Somerset – Gardens. Travel. Life.

Posted on July 30, 2025 by happyretiredblog · 5 Comments

Feels like Summer

So July you have had some great highs but some spectacular lows! A month I’ll be glad to see the back of. Great weather for the first two weeks. Poorer the last two. Visits to two very different A&E units. Ian’s sister is a doctor and she once said to him ‘if you want to see all areas of life go sit in A&E. We did. In the heart of London and in the depths of Somerset. Two very different but similar experiences. One me. One ‘im indoors.

But the weather had been glorious until its not. The garden has been looking great which is weather related but also because we have spent more time in one place. We rarely go to Spain in August but this year it’s also been July for various reasons. But we did get a Spanish taste when our local village hall held their summer party with a Spanish theme. I think it was the best yet. Great food with flamenco guitar and dancer.

I had also been asked to do 12 jars of flowers for the tables. Which I was very happy to do. I nearly had a coronary on the day when I realised that the event was starting at 12.30 and not the 3.30 I had thought. So at 10am it was a little frantic in this household ! But we got there and it shows how manic I was in that I didn’t take one photo of the flowers !

Back to the garden.

I planted all annuals except for the 4 pots of salvia Nachvinder which I buy new annually. They are amazing planted either side of the front doors ~ yes plural. I’d like to say one each, but the cottage was originally two and we still have both front doors. His and His.

The plants were I have to admit cheap and cheerful. Bought at a very large outlet where on a bad day you can find plants resembling those you find at a supermarket or DIY chain store. Un loved, unwatered and unbought. We must have had a day when everything had just arrived. Good quality geraniums. Trailing lobelia. Some coleus ~ and yes I know they have a fancy new name but I still call snapdragons snapdragons. Largely because I’d be forever getting spell check to understand me.

The cosmos were part local garden centre and the large plant warehouse. Had I realised how well they would look I’d have planted more. I remember I’d grown yellow ones in London and they were pretty magnificent.

Flowered all summer. As long as you dead headed. Trained by an expert dead header ~ my mother that’s never an issue.

The benefit of the positioning of these pots is that they only get a half days sun. That means we get them flowering for longer and they in theory need less water. Which is good as jacks Shute is on point to dry out. I give it 3 weeks, unless we get a few heavy downpours.

Enough of the pots. I’m already planning tulips. Have I said I like tulips? But I’ve been planning for months. I now have to commit to my orders. Plural.

The back garden has two seasons. Summer and autumn. I don’t plant many bulbs as the ground in winter and spring is too wet. But in summer it’s a riot of colour. Even if I say so myself.

Surprisingly the canna which I heavily mulched have all come back despite the wet winter. Some a bit later than others, and the canna annei and canna Musifolia has spread. Which makes me a happy man ~ hard to believe I know. As well as that look at the new shed in the picture. That’s also a bringer of joy.

This is a new plant bought this year to add to the annei collection. It’s in a pot and is taller than me. I know that it’s not difficult as I’m no giant but it’s over 6ft and the flowers are gorgeous.

A brand new one this year ~ very tall and different shaped flowers. Big dangly red pink purply flowers on long stems. I’m intrigued.

Golden orb is another favourite of mine and I’m glad to see that I have another flower spike coming especially as I knocked one off.

Another favourite and yet another purchase from my friends Mark & Emma at Todd’s Botanics is Canna Panache. I’d foolishly left one behind when we moved so had to replace it. Of course I couldn’t just order this one.

There are more but I need to save something for August!

It’s been rose heaven. I butchered them this year on the basis they do or don’t. If they don’t they are gone. But it’s worked. Not for all. But the majority. Some have been in the ground for decades and need to come out. I have made a note which ones.

One grown in my parents garden. Gorgeous colour. Not a very healthy grower. A bit prone to disease. But it’s one of my favourites, and I’ll tolerate the disease if I can control it as best I can.

New last year it has flowered like crazy and is about to have its second flush.

I have quite a few of these rose ‘Unkown’ in varios shades shapes and sizes. I’m a rubbish labeller and every year I say I will be better. It starts well.

I replanted the border around a small pond this year. It’s been here as long as we have ~ 30 years and I think it’s leaked from day one. It’s on the list of things to do. And has been for decades. Next year. Along with the falling down greenhouse.

