Saturday was meant to be a day of quiet relaxation.. a welcome relief from the frenetic pace of late..
My idea of chilling out was to indulge in some armed combat with the pesky and persistent buttercup weeds that seem to pop up over night and make themselves most unwelcome by spreading like a rash over my nicely cultivated (cough cough) garden. I tell a lie.. chilling out.. was not an accurate description of my mood. Hot and sweaty was more much more applicable as I dug and cursed my way through the weeds and only managed to cover 3 square feet of ground before I admitted defeat and retreated indoors for a soothing cup of tea and a long soak in the bath. It was a generous day for sun and some long overdue warmth and just to sit and absorb the sights and sounds of my small patch was a pleasure indeed.. in fact it is up there on my list of top ten favourite pursuits... Gardening rocks!! Eating chocolate and blogging are two of the others.. eating chocolate whilst blogging even better!
So let me introduce you to some of my garden treasures....
Tulips have never really been my 'thing' before .. preferring the blousy loud daffodils.. but last year I planted oodles of bulbs and I have been rewarded with some gorgeous blooms..
You can't beat the humble forget me not.. One little plant has been busy spreading itself far and wide and this is the result... I love them!!!
My solitary little apple tree has done me proud with blossom this Spring. Hopefully this bodes well for another crop of crisp and tasty apples..We had a harvest of 21 apples on this sturdy little tree last year. If one blossom equates to one apple then we should have many more this year.. fingers crossed.
The clematis has run away with itself and has done exactly what I wished .. romped along the fence..
This is my favourite corner .. where I sit and ponder..
Even the wild garlic has put on a good show of flowers this year and the scent of it reminds me of my holidays in Cornwall where wild garlic grows along the cliff footpaths.. Heady stuff!
The colours of the garden really come to life after a spot of rain...
I often wonder and dream about the many hidden gardens in Bath..
This is one of the houses that I pass on my walk most days and at this time of year it is stunning.. dripping in Wisteria.
Sotto voce ... It is rumoured that Mr Manolo Blahnik owns this beautiful residence and stores his shoe collection here.. I wonder if he ever puts any out for recycling!
Sunset over Bath... always dazzling as the sun reflects off the honey coloured stone houses..
I was foolish enough to believe that this tantalising taste of summer over the weekend was set to last but alas looking at the weather report for this week.. it looks fairly gloomy and definitely WET!
Well after the sun.. inevitably comes the rain.. and it looks like it is on it's way.
I hope you had fun digging in the dirt this weekend and soaking up some rays..XX
Monday, 28 April 2008
Somewhere over the rainbow...
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33 comments:
Your garden looks absolutely gorgeous Michele! I love that view of it from above. I'm longing to be out in my new garden and Simon and I are hoping to get some time next weekend. Once we've finished unpacking all my endless boxes!
What a gorgeous garden you have. I love Bath, we are hoping to holiday there next year
April xx
Thanks for popping by, you're on my list now!
What a truly gorgeous garden, do you offer your skills??! I'm totally useless when it comes to anything vaguely greenfingered, I either kill it with kindness (ie. too much water) or totally neglect it. I'd hate to think how much money I've spent on beautiful plants in the past! Oh well, I'll just have to blame the children!
Julia x
I enjoyed digging the dirt over the weekend, I would have liked to have been doing it today, but I had Tesco to visit and jobs indoors to do, although I did skip around the garden a few times, lapping up the sunshine, and snapping off a few dandelion flowers! Lovely garden Michele, and I know you love your gardening like I do. How about eating chocolate while you are gardening, I sometimes do, or I walk about admiring the blooms with a bowl of icecream! I have to confess I had to pull up a square of self-seeded forget-me-nots, they were getting in the way of my planting plans, although I have plenty more where they came from. I have a clematis like yours, after it has finished flowering this year, it is in for a major chop! I love Billie Holiday reminding us we are in for stormy weather, doesn't matter for me tomorrow, I have got the dentist! x
Beautiful photos! And your garden is so glorious! My first two tulips opened today - we are so behind the rest of the world it seems when it comes to our spring posies!
Hi Michele, your 'patch' looks like a divine place to sit or potter, you have such lovely views from your house too. Hope you are well rested and have caught up with yourself!
Lucy x
What a lovely garden! Glad I found you 'Cake makes the world a better place'. Your garden is so much more ahead of mine here in N Wales! My apple blossom is only just in bud!
x Vicky x
Or perhaps you could blog in the garden whilst eating chocolate?
Vanessa
Your garden is looking beautiful Michele. Isn't it lovely when all that hard work starts to pay off. If I were you I would be camping outside Mr Blahnik's house on rubbish collection days!
Kimx
I enjoyed my visit to your garden. Now this is what I call a proper garden, with all sorts going on. The tulips are lovely. I love all the vibrant colours we are seeing!
It's been ages since I posted & visited my blogging friends. Your garden looks wonderful...but how funny that my post this morning was about tulips & then I pop over to you & you have tulip photos too!
Hi Michele,
I love Acker Bilk too reminds me of care free days of a much loved childhood and my dad with his endless records.....funny you said it reminded you of your dad because my sisters favorite song was 'somewhere over the rainbow' which hit me straight in the face as soon as i clicked on this post...memories huh? misty colored memories....painful but i wouldn't be with out them.
