Snappin' between the showers!

Looking good, Libet :) The acer and lillies in your first photo are breathtaking....such a rich and beautiful colour to both plants.

Your Geoff Hamilton rose was a great choice...it's such a bonus when you have the lovely scent too and a nice way to remember your mom.

Hope you get some sunny days now and no more hail or heavy rains.

What lovely plants and stories to go with them Libet. I just love that heuchera with the Geum! I do love a good contrast! The dark Lily is absolutely stunning as well. I have been a little disappointed with my lilies this year...I didn't choose well, and one of them is definitely not what I ordered.....oh well, next year.....! :)) p.s. lovely rose you chose for your lovely Mum x

Lovely Libet - you have cracking plants around your garden - nice to see you doing a blog :)))

Wow Libet, another fine set of photos from your garden, straight into faves!
Love the first and last photos...aster/lily and eryngium sp? and knautia.
That Splish Splash is stunning and the self seeded campanula.
It's a bit early in the morning but yes, saw the bee!!

Lovely set of pics, Libet..
You have lots of rain in your part of the world, which makes everything grow and green up fast !

Lovely Libet, great photos, love the Plum Royale, and the rose for your mum is great too.

lovely pictures lovely garden i would be to embarrased to show my shots after seeing yours ihave asked for riverbank planting but got no reply as yet heres hoping as i need to go soon as sun is shining !!

Oooooooohhhhhh lovely jubbly flowers Libet, I adore that rose you chose for 'mum', and that drop dead gorgeous lily, Landini, perfection. As for those heucheras well, smashing!! You would be proud of me Libet, I split my heuchera and now am the owner if six babies all looking strong and lovely. Isnt the garden a great place to be?

What a beautiful garden Libet! I'm so jealous! Your plants all look so healthy! Love them all! You must be very proud! :)))

what lovely flowers libet, like little (or not so little) treasures.
i was just admiring those canterbury bells when i saw my name ~ thank you ~ i shall definitely look out for those!!
i have splish splash cos i liked it so much when spritzhenry put a picture on but i dont have any flowers on it.
beautiful garden, gorgeous blog ~ thank you
hope you get some more sun!!!

Ireland at it's best show I would say Libet. Beautiful!!

Gosh! you go out for a couple of hours...and look what's happened!
Thank you folks for your fantastic feedback!

Hello Jaquie! Thank you! Yes, the lilies were lovely last year, but the hail got them when I wasn't at home, and just battered their wee noses off! I'm pleased with the Rose as well...it took long enough to choose!

Hi Karen! Thanks for the lovely comments! Isn't it disappointing when you've spent time carefully picking a plant, especially a bulb, and the flipping labels all wrong! That's happened twice to me this year!...so far!:0) Thank you as well for your help with Mum's rose!

Thanks Paul! I think you're away at the minute! But thanks for the lovely comments!...and I promise to do some more blogs! ;0)

Hiya Lulu! Good eyes girlie! Well done spotting the bumbler! And trust you to notice I forgot the name of the Eryngium, it's 'Jos Eiking'!

Hello Terra! Thank you so much! You're so right about the rain! We had about three days of sun a couple of days ago and it made such a lovely change...it actually felt like summer! Lol!

Thank you Cinders! That Heuchera is a new one this year, which I of course split into three! It's lovely when the sun shines through the leaves! And I'm pleased I've finally got Mum's rose sorted, it just took a wee while!

Thank you Alisontwist! And welcome to Goy! Don't you dare be embarrassed to put your garden on Alison! I'm sure it's great! Everyone's thinks that all the lovely gardens on Goy are better than their own! And thank you for your kind comments! I don't have much knowledge of riverbank planting, and I had a quick look to see your question, I think we would need to know how big the planting area is, which direction it faces, soil conditions, and whether the plants are to go right down to the water's edge, or are further up the bank. Also, are you looking for a natural look, or would be up for planting more cultivated versions of plants such as primulas, irises, grasses etc? The world's your oyster! If you click on one of the letters below along the bottom of the page, they'll take you to subjects on Goypedia, which might be useful to you. Sorry not to be of more help, but this might get you started! Good luck Alison!