The wild carrot has self seeded and is spreading nicely. Salvia hot lips isn’t as hot as in previous years and Royal bumble isn’t as bumbly. Even Amistad is a bit slow to the party this year. I have planted a number of new salvia this year which hopefully will be in full colour in August.

I planted Persicaria polymorpha two years ago next to a clump of red persicaria which was here when we bought the house. Both have gone bonkers. In winter and spring the red looks like it’s totally dead never to recover. But it does. The polymorpha is cut back on a regular basis as it’s overpowering, maybe the wrong plant in the wrong place. I knew it was a grower but ….

There are a few plants I’ve had in the past which I had bought at the old Hadspen House nursery when it was run by Sandra & Nori Pope. The kindest and most generous couple in both their time patience and advice to newbie gardeners. This is a fabulous book and one that I never tire of going back to.

This year I’ve replaced the salvia as I had lost mine. I will get another to add to the bed.

A bit of a weird one. The flower buds are large and a bit spooky. The stems are a bit brittle. But large and such a gorgeous colour. And tall.

There’s also lobelia Hadspen purple which survived the winter but not yet in full flower. It’s a lovely colour and is strong upright plant.

You’ve got to love a flash of pink in the garden.

Bought off a plant stall in castle Cary two years ago this has gone mad. Bit catkin like with big fluffy pink tails wafting about. I had never grown it before but it’s a firm new favourite.

There are a few more sanguisorba dotted around but none as showy.

I planted some chicory at the bottom of the garden just above the river bank and it’s done really well. It’s a great colour boost. Little did I know that the flowers open in the morning and disappear at night. A great purchase from Pepperpot herbs

I’ve also put one in the top bed which has gone a bit wild. Maybe a move for it next year.

Last year I grew a lot of dahlia from tubers. It was a disaster year for me. It was slug city. I lost most even after I’d repotted fresh tubers. So I decided not to bother this year. Which was a mistake as it’s been so dry and slugs so far haven’t been an issue. I have only two of these, bought as large plants. I suspect I may buy a few more encouraged by my partner in purchases Siobhan, whose garden is fabulous and always has some new to grab my attention.

It’s not all been flowers. The falling down greenhouse that I was going to replace when I retired 10 years ago and which is stuck together with sticky back plastic has been saved for another year. Every time I think yes. Now is the time it’s time for something else first. But it will happen.

This year we have a glut of tomatoes and cucumbers. Cucumbers are like buses. You wait for one and then you get three at once.

Ian has taken to growing veg. He’s very proud of his onions ! Exhibition quality they are as well.

The renewal of the old circular table which never really fitted in to an oblong table that sits nicely on the terrace has been a game changer. For us and for Fred the geriatric cat ~ that and a dry summer so far has meant we have spent more time sat in the garden than we have ever done.

The use of an old French stripey bit of fabric to give some mid day shade has made Fred very happy. At 21 he can have whatever he wants. For a few years we have been saying that this maybe his last summer but he continues to amaze both us and the vet.

There is still more summer to come. But it does feel that we are weeks ahead of previous years.

Flowers have bloomed earlier. Yet some vegatables are not as far advanced as last year. We are only now picking our runner beans. It will be an interesting round of Horticultural shows this season.

Apples are almost breaking the trees. The thud of dropping apples is a constant. A new juicer has been bought as the local farmer has been putting out bags of early apple beauty of bath. Sweet and great juiced.

We have had a ready supply of plums from grandad who’s not my grandad. Like the roundabout that’s not a roundabout in Spain which I’m delighted to say has had its summer haircut. The fear of wild fires is real.

So another early morning sat in the garden listening to the rooks morning chorus with Fred the geriatric cat before a trip to Bath ~ the city not the tub later today.

Posted on June 12, 2025June 12, 2025 by happyretiredblog

With a blink of an eye …June

With a blink of an eye we are back from Spain to the Somerset garden. There are obviously lots of differences but the biggest change this time ~ The temperature. It’s a massive 21* difference. I’ll be honest. We lit the fire. Fred the geriatric cat was very happy. I’m not sure if it was because we were back or the fire.

