NEWS FROM MY GARDEN

And here we are at the end of August and you can feel the warmth of the sun is not as it was in July and the days have become quite a bit shorter but the days are beautiful, in a weeks time the children go back to school. We know it is possible to get the first frost in September but it is also possible we get the first frost in November or December. Summer was short but nice, and September can be quite good. We still have our holiday in France to look forward too ! We are going to visit a lot of gardens, I’ll tell you all about it when I’m back, ok ?

Meanwhile in my garden all is well and I made some changes here and there and I am happy with it.

I PLACED A FEW MIRRORS IN THE NEW GARDEN, I AM PLANNING TO GIVE THEM A LIFE FRAME OF SMALL LEAVED IVY

HERE IS THE OTHER MIRROR AND I HAVE ROOM FOR MORE……

THESE BUTTERFLIES ARE CRAZY ABOUT THE BLOOMING SEDUMS AND I HAVE A LOT OF THEM IN THE GARDEN AT THE MOMENT

SEDUM SPECTABILIS

THIS IS ANOTHER SEDUM BUT I DON’T KNOW ITS NAME, IT WAS A GIFT FROM MY NEIGHBOUR

I FINALLY MANAGED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF ONE OF THE MANY FROGS THAT ARE LIVING IN THE GARDEN, THEY DON’T MAKE A LOT OF NOISE, ONLY A SOFT PRRR PRRR AND THEY LOVE OUR POND

THE WHITE LANTANA CAMARA IS ALSO POPULAR  AMONGST THE BEES AND BUTTERFLIES

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLANTS : VERBENA BONARIENSIS, BLOOMS FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND GETS A LOT OF VISITORS

DAHLIA AND  WHITE ECHINACHEA

MY RESCUED AEONIUM IS THRIVING, IT DIDN’T LOOK GOOD WHEN I BOUGHT IT, I FELT SORRY FOR IT, IT WAS IN A TINY POT AND IT WAS ONLY 2 EURO’S (3 DOLLARS) FOR A BIG PLANT, IT COULDN’T EVEN STAND UP AS THE PLANT WAS FAR TOO HEAVY FOR THE small POT

FUCHSIA MAGELANICA , ONE OF THE EASIEST SHRUBS I KNOW AND VERY WINTERHARDY

FUCHSIA GARTENMEISTER BONDSTEDT

CLOSE UP OF THE GARTENMEISTER BONDSTEDT, THESE TYPE OF FUCHSIA’ WITH THE LONG NARROW FLOWERS NEED MORE WARMTH THAN THE OTHER FUCHSIA’S AND THEY LOVE A PLACE IN FULL SUN

ANOTHER VIEW IN THE MIRROR

LACE CAP HYDRANGEA AT THE POND

ANOTHER HYDRANGEA, NORMALLY THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN HALF DRY BY NOW BUT THEY STARTED BLOOMING VERY LATE THIS YEAR

HYDRANGYA AND THE FAST GROWING RUSSIAN VINE (polygonum aubertii)

AUCUBA JAPONICA AND ANEMONE JAPONICA WITH A FEW POTTED PLANTS IN THE FRONT

THE MOTHER OF ALL MY JADE PLANTS, CRASSULA portulacea OR MONEY PLANT

Have a great week all and enjoy your garden ! Thanks for visiting my blog, it is much appreciated !

END OF JUNE

What’s been happening in my garden at the end of June ? Not much really as we still have no real Summer weather, most days  of the last 2 weeks were cold and rainy and windy but the forecast for the near future is a lot better so shall we finally get Summer over here in froggyland ? I’ll let you know, ok ?!

My garden is full of frogs, I really have to watch where I step when I am removing weeds or plant a plant cos I don’t want to step on one, some are tiny others are quite big but we have the quiet ones, the brown frog, he only says prrrrrr  prrrrr ….The slugs are having a ball too, they are everywhere, luckily we have a thrush with a nest full of babies and I see broken slug shell’s everywhere.

