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Sunday 1 August 2010

Round and round the garden like a teddy bear (or two)!


Would you like to share a Sunday morning stroll round the garden with me?


I don't know where this came from we certainly didn't plant it and it wasn't there last year but isn't it lovely?




The montbretia is doing better this year...





I can't remember what this is called but it seems to be doing well in spite of the fact that it never gets any water being under the overhang of the roof! The hollyhocks alongside have made plenty of green too and I have hopes for some flowers next year - proper cottage garden flowers I always think.



Snapdragons another flower full of memories for me!




Cosmos seeds which I had via a swap earlier in the year are now in flower and the bees like them as you can see.





Look gooseberries! I thought these plants were not going to do anything but see we have 3 gooseberries - now what can I make that only needs 3?!! Maybe I'll just eat them as they are.





Petunias are always a winner and just seem to go on and on. I love the fabulous detail in their markings.


Can't remember what these two are but they look good in the pots together.


And nearby are the geraniums and my hot water plants which usually stay indoors but this year I have put them outside and they are enjoying the holiday! The salvia was a gift and isn't the blue stunning?


At last! We planted some sweetpea plants being too late for seeds and so far have had nothing but greenery - I noticed on Jackie's blog that she had had the same problem so maybe they don't like being contained although the few we also planted in the ground are very late too.







But the perfume is always worth waiting for and always wafts me back to hot childhood summers (it was always hot and sunny then or was it?!)



Tomatoes coming along nicely...


The little cherry ones are already ripening well.


Green courgette on its way....





Yellow one ready for dinner tonight methinks before something else - slugs perhaps? - has it!!




Little cucumber ready soon - we have already had several and they are beautifully sweet though you do need to peel them as the skins are a little tough being outdoor grown ones.




The flowers on this clematis are much smaller though more numerous than last year but what a lovely colour it is isn't it.



My marigolds continue to flower and are just so cheerful and sunny - thank you Lesley!



Nasturtiums too are always cheery and I am popping the odd one into my salads for some extra colour as luckily no blackfly!



I do hope these are not a sign that autumn is on its way pretty though they are!!




The beans harvest continues apace and they are delicious - the pink ones taste the same as the red as far as we can tell as having grown them together once the flowers turn into beans we can't differentiate between them and even if we could they'd get cooked together ! Delicious which ever they are and the climbing French beans are also lovely and crisp and the flavour beats anything you could buy in the market - even the market in Limoges!!






My lovely deep blue hydrangea from our garden in France seems very happy here but is resolutely pink. I have bought some sequestered iron to feed it as recommended and hope that next year it might return to its previous deep blue though the soil here is obviously very different to that in our garden in the Haute Vienne. Either way it is a lovely plant and I still remember our time in France when I look at it!


And the Teddy Bears? Well these two are both geriatric bears both having had their bus passes for some time! Timmy on the right is over 65 and Tubby is a little younger at just over 60!! Poor Timmy had his eyes removed as they were on those fearsome wires (no health and safety in those days!) and fell out eventually to be replaced with embroidery and Tubby as you can see has had his pawpads repaired with a piece of my Aunt's old skirt!! They are both well loved as you can tell being almost without fur now!!




Many thanks for all your kind comments on my previous posts - you may regret being so encouraging as I plan to write my story as suggested by several of you and will no doubt post some of it as I go along. Do say if you'd rather I didn't!

17 comments:

  1. I love the teddies (and the plants too of course) Your unidentifued one near your hollyhocks is Houttuynia - very pretty bu smells revolting if you break the stem or pick it!
    Su

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  2. It all looks alive and kicking! Lucky you re being able to eat your nasturtiums...... we would definitely be getting extra protein if we attempted to eat ours!! ;O))))))

    I love Cosmos: they are such GOOD VALUE, flowering from now right through to first frost.

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  3. What a lovely colourful and productive garden you have. The vegies especially are very impressive.
    I think your life sounds very interesting and your daughter will love to have it in years to come. Where she is at the moment is west of Brisbane and those interior towns can be cold in Winter but will soon be warming up. It has been very warm in Brisbane but we are hoping to have a bit more of Winter before the heat returns.
    Cheers
    Helen

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  4. What fab garden produce and flowers. Gorgeous elderly bears too :-)
    A x

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  5. Thank you for letting us share your morning walk - an inspiration - one morning I must do the same!! We have purple french beans but they turn green when cooked! They look great raw. We love yellow courgettes and outdoor cucumbers too.

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  6. Your garden is very colourful and nice! The vegetable garden looks deliciously productive! It is great to see such treasured bears. I have always preferred bears to dolls!
    Lucy xxxxx

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  7. Thank you for your comments on my blog. The summer camp is going very well thank you. We have painted a big banner, made beaded dragonflies and bracelets and made totem poles out of toilet roll tubes.
    I think we will do some felting, painted tiles etc tomorrow. It has rained a lot here and the children who normally do sport outside have wanted to do crafting as well and so it has been popular!
    Lucy xxxxxx

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  8. I loved that little stroll (and nosey) around your beautiful garden.

    What fantastic hydrangea's you've got - they're a lovely colour.

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  9. What a lovely stroll around your garden, I really enjoyed it. The teddy bears are great but then I do have rather a soft spot for bears! :-)

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  10. Garden is lovely Jane. In my experience sweet peas never do well in containers, they are just not deep enough to satisfy their root system.

    Love the teddy bears....I collect them. I have Mr P's childhood bear. It has its growler removed. Mr P decided, when he was ten, to operate on said bear.....beastly child!!

    Glad you

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  11. BTW...glad you are writing your story....wonderful. You can put my name down for a copy when it is finished......

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  12. Well it all seems to be happening in your garden, I hope the courgette was as delicious as it looked! You write away, I for one will be happy to listen. Oh and by the way, please don't think me ungrateful but I'm not at home so I can't thank you for my Pay it Forward for some time!

    Kate x

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  13. Jane, you have a very beautiful garden and cherished
    teddies both seem very well cared for!
    Linda x

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  14. Hi Jane,
    Beautiful garden! I wish mine had half as many lovely flowers. I do have the flowers in the second photo (we called them lillies)and they are spreading like crazy.
    Sorry, but I can only encourage you to write your story, please put me at the top of the list for a copy! :-)
    Have a great week.

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  15. Your garden must have given you so much pleasure over the Summer. Its lovely. Looking very productive too with all the fruit and veg. Give the teddies a hug. They look very much loved!
    Penny

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  16. Beautiful garden, and don't you just love the corgette flowers they are so cheery and very impressive... I am definitely growing more corgettes next year...

    I didn't manage to get any sweetpeas this year... I do so love their smell though... and Hollyhocks and foxgloves are my favoutite cottage flower.. however I had forgotten about the snapdragons.. I remember making them talk by gently squeezing them! lol

    x Alex

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  17. Your fourth photo---could that be 'pink splash'? and another un-identifited plant, where you have the white and lavender/purple plant---the purple plant is 'streptocarpella'. Mine is named 'Concord Blue'.

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