Friday 25 October 2019

Grey Skies and Rainbows

 

Looking to the West across the valley the vista has been predominantly grey and gloomy. However, there has also been several sighting of rainbows, including the one below which appears to be rising out of the quarry. The rainbow never arrives without both rain and sunshine, so to the garden and its myriad of mini wonders.

Sometimes working outside in the rain has its compensations!


Caught in the Act

Earlier this week we had some cheeky visitors over for a meal or more precisely breakfast as these snaps were taken at 9-00 in the morning. There was a total of three deer in the garden, each of them munching away happily on our plants!

Enjoying the ox eye daisies

Head down for second helpings

What, me, not guilty!

Thursday 10 October 2019

Jobs for the Rainy Days

Now we have well and truly returned from our Scotland sojourn, the garden was supposed to be the antidote for any post holiday blues.  But how wet has the weather been for the past two weeks? I am writing this blog entry because it is once again pouring down. Luckily I was able to shower dodge this morning and did get outside for a few hours.


Normally, we look for things to do inside when the weather is inclement (and it has to be bad to stop most gardeners getting outside). Tidying the shed, pottering in the greenhouse (conservatory for us) even building and mending jobs in the garage. But somehow this does not satisfy my cravings for a bit of fresh air. It is easy to just get wet (as the professionals must have to) but it is not always advisable to work in borders when they are wet and heavy and likely to compaction. For us just traversing the back garden means walking on the grass, not the ideal preparation for the autumn/ winter hiatus. Working in the rain can be counter productive if we are not careful.


Consequently, I do have a few outside jobs which I can leave for the rainy days.

~ washing out the plant pots in the shelter of the back door
~ tending to plants that are either climbing the house walls or growing in its lee, such as on the patio
~ power washing the pathways and steps, which is always a wet job anyway
~ even tidying out the ponds (always awash with extra vegetation growth at this time of the year)

So my top tip would be plan ahead for all the British weather contingencies but when prudent to do so retreat indoors anyway, like Hecate and Mili!