Rabbits and blooms.

When we first moved here I did not realise quite how much damage rabbits can do. I lost many plants in those first few years. I put netting around the beds and had various other contraptions to try and deter them. It worked to a degree but the garden looked like some sort of assault course. After a lot of thought I decided to take all netting etc down. I knew I would lose a lot of plants, but it would also show me what they would leave alone. That would give me the foundations for landscaping a rabbit proof garden. The warren, is in the copse, and this doe was out at lunchtime! The following plants flower happily every year and until this point have not been on a rabbits lunch menu.

I bought a bag of mixed Allium bulbs last Autumn....I do not have all their names but this sweet one is Allium Moly.
This dead nettle does well and I love the leaves of this plant.

Beautiful little Poppy .......I like them small and neat.
And Musk, always such intense colours on this little flower.
I am loving my Alliums this year.....this one is Allium Cristophii with its globular head of stars.
Another Allium, don't know the name.
And yet another.......I told you I am in love with Alliums this year.

And the lovely Clematis Pink Fantasy is covered from head to toe in blooms.
The Elder is as safe as houses.....rabbits hate the smell.....this one is Black Lace, it has beautiful pale pink flowers, a perfect combination with that dark foliage.
White Lupins and Foxgloves....these look stunning as dusk draws nigh.
Oriental Poppies, just beginning to open their buds and we have strong winds and torrential rain forecast for the next two days. It happens every year, amazing.
And finally Incarvillea....a bit bright but ok against the white of the house. Living with rabbits is not easy and it has been a challenge. But we can live alongside them, you just have to think and plant differently......................and you can still have a beautiful garden!

I would just like to thank you to Zhakee at Sierra Nevada Ramblings for the Cyber Award she gave me today. I am very grateful to her. Zhakee has a lovely blog that takes you on some wonderful outings and ramblings. She always manages to find something to captivate the imagination and has a lovely way with words. Pop along sometime.

Birds, bugs and blooms.

A Blue Tit feeds her youngster. I have four Blue Tits nests in the garden. The adults are not using the feeders at the moment, showing there is plenty of insect life in my garden, to feed themselves and the chicks. This is years of work now showing good results for wildlife.
BUT you never have enough food for Starlings.............

Red Campion is attracting insects....not the prettiest I grant you.
Bumblebees and Lupins....love the bee and the peppery fragrance that the bloom gives so freely.
A little moth was being chased by a damselfly....but lived to see another day.
Forest shield bug...they feed on oaks and we have plenty around here.
This is the damselfly that was chasing the moth......the sun was shining on him, hence not a very good photograph.

Meadow cranesbill....a native and a favourite of mine.
I love this columbine bloom.......
and the Scabious just looked so pretty against the wall.
A tumble for a bumble in the sweet smelling Rosa Rugosa.
Bumbles and foxgloves say to me summer is here....they are a match made in heaven. Gardening is not only about the plants. The life in it not only enhances the garden but it puts us in touch with the whole picture.

Quote: The poetry of the earth is never dead.....John Keats.

Have fun gardening and remember to take time to stop and smell the flowers.

Poppies, blooms and Damselflies.

Californian Poppies are an absolute favourite of mine.........
a mini meadow of sunshine.......
its hot and humid today, the damselflies came to soak up the sun and hunt amongst the sedges.
I watched them for ten minutes trying to catch small insects.
They are so beautiful....like mini sculptures, exquisite.

This is a Teasel stem. Wonderful wildlife plant. Bees love the bloom, Goldfinch love the seed and little insects or creatures can take a drink from these cups that gather along the stem.
Nicotiana gives a beautiful fragrance at night, this attracts moths......and my bats have a good supper.
The Alliums leave me speechless....they get better each time I look at them.
Fox and cubs a delightful little wildflower.
And lastly for me the true Californian Poppy....bright, bold, colourful and a bloom that never fails to life my spirit. Have a bright and sunny weekend and happy gardening.

Tagged, for the last time.

I have been tagged by Naturewitch......a new blogger that I found via Hedgewitch. Both great blogs and both my sort of people. BUT this really is my last tag. We all have differing views on things and that is what makes life interesting. I am by nature a private person and my blog is mainly about my garden, wildlife and how I see things. Today I will answer the questions with an open heart.