I only just saw your mail to me on hotmail.....i don't check it very often so please forgive me if i came across as rude,the site was fantastic...thank you x
I was thinking of you at the weekend,i bought The English Home magazine and there is an article titled The Beauty Of Bath...it looks just beautiful.
Love And Hugs Kristina XxX
Oh yeah! blogging and chocolate...some things are the same no matter where you live, huh? Love the clematis and the wysteria!!!
It seems everyone has gardening on the brain these days...
Everything look so beautiful...I really do love all of it Michele. I think every flower that you mention has been chosen by me for my garden - it was empty when we moved in.
Tulips are one of my favorites this time of year and I too love the bright coloured ones.
Carol xx
Fabulous post Michele. I'm relatively new to gardening but I'm addicted and have found myself even sitting out in the drizzle at dusk just to grab a few precious moments in my patch. I love your garden, (wish I could get rid of my lawn, but boys and cricket rule here). I'm revelling in forget-me-nots too, my favourite srpign flower and we're taking soem to school for the nature table tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing your lovely sanctuary.
Stephx
I just found your blog, and I think we are soul sisters. Please grab a cup of coffee (or tea) and come on over to my cabin (or my other blog) at your leisure, where you will see I have listed you on the short list of my favorite blogs. Thank you for having me over.
I'm so envious! I can't grow anything but moss! But then, everyone in Seattle can do that! Your pictures are absolutely beautiful - makes me wish I had a husband with a green thumb - I've stopped wishing for a green thumb for myself! Love your blog! Nan
Your garden is a delight Michele, I would love to join you for a cup of coffee on that bench and look out at Bath in the sunshine! Its my blog birthday, so I'm having a giveaway on my site today... pop over if you get the chance x
You have such a lovely garden, with so many delights to enjoy.
I also gardened at the weekend.It makes you feel so much better when you can get outside and garden!
I have Wisteria running all along one fence...tis beautiful when it flowers. ;-) Sal
Your garden looks really interesting..just my cup of tea,lots to look at and loads of plants and climbers...lovely!
I really must visit bath sometime, it looks so wonderful.
Hi Michele, I felt so cheated this weekend, everyone I spoke to was talking about the sunshine and hot weather while here in Rhayader it continued to be grey and cool. It did warm a little during Saturday afternoon, just before it started to rain!
I think it may be time to start thinking of moving to a warmer corner of this beautiful country.
Chat soon, Liz
Oh my I so did enjoy this post. Your garden is very similar to ours here in Australia as we are on a mountain so have much the same climate. Lucky us we can grow tulips too!! You have inspired me to go down to the nursery and grab lots of bulbs for when spring comes around again.
Alicia ~ time worn style
How beautiful, gardens do reflect the love and the work put into them, and yours is so pretty Michele, lets hope we get a better summer this year!!
Hugs Lynn xx
Hi Michele!
I enjoyed your photos. Your garden looks lovely! I hope you get lots of apples this fall.
It has been rather chilly here so nit much beyond bulbs have flowered. I don't palnt annuals until middle May since we can still get frost.
Your garden is so pretty, I always enjoy your pictures of it. xo, suzy
Hi Michelle,
Love your garden,so pretty.Your bench looks ideal for having a cuppa and a bit of chocolate.I am currently chuffing liquorice allsorts whilst leaving comments.Oils the cogs you know!
Rachel x
It's the apples that I find the most remarkable. These fat and rudy red substantial fruits growing so chubbily from "nothing." It blows my mind!
What a fabulous garden you have. I love the seat, it looks such a calming place. I am now working on my mum's garden, she's a bit fragile to be digging and such, so am looking forward to turning that into a restful and calming place for us. What a fabulous place Bath looks, one of the places I intend to visit this year.
Rosie x
What a beautiful oasis you have. I love that clematis and is that a pebble mosaic I spy? Could we see a close-up if it is? I love pebble mosaics. Would love to do one in our garden at some point but need to do a bit of research first I think. x
You have so many great photographs! A wonderful place to visit!
Gillian!
I spent the day trimming back some bushes that were out of control, pulling up the 100,000 seedlings from our neighbors mimosa tree that have sprouted everywhere and transplanting a couple of things. I have blisters on my fingers from the clippers. So it's time for me to stop for a well deserved cup of tea and sit on the deck and listen to the birds.
I enjoyed admiring the rest of your garden today. The view of Bath at sunset was great too. We have been to Bath a couple of times. It's a wonderful place to visit. I have some brass candlesticks I bought there years ago.
I'm going to be checking in often to see what you're up to!
Hugs, Rhondi
Ok, after reading the postie before this one, I am convinced that you should receive an award for having THE MOST stunning garden. OMG! It seem that the abundant amounts of compost and manure have worked well for you. Look at how healthy your plants are. Oh, and yes, Forget Me Nots are just wonderful in reseeding themselves. They seem to like getting stuck in Duhgall's fur as well. Nice little skirt of his is perfect for little sticky things to hang from.
Bath is amazing! Lucky you to live in such a beautiful place.
xo
Becky
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