Ohhh! Granmage! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! Och! that's great that they all worked for you! Think of the money you've saved, never mind the obvious joy you got out of doing it in the first place!! You're a real wee green fingered gardener! *chest swells with pride!*
And thank you so much for your enthusiastic comments, Grandmage, you're right! The garden IS a great place to be!

Really enjoyed your blog Libet, with some beautiful pics and descriptive words too! The 'Geoff Hamilton' rose is a great choice as a commemorative rose to your Mum and I love the Geranium 'Splish Splash'! You've also reminded me that my 'Lady Stratheden' has failed to make an appearance this year, so possibly a Winter casualty. Hope you're enjoying some lovely sunshine today. ... :o))

Hiya!, thanks Pixi! That's so nice of you! Glad you like them! Don't be jealous, Pixi! Green only works in the garden!! And your garden's a gem!(emerald?!) lol!

Hello Sticki! Very poetic comments Pip! Yes! Every time I pass those campanulas I think of you, in fact anything that grows well in shade gets told "I'll have to recommend you to the 'Stickster!'" Lol!!;0) I know you have difficulties with the shade in your garden. Splish Splash should work well too, the 6th pic down, shows the one that seeded itself, and it's quite shady there, it flowers better in it's second year!! Thank you again for your kind comments!!:0)

Thank you Coshad, you're too kind! I'm blushing now!

Och! It's Shirl the Girl!! Lol! Glad you enjoyed the blog, isn't Geoff lovely? I know Mum would have loved it. It's funny, everyone seems to love wee Splish Splash! That's sad you seem to have lost your Lady Stratheden, I'm surprised I kept mine, and it was in quite a damp spot in the garden! It's not sunny today, flip! I'm that shocked! ;0) but it's not raining, so that's always a bonus!! At least I'll stay dry! Thank you again for your lovely comments!

gawjuss pics libet ............... lorve the roses , my faves all of em lol . i like brite colours at this time !!! , your garden looks brill hun ;0)))

I'm on a mission to find Lady S. now ... lol!

Thanks Cristina! That's great 'hun'! (I love the way you say that to people!), glad you liked the roses, I know your a rosy girlie! Thanks for the lovely comments...as always!

Oooer Shirley! Hope you find one! Lol!

haha lol ................. but i do mean it ;0)))))

I know! :0) Lol!

;0)))))))))))))))))

Lovely plants. I love the colour of the leaves on thr acer.

all looks so pretty Libet and i see the Bee lol, lovely pics :o))

Thank you, Alextb glad you liked them!

Wooohoo! Sanbaz, you saw the bee! I need to get out more... Thank you for the lovely comment San, very kind!

Your garden is really nice, lovely and colourful I like the rose arch and the Heuchera, I have the campanula but in blue as well as white :-)

what a lovely garden... I saw the bee! And i love the ghostly colour of the eryngium. Does it show up well in the dark and what sort of situation is it in? Oh and one more question how tall does it grow? Thankyou for sharing your lovely piccies.

what a lovely, interesting and well taken set of pictures and super blog Libet..love it all..

i particularly like your stunning rose in dedication of your mum.. beautiful thing indeed no doubt a lovely tribute..i also think the deep rich colour of the Arabian Night is wonderful..

all in all a sensational blog and thank you for sharing

Thanks Mavisc! There's certainly a lot of colour...whether they all go together is another thing! I'm just happy if they grow at all! I must get some white campanula, it must be beautiful!