In Spain we had ceiling fans and open windows ~ apparently the last few days in May were the hottest on record for Spain for that time of year. For me it felt like a Mediterranean August. Which for me, August 2,000ft up the mountain is almost impossible. Back in one of the lockdowns I was stranded at Casa Verano. Trust me I’m happy to be stranded there. Just not in August. Early morning coffee in the pueblo blanco. Then home to shut the shutters, put on the aircon and watch Netflix in my pants until late evening when it was cooler to venture into the garden. Avoiding the mozzies.

I digress ~ as usual.

The garden in Spain was better than I’d hoped. We had had plenty of spring rain. The garden was looking great. But with the rain comes growth. So the roundabout that’s not a roundabout had gone bonkers so we have arranged for it to be cut.

The big worry is fire ~ the grass is so tall and so dry and it’s only the beginning of June.

Back to Somerset. Ten days away and the grass has grown. Obviously but like grown a lot. I didn’t mow most of it in May ~ a little bit of no mow ~ but I have mixed feelings about that. Second day back the grass was mown.

The one thing we don’t get in Spain as bad as Somerset are weeds. No ground elder. No bindweed. No major back ache.

Another difference in the gardens is that at this time of year there is plenty of colour in the Somerset garden. In Spain it’s kind of in between colours. The next big flush of colour will be the agapanthus of which there are many and the many oleanders dotted here and there.

In Somerset we are awash with colour. Roses, salvia, poppies, geraniums and geum. Annuals like calendula and lobelia. Coleus and cosmos in the front pots.

This border was full of aster. I’ve wanted to take them all out for ages as they weren’t particularly attractive , but hadn’t got around to it. With more time this last year it happened. Not my decision but Ian’s. He dug them all out and we had a new border to fill. A great opportunity for new purchases, although I don’t need an excuse. Six new climbing roses, 3 new steel obelisks with two on order and salvia and annuals planted.

Another new border

We have a small pond in the garden which was here when Ian bought the first cottage 30 odd years ago. It is due to be replaced but it’s on one of the lists. It has newts and the occasional frog. We’ve sorted the borders at the front and the back of the pond. Last year the front border was great, lots of daucus carota, some grasses and some sweet peas . This year it’s slightly different, but equally lovely

There are odd chairs and things dotted about the garden, which looks a bit odd when the plants are growing but look so much better when largely covered in plant growth

There have been new roses this year. Growing up my parents garden was full of them and I have bought some of the ones I remember from their garden. I also remember a lovely row of pink floribunda at the library opposite where they lived. So I have bought 3 Queen Elizabeth floribunda. They are yet to flower.

The above is Piccadilly which is just opening and is one I bought locally.

I planted this rose decades ago and typically didn’t label or remember its name, but known as the pinky rose with rose hips. It needed a good old tidy up which I did last year ~ but wasn’t sure it would survive. It did and flowers like crazy. I reached out on Instagram to see if anyone could identify it and luckily I was told it was Rosa Bonica. So another was bought and this year has also gone mad. A thank you to Michael Marriott for helping me out. The King of roses to the rescue.

I looked and looked for superstar ~ it was always a favourite in my parents garden. It’s pretty but not a great disease resistant rose. But I love the colour and it reminds me of my parents.

The roses so far have been pretty spectacular this year. A mix of the weather. Hard pruning and a good old feed. I’ve also turned into my mother ~ she was a prolific dead header. Didn’t matter if it wasn’t her garden ~ she couldn’t stop herself. She would walk up any path and deadhead. I’m not that bad. Honest. I won’t do it in your rose garden Siobhan.

The rector is having a good old ramble in an old largely dead apple tree. Another rose hugely cut back hard – and almost all ~ dead wood cut out. It’s certainly a prolific flowerer. Shame it’s not a repeat flowering rose. I’m greedy I know. I want colour. Scent. And repeat flowering. Throw in thornless and I’ll be happy. Hard to please~ me ?

There are a number of roses which are unnamed. Not actually unnamed just not labelled! If I admit to one bad gardening habit it’s labelling. Or the lack of. Siobhan my tulip partner in crime will ask ‘ what’s the name of that Astrantia. That rose’. She really knows what the answer will be. 🤷‍♂️

This year’s new ones will be written in a diary. and will be documented in a blog I’m sure. Ask me next year.

