Penstemon...Blueberry Fudge ...

Tut...can't get the staff nowadays Sandra ;) gorgeous penstemon though and adorable baby!

I know,Karen.and he was on a top rate of pay too ! He will be two tomorrow,and expecting a bonus...:o)

Perhaps he should get one though? ;)

Well,a present at least,Karen...a little pushalong lawnmower that blows bubbles...he just loves them,like all children do :o)

Lovely penstemon Sandra, can't believe Alfie will be two already, he's gorgeous.

Thank you Cinders..It is a lovely Penstemon,and survived the winter ok..Alfie was already in party mode at 8am this morning,apparently.... on a Bouncy castle which had just been erected for the children ..Lol..looks like we are going to have a fun day :o) These two years have just flown by !

Aw...lovely...even adults love bubbles! :)

Of course we do,Karen..:o)

lovely gardener. like the penstemon very much too.

That's a little cracker...and so is Alfie! Happy birthday young man? I hope the party was brilliant.

Lovely flower and what a wonderful garden helper. Hope he enjoyed his party and his new lawnmower. I bought some plug Penstemon a few months ago, they look healthy but have no flowers on them. Do they normally not bloom the 1st year?

I'm glad its done well for you Sandra , Happy 2nd Birthday to Alfie I shall look forward to the photos of you all bouncing in the castle .. Don't spill the drink Ha ha xx

Thank you Sbg,Julia,Jen,Amy and Sheila,for your lovely comments..We all had a great day,especially Alfie..he just loved his Bubbles Lawnmower.I've just added another photo...:o) and no,I refrained from going on the Bouncy
Castle this time round..too many little experts on it,who seemed to know what they were doing ! Lol..

Jen,sorry,but I can't remember if I had flowers on the
Penstemon in its first year..possibly not..This year is the first time I've left it out through winter,but I mulched and fleeced it around the roots..The previous year,I potted it up ,and kept it in the Conservatory ..I hope yours do well for you ..:o)

So glad it was a good party for Alfie. I'm surprise you refrained from going on the Bouncy Castle, though. I should have thought a pro like yourself would have been able to show those little experts some fancy moves of your own lol!

All good things come to an end sometime Julia..and besides I didn't want to give them an inferiority complex at such tender ages ! Lol..life's hard enough for them these days,as it is :o) x.just added another photo..ask nicely,and Richard might buy you one ! xx

Oh, must take a look. We're going rose hunting today :))

Now why doesn't that surprise me ??? Lol x

Thanks bloomer, will just have to be patient :-(. Glad party went well and your present went down well.

Maybe where you are,they would be ok outside..but here in Yorkshire,it's a bit of a chancer...I guess it depends what Mother Nature is going to throw at us ...she has been pretty kind this past two years...3rd time lucky,? we hope !
Thank you,we had a lovely weekend..wonder if there is a bubble strimmer for the edges ? Lol.

I don't know what you mean lol!

Bless him. A typical boy, wanting to know how it works. :0)

Lol love last added photo.

Yes you do,Julia ! and did you find what you wanted ?.yes,a typical boy..I'm sure they were meant to do these things,just to make sure we can use them too ! :o)

Thanks Jen..hope he got the grass cut before the welcome rain we have today :o)

:-). Unlike my hubby. Our lawn mower in being mended. Got it serviced and a couple of weeks later found a part laying on the Lawn after hubby cut the grass. Took it back in and they said it was nothing to do with the service and part only moderated the speed and did we really want part replaced! We said yes of course we do so now having to wait as they had to order it. Next time hubby said he will find somewhere different to go. My grass is getting really long and driving hubby mad. :-).

Oh dear..it might have worked out cheaper to buy a new one ..but then again,why should you? I hope it's ok when you finally get it back..is there anyone you could borrow one from in the meantime?