Hello Lisal, well done on spotting the bee! He's quite hard to see bum-on! Yes, the Eryngium does show up really quite well, the edges are quite pale so it sort of glows in the dusk. it's in my hot, dry, raised border, just in front of the patio, and it is VERY well drained! Although when I planted it, I did add some multipurpose compost, to let it get it's roots down. The curious thing is that it gets more blue the hotter it gets!? It only grows to about 50-60cms, but as I said it's in full sun all day. It survived last winter too, it was frozen solid, and was late to pop up...but it did! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog Lisal, very kind!

Och! Hello Skips! You always say the nicest things, thank you so much for those lovely comments, I've gone all warm and fuzzy!! Lol!

Its so nice to see your garden again.Its looking really lovely.I don't know if you saw my blog with all my roses Eliabeth but if you did you will know that the rose Geoff Hamilton is one of my favourites also and i also have Gertrude Jekyll.Your campanula looks lovely. I always seem to lose these.Your arch has come on so well .Looking forward to seeing the rest of your pics.

Hi Libet,
So sorry to hear you lost your Mom. As a relative newcomer here I'm sorry that I don't know when that was. Geoff Hamilton certainly is a lovely rose to have in her memory. I have him in the front garden and Gertrude J. in the back. Both are about to repeat-flower. I bought Geranium Splish-splash last year - lovely. But this year I have the same problem as Sticki T. - no flowers! Don't have a clue as to why.
Your photos are lovely. As to a favourite, I'm torn between the heuchera and geum and the first of the two rose arch pictures. What is it about arches that makes them so appealing? Just love them!

Och Rose! You found me! It's so lovely that we have so many of the same flowers! And I didn't even know you had Geoff and Gertrude! Such a small world! I must go and look for your blog, I may have missed it when the internet went all squiffy, remember 'Dongle-gate?!' Hasn't the arch done well! I have pics from a week later and it's even better now! Ooops I'm sounding vain :0( that's not good! Thanks for your lovely comments Rose, you're always very kind!

Hello Tuesdaybear! Thank you for your kind thoughts, you're very sweet! We lost Mum a few years back, but it was under really tragic circumstances, with a routine operation going wrong, and she sadly died a week later through further complications.
But, life has to go on, and I'd been promising myself I would do something, go somewhere, or plant something, in her memory, so I finally did, and it did make things feel just a little bit better, for some strange reason! I'll just take it as it comes!
Another person with Geoff and Gertrude! Wonder how many more there are! And a Splish Splash! Are you feeding your geranium? Sometimes the fertiliser is too strong in nitrogen, and the plant gets loads of leaves, to the detriment of the flowers, something like Miracle Gro is a good flower feed, better balanced in the old nitrogen department! I love arches as well! Maybe the charm is that you just HAVE! to walk through them to see what's on the other side! Thank you for your kind comments again, Tuesdaybear, it's really lovely to meet you!

Libet you`ve left me drooling, I want to poke and peep everywhere.lol. Wish I had room for that Sorbus Cashmiriana, and I don`t care if the rose over the arch hasn`t any scent - its gawjus as Cristina would say. Your a very talented lady when it comes to gardening, thanks for the tour.

Some lovely photos there

Thank you so much Lilbet for the delightful tour of your wonderful garden .

And a lovely memory rose of your Mum its beautiful.

Your write an enjoyable want to come back blog Lilbet.

From Scotkat

Thank you so much Stroller! Your comments are so lovely, I'm really, really, flattered! And your welcome for a tour anytime! :0)

Hello Stevie! Thanks very much!

Thank you Scotkat! Wow! That's such a compliment! Thanks for those lovely comments!

Smashing blog Libet and lovely pics with all names and info, added to my favs for future reference.
I love the heuchera with the geum, they look stunning together and also adding splishsplash to my wishlist, gets ever longer all the time.
You have a beautiful garden and I enjoyed having a wander, thankyou...

I enjoyed looking at all your lovely photos Libet, all that rain has produced some beautiful results. Your lovely "Excelsa" rose really takes me back as I had one of these in my previous garden, grown as a weeping standard. It was a real show stopper. I'm glad to have been reminded of it as I have a space for a climber become vacant due to the demise of my beautiful "Canary Bird" rose..........