It’s been a good year so far for Geum. Geum Totally Tangerine has been a firm favourite and flower continuously. First seen on my favourite stand at any flower show ~ Hardys plants ~ always beautiful plants and such helpful and informative growers. But whilst deadheading helps ~ on small flowered plants it’s a pain in the butt. Which I can do without as I have a massive flare up of sciatic pain ~ so I need no more pain.

I left most of the canna in the ground over winter. Heavily mulched. Whilst slow to get going this year and sometimes hidden by the wild growth of the other plants they have been fed well and are now on their way.

This is one I brought from London. I now wish I had brought them all. But I have been buying new from my regular supplier Todd’s Botanics.

Ignore the background in the canna annei photograph. It will be sorted. But I love this one. It’s two added to the annei collection It’s one of my favourites and one I grew in pots in London.

This is a new one bought a few weeks ago and is on the terrace. There is one which is a bit behind this in the terrace border.

Some new canna have gone in as well to add to the ones we have ~ and I’m sure that they will be on their way too. I just need to make sure they are well fed.

You know when you plant something and kind of ignore the prospect of how large it may get. This was one of them. We have one clump of a red persicaria in the garden which was here 30 years ago and it has grown huge. Always reliable and also great for a bit of a cut flower to add to whatever is available at the time.

This one I bought 2 or 3 years ago. Its a great structural plant but make sure you have the room. A glorious bit of brightness but can be overwhelming.

Another plant that grows well in this garden are Astrantia. There are a number of them dotted around the borders.

You will notice that they are all called Astrantia. See what I mean about labelling.

The tulips have all gone replaced by summer bedding. Last year I grew dahlia for the pots. It was a nightmare ~ slugs slugs slugs. With this year’s dry weather I’m sure it would have been better. But I have only two dahlia. Both Octopus sparkle. Quite where they go is another question.

The planting is colourful although a bit municipal ~ but it works in the space available and will get even more colourful as it develops.

At long last ~ the new shed is going up. Placed on old railway sleepers to let some of any flood water go under it’s a long overdue addition.

When we first had the cottage there was a bit of a decrepit summer house there which was taken down decades ago. We desperately need storage for garden stuff. There are windows on both sides which will give light through it and I can see the greenhouse still from the house.

Next year’s project will maybe be the new greenhouse. That’s been on the list for the last 10 years. Each year there’s a bit more sticky back plastic holding it up. But every year some other expense crops up.

The veg is coming along nicely. Runner beans and climbing French are doing their thing. Ians planted onions, leeks and kale. The tomatoes and cucumbers are in the greenhouse and Ian’s herb bed is already full of parsley coriander and chives.

So they say we may be in for a dry summer. Which will mean it is likely that Jacks shute the spring at the front of the cottages may dry up. It’s already running slowly, and I have only known it stop once in 30 years. Which is a disaster for me as I use it for watering the plants.

There is still plenty of flowers to come ~ the funky sanguisorbia lilac squirell which I love. The canna, although for now the leaves are interesting enough, gladioli, pink and white phlox, red persicaria with others.

Now it’s time to get back to ordering tulips.

My partner in crime has already shared some of her wants for this year so it’s started !

Have I said I like tulips ?

Posted on August 9, 2024August 29, 2024 by happyretiredblog · 4 Comments

Could it be Summer?

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog. Not one specific reason stopping me but many. None earth shattering but sometimes life just gets in the way.

We have decamped to the Wet Country for the summer. Wet with the silent S. I know it rains here in Somerset but usually it’s not all the time.

For the first time in years the geriatric cats have travelled west too and have settled well.

The Somerset garden has been a challenge even though we are here full time. I have said before that we have the national collection of bindweed and ground elder. It’s been the bane of my life for over 30 years. We get rid of it. It comes back. Turn around and it’s 4 feet high again. Two of us constantly weeding. Constantly moaning about it, but to be honest enjoying the country life.

There have been results. We have colour in the garden at long last. Some things have done really well with the weather. There have been losses ~ not a penstemon survived the winter. No echinacea have appeared. There have been new plants purchased obviously to replace those that have been lost.purchases because I have seen things I like. Not need. But like.