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

Living in a town.......loads of traffic....lots of noise.......BUT this was the year that I went to South Africa to see my son who was working there at the time. He took us on safari, the most magical and mystical time of my life. Mr Practical, my son, me and a guide went on safari on foot. We had several outings lasting four to five hours and starting at 6.oo am. I saw things that I will never forget......the overwhelming heat......the smell of freshly trodden soil. Eating under the stars, so many you could not count.

The second thing in that year was a trip to Goa with my very beautiful daughter. I saw poverty there that still saddens my heart and soul if I think to deeply about it. Mr Practical and I are not one for posh hotel and swimming pool holidays. We like to take a car and go. I like to see real people and how things truly are. There was a little girl we visited most mornings. She had a little shop......it consisted of a piece of silk thrown on the floor, full or oddments that truthfully weren't worth buying. She was around eight years old.....she looked after a baby while her mother worked the beach. My daughter and I would take her chocolate and pencils ( she loved them) and buy a little something. As poor as she was she greeted us with a smile...............

2. Five thing I must to today.

Take Dad for this health check....he is a diabetic.

Tractor mow the grass before it rains tomorrow.

Do this tag to get it out of the way.

Feed the birds and the hedgehogs.

Phone my daughter to see how my little Poppi is, she was very unwell yesterday.

3. Snacks I enjoy

Chocolate, chocolate and of course the main thing chocolate.

4. Things I would do it I were a billionaire.

I don't like this questions,,,,people always focus on money and of course there are many that need it.
I think in the West we reflect more on what we havn't got, rather than what we have.

If I have to say something....I would see my children and grandchildren had enough to get by and keep them comfortable.
I would buy up local land............and employ people to plant and put it back to woodland and meadows.
I would give to charities, children in poverty, abused animals, cancer research and the British Heart Foundation.
Personally I am happy as I am.

5. Places I have lived.

I was brought up in South East London and lived there for the first 19 years of my life. We lived in a rough area on a council estate and Mum and Dad had little money.........London will always hold my heart, she taught me a lot about life.......the good and the bad....I will always be grateful.
From then on I lived in towns in Kent until finally settling here seven years ago.......and I have never been happier.

Well there it is the last and final tag. So please no more......I will only refuse.

Thanks for reading.

Wednesdays birds, blooms and things.

This little bee was positively drunk as it rolled around the pollen in Rosa Rugosa......
they don't seem so keen on the white, but hoverflys love these.
The foxgloves just get better and better.
The lovely climber Solanum is just starting to make an appearance.
The Wisteria's fragrance is wafting all around the garden. I have a beautiful clematis and honeysuckle growing on these arches to. When the Wisteria finishes I shall have other blooms to look forward to.

This beautiful young Chaffinch was calling to its parents. I give myself around a minute to take a photo when I see a young bird.....I will not disturb them. You are lucky today this was the first one I took.
We have a drey in the old oak tree....that confirms, what I thought that a squirrel took the Dunnock's eggs.
Lovely hoverfly, he will get rid of my aphids.
And a little ladybird on the alpine strawberries, just having a rest.
This one just made me smile. I think its some sort of fly on the Valerian. I wish I was up there with him he looks like he is having such a good time. Have fun out there.......

Birds, blooms, and insects.

Tuesday and another look around the garden....Alliums are really doing well this year.
The Gunnera is literally growing before my eyes, some of the leaves are over a metre wide now.

Clematis Pink Fantasy has just come into bloom and has dozens of buds waiting to open.
The little bee was enjoying the white Thrift very early this morning.
A cranefly clings to a foxglove bloom. She will lay her grubs in the lawn and the starlings will feed on them in Autumn. The starlings large beak will put holes in the lawn which helps with the drainage.
Hoverfly, the gardeners friend without a doubt.
Foxglove bloom....surely there has to be a fairy in there somewhere.

Aahh the aphids have arrived, I shall leave them for the Blue Tits to feast on.
And theres more.....plenty of food around for the birds. In a month there will be no trace of these and the plant will be fine.
Bath time.....the starling was not going to move, he was there first!!
The thrush is still around and she is building a nest in one of the conifers.
Rosa Rugosa is laden with blooms, can't wait to see them when they all open. The garden is full of life and flowers. The weather is still chilly and we have had a North wind for the last five days. A light frost last night was a bit of a surprise and something I hope we do not see too much of this late in the season. Happy gardening.

Wonderful Wisteria.