Och, thanks Lincslass, you're too kind! Thank you for adding it to your favourites, that's lovely! The wee Splish Splash geranium, has been very popular, thanks again for your kind comments!

Thank you Lily! Those are lovely comments! No doubt it's hard to look out at the garden when it's flooding, but it eventually disappears and then I can go out and play again! The 'Excelsa' Rose is a fantastic rose! I cut it back...brutally! about three years ago, and in the same season you'd think I'd never touched it, other than being thick with bloom, for months! It is such a pity it doesn't have a scent, but can't have everything! But it is a stunner, and that's such a shame you lost your 'Canary Bird' so you'll have to put your thinking cap on and choose another?...;0)

Hi Elizabeth Very nice blog indeed . Yes i wil try dahlias next year but your garden is so vast. Very pleasent pictures and beautyful plants just makes one very comfortable. Absolutely wonderful. Take care and thankyou for the pleasure Tony

Och no Tony! Always room for a Dahlia! You can put one in a big pot, it'll bloom all summer, if you keep it deadheaded! They're fab! Thank you, for the lovely comments, Tony, you can always be depended on to say something sweet! I'm chuffed to bits!

Lovely set of pics Libet. The rain falls mainly on County Antrim......you could send some to Essex. We had a handy downfall yesterday morning that filled a big butt. The Geof Hamilton rose looks a delight nestling in those green leaves. Thunderstorms forecast for later today. These hot spells usually end in tears. Must go and do some watering of the many pots.

Lol!! You got that right! It's looking better today... tomorrow... more rain!... Oh! what a surprise! Lol! I'd love to send it down to Essex, but I'd rather you didn't get it all in one huge deluge! It flattens everything, doesn't it?...including your mood! Thank you for your lovely comments Dorjac, and for taking the time to read my wee blog, there are so many on at the minute, it's difficult to keep up! Hope those pots are watered! Lol!;0)

Wow... wonderful blog, Libet. Beautiful garden...and the roses! fantastic! Will be keeping tabs to see the next installment.

Still waiting for the storms Libet, and it is well into the eighties here. There is one thing that rain...... wakes up a parched garden and makes it a joy.....lack of rain for too long makes a garden sulk and shrivel.

Hello Lori! Lovely to see your wee smiley face! Thanks for those wonderful comments you're always so kind and generous!

Oh goodness! Dorjac, you must be melting pet! I was thinking about what you said before, when I was going down the garden to open the greenhouse, and I thought about all the folks on Goy who have had to water parched gardens, so, although it's a pain because I can't get into the garden, rain is a Godsend to a garden gasping for water! It does keep everything lovely and fresh, and I do really appreciate the fact I haven't had to go around and water every day!
I hope the weather breaks for you soon Dorjac, it must be difficult to sleep at night with it being so muggy, so, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but, I hope it rains for you very soon! Lol! :0)

Thanks for your welcome, Libet. I can hear your beautiful lilting accent in your posts.
Geoff and Gertrude are into their 2nd performances now, as are a number of other roses - don't you love them for it?
I haven't fed my Splish- splash at all; could that be the problem?
As for the rain, I'm hoping for some at night, as we're off on holiday and I'm really not convinced that my 17 year old son will get round with the hose sufficiently frequently so that I don't return to a garden of dead plants.I have explained to him the procedure for dead-heading but really don't hold out much hope on that score. That's the downside of holidays, I suppose, but I'm not complaining. I wish lovely weather for all those who aren't able to get away.

