So this is what gardens are for.....

yes you do have to watch the cats with the grasses my cat barry does enjoy a nibble on them,looks like your other half has the right idea ! :)

Ohh! Bad Kitty! Cats love grasses, they have a chew at all of ours! Take your time with your planting pet, you'll just exhaust yourself! Take some time to smell the roses, and the newly laid grass! Your hubby has the right idea, crack open another lemon & lime water...and relax!!

Nice to see that you managed to get away to see Daisyco, its good to step back and take a breather.

He needs a nice big parasol to sit under or a sail hung from the end of the house he could ditch that cap then.

Now you REALLY know what its like to be hooked!!! Happy Gardening J lol! If you are anything like the majority of us you will sit to enjoy your garden, then oooh, must just dead head that flower...mmm there's a dead leaf over there...I'd better give that some water...
It goes on, and on, and on......
I always make myself sit with a cuppa, it takes me at least 20 minutes to drink..

that is just so like me Tetrarch - I plan and scheme whilst drinking strong coffee. It takes me a while to get through a beaker of the stuff, it also helps keep me awake. lol. I had to stop myself from working tonight, been at it all day, the legs were saying no more please!! So I just sat and looked and smiled at my hard work and took in the perfume of the honeysuckle as it started to permeate down the garden. Heaven absolute heaven. Blackbird has been serenading me all day too whilst I laboured in the garden. No wind only sunshine and blue skies oh it is so good to be alive. LOL :~O)

Do you know Oliveoil, thats just what OH and I say every day! I always wanted a garden where when you went into it, the smell of roses filled the air and birds were singing. Well at this moment ours is just that..and when all the irises were out I could smell them before I reached them..my first priority when I started was "sensory"... then birds and colour, and I love it!!

Me too Tetrarch, it is absolutely gorgeous to have such lovely gardens, I know they are hard work to keep at their best but it is work well worth doing.

So good to see you are really enjoying it, and OH too! lovely sunshine today J....I had a lazy day, even fell asleep in the garden for a couple of hours...had sun lotion on one arm....long story.....so one red arm, one normal! lol

Good for you, Jacquie - it's great to see you enjoying your garden so much after waiting so long.

While the cats away......lol

I'm glad you are all agreeing with the garden being a place to relax...and a place to potter around to keep it looking nice and tidy too.

My biggest frustration is that I have to keep off the lawn for a minimum of 3 weeks so that means I have to walk on the borders with my big feet! No one would have trouble following the clues....the footprints will be deep ones too...lol

So, Olive, you reckon a sail or an umbrella for the garden... I will have to look into that one day soon. I can't sit in the sun too long or I burn to a crisp! Poor Karen with one burned arm....you'll have to change the position of your arms next time so you get the other one to match! Hope it's not too sore.

Libet and Whdebor....thanks for the info re the grasses. I had no idea that cats like to eat the garden variety. I have seen our previous cat eat overgrown grass (as in a lawn or waste ground) and I always was told there is something in the grass that settles their tum if they have an upset.

M, I do so agree retirement is wonderful....and I would love to achieve a garden that has all the perfume of a rose garden and the twitter of birds too :) Sounds divine.

Thanks again for your lovely comments, all :)

Hubby doing a grand job chatting to Lucy and watching the sprinkler, thats multi tasking, my hubby says he can`t do two things at the same time, he reckons only a woman is programmed to work that way and get things right,lol. Enjoy it Whiston, you`ve had a long wait....

Nice to see the garden being made good use of :) I hope you joined them both in the sunshine lol
Cats do eat grass. It's good for their digestion apparently. I always leave some in odd corners here and there

I forgot to put Turbo ( tortoise) in the greenhouse for the night, popped out with the torch 10'ish to find him in his outdoor pen. Then found meself looking at this & that & before I knew it I was pulling weeds, lovely time in the cool with me torch. Your right though, garden lighting would certainly extend our activities. Good to be keen eh?

Oh my it is going to cost you something Whistonlass, lights and sails now. lol. You need to win the lottery by the sounds of it. lol. You will be spend spend spend. lol. I can just see you now.

lol @ Bampy....working by torchlight. I've got loads of things to get on with in the garden today....I need to get a sun hat too, that sun is really blazing this morning and it's only 9am!!