MY FIRST DAHLIA FLOWER OF THE YEAR, A YELLOW ONE CALLED  YELLOW STAR, IT’S IN A BLUE POT SO I LIKE THIS COMBINATION, IT HAS A LOT OF BUDS SO I AM HOPEFULL, ALL IT NEEDS IS A COUPLE OF WARM DAYS

A SOFT YELLOW DAYLILLY COMBINED WITH GERANIUM ANN THOMSON

MY GOATSBEARD (ARUNCUS)  IN FULL BLOOM

MY FIG TREE IS STILL NOT COMPLETELY RECOVERED FROM WINTER BUT IT LOOKS OK AND THE FIGS ARE REALLY BIG THIS YEAR

THIS IS A CLOSE UP OF ONE OF MY AEONIUMS WHO IS DOING VERY WELL DESPITE ALL THE RAIN AND COLD IT HAD SO FAR

AND THIS IS MY DARLING GRANDDAUGHTER (3) WHO LOVES TO WATER EVERYTHING IN THE GARDEN AND IN THE HOUSE, I HAD TO SAVE MANY CACTI AND SUCCULENTS FROM DRAWNING ! BUT I LOVE TO TEACH HER ALL ABOUT GARDENING AND WILDLIFE, I LOVE HER TO BITS !!!

Have a great week all and thanks for stopping by ! Enjoy your garden !

WALK WITH ME

Today I took my camera and took a stroll through my garden to see what is going on. We are now in the middle of May and it is still cold, too cold for the time of the year and it has been raining for a few days now, that is good as the garden was bone dry. With the rain everything grew a bit and the garden is a lot greener than a few days back.

GERANIUM PHAEUM

ALLIUM URSINUM WITH A FEW SHOOTS OF MELISSA OFFICINALIS. THE ALLIUM LEAFS AND FLOWERS ARE LOVELY IN A GREEN SALAD AND FROM THE LEAFS OF THE MELISSA YOU CAN MAKE A LOVELY LEMON TEA, YOU TAKE A FEW LEAFS, POOR HOT WATER ON THEM AND LET IT BE FOR A FEW MINUTES, AND VOILA YOU HAVE A LOVELY HEALTHY TEA THAT TASTES LIKE LEMON TEA, OR YOU CAN ADD A FEW LEAFS TO YOUR ORDINARY TEA TO GIVE IT A LEMONY TASTE

THESE DAHLIA’S ARE WAITING FOR A PLACE IN THE GARDEN, THEY WERE IN THE GREENHOUSE FOR A WHILE BUT THEY ARE HARDENING OFF OUTSIDE AND THEY ARE ENJOYING THE RAIN

LOTS AND LOTS OF BUDS ON MY CLIMBING HYDRANGEA

THIS CUTIE WAS ENJOYING THE WET WEATHER TOO, I NEVER KILL THEM, I LET THE BIRDS IN THE GARDEN DO THEIR JOB AND THEY DO

MELISSA OFFICINALIS, GROWS LIKE MAD AND SELFSEEDS LIKE MAD BUT IS EASILY REMOVED, YOU CAN REMOVE THE FLOWERS BEFORE THEY SET SEEDS, THAT HELPS OFCOURSE, YOU CAN DRY THE LEAFS AND USE THEM IN POT-POURRI

FERNS UNFOLDING

THIS IS SYRINGA PALIBIN, A SMALLER VERSION OF THE SYRINGA VULGARIS, IT IS ONLY ABOUT 100-150 CM HIGH AND ACROSS, THE FLOWERS ARE SMALLER BUT THEY SMELL THE SAME, HERE YOU SEE THE BUDS

A VIEW OF THE FRESH NEW SHOOTS OF ONE OF MY HOSTA’S

ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS OR LADIES MANTLE

MY FIG TREE AT THE MOMENT

IT ALREADY HAS MANY SMALL FIGS

THIS IS HOW MY FIG TREE LOOKED LAST YEAR AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THIS WINTER I COVERED IT WITH THIN FLEECE TO PROTECT IT A BIT FROM THE COLD AND I LOVE THE RESULT !!!!!!