Oh no! I hate my Northern Ireland accent!...I sound like Christine Bleakley off the One Show, nope, she's on the morning news programme now, anyhoo! if you like it, that's good enough for me, pet!
Do you have any other David Austin roses? I find they start sprouting away even if you can't reach up to deadhead the very top! They are fab 'doers' even if they are a bit...(whisper it)..expensive...but sooo worth every penny!
Are you going somewhere nice? If you're just going for a week there might be some hope of having something green when you come back, but if it's a fortnight...!
Maybe he'll surprise you! And maybe he'll remember to water the night before you come back! Lol! Oh, that's bad! I shouldn't say that, I don't know the wee button, I bet you, your garden will be grand! Thank you for the good weather wish! And right back at you! Have a lovely restful hols and don't worry about the garden...but I know you will! Lol! ;0)x

Fantastic Libet for bringing sunshine in the way of your photo's, It's raining very heavy here this morning can't go in the garden so logged on to GOY and read your blog, enjoyed all the photo's, love the deep red Asiatic Lily and Heuchera ‘Plum Royale your planting looks wounderful. The rain is so heavy at the moment I can't hear myself think so no dashing in an out of my garden between showers for me! :-))

Good for you! It's (ahem!) research, isn't it! Lol! ;0) You see, there's always a silver lining! It's heaving with rain... I'll just have a wee look on Goy! Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog, your comments are just lovely, and I really appreciate them, it's very encouraging! There was a lot of dashing out to snap a quick pic!! Keeps me fit!...ish! Lol! :0)

I hope your rain has left you now Libet. It is falling here now with a promise of a clearance PM. The movable perlargoniums are undercover.....I got wet moving them, the rest of the garden plants are saying thank goodness for that...... water at last. We gardeners are the only ones who really want rain at times...not always of course. In the winter, when there was no sun for weeks on end. I painted the best flower picture of peony Bowl of Beauty I have ever have attempted from photographs. Your picture of 'Geof Hamilton' Makes me want to paint him....the rose I mean!

What a beautiful garden you have. I took note of the Canterbury Bell growing in shade - another idea for me to try - and, yes, I spotted the bumble bee.

Keep taking those lovely photos and showing them to us.

I had to come and have another look at your garden Elizabeth as it is soooo lovely.I'm sure your mum would have loved the rose. You must be very dedicated to actually keep nipping out in the rain! The beauty of my cottage gardens is that they are so tightly packed that weeds don't stand a chance.If one appears it's because it towers above the garden.My blogs called I know its July. Hope you enjoy it.I too can hear that lovely irish lilt in your voice and you should be proud of it.Enjoy your garden and take care.

ooooooo i say what a gorgous aray of pics im loving your splish spash with the hecura they look great togeather,your archway looks soooo pretty,a great blog by a great gardener me thinks ! and that pink rose is so pretty,thanks for sharing really enjoyed your blog,happy gardening Libet :)

Thank you Note pad, that's so nice! Why not give the campanulas a go, they wouldn't have seeded themselves there, if they weren't happy! And, you spotted the wee bee! My day is complete!! lol! ;0)

Forgot to say , my golden hop has left the archway and grown up right up into the laburnham tree , so watch out for yours!

Forgot to say , my golden hop has left the archway and grown up right up into the laburnham tree , so watch out for yours!

My goodness Rose! I just know I'm going to go out into the garden and find you under the acanthus or something! That's so lovely that you came back, pet. There's not too many weeds around at the minute, so the mulch is working! That and a few good big plants of hardy geraniums, will smother most weeds! We had lovely weather today...between the showers!! I've been sneaking out today, between jobs, to the greenhouse to prick out apricot foxgloves today, loads of them! Luckily they germinated really well! I promise to be proud of my accent, Rose!

As annoying as it may be..doesn't the rain make everything look so fresh and healthy, you have a beautiful garden and plants Lilbet. :))))

Hello W! Thank you so much, you're so encouraging! Glad you like the arch, pet, it's looking grand at the minute, I'd love another one but I wouldn't be too sure where to put it! Another project!! Lol! Happy gardening to you too W!x

Do you know what Rose? I had to get Keith to pull ours out of the plum tree just this weekend! And boy! did it not want to come down! It hasn't got over the rose arch...yet! Must go and check anyway!! Thanks for the heads up Rose!

