The greenest of men!

We had a long weekend away last week, to visit family. We also stayed one night at Ye Old Ferrie Inn, on the banks of the beautiful river Wye. it was a lovely stay, good accommodation, great food. This was the view from our window.

....it was wonderful, and one night wasn't enough, but it was all the time we had. Anyway we did a round trip of the places we love which we hadn't visited for a few years. One of the places was Tintern Abbey, a beautiful tranquil place. Whilst there we went into the studio of The Spirit of The Green Man. Now I have a passion for green men, I only have had two which I'd bought a few years ago. This was the first one I bought....

...I bought him from a wonderful shop in Hawes, a couple of years ago. He stands about 18" tall. he graces our patio all year round. The second one we bought in Dorset about a year ago.....

..He's a wall hanging, I bought him in his "raw" state, he was just plain terracotta. I painted him with Plaid outdoor paint and gave him a few extra touches with gold paint. But now I have two more. The first one is Orrik....

....he is a wall hanging man, and to accompany him is Bat

....they are both waiting to be hung in their places. They are just wonderful. I know there are people out there who are not keen on these types of garden decoration, but I adore them and wouldn't want anything else. BUT, I also love dragons, witches and fairies. I do have a wooden dragon chime in the garden.

I'm sure that I shall be adding to my collection again at some point. Now that autumn is here there are so many wonderful things to enjoy. I love autumn and all that it brings. But more on that another time. I have a huge pile of ironing waiting for me ( I knew I shouldn't have left it for so long) and then it's time for some autumn baking!

Changing Seasons

You can feel it in the air, the changing of the season. It seems to get dark quite quite early now. The stormy weather hasn't helped. The last couple of days the air has been so heavy. We were out on Sunday when the sky went so black. I think everyone was hoping for a good storm to freshen the air, but all we had was a very slight shower, then all the dark clouds were burned off by the hot sun. The garden is still flourishing, although the invasion of slugs and snails has been a complete pain. I haven't seen so may at once for years, and since the farmer harvested the crop of rape seed from his field adjacent to us we've had quite a few large spiders in the house too! It always happens but usually it's mid September before that happens. Luckily I don't mind them and can safely extricate them from the house, ( I'm sure they laugh at me and return the next day!) We're having a bumper crop of berries and dwarf beans, and there are some lovely juicy apples on the tree, ( keeping an eye out for little pests though) there'll be plenty for the grandchildren this year. The roses are just wonderful, there are still plenty of buds, I just hope that we don't get torrential rain when they're about to open, or they'll end up soggy. The Heuchera are just lovely.....

........I love the colour combinations.....

.....they do well every year, but this year they seem more vibrant.....

....I have my eye on a lime green one from the local nursery and I have a spot in the garden to put it! This is the first year for our hydrangea.....

....and we're more than happy with it. I'm doing my dad's trick of mixing some dried tea leaves around the base of the plant. It seems to love it. I love the colour and texture of leaves.....

....it's not just about the flowers......

....we've only have a small back garden but we like to pack in as much as we can ....

....in fact we're planning a few more changes, for next year, hopefully. But while we still have plenty of colour....

....we'll just enjoy it..

...after all, that's what we grew them for!

...enjoy your garden too!

More summer bounty

One thing's for sure, we still have some glorious colour in the garden. This is a picture of one of the roses on our patio....

...and here's another......

...and they just keep coming! Last week we went to visit our daughter in Wiltshire for the weekend. One the way back home on the Monday we did a detour and stopped of at Hidcote. I did post a couple of pictures on my last post, but here are a few more...

..it doesn't matter what time of year you visit, there's always something beautiful to see...

...I don't just mean bright vivid colours....

...I love the textures.....

....and shapes....

.....the hot......

...and the cool colours....

.....not to mention the scent......

...and this was at Hidcote Lavender farm....

...It was absolutely wonderful!

Summer colour!

Now that summer has finally arrived, I thought I'd share some summer colour with you. Some shots are from our garden and some are when we have been out and about over the last week. Enjoy!

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Our new arrival

It's been a very exciting time for us because of this little girl...

...Laylah Faith was safely delivered on 15th July weighing in at 6lbs 15 oz. Mum and baby are doing very well. Now we have six gorgeous grand children!

Wet, wet, wet!!!

As I sit here typing, the sun is trying to break through! Hopefully for most of the day, but I shan't be holding my breath. !! The French doors in the kitchen are open behind me and I can hear the farmer in one of the fields adjacent to our house. ( I hope he knows something we don't!) I'm having a late breakfast today, I didn't really feel hungry when I got up few hours ago. So, once my porridge is made and eaten I'm off out into the garden. first job, dead heading the roses. Boy, have they taken a battering just lately....

...it pains me when they are battered by the wind and rain...

.... the roses are plentiful this year....

.......we're so pleased with them....

......these are ones which are in the back garden....

.....there are more in the front garden, they are all reds, white and creams. Pictures on the next post! So as soon as breakfast is over I'm off outside...

..and once I've taken care of the roses, I have to paint the Forth Bridge...

.....well my version of it! All will be revealed!!

Cornish Retreat!

We've just had two wonderful weeks in Cornwall. The weather was kind and we only had one really awful day. But the weather never stops us doing anything. Here are a few of the wonderful places we visited...

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..... I took hundreds of shots, I just have to sort them and put my favourites in a scrapbook. We stayed one week in Porthleven at a b and b, The Copper Kettle, and for the second week we stayed at a farmhouse on Tregolls Farm in St Wenn. Both were fabulous and wonderful value for money. If anyone wants the details just contact me. Now it's back to reality. I'm raring to go (hope it lasts!) ready to tackle the housework, garden and (hopefully) loads of crafting projects!