And when I got home to find Lucy and hubby in the garden I didn't get to sit down and enjoy the view....trudged (lol) upstairs and began dinner preparations.

I've had my "fix" already (first of many) opening the landing curtains to feast my eyes on the garden and I'm about to take my coffee and get out there for a sit down and a planning session of what to do first :) This is the life.

Yes, Olive....I could do with winning the lottery (although I think I'd be off looking for a bungalow then so maybe not such a brill plan until I've had time to enjoy what we've created...just for a little while longer!) lol

Maybe you need a lantern instead... then you could just pop it on the grass and get weeding :P It sounds like you're having a brilliant time :) Our cats munch on quite a lot of things... and I don't know quite how picky they are, so I worry a bit about poisonous plants.
- Poor Karen with one burnt arm :( I hope it fades quickly!! I burnt one shoulder once and now its all freckly, while the other still isn't at all!
Hope you have a great time in the garden while this weather holds!!

Jenny, I've been out in the garden all day, only coming inside to fetch a drink of coffee or use the ladies :)

Been pottering and relaxing, pottering and relaxing and it's just one of those times when I feel like I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming...lol

Lucy is beside herself with all the space to roam and loves that we are around in the garden....she wanders off for awhile and then comes back to have a visit...and then she's off on her travels again.

I've caught the sun today too so my face is quite red...just a healthy glow I hope :)

That's the way to do it! How did you sleep last night, any better for all the exercise?

I sure did sleep!! Wow, did I sleep!! And I'm toddling off to bed now as it's 11.45am....I bet I won't even read a page of my book.

Been out in the garden all day....wonderful :)

good healthy exercise, just don't do too much all in one go, I know from past experience how difficult that is to not do but your body will pay you back if you don't keep having a rest.

I was under the weather first thing this morning and being sick....I expect I got too much sun yesterday. Been ok during the day but been busy preparing for grandkids et al....came for dinner tonight so did advance prep. with cooking chicken thighs/breasts, potato salad and coleslaw. Then went to the bakery and got some fresh baquettes and that was dinner sorted :)

Tired now though, Olive....and realize I have to pace myself and do little, and often.

Just hoping for a good sleep tonight and I will have an easier day tomorrow.

I hope you do too :) We've just had a spot of rain here... have you had any up in manchester? I've not been getting much reading done either... the garden is a bit of a distraction:P You must take care in all this sun! Maybe get a gardening sun hat? ;) Your dinner sounds lovely though! I hope everyone enjoyed it.

We haven't had any rain yet (nearer to Liverpool than Manchester) but the sky is looking stormy...as if there will be thunder and lightening.

Yes, Jenny, I will get a sun hat and just take tomorrow a bit easier. I think dinner was a hit...hard to tell with 4 grandkids running around, chaos rules when they visit. I wish I could bag all their energy...lol I love to have them visit but must confess as nana & grandpa often say when they've gone home..."Whew, shattered!"

Looks like your Hubby is enjoying the new garden, and Lucy must be in heaven...:o)

Yes, Judy....despite his resistance to get the garden work done he eventually consented and he has said quite a few times he is pleased with the result :) He's been keeping up with the watering of the turf as well which is helpful to me instead of troopsing up and down the stairs to reposition the hose/sprinkler about 4 or 5 times in the evenings!

We had all the grandchildren and family over yesterday and it was a chore to keep them on the patio....they so wanted to get on that grass and play! But that will have to wait for a minimum of 3 weeks (and probably longer as they are a very crazy bunch of kids and used to a huge garden at home that isn't landscaped). I wish I could package some of their energy for myself! lol

Yes, Lucy spends hours outside now (just in our garden and in the 3 or 4 gardens that join ours)....loves it :)

Our turf is being watered right now by the only decent rain we've had for weeks, all this afternoon after days of blue sky and sunshine. I get my exercise running about with 2 litre jugs of water! I have cheated and used the hose recently though. We have a concrete panel wall just like your wall, not very pretty, but now I don't really notice it anymore. Goy tells me I havn't visited for 10 days......too busy watering the garden!!!!!

lol @ Dorjac.....hubby has come home after his day out with the grandkids and reckons the turf doesn't need any additional watering today (we had rain overnight and some showers throughout the day).

