A Different Point Of View

The birds eye view today of my garden from the spare room, looking down on it. It is good to see things from a new view point.I usually sit by the back door, or on the rose bench at the end of the garden.
The bottom right corner of the photo shows a wild butterfly bush that is growing out of a drain pipe. I thought I would leave it to see if Butterflys come to the flowers, even though they are twenty feet in the air...
The papers today were full of gloomy stories about the British summer being washed away, with two months of rain.
I watched the Wimbledon mens final yesterday which was an epic in three parts because of the rain. Rafael Nadal won the title in five sets lasting nearly five hours!I had slept for two hours and got up to watch it..
A British summer has Strawberrys and cream, Wimbledon tennis, and rain. My Strawberry planter is to the right of the rose bench.I have had a few fruits this year, but the heavy cropping should begin next year when the plants are two years old.
I watched the birds today, and the garden resident rat climb to get to a bird feeder suspended on a fence post.She climbed all the way up, then fell off..
A neighbours Cat called Spice keeps coming to see me in the morning. This started during my night shifts when I sat in the garden with coffee before bed. She is very friendly.
The masses of House Sparrows continue to raid the bird feeders and fatballs. Blue tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, and Robins join in occasionally.The entire House Sparrow fledgling population seems to frequent my garden, sometimes eighteen of them!
The Teasel is taller than me now, ready for the seedheads to dry and attract the Goldfinches..
I saw a bird eating my black Thistle seed that has been hung for months. At least one bird likes it, as the Goldfinches did not come to it yet.
As i write this the rain continues to pour down. I hope to get to the allotment tomorrow, maybe with an umbrella and some wellington boots. The rain will hopefully make all my vegetables grow beautifully.

Aztec Gold

In flower today two floral treasures of the Aztecs, Dahlias.
The first one is so brilliant it dazzled the camera with its hot pink tones.
Its called "Wink".



These plants travelled from South America to Spain, before being bred to form thousands of hybrids in a rainbow explosion of colours and forms.

The second one is brilliant in the colour of the central eye contrasting to the light coloured tones of the outer petals.
It is called "Kiss"
I have three more Dahlias growing in pots, and two unknown varietys that have grown in the left border from December planting.
These flowers are some of the most beautiful in my garden today.
These flowers have been in cultivation for thousands of years and its easy to see why.
I want to grow Dahlias at the allotment next year for cut flower display.

Fuschia Flamenco

One of my hanging baskets has a Fuschia Winston Churchill in it.The flowers are so vibrant and energetic in the colour of the blooms.
The Lobelia and Busy Lizzies have been slow to start off but are growing on slowly.
Its raining this morning, so I know the allotment and garden will be drinking deeply.
One more night shift left.I ate this morning from the garden a Raspberry, a Strawberry, and some baby Pea's Petite Pois.
The Fuschia flowers remind me of spanish flamenco dancers, with twirling, whirling skirts and limbs outstretched..

The Sounds Of Summer

From the garden this morning an Anemone that has flowered besides an Echinacea that has not.The sun was shining, and the sky was a brilliant blue.After the night shift I sat in the garden with coffee taking random photos.New flowers had appeared overnight.
Every day I find something new in bud, or blooming.The garden is becoming technicolour, with all shades of flowers appearing in the sea of green.
The Tomatos are setting their first fruits, the Peas are starting to swell.The Raspberrys are starting to ripen and turn the red colour.
The plants are growing well in the mix of sunshine and showers.They form lovely combinations together which work well sometimes.
There is so much to blog.Once I have finished the nights I will do a garden highlights, maybe the slide show so I can blog as many photos as I take!
The dense planting is working to keep the moisture in, and the weeds out.It is almost tropical looking.The only thing I have not seen yet is Butterflys.I'm hoping they will come this month, as my Butterfly Bush is blooming now in the corner.
The most popular two Bee plants are the Catnip Six Hills Giant, and the turquoise/blue/purple Cerinthes!These are always buzzing with many varieties of bee's.They make a lovely droning noise as they fly to the pollen rich flowers.The birds are always singing too.The buzzing of flying bees and the songs of the garden birds are the sounds of the summer for me.
Ps Have a happy Independence Day all my American bloggers!

Montbretia yesterday

The Crocosmia bulbs I planted have grown lots of strappy green leaves.One plant is more advanced and has the flowers buds that look like a fern or a zip!
These should flower beautiful red flowers.The buds are spectacular too.
I call it Crocosmia, Cat calls it Montbretia but it is the same plant!

LEH

The first Rose from the Lady Emma Hamilton in my garden. A perfect flower in shades of apricit and copper. It smells very citrusy and sweet. This rose is glowing in the garden compared to the darker green foliage below. There are eleven Rose buds on the bush, so thats ten more to go.
Roses are the archetypal English garden flower,and recently voted the nations number one flower. I read they are used in gardens for people with dementia/alzheimers as they evoke such strong memorys, and are easily recognisable as a Rose.

Colours Of July

My birthday present from Cat was the Lady Emma Hamilton Rose. Its nearly opening its first Rose now. The scent is delicious even from the tightly closed petals. I have watched this grow from the bare stems growing masses of leaves and buds. I will blog it lots as I love the Roses. They are the backbone of the garden.The colours and scents are what make them worth growing.

In the right border this blue and white Anemone is in flower. It was planted with purple, blue, and whites in the right border, and Reds, oranges, and yellows in the left border. A spectrum of colours across the garden.

The Chocolate Cosmos glowing in the sunlight. It was hot today and I was outside most of the day in the garden, and the allotment. The dark petals look crimson in the sunlight and smelled of Belgian chocolates.

My Raspberry Canes are ripening some of the fruit.It is its first year so its not produced masses of fruit yet.Maybe next year.I have eaten Strawberrys every day for the past three days, from Mr Saddiqs neglected ones, and a few big juicy ones from my Strawberry tub planter.I love eating freshly picked soft fruit, when it is warm from the sunshine.

The Teasel flower forming.It is so architectural, and attracts hover flys, flys, ladybirds, ants, and aphids. Not any goldfinches yet, but the seedheads need to dry first.The flower head has turned beige near the top of it, but the cool lime green underneath.

From Hampsons one of a pair of Butterflys. I saw a brilliant Red Butterfly flying across the garden the other day.Alas it never alighted for me to get a photo.The butterflys have been sparse so far.Im waiting for my flowering big guns of the Butterfly Bush, and Purple Cone Flower to bloom to attract the butterflys.Untill then I have my garden ornaments with spring loaded flapping wings.

From the plant stall a Verbena Bonarensis glowing in the sunlight.The camera found the little purple stars hard to focus on when the sun made them glow.I have three of these plants in the right border.They are so tall (nearly six feet tall when fully grown) and have narrow stems that make these flowers appear to dance in the air, suspended over the ground.They look spectacular when planted en masse along a border.Harlow Carr used them in the Rose Revolution borders last year.I think they are there this year too.

The stone Cat and the blue butterfly near to the planter box with the Eryngium and Coleus, underplanted with some busy lizzies.The ghostly gardeners geraniums hang over the stone edging of the left border.Colour and magic in the garden.

The last photo is of Hilarys Orange Geum in her garden.I love the bright colours of this flower, like a fire dance.The shot is blurry with the wind but its full of vitality and energy.
All across the garden there is a spectrum of colours, some blooming away, some getting ready to explode with more colours.Every new summers day brings fresh growth and new vibrant colours.Too many to photograph!
The colours of July will continue to get bigger, brighter, and bolder!Im working nights from tomorrow so posts will slow down again, ready for me to blog rainbow coloured flowers :)