Thanks Michaella! I shouldn't moan about the rain, you're right! The garden wouldn't like it is without it! Thank you for your lovely comments Michaella, you're always very kind! :0)

lol libet sure you will find somewhere ! im eventually gonna have an arch in my front garden so will so be on the look out hopefully soon for some lovely scented roses to go over it,at the mo iseem to have a few projects on the go afraid the housework seems to have taken a back seat lol :)

I know what you mean! I keep coming into the house and asking the cats, "exactly why haven't either of you done the hoovering!" An arch in your front garden will be lovely W! I can just see it in my minds eye!...wherever the dickens that is! Get on your computer, or the Goypedia, and do some research, if you have a bit of spare cash... look down the back of the sofa!... I don't think you could go far wrong with a David Austin rose, but they are dear. Oh! And be on the lookout for the Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi for roses. You just sprinkle a little of it into the planting hole, and a wee bit on the rootball, and the fungi will double the size of root system your rose will grow! I've used it for mine just this year, and I'm amazed at it! The RhS have put their name to it, so they must reckon it's good too! But look! Have a look around and a think, it's half the fun anyway! And just spray some furniture polish into the rooms...people will be thinking you've been dusting all day! ;0)

Your welcome Elizabeth,I have tried to keep it under control other years by constantly tying it in where i want it to go but found it never did as well, so decided this year to leave it to its own devices. Well, if you do find me under the acanthus you better get that kettle on!

Lol! Rose! I'm always ready to make a wee cuppa! As long as you bring the biccys! They're not allowed in the house, we'd scoff the lot in one go!
When the hop starts a-hoppin' into things it's not allowed into, I usually just cut the blighter off, but I missed this one until I saw it waving at me! Chartreuse green in a purple leaved tree, well, I couldn't miss it!

Hello Dorjac! You were saying that you might like to paint Geoff! I'd be delighted to send you a higher res scan of the photo, if that would be helpful...I can't guarantee how sharp it will be, but just use artistic licence!! I'm so chuffed you would even want to paint my pic! :0)x
It's dull today, what I call a white day! The sky is just white, no clouds, no nothing! Which is quite good for gardening in, at least the greenhouse doesn't poach me! I'm sure your plants appreciated the nice fresh rain! But I hope you have lovely weather at the weekend...or it only rains at night! Take care!

One more Libet, just beautiful, I have been cutting back shasta daisies that have fallen over everything with the high wind, I must make an effort next year to stake them before they get too big, loves all of your pictures, all my favourite plants, I must tell you quickly about a strange story, I went to visit a friend whose daughter was killed on her way to work, I took her a card but no flowers as she was going away for the weekend, but I said I wanted to give you a red rose with the card but none were out, so I gave her a yellow one. she said strange things had been happening, really strange, her daughters name was katie, when I got home on the mat was a rose cataglogue, and on the very front cover was a new rose called KATIE, with a picture of a woman mid thirties, that looked just like katie. and of course the rose was red. how weird, she said it was katie saying thankyou. sorry to bore you, but felt the need!! god bless.

That was a sad, but lovely story Patricia. We don't always know why things happen the way they do, but on a lot of occasions I know there's more to situations than just plain coincidence!
Something similar happened to me, when I had brought a good luck card for a wee friend who was panicking about putting together her final degree show at Art College. She practically burst my eardrums with wee squeals of delight when she opened the card, just because it had a white rose on the front. We had been good friends for years and I knew her to be a good convent schooled girl, and that she always prayed to a particular Saint. What I didn't know was that the Saint would show her that her prayers had been answered, by my friend finding or being given a white rose, even a photo or an illustration would do. So,
unexpectedly I had made her day...she got a first class degree...and the bruises I had on my arms from being hugged to death... took nearly three weeks to disappear! But being of the other persuasion, I knew nothing of this sort of thing, but I think it was more than coincidence, my friend had been very low, but she bounced off happily, to set up her degree show, oozing confidence!
I'm sure your friend took some solace from you when you discovered the brochure, and when you're as low as I'm sure she was, the strangest things can be a real comfort.
But, your story was sooo not boring! It can be fascinating the way things just happen! Bless you too Patricia, thank you for sharing that with me! Take care now, and have a lovely weekend!

