SMELLING OF ROSES

Roses, who doesn’t like roses. They are all beautiful but I prefer the ones with a lovely smell. I have several of them in my garden so at the moment my garden smell’s of roses and it is so nice to sit outside in the garden and smell their perfume.

THIS IS ROSA GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR, A RAMBLER WITH A SOFT SMELL

A CLOSE-UP OF THE ROSA GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR

A PINK CLIMBER WHO CLIMBS UP AGAINST THE AVIARY

I LOVE TO HAVE ROSES IN MY LIVINGROOM

THIS FLOWER AND BUD ARE FROM ROSA CONSTANCE SPRY, A CLIMBING ROSE

ROSA THE PILGRIM, A BUSH ROSE

FRANCIS E.LESTER, A RAMBLER WHO SELFSEEDED IN THE MIDDLE OF A SKIMMIA, I DON’T HAVE THE HEART TO REMOVE IT, I DO KEEP IT SMALL THOUGH

AND A CLOSER LOOK AT MY FRANCIS

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND ALL AND ENJOY YOUR GARDEN !

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER AND 15 C°

Yesterday it was the first day of Summer, it was 15 C° with lots of rain and wind and…we had a barbecue in the garden ! It was at my sisters place as she had something to celebrate and we had a partytent and some heating and the bbq was outside under a big umbrella, I wish I had taken some pictures of it to show you but I had my 2 grandchildren (2 and 4) with me and they sure gave me the run arround !!Besides, they have a pond and a playgarden for a 7 year old and the bbq so I could not leave them alone for a second as they are both rather wild and daring…..

Last week I put some of my tender cacti and succulents outside but I’m going to move them back in as it is too cold and too wet and the forecast is not good for the next week. But I must say the garden is green and lush, too green for the time of the year, very few flowers but I’m not complaining. What with all the flooding, bush fires, earthquakes and tornado’s elsewhere….I count myself lucky.

I did take some pictures of my garden this week as the beginning of the week was ok.

MY FIRST LUPINE APPEARED, IT SHOULD BE LUPINUS CHANDELIER AND THE CARD ON THE PLANT SHOWED ME A BRIGHT YELLOW LUPINUS, THIS IS NOT BRIGHT YELLOW, AFTER A FEW DAYS IT EVEN TURNED TO A VERY SOFT ALMOST WHITE APRICOT…..

I FOUND THESE LOVELY HANGING POTS AND I FILLED THEM WITH HARDY SUCCULENTS, AND I WANT MORE OF THEM POTS !!!!

MY FIGS ( white of marseille)HAVE NEVER BEEN AS BIG AS THIS YEAR, THEY STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE WE CAN EAT THEM THOUGH

THIS IS EUCOMIS BICOLOR

A CLOSER LOOK

MALVA PRIMLEY BLUE, I LOVE THOSE DARKER STRIPES ON THE FLOWERS

FLOWERS ON MY PHILADELPHUS BELLE ETOILE

FIRST FLOWERS ON MY GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR, A WHITE RAMBLER WITH A HEAVENLY SMELL, THIS IS A MODEST RAMBLER THAT GROWS UP TO 4 METERS HIGH WHERE OTHER RAMBLERS GO UP TO 10 METERS OR EVEN HIGHER !!

Have a great week all and enjoy your garden ! I will !

VIEWS OF MY WORLD

Today was a quiet Sunday, grey but dry, very windy but not too cold. I always walk through my garden several times a day, for my enjoyment but also to see if everything is ok, to see if all my plants have enough water and to see if they are all doing fine. After many years of experience I can now see when a plant is not feeling well so I can do something about it, give it another place, more sun, less sun, or some fertilizer….usually the plant will be ok afterwards but I do have the occasional death and then I feel awful.

Here are a few pictures for you of how things look at the moment.

DAYLILLIES IN FRONT OF A SPIREA BUSH

AN “ORDINARY” PELARGONIUM ON A WINDOWSILL

BEHIND THE GARAGE IN A CORNER I HAVE AN ELDER IN BLOOM AT THE MOMENT, I CUT IT BACK EVERY YEAR AS OTHERWISE IT WILL BECOME FAR TO BIG BUT I LIKE TO MAKE JELLY WITH THE BLACK BERRIES

A NICE BIG CLUMP OF RHUBARB, VERY EASY TO GROW, I JUST LOVE THAT BIG BOLD LEAF !

FLOWERING GRAPE IN THE GREENHOUSE

SNACK TOMATOES IN THE GREENHOUSE, THEY STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE WE CAN EAT THEM !

THE FIRST OF THE REAL TOMATOES, THEY ARE GOING TO NEED A LOT OF SUN BEFORE WE CAN EAT THEM !

WILD STRAWBERRIES IN A POT, THEY SEEM TO LIKE IT, I HAVE TO COVER THEM WITH AN OLD CURTAIN TO KEEP THE BIRDS AWAY WHEN THE FRUIT IS RIPE, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS !!!

LOADS OF BUDS ON MY ROSA GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR, NORMALLY IT IS IN BLOOM AT THE END OF MAY

I JUST PLANTED CRAWLING THYME  ( THYMUS PRAECOX ALBIFLORUS) AS GROUNDCOVER HERE AND THERE

SWORD FLAG OR YELLOW IRIS IN THE MARSH ZONE OF THE POND, YOU CAN ALSO SEE LOTS OF WATER MINT, GROWS LIKE CRAZY EVERYWHERE IN THE GARDEN BUT CAN BE EASILY REMOVED SO I LET IT GROW WHEN IT IS NOT IN THE WAY OR OVERCROWDING ANOTHER PLANT

ONE OF MY MANY HOSTA’S IN THE POND AREA

A CUTE LITTLE FOXGLOVE IN ONE OF THE BORDERS AMONGST THE NEPETA, SEDUM, AND DAYLILLY LEAFS

MY CLIMBING HYDRANGEA IN BLOOM BEHIND THE GREENHOUSE

Have a great week dear readers ! Thanks for stopping by, it is much appreciated !

