A Lilac for Josie

Minature lilac Josie 

I bought this beautiful lilac a few years ago in memory of a wonderful friend Josie who died too soon . A lovely lovely lady who we greatly miss

Aqualegias

I have been under the weather this last week , but the garden just goes right on without you.

What a treat it was to see these lovely flowers today.

Amazing Azalea

This Amazing azalea was a birthday present 3 years ago It was planted outside in a huge pot. It is now almost 4 feet across and although you can't see them it does have leaves.

Soft Fruit

The soft fruit in the garden really needed a make over this year. the Blackcurrants had been planted in one of the raised beds over 10 years ago and had become really huge , producing far more fruit than I could deal with. 

I lifted them and gave them away and I now have 4 new young  bushes planted in the field. The  Redcurrant Bushes are full of small fruits and should crop very well as long as I net them in time so that the birds don't get to them first.

Gooseberries had been sharing a bed with the Raspberries . Big mistake.The Raspberries had grown right through them . the Gooseberries have been lifted and transplanted into the field and the Raspberries thinned out and tied into the wires. I'll grow Cauliflowers  and Cabbages  in the rest of this bed after I have added manure and fish meal .
The strawberries were replaced last year with new plants.If we can keep the Blackbirds from eating them we should get a good crop.

The rhubarb is looking a bit week this may be due to lack of rain , but it is desperate to have a new home. I must move it next winter before it comes into growth.

Loganberries Tayberries  and Blackberries are grown against the concrete wall along wires in the field . these are only new  plants and produce some fruit but not a great deal. (this may be due to the grandchildren eating them)

Cotoneaster horizontalis

 This plant has covered the wall in just 5 years ,it is just coming into flower . The flowers are pretty insignificant but  both bumble bees and honey bees adore it and it literally buzzes on a warm day. In the Autumn it is a mass of red berries that the birds love .

Tomatoes planted into mesh baskets .These are the kind usually used for planting into ponds .Hopefully it may ? stop the voles eating the roots from the Tomatoes as they did last year .

View from the roof

Jackdaws started nesting in the main chimney filling it with sticks .The nets on the pots burn away after a few years with the fumes from the fire .While the new net was being fitted these photos were taken from the roof. It was just a shame it wasn't later in the summer when there would have been lots of colour.The first picture shows the 2 greenhouses in the front garden ,then beyond the wall the ornamental garden to the right and the fruit trees and potato patch on the left. the bottom area is the wild flower meadow .
second  picture shows the front garden originally this was as far as the garden extended. the third picture shows the raised Vegetable beds at the side of the house