The astrantia as always have thrived. Huge clumps in parts. Smaller clumps in others. Someone asked me to name them but as I’ve said before I start off well with labelling. Then fall off the cliff. It’s an astrantia ~ a pink one ~ there are white ones. A Shaggy. A Hadspen blood ~ and others. Just don’t ask me the variety.

We have One agapanthus in the garden which is unusual for me. Have I mentioned I like agapanthus? But they rotted last year after the flood. This one in the photo is a new one. But then again they have gone bonkers in London. It’s agapanthus heaven.

One plant that has gone bonkers in the Somerset garden is sanguisorba lilac squirrel. A small plant last year with a few pink fluffy hanging flower tails. This year it’s tall and full of flowers. It’s become one of my favourites. Was a new one to me last year and has turned out to be a great choice. Of course I’ve bought more. I knew you were thinking just the one?

I think someone in the hamlet had this plant which spread and then they gave one to nearly every house. We all have them. Very pretty but spreads like fury. It was here in the garden when we moved in 30 odd years ago ~ and trust me there have been some odd years ~ there’s enough material for a book.

As usual I digress. I like these but they take up too much space for a flower that lasts a day. Like I’ve said for the last 20 years. They need thinning out. This year is the year.

The garden is pretty eclectic ~ if I like it I plant it. So it’s a bit of a mish mash of plants and colours ~ a bit like my tulip pots, the subject of which I’m ignoring at the moment. I’ve looked at bulbs. Done a list. Changed the list. Messaged Peter Nyssen. Messaged my partner in crime Siobhan. She was my friend. But she has already ordered her bulbs. I’m deleting her.

The canna are showing their leaves. Canna Annei one of the tallest is a favourite and one of the many I have bought from Todd’s Botanics.

The dark leaves red is flowering as is the orange. Great colours for the garden and the leaves are great for structure too.

I love these when they appear but hate planting them. The bulbs are too small for fat fingers to be planting. Also I think I’ve seen just these two out of the many I planted. Give me allium summer drummer any day. Big bulbs. 6ft tall when grown and excellent flower head. Great for drying too and they come back. There are also great in the garden in Spain.

Looking at these dahlia which are all in pots in the front of the cottage you may think oh. Look at those amazing dahlia. Well. This is largely it. I planted tubers. Potted them on. Planted these pots. Made a new dahlia patch. You know what. Slugegedon. Munch munch munch. I have a few flowers in the pots and slug eaten dahlia in the garden. Last night alone I collected 25 from the garden and 12 from the greenhouse. How come we have a mass invasion of slugs yet the pollinators are obviously away on vacation. I’ve used nematodes. Wool pellets. Coffee grounds and beer traps. I’ve been out in the dark with my torch. Yet the slugs are now all coffee addicts swigging the beer in wool coats. Whilst still munching the leaves and flowers. I have to think again for next year. But everyone has said it’s been a nightmare with slugs. I potted up 24 tubers. Grew them in in the greenhouse. Planted them out. I now have 4.

One plant used for the first time in decades last year and again this year is a revelation. My parents used it in their hanging baskets and I’ve added it to my pots again. A great colour as you approach the front of the cottages. Lobelia ~ and next year I may just do annual planting in the pots. But then again I won’t decide until the last minute

My parents grew all their own bedding plants. Spent hours in the greenhouse pricking out the plants. If I had borders along a path I’d recreate their 1980’s borders. They planted lobelia. Allysun. Godstia. Nemesia. Snapdragons.

Where have the pollinators gone. April time wasn’t bad. Today there have been two bumble bees. A few butterfly. Nothing on the butterfly bush ~ Buddleia which is usually crawling with butterflies. But they are slowly reappearing. Fingers crossed or we are doomed.

I bought a few Daucus carota at a local plant sale and they are doing really well. I need more. They really do so well in the border here.

Of course I didn’t need another plant. So I bought two new Rudbeckia from the local garden centre. 1000’s may have it but I like the colour. Yet to be planted probably in two of the pots which had dahlia. If they aren’t cutting the mustard at this stage it’s time to cut my losses. I have in fact done exactly that. It’s too late for the ravaged plants to go anywhere. Except the compost heap.

We have had a greenhouse for decades. Was second hand when we got it and it was used a lot. But then we weren’t here as often in the summer and it became a bit Steptoes yard.