A SUNDAY IN JUNE

Today is Sun-day but the sun keeps playing games, now she’s here, then she’s gone again. We have about 20 C° but the sky is grey, I’m not complaining cos this kind of weather is ideal for me to work in the garden. I’ve been working in the garden all morning so I thought I deserved a bit of a break and a cup of tea.

I took some pictures this morning for you to see some more of what is going on in my garden.

THIS HEAD IS SOMETHING I MADE IN A WORKSHOP A FEW YEARS AGO, I MADE THIS WITH THE INTENTION OF PUTTING SUCCULENTS IN BUT I FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT UNTILL RECENTY, FINALLY LAST WEEK I GAVE HIM A BIT OF SUCCULENT HAIR, IT’S A SEDUM BUT IT HAS TO GROW A BIT MORE

MY HOSTA’S ARE GETTING BUDS, I LIKE HOSTA LEAFS A LOT, THE BIGGER THE BETTER BUT WHEN THEIR BLOOMS ARE NEW AND FRESH THEY LOOK LIKE A MILLIONDOLLAR PICTURE !

JASMINBLOOMS, THE LATIN NAME IS PHILADELPHUS AND THIS IS “BELLE ETOILE”, SMELL’S GORGEOUS !

THIS IS A PERENNIAL CALLED ARUNCUS DIOICUS, BUT PEOPLE CALL IS GOATS BEARD. IT NEEDS SHADE AND MOIST SOIL SO I PLANTED IT BEHIND THE POND, IT SEEMS HE LIKES IT THERE COS IT IS HUGE, IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A BUSH THAN LIKE A PERENNIAL, WHAT YOU SEE IS ONLY A SMALL PIECE OF IT AS I WANTED YOU TO SHOW THE BLOOMS

ISN’T SHE GORGEOUS MY ROSA CONSTANCE SPRY !? SHE IS PRICKLY THOUGH, MY HUSBAND IS VERY MUCH AFRAID OF MRS SPRY AS SHE ALWAYS GRABS HIM WHERE SHE CAN AND THEN HE CRIES FOR MY HELP ! CAN YOU IMAGINE !

Now I go and do a bit more in the garden as this afternoon it is my granddaughters first school fair and she has to “perform” for hundreds of people, she is 2,5 years old and ever so cute.

HAVE A NICE AND SUNNY SUNDAY ALL EXCEPT FOR THOSE WHO NEED RAIN, I WHISH I COULD SENT YOU SOME RAINCLOUDS WHO SOFTLY LET THE RAIN DRIP ONTO YOUR THIRSTY GARDEN

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR VISIT !!

FINALLY !!!

Finally it stopped raning after more then 48 hours !!! Everything is WET !!! Yesterday the highest daytemperature was 9 C° !!at the end of Spring ! Todays highest temperatures will be 16 C°but showers are always a possibility.

Today I’ll tell you about my greenhouse. We bought it about 2 years ago so I am still experimenting. It is unheated so I can’t put my tropical plants there or my cacti in Winter, but I do put my winterhardy succulents in it to keep them dry. I use it to grow vegetables and fruits. I have tomato’s, they are about 60 cm high at the moment and they have no flowers yet but I grow them from seeds, they don’t look tasty as they have a brown colour with a bit of red, I  had this variety before and they taste lovely.I also grow a few tomato plants outside in a big pot but if we get a cool and rainy Summer they will rot before they ripe, but I want to give it a try anyway. Last year I planted a grape in the greenhouse, one with blue grapes,called vitis “muscat bleu”, it is still a baby but it is doing well.Each year I grow pinapple cherry’s (physalis peruviana), a lovely fruit and full of vitamins, it is very easy to sow and to grow, I sow them myself in early Spring and I put them on a windowsill inside, as soon as the frosts are gone by mid May, I plant them in he greenhouse and outside in the sun.

My veggie’s in the greenhouse are just common ones, red onions, challots, sweet corn, a few cabbages, lettuce, sellery’s, leeks, not much cos the tomato’s and the pinapple cherry’s take most of the space.

ONE OF THE ROSES IN MY GARDEN, ROSA YELLOW GRAHAM THOMAS, IT HAS A LOVELY SCENT !SMELL’S MORE LIKE FREESIA’S ACTUALLY

A VIEW Of THE POND, THERE ARE MANY PLANTS IN THE POND, TOO MUCH REALLY, I HAVE TO ASK MY HUSBAND TO REMOVE MOST OF IT, IT GROWS LIKE MAD ! THAT’S BECAUSE WE HAVE KOI CARPS IN THE POND AS WELL

ROSA GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR MAKES MY WHOLE GARDEN SMELL OF ROSES, LOVELY !!!

ANOTHER VIEW OF  ROSA GUIRLANDE D’AMOUR

THIS IS CLEMATIS VITICELLA ETOILE VIOLETTE, AN EASY CLEMATIS WHO BLOOMS A LONG TIME

MY YUCCA IN THE SUN, IN WINTER I  HAVE TO BRING HIM INSIDE BUT HE CAN HAVE A BIT OF FROST

Have to go now, work is calling.

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND ENJOY YOUR GARDEN ! thanks for stopping by