got back from work last night there was a large dark green Frog sat in the pond on my water grass. His eyes were reflecting the light. When he eventually sat on the pond edge he was huge. He was not the Frog from the photo but a new one.
He has gone this morning. I hope that he is hiding from the predators and that he will return to the pond. Its like Kevin Costner in the Field Of Dreams..build it and they will come...

I had an email from Emma Lee of Awarding The Web saying I had been nominated in the 2010 Garden Blogs category. I have been ranked at number 31 on the world wide web by a panel of judges. I have displayed the star badge on the right hand side. Thanks Emma!
I love to blog about the garden, the birds, wildlife, and anything else that I enjoy. It is lovely that so many people read it, and that some readers have left comments.
Some days you wander if anyone reads your posts or is it a mad self indulgence? Talking to yourself on the internet? I have a passion for the natural world and writing. Taking photographs has also helped my artistic brain in composing and trying to shoot them well for publishing on the blog. The pictures help illustrate the prose mostly. I'm happy for the accolade.

Hot Day And Garden Therapy

The Song Thrush is a regular visitor to our garden now. He guards the suet treats and chases off all comers, especially the Starlings.
I have enjoyed a few days off from work. I went to the allotment today but it was so hot that I left around midday. The 27 degrees centigrade sun cooked me, and made the sweat pour down my brow into my glasses.
I decided on the way back from the plot that the pond needed a few more aquatic plants. I walked to Hampsons via a public footpath that runs through Fields of Wheat, and a luscious Wildflower meadow. It was extremely peacefull except for little brown birds singing in the small trees.
The pond has taken the new plants from Hampsons. Once the muddy waters have settled down I will photograph it. I spend a good deal of time now staring at the still waters trying to see if there are bugs and beasties in the water, or skating around on top of it. It started off sterile and lifeless, but has developed life over the week or so it has been in existence.
I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to pond building, aquatic plants, and water gardening in general. My ups and downs will be recorded here on the blog.
I'm hoping that the days at work bring Rain. It has been a very dry period recently. The allotment has been baked dry in places. The garden, the Wild flower pond side bed, and the allotment all need rain..
After we lost the football i immersed myself back into the garden. My green therapy.

Clover And Frogs Dreams

Its the sixth day of our holiday and we are holding a Barbecue today. I spent Thursday with Cat cutting the grass and planting my bedding plants.
I tidied up the two exposed corners of the garden. The wooden decking has been dismantled by John (Cats middle son) and our neighbour. The space that it has opened up is unbelievable.
The sun is just peeking through the clouds now. Fingers crossed it stays dry for our house warming BBQ!
I saw a small frog yesterday on the edge of the grass. I think he had been feeding on the slugs under where the decking was. I thought if there were Frogs in the garden a pond would be nice..
Cat suggested using the Turtle sand pit that was left by the old owners of the house. It is round in shape, deep, green, and waterproof.
I moved the compost bin and contents back to the corner of the garden. That left exposed ground that had a nice dip in it. That's where I dug the hole to sink the pond liner (turtle sandpit) into. I planted some Bergenia's, Ferns, Snapdragons, Bunny Tails Grasses, and Larkspurs around the pond between the compost bin and the fence. Cat sowed some Wildflower mix around the pond. It will be left wild to attract the wildlife in.
The pond was filled and so far the birds have been drinking from it. I need the wild flowers to start growing to soften the ponds plastic green edges. I want to see how the cool water will attract the wildlife. The soil surrounding the pond will be left to develop a little wildness, with my plants anchored within it. Bordered by the grass of the lawn.
The photo is the white Clover that is growing on the front lawn. I love the intricate structure of the flower.

Photos From Bradford

Six images from Hils friends garden yesterday.I took a handful of photos of what appealed to me that was flowering.The pond had thisWater Lilly almost in flower.The only thing I want for my garden is water, either a water garden container or a small fountain.Still water reflects the surrounding plants and sky, and attracts wildlife.I can dream of a bigger garden with enough room for a pond.

Two Roses by the pond. Hils and Cat ponder water snails and foot tapping to make them come to the surface of the water.

A beautiful Blue Iris flowering in one of the curved island beds.The garden was massive, long and even had a field attached to it before.Holly bushes formed some of the boundarys with the cows next door in an adjoining field.Birds were singing and flying around.Its hard to believe a motorway was nearby, and the built up city of Bradford was somewhere near.

A pink Rose, which smelled lovely.Whenever you see a Rose you always cup it, and see if it has a lovely scent.Cat brought me the David Austin catalogue.Roses of all kinds with beautiful names and colours, the descriptions are artfully done.A bigger garden could have masses of DA Roses.

A Honeysuckle growing up the fence that seperated the island bed and pond from a vegetable patch. The colours of the flowers matched the scent.I love Honeysuckle.

The last photo is from Hilarys garden, the beautiful Passiflora Caerulia, or Passion Flower.this totally covers her garage (and maybe hold the garage up).I love these Blue flowers for the complexity of the design.Perfection in a flower.