Fledged tits mean we are home alone.

No peep peep from the roof top and no sign of Cheeky and Smartie means that the blue tits have now flown the nest. Good for them but sad for us. I hope the Buzzards don't have any of them for supper.

Five am visitor.

Here he is. beautiful, isn't he?

Roots of roses.

When I dug up the rose pots which I had planted into the ground and found great tendrils of root poking through the drainage holes in the pots I was a little concerned that they may be pot bound (when roots have tightly wrapped around inside the pot and have outgrown it) however there was plenty of soil left with a good root system so they will have a great chance of continuing to improve now they are in the ground and have plenty of room to grow, especially laterally. It's always worth gently teasing roots out slightly when you are planting up. This encourages the roots to find their way away from the root ball and makes for a sturdier plant. Although here I have gone overboard with the teasing out of the roots you can see the before and after photos before planting up.The soil was so fine that as I was pulling out a few roots it was dropping off but once planted in good quality soil it will soon establish itself.

Above, as it came out of the pot.

 

Below, difficult to work out but basically the roots are teased out to give them a good chance to branch out.

Sunny yellow, got the blues.

In the field beyond our garden a sea of yellow is beginning to develop. It sways beautifully in a light wind and is almost certainly home for many tiny creatures. In our little patch of ground we have a corner in the pastel friendship bed (so called because it was planted with purchases from my friends for my 46th birthday)

Isn't Nature's palette phenomenal?

New home for the blue tit.

Up in the eaves lives a new family of blue tits. Tiny little things that make such a noise yet disappear from view as they nip into their makeshift home with fat bugs to feed the babes. I love watching them fly, they do this swoop,. There's a big waft of wing before they tuck them tightly to their bodies and, looking like bullets flying through the sky, dip down before unfurling and flapping again. Such a joy to see.
They have a ready supply of nuts in the feeder and Luke has names for a few of them, 'Cheeky' being his favourite. Here he is surveying the field from his (and our) house.

Rosy days.

I wasn't working today and now the bank holiday is over the sun has come out. Unbelievable.

We've also been promised highs of 24 degrees centigrade by the weekend. So, three days of downpours and the promise of a good few days of warmth means it's a great time to get on with moving the roses. I'll soon find out how many roots have escaped through the drainage holes of it's pot to put proper roots down. Basically, I bought the roses last year as I couldn’t choose between the ones I loved so I bought one of each. However I had them in a holding bed until I knew where I wanted to plant them without realising that the onset of new neighbours would mean I'd have to rush and wouldn't have the luxury of planning where to put them. So instead of planting them out in the front garden as originally planned because it needs levelling and stripping of it's turf before conditioning I have kept them in the back garden.

I have used the beautiful, pale, creamy apricot rose, Claire Austin, in the pastel friendship border. Spirit of Freedom, (which was already planted up in it's right place), Munstead Rose, Geoff Hamilton and Winchester Cathedral have been dotted along the long border with the white Winchester Cathedral rose in the clashing corner to tone it down somewhat. I've added some sand, some compost, a good slug of water and made sure each hole is very well dug over so the roots do not have to fight to get through clay soil. I've also teased our the roots to ensure they grow down and out rather than becoming root bound. As always, once planted I gave it a good soak to establish itself.

When planting these roses in the border I had to take into account that not only will they hopefully grow but that the plants around them, out at similar and different times of the year also need to have enough space. So I've cut away some of the lawn to allow enough room for everything. I know I've said before that I favour the jumbled way of planting; cramming lots of things in so you see very little earth and everything has to fight for space but I do believe in giving them a few years to get their strength up before the jostling begins.

I also moved a few plants to accommodate the new additions and also I moved the two huge Allium, Mount Everest from where the raspberries will need to be moved to over to the conservatory view in the pastel border. Jumbled in with the two purple Alliums and tall foxgloves makes it look more lush and less sparse. I need to plant plenty more for a show of lolly pops in the spring and will do that in the late Autumn ready for next year.

The peas had new string wound around the bamboo supports so they can climb up them easily and I added extra kitchen waste to the compost bin. I could spend another four days in the garden before I'd be where I want to be with it but sadly work calls for the next three days and I've got three late nights in a row. Ah well, there was just enough time to swing in my hammock whilst reading my book in the late afternoon sun.

I'll add some photos soon but I have just added some photos to the last few posts - the rain drenched plants and the space where the conifers were are now uploaded on earlier posts.Check out Hens v delphiniums, Two down one to go and the Rain post.

Rain, rain go away.

Well, I had hoped for a downpour to settle in the mahonias and I got what I asked for. In fact it has hardly stopped raining for three days now - typical fora bank holiday in Britain. We Brits are almost obsessed by the weather because so much depends on what it is like - we were going to crack on with the fence and also to move the raspberries and roses but with this torrential rain we would just create a quagmire. I did manage, between the rain bursts yesterday to mow the back lawn which delights me with it's effectiveness every time. I also finished pressure-washing the deck which is sparkling now and much less of a slipping hazard. The birds continue to entertain us with their feeding habits. If they were children they'd be getting the much quoted warning from their mother that there are starving children in Africa and not to waste their food. For every nut they eat they must waste five much to the relief of our chickens who bomb over to the area to pick up any rejected ones.

The rain didn't stop me from taking some photographs.....

The Jay has got plenty braver and is pounding on our conservatory roof right now before seeing what he can find to eat. Along with his magpie and crow cousins I try not to encourage him, hearing of his penchant for raiding songbird's nest but I am always thrilled at his flash of cerulean when he dips down and disappears over the hedge.

My peas, moved recently to accommodate the much talked about fence are sprouting which I'm thrilled about, loving them as I do.

As there is nothing to do but huddle indoors we have decided a pot of tea at the local tea room is in order and let's hope the rain finally tires of spoiling our weekend break and moves away to allow a final ray of hope later this afternoon.