Excellent blog Libet - added to favourites! I love all your plant combinations, especially the last one! My sea holly is a tall variety, which was probably a mistake, because its all fallen over from my negligent staking! :P
- Does 'splish splash' always come true to seed? I managed to gather a few from mine, but didn't know whether to plant them or not.
+Has your weather improved yet? Its been raining here for days!

Thanks so much, Jennyfer! That's lovely! Oh dear, poor sea holly! :0( I grow it through other plants so they hold each other up...like wee drunk men!
I've never tried to grow Splish Splash from seed Jennyfer, but hey! wouldn't it be fun to see what happens!? Absolutely plant them Jen, you've nothing to lose and everything to gain!
And as for flippin' weather...you know, we got two days that didn't rain, I've given up on sun, and now we have high winds, thunder and torrential rain!! I give up!! Only joking! I just bounce out to the garden when there's a break in the rain, and I can always shelter in the greenhouse! Anyway, I hope things are going fine for you pet, and have fun! make the most of your holidays!!

By the way Elizabeth ,went out to my golden hop today and it has now climbed into a very tall wild cherry tree and then back down(would you believe) to the archway and carried on the other side, but this year for the first time it is absolutely full of hops.On the down side,went on the allotment to collect veg. and found my 3year old bramley apple tree with the leading shoot completely snapped off with the weight of all the apples. I had staked it but it leant over to the side and then went,it is now about 3foot high.Still thats all part of gardening isn't it!

Oh, my goodness! You'll be able to brew up some real ale! (I know nothing about beer! Lol!) isn't it amazing how far those golden hops will travel! I cut mine down last year and dried off the vines in the boiler house for a while, and then took it into the kitchen and draped it over the alcove that the cooker is housed in...very cottagey! It's hard work untwining the vines though, and they will cut you quite badly, if you're not careful and wear gloves!
I shouldn't put it this way, but SNAP! on the fruit tree front! I lost a branch today as well! It wasn't an apple tree, it was a conference pear! It's an odd shaped tree anyway, because about the second year after it was planted, a fox, believe it or not, climbed up the tree to get at the pears further up, it had taken a bite out of all the pears on the lower branches, and while up there, he ripped the leader down, so now it looks like a catapult! But as you say, it was the weight of fruit that was it's demise, well, that and absolutely torrential rain, in the afternoon, just hammered it into the ground! I'm sorry Rose, I can't help smiling about your wee 3ft bramley tree, they're usually so big! But here again, I've got a conference pear that's only 5ft...so I'm no better! lol!

You have a suberb garden - sorry about those hailstones - such a shame when it ruins our work . Not sure if it is a rhus behind the geranium splish splash or the Rowan but do love those leaves - very oriental looking to me :D Love the heuchera and that archway is so nice - looks great with the roses around it :))))) Lovely red flowers and a lovely blue Eryngium, we have one not as blue as this though

What a good tip about the vines but haven't got a boiler house to dry them in ,so does it have to be a warm place or can i dry them in an open greenhouse or dry shed?We also get the foxes and apart from playing in our garden and digging the odd hole here and there, they don't do alot of damage, but they do play on the allotment and have been there a few times when they have been chasing each other and jumped the fence where my apple tree is so could have contributed to that.