AND THE SHOW STOPPER IS MY NEW AEONIUM, I HOPE THE SUN WILL MAKE IT A LOT DARKER, I DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS A REAL SCHWARTZKOPF BUT I HOPE SO !THERE WAS NO NAME ON IT.

I hope I will soon be able to show you lots of flowers !

Enjoy your garden !

 

A TRIP TO THE GARDEN CENTER

This morning I went to a nearby garden center , I wanted to buy some colourful annuals for my pots but I didn’t really find  what I was looking for, all though they had a lot of choice. I couldn’t leave empty handed of course ! I found some bargains and a few annuals in the right colour. One of the bargains was this nice big aeonium for only 2 euro’s, that is about 3 dollars !!!  I hope his leaves will get darker in the sun. I couldn’t leave that behind, could I ?!!

THE WHITE SPOTS ON THE AEONIUM IS JUST CHALK FROM WATERING

A WHITE AQUILEGIA IN A BIG POT, I CAN DEVIDE THIS INTO SEVERAL PLANTS, AT THE BACK IT IS VERY SOFT LILAC, ALMOST WHITE

I LOVE THIS PINK COLOURED PELARGONIUMS

AND THIS YELLOW MILLION BELLS WILL LOOK GOOD IN FRONT OF MY BLUE WINDOWS

THIS IS A PURPLE AUBRIETA, A WINTERHARDY PERENNIAL, PEOPLE ALSO CALL IT “BLUE CUSHION”, IT IS A LOW GROWING GROUNDCOVERING PLANT

The last couple of days were cold but sunny, too cold for the time of the year and always windy ! Tomorrow we’ll have a cold wet day but as of Tuesday the temps will go higher with 1 C° each day, at night the temperatures still flirt with Mr Frost so my new babies will spent the next couple of days in my greenhouse.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend !!

MINI SUMMER

This week we are having a mini Summer of 5 days and because I am still revalidating after my op I enjoy every minute of it. I could get used to not having a job and be a full time housewife /gardener.

As we have temperatures of about 30 C° during the day I start early with watering the garden and the greenhouse and do some little jobs that need to be doing. There are big jobs to be done too but I can’t start on them as I may not lift, push or pull untill the end of August.

I took some pictures for you this morning.

A SEDUM, WE DON’T HAVE MUCH CHOICE IN WINTERHARDY SUCCULENTS, I PUT MY POTS WITH SUCCULENTS IN THE GREENHOUSE DURING WINTER, NOT FOR THE COLD BUT TO PROTECT THEM FROM TOO MUCH RAIN

A LACE CAP HYDRANGEA

THE LAST OF MY DAY LILLIES IN BLOOM

THIS PINK CLIMBING ROSE IS CLIMBING AGAINST THE AVIARY, IT IS COMBINED WITH RUSSIAN VINE, THE RUSSIAN VINE IS FOR THE BIRDS, MY HUSBAND GIVES THE LEAFS TO HIS BIRDS SO THEY’LL GET DARKER PAWS

FLOWERS OF THE RUSSIAN VINE (FALLOPIA), IT’S A VERY INVASIVE CLIMBER ! YOU HAVE TO CUT IT DOWN EACH YEAR OR IT WILL SWALLOW YOUR GARDEN !

AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT WE STILL HAVE SOME PLANTING TO DO. THIS IS MY AEONIUM, IN SPRING IT HAD ONLY 4 ROSETTES, I AM AMAZED TO SEE HOW WELL IT IS DOING DESPITE ALL THE RAIN. I KEPT IT IN MY LIVINGROOM DURING WINTER AS IT NEEDS QUITE A BIT OF WATER FOR A SUCCULENT.

Goodbye for now, have a great day and enjoy your garden !