We used the hose with spray setting and also the sprinkler on the other days. Glad you got a rest from the watering today, Dorjac :)

looks amazing. You've completely sold me on retirement - I'm looking forward to it even more now!

Glad to hear you are sold on retirement, Weeding :) I highly recommend it...hope it's not too long of a wait for you. After so many years of owning and running our newsagent's business it is wonderful to have time for us now :)

It is a chore watering the turf ..but we had a small area done last year and it is so well worth all the effort,...though it was much easier for us as.. a) it was a much smaller area,b) we only had a dog to worry about...and most importantly we are lucky enough to have a well, so the pump could draw gallons of water very quickly..but ,even that ran out eventually ! :o)

Eeep! Wells run dry does not sound like good times!!! Its quite scary how the weather is behaving... I hope it doesn't get much worse in the forthcoming years!!

and who is daisy co lol .................. you not take any pics ................ lovely lucy has really settled in now hasent she .............. my wells still got water in it thank gudness ..................... wethers bin quite nice today , dun loads of tideing , mike made a lovely roof 4 the well now ........ i love it . post a pic soon x

Nice to hear your enjoying your new garden and your hubby is looking after your new lawn..You should take your time and relax with it all and don't be rushing things. I did last year with working and constantly digging and ended up having a couple of tia's (fully recovered now).. so i take it all very easy now. I was out there today trying to make my grass stand up lol, so i could mow it because over the weekend my niece and nephew were here with the swimming pool out and my nerves were on edge all the time they were here. I can imagine how hard it must have been to keep your grandchildren off your new lawn..

Cristina....Daisyco is a member on GoY although only occasionally writes a blog. We have been fast friends for many years and she is an avid gardener with veggies, greenhouse and garden. Lots to chatter about when we get together....lol

Bill, I do have to pace myself in the garden...the lawn chairs get used at regular intervals....do a bit in the garden, sit down, do a bit more. It's so nice to have a garden that is manageable and one where I can put my ideas into place :)

One of the gardens that backs onto ours has a small swimming pool and a trampoline for their children and it was one of the first things our grandkids noticed! They have all kinds of equipment in their large garden at home so I don't feel too bad at them not having a pool etc. when they visit nana and grandpa's. I can imagine how anxious you were with the weight of the pool and all the running around on the grass. I hope you can get it back to rights and mow it soon.

How I smiled at Hubby sitting there, looks more like taking a cat nap. Where is the beer FGS. (4 goodness sake)
Yup, there you go girl, never a dull moment. Go get it.
So wonderful to love our gardens & get love in return from them.

He's not taken his beer into the garden yet...still time...lol Adoons, he has been very helpful with the heavier jobs in the garden which is really appreciated but I did, as you say, catch him 'cat napping', although he'd never admit to it...lol

I'll do my best to get a blog up today....it's very changeable weatherwise....rain, clouds, dark, sun....one of those unpredictable kind of days. And I've got some new plants to put in the borders and a new pot to fill :)

It is a marvel to me that I feel so calm and happy in this new found garden space...they do indeed love us back, Adoons.

:-)))))))))))))))))))))))))

Its raining again Whistonlass......good but not so good....as OH wanted his sunday aeroplane fix and bacon sarny at N.Weald. Hospital on Tuesday, to begin another fearsome saga of intrusive proddings and waiting for biopsy results that go on for weeks.......never mind just keep gardening. I delight in your delight, and at least I don't need to water the garden. Just keep potting up my 101 perlargoniums and dotting them in drought affected spaces in the garden.

Oh dear...OH is having a right time of it...you must so appreciate the garden for some calm and beauty...much better to look at than the hospital corridors.

With all your perlargoniums to sort out you'll be kept busy for some days, Dorjac....good to have a project that you enjoy though :) At least with the rain there is not much watering to be done. Our turf is really romping ahead and will be ready for it's first cut in just over a week!

All the best to OH...and some cheery news would sure be nice for OH. x

He decided to go out anyway. Only crows on the airfield revelling in the nosh brought to the surface by heavy rain. Bacon Sarnies were nice. To an antique centre after that to get my fix.....still raining now at midnight.