Hello Paul! How are things now? Any better? Glad to see you back on Goy, even if you're only popping on for a wee look! Hope things improve for you, I'm sending you positive thoughts! Thanks for your great comments as usual, Paul you're always very complimentary!! Yep! That is a little rowan that has reappeared, I thought I'd lost it, but it's ok! Wee, tiny thing! But it's ok, Lol! That eryngium is a particulary BLUE! one, (have to use capital letters to emphasise quite how blue it is! ;0) It seems to me to get more blue the hotter it gets, but that might just be my overactive imagination!

Hi Rose! I would think a dry shed would be grand, they don't need really dried out, just about 50% will do, so they're still a bit flexible when you bring them into the house. They'll create a bit of a mess when you're putting them up, but it's nothing a good Hoover around wouldn't deal with, and they're very quaint when they're up! They're nice along the tops of cupboards as well, och! you can put them anywhere! But bear in mind they are quite delicate when they get really dry, so don't put them where they'll be touched all the time!
I wonder has a fox jumped on that branch to bring it down! I wouldn't doubt it one bit, they're not called wily for nothing! If I hadn't seen the fox here with my own eyes...I wouldn't have believed it! Lol! ;0)

Thanks Elizabeth for the advice. Its lovely to watch the foxes when they play in our garden .They frolic like baby lambs when they are very young.I would love to get a photo of them.One year the mother came and brought 5 babies with her and it warmed my heart to see them.So i can't get angry when something like the apple tree happens.

Oh! Rose! That would be great to see! She brought you a lot of cubs, so that's definitely worth a few apples! They must feel very safe there, and it's quite a privilege to see them too. That's a lovely thing to see in your garden!

Thanks Libet - yes on the up - I love seeing gardens - you done a proud job :)))))))))))))))

Och shucks, Paul, you say all the right things! I'm so pleased things are working out for you! You take care!:0))

:)))))))))))))))))

ooh, your weather sounds fairly.... um, unsunny :P You sound very undaunted by it though! + I'm afraid that its not only my sea holly thats suffered from lack of support.... all the plants arround it had fallen down too, so eventually it too gave up and flooped :P I attempted to rescue it.... so now its staked at a 45 degree angle... better than nothing I suppose :P I will have to try my splish splash seeds and see what happens then!
- I love the story of the fox in your pear tree :P

Ha! Yep! Unsunny just about about sums it up!! Poor wittle sea holly!! Did you mean to write flooped?! It's a far better word than flopped!! lol!!:0)) It sounds happy enough to stay at a jaunty angle, it should set seed around itself so you can have another go next year!! Plenty of time to make it a wee crutch!! Def sow those wee seeds! Then you could send me one if they germinate! Ho ho! the fox! Other people have partridges in their pear trees...we have foxes! Maybe he's a flying fox!! Go out and have fun Jen!!

I sure will Libet, it will be interesting to see what happens to them! + wittle sea holly? Its almost as tall as I am! I think flooping is more plant-like, don't you? :P x

P.S. the flying fox reminds me of the firebird and the golden apples... do you know the story?

I still love flooping!! What on earth are you feeding that sea holly, it sounds ginormous! I don't know that story Jen, I'll go an' look it up 'ont interwebby, and have a wee read...with a nice glass of milk and a biccy! Lol!xx

hehe, its a russian one... my mum used to read them to us when we were little :P re. the seedholly, I simply made the mistake of buying seeds from a tall strain :P

Flip me! Jen! That story doesn't pull it's punches! It's all murder and mayhem! The son got it all...the brothers got torn asunder and the grey wolf got nothing? How did you sleep after all that! It was good though, a definite two biscuit-ter! How on earth, you grew up into the well balanced little lady that you are... escapes me! Lol! ;0)

Wow. What dreamy scrumptious planting combinations.
Absolutely gorgeous. An artist's eye at work here I think.

Thank you so much Inverglen, that's a lovely thing to say! I did illustrate until a few years ago when my shoulder got so bad I had to stop, but then I had an operation on it earlier this year, so I may have a little tentative draw and see how it goes! Thanks again, you're too kind!