If we don't get it back soon then we had bought one for our daughter this year and she is only just down the road but ours is hubby's baby :-). All he does in the garden is cut the grass and he, a few years back treated himself to a petrol Hyter. He says it's a really good one but doesn't mean anything to me. All I know is it's a beast of a thing and too big for me. Boys and their toys, they don't grow out of it lol

Lovely photo's Sandra, he is a grand little chap and such a help to you, I remember buying a bubble-mower for Elizabeth then George had it, great fun it was although I remember getting a telling off many a time when it ran out of bubbles, lovely Penstemon, I have a huge pink and white one that does me proud every summer but do you know I cannot keep any others going here, I try them every year only to lose them, might give them a try in pots, that never occurred to me, DUH....Had a chuckle at the story of the big mower Jen's hubby bought, mine treated himself the year I had my troubles, if you remember he took over cutting the lawns for me, I told him at the time it was too big for me to handle but nope !!! he insisted it was the one we had to have and he'd be the one using it, I took the grass-cutting back last summer, much to his relief I might add, I still use my own electric one, his posh petrol hasn't seen the light of day in two years... HUH!! Men and their toys, only bought to look at, lol......

Lol, Lincslass, I will give hubby his due, he does use it but now has his eye on a sit on one! Our garden is not that big! It is also your fault that I bought penstemon for my garden after seeing yours last year lol. Got 3 "heavenly blue" ones. Look healthy but no flowers as of yet.

Sorry to be late to this blog Sandra ... don't know how I missed it! The Penstemon is a pretty one. I cannot believe how Alfie has grown ... looks a smashing little lad and so happy to be helping in your garden ... or not as the case may be! :o)

What a sweetie, they grow up so fast now, make the most of it Sandra...
The Penstemon is such a pretty variety, and obviously happy with you, we don't do well here with them unfortunately...

Oops,Sue and Shirley..I seem to have missed your lovely comments..so sorry..I don't know how that happened. My little helper is still helping..in a fashion :o) and still loving his bubble lawnmower..he also had a bubble machine bought too..can't see him half of the time,so we just follow them ! Lol x

Thank you Angela..he is adorable,as is his older brother Thomas..we feel blessed to have them both..I am so happy with this Penstemon from Amy,as Shirley was kind enough to gift me one a few years ago,but sadly,it didn't survive..:o( I wonder why you don't have any luck with them..is it because of the coastal air perhaps ?

I think that could well be the case Sandra, sad really because we both love them, grew them in the Midlands no trouble at all!!

Such a shame ,Angela..I guess moving back to be able to grow Penstemons,isn't an option then ? Lol

It is strange that Angela can't grow Penstemons ... they do well in my garden but we're not almost in the sea as she is! :o)

It is,Shirley..yours must be more sheltered from the salty sea air..and we all know too much salt is bad for us Lol...same for Penstemons maybe ? .sorry,just had to say that :o) It's going to be one of those days,I think ! x

Any salt in the garden will have been washed away ... heavy rain last night with a massive downpour just now (09.40) .....

Same here,Shirley,but we have been very lucky,as it's the first we have had all week ,unlike some down your way..set to be fine most of the day,and sunny this afternoon.I do hope so,as it's the annual summer Gala day at the Nursery where Alfie goes to..so much has been planned too,so fingers crossed...hope it gets better for you too.:o) x

It definitely got worse Sandra, heavy downpours with surface water on the roads. Hope you fare better! :o)

Oh dear,Shirley..how miserable for you..well,would you believe it ! It turned out to be so warm and sunny..so a wonderful turn out for the Gala..Alison was in charge of the Tombola stall,and sold lots of tickets,so overall ,I think they would do well..We spent a lot of time chasing after Alfie,who kept heading for the bouncy castle...Lol ..I've only just come in from the garden this evening,it's been so nice ..I hope you have a much better day tomorrow ! x

I'm pleased you had a good afternoon Sandra ... this morning was warm and sunny but we're back to dull and grey now (15.15) ... :o(

A lovely day here,Shirley,but rain this evening arrived at 6.30pm.so can't complain about the timing ! .I wanted to watch Celebrity Chase anyway :o) I'm glad you had a nice morning at least :o) forecast a good week ahead..being the cynic that I am,I shall reserve judgement till it is actually here !!

Gorgeous sunny day today, so lots of gardening done this afternoon. Thanks for your e-mail Sandra, will reply tomorrow. Just to say news not too bad for M ... :o)

A lovely day here too,Shirley,but the sun didn't get out till late afternoon....Oh,I'm so glad to hear that, I will look forward to hearing from you,but don't rush,only when you have time ..x

:o)))