With my trusty knife in hand I have been weeding the gaps in the paving slabs and cutting the grass back from the edges. It was hot work in the sunshine but very satisfying and reminded me of the times I spent cutting round the irregular slabs of stone which made up the path to the front door of our house in France only this was easier as they were square slabs and not all different shapes!
This hydrangea came with us from our garden in France and we unearthed it as it was such a stunning dark blue but sadly it prefers to be pink here - I think I need to add iron or something to get blue flowers don't I?
Our beans continue to grow and are looking very pretty together - for those of you who are interested the red ones are Scarlet Emperor and the pink ones are called Celebration.
The bees seem to like them anyway and were busy buzzing round both colours!
This is the mauve one I told you about and when we looked to see what it was called we discovered it is not a runner bean at all but a climbing French bean called Cobra which would explain why it is not growing at the same pace as the others! I really should have a garden journal and write down all the names of what we plant and so on but I am not that organised I am afraid!
Not a lot of organisation indoors either - when we moved here and finally had a kitchen large enough to eat in I fondly imagined that at least one of the tables might remain clear and harboured thoughts of having a runner with a vase of flowers on the dining table like they do in the Ideal Home or Country Living or whatever!
Fat chance - now we have two tables covered with "stuff" which has to be cleared away to make room to eat or if anyone is coming! Still no table runner nor vase of flowers either although there is a fruit bowl in the kitchen even if some of the fruit is not in it!
Thank you for all you lovely comments re the Dorset buttons - for those who asked about a tutorial I can do no better than refer tyou to this website http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42688/how-to-make-dorset-buttons which is much better than anything I might be able to offer!
love your garden...just beautiful
ReplyDeleteand your kitchen table looks just like mine..i try...but for some reason everything ends up on that table :- {
have a wonderful summer weekend
kary
xxx
Your garden is looking beautiful, I bet those beans will all taste fantastic! I got hubby to do a bit of weeding of my flower garden today - standing over him, making sure he didn't pull out the dahlias! 'But they're green and don't have any flowers' Not Yet, but the WILL!
ReplyDeleteLOL at your tables...we live in hope don't we?
You're going to have some wonderful produce, it's all coming along much quicker than ours. I say that but then I haven't been in the garden for nearly a week - oops.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of 'stuff' on our kitchen table too!
I have just about given up trying to keep our table clear. Your garden is looking very good! Shall have a peep at the Dorset Button site you have posted. :O)
ReplyDeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look out for 'Celebration' because that is such a great colour. Do tell me what it tastes like though. I shall be disappointed if it turns out to be stringy!Lesley xx
Lovely images and comforting clutter.
ReplyDeletePretty garden. Do you have a tip for keeping black fly off the beans? I need one.
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen table looks like ours - we call it "flat surface syndrome!" You have a flat surface and start piling things ont it, you clear is all away and start again! Its a vicious circle!
I'll have to write down the name of those beans for next year. I know my kitchen table will look like that a lot of times, especially the island, it's as if it calls out to all the other things...come to me!!
ReplyDeleteYour garden is very pretty and colourful.....
ReplyDeleteYour garden's looking lovely - unfortunately ours took a bashing during the week with all the wind - snapped sunflowers, sweetpeas etc - so much for all the hard work!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how 'stuff' just accumulates!
Jane....You have my respect, totally. I wish I had the inclination to weed between the patio slabs.....I tell Mr P it is good for wildlife, drives him crazy. Ha! Perhaps one day....
ReplyDeleteThe bean flowers looks so pretty.....who says a veggie garden is boring, it is most delightful. I have always loved runner bean flowers.....
Chaos remains here to. I start out with good intentions, then slowly things start appearing on tables etc......then it goes from bad to worse. That's normal thought surely??
Ooh, loook at all your lovel marigolds - I literally only have one flower! Do you resow every year?
ReplyDeleteLovely garden pics, you've worked really hard. I think we all have tables like that really. We seem to eat more and more in the sitting room watching telly, very bad!
ReplyDeleteJane, what a lovely garden! I was envious when I looked at all the photos!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have to make the ground less acidic to turn them blue, I think, so they can gobble up the aluminum. If your soil is rich in organic matter, it will turn the hydrangeas pink! (mine are white because the ph is neutral in the pot I have them)
and if you have black fly... plant some coriander or fennel. It will attract ladybugs and they can help you out there! also, don't get rid of your garden spiders... some of them prey on the pests!
Your garden is beautiful, I'm quite envious of people with actual gardens! Pots aren't quite the same!.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on my blog and for the kind offer of green tops for felting more pictures.
Thank you! :)
your garden is looking beautiful, I hope we have many long sunny days for you to enjoy it even more.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait till the beans are ready can you Jane? By the way, your post about mascara didn't pop up here but I wanted to say I couldn't agree with you more...it's crazy! x
ReplyDeleteYour garden is SO B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!
ReplyDeleteNot surprisingly... They have a lovely/friendly gardener to thank for!
DEBBIE MOSS
P.S- Thank you for sharing the tutorial!
That`s very kind of you!
Garden looks wonderful - take care of your knees though (sound advice from old lady gardener!!)
ReplyDelete