This is my wisteria today.....full of blooms.....
Mr Practical made and put these arches up for me. The whips had been lying on the drive when we moved here, it was very much a neglected plant.
The frost hit this plant hard in early April and I lost all the buds.
The photo above shows you what they looked like, they just fell off the plant, and I thought it would not flower this year.
I spoke to an elderly man that I know in the village and told him what had happened. He told me to feed it seaweed and keep my fingers crossed. I did exactly that.....and now as I walk through the arch and look up to the sky, this is my view. There are lots more buds waiting to open, when it is in full flower I will upload a photograph. Isn't mother nature amazing.

The Bees and Me.

Pollenation has been good.......

There will be haws.....to feed the birds when winter days are here.
There will be pears for my table, I will share them with the birds.
I will share the apples with the birds and butterflies. Thank you bees.

I give you overgrown places to build your nests and keep your secrets.

I give you wild roses, whose sweet smell will draw you near. You will give me hips for the birds.

I will give you places to hide when cold winds blow.

I give you wild flowers when there is not much else to be found.
This is not my garden, this is yours. I live in the house......I tend your space.........I share it with you because you choose to stay here. And when on warm sunny days I hear your gentle buzz amongst the flowers, I know it has all been worthwhile.


Celebrate the strength of greenness and its ability to transform us.

Small and beautiful.

Another stroll more blooms. This time the small flowers, the ones that hide, and are shy about showing themselves. Enjoy.
Toadflax, my all time favourite.
Cerinthe, wow that colour.
It is an Allium, I think, not sure which one.

Bidens Golden Star....could you call it anything else?
Comfrey.....exquisite.
Ragged Robin.........and a little spiders web.
Wood Crane's-bill.....so perfect.
Is this Woodruff???? Not sure, this little beauty has just turned up.

Torenia Blue Moon. This flower is almost willing a bee to come and visit.

Verbena Salmon.

Verbena Violet.

This has come up in one of the beds. I think it is a wild flower, very pretty. I love lifes little surprises. Got a favourite let me know, mine is the toadflax and possibly the little flower above.

The teaching of Buddha.

I have been tagged in a meme by Hedgewitch at Earth and Tree. I know a lot of you will be familiar with her blog as I often see your names in her comment listings. Hedgewitch covers herbalism to Human Rights and so much more in her posts. Her compassionate nature and love of this great planet of our shows through in her every word.

The rules are:-

Pick up the nearest book set in a foreign country.

1. Open at page 123.

2. Find the 5th sentence.

3. Post the next three sentences.

4. Tag five people and acknowledge who tagged you.

I was given this book by a young girl when visiting Thailand. I love the teaching of Buddha. I will often pick this book up and just read a page or a couple of lines. I always find them thought provoking.

My lines are:-

good and evil, but good and evil do not exist separately. Those who are following the path to enlightenment recognize no such duality and it leads them to neither............

I leave you with that........

I am tagging the following.....

BECKIE at Dragonfly Corner

Beckies blog is like visiting an old friend. She talks of gardening, trips with grandchildren, or toads in the bath. Beckie writes with humour and has a lovely natural quality about her.

ROSE at Prarie Rose.

Fairly new to blogging Rose has a lovely way with words. Her posts vary from gardening to her daughters graduation, to shopping trips. The posts are beautifully written and will hold your attention from start to finish.

LISA at Greenbow.

Lisas gardening blog also includes trips out with her lovely dog Luna. She talks of future gardening projects and asks for opinions on what she is doing. Her wonderful photography captures the charm of her space. She also shows you the things that go wrong. Lisa is refreshing, enthusiastic and a good tonic for all gardeners.

LIBBY at Libby's Blog.

Libby has a fantastic tropical garden. She takes you through every stage from overwintering to actual planting. Her other passions are her chickens and her cats, which add a fun element to her posts.

WENDY at Care giving is not for wimps.

Wendy is a carer and speaks openly and honestly about her daily thoughts and feelings. She writes from the heart and gives herself freely to her posts. She also writes about the more humerous moments in her life....like her recent visit to a store to buy sunscreen, it is so funny.

Wendy tugs at my heart strings but also leaves me with a smile.

I love all of these blogs and check daily to see if they have posted. If you are not familiar with them please take a visit, you will not be disappointed. They are all linked from my blog, all you have to do is click on.

Have fun.