This year was the year it was going to be taken down and at some point a new one may be considered. But. It’s had a reprieve. The broken glass hasn’t been replaced but I found a roll of plastic which I have used to replace the broken windows.

We planted tomatoes and cucumbers. So far so good. We have been picking cucumbers and giving them away. We have picked some tomatoes < the sungold are way ahead of everything else.

There are a few different varieties.

A plum tomato liked by chefs apparently. I haven’t tasted it yet but I know I won’t grow it again next year. It’s a bit of a thug and not a great number of fruit.

Tomato sungold. The gift that keeps on giving.

You know when you are at a garden club plant sale and you just buy randomly. This was one purchase. But the fruits are large and the blurb I’ve read say it’s a taste explosion. But they are a bit pink apparently. One is just starting to ripen.

Another random purchase at the plant sale but they are growing well. Dark tomatoes. On the large side too.

A gift from a friend who grows them every year and rates them highly. If they are good enough for nanny Annie then they are good enough for me.

Ian bought the cucumber plants. 3 different types. The jury is out on the yellow until we taste it. Apparently you have to peel it. And it’s round.

I’ve planted three sets of runner beans. 3 because the first two failed. Weather. Slugs. The last batch is climbing away up the canes. Flowers. Tiny beans forming. But I did find enough for supper last night. Hiding behind the leaves.

But I can hear my father ‘ the problem is you didn’t dig a trench. You know I dug a trench every year for my runners ‘ ‘ Um. No dad. You mean you got me to dig it’

We have apples. Two trees are excellent the other is pants. Pears. Nothing. Soft fruit ~ red currants were plentiful. So were the gooseberries. Black currants not great. But it doesn’t matter really. Because 10 days away and there are nine berries left. Pigeons. Next year there will be a fruit cage. At least we can live off frozen redcurrants. Last years crop was awesome.

The front garden pots are doing ok despite the slug damage. The three dahlia are flowering and at least it’s colourful and brightens up the front of the cottage.

But next year will be re thought and there are plans to move things around at the back. Until then it’s more weeding. More slug hunts. ~ maybe an Olympic sport for 2028!

Posted on February 22, 2023February 26, 2023 by happyretiredblog

Hello. Where are you?

I love it when photos pop up on one of your social media accounts as a memory of where you were this time last year ~ or in this case in 2020. Today was a reminder the last time we really dressed up and went out out. When we were invited to a fancy pants dinner ( no dancing) at the Mansion House in London. A dinner for the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. Guests of two fabulous gardeners. Good fronds and excellent company. They know who they are.

How time flies. At that time we were going out and about to travel to Mexico. Pre pandemic. There’s been a lot happened since. Three years. Three prime ministers. And three or is it four vaccinations.

I had a message at the end of last week. Where are you? I can’t keep up. The trouble is neither can I. We are here and there and over there. Answering in Spanish when we are in Somerset. We were in Somerset. Essentially A five day gardening trip with some appointments with builders. Supper with friends and tea and cake with others. Ian’s highlight of the week. The arrival of godson Bradley to take two mattresses to the tip. I kid you not. It’s been on the list for ever. Taking up room under the bed. I still can’t get my head around the little baby I once fed ( bottle} now drives tractors and a car big enough to help us out.

We have travelled the route from London to Somerset for more years than I care to remember. The good thing is that I can. I should have counted the number of times we’ve passed Stonehenge. The number of times we have been stuck in that Queue. But it’s always been worth the trip. This time to a garden that’s always neglected in the winter.

Despite the neglect there are some things that reappear year after year other than us. Like these crocus. I have no recollection of planting them. I’m not a great fan of planting small bulbs. Thankfully tulips are os a suitable size otherwise I’d be in a bit of a pickle. But these have multiplied over the years and obviously I have accidentally moved some as there are patches popping up elsewhere. If you see me ordering small bulbs stop me. You should have last year when I bought teeny tiny alliums. Never again. Big fat bulbs of Allium yes.

We as in the royal we have had a good old tidy up. There has been cutting back. Clearing. Emptying pots of compost where the plants have given up the ghost. I should have put them in the greenhouse but to be honest it’s probably warmer outside. I had planned to get a new greenhouse.p 8 years ago. I’ve been patching it up badly I might add. A new one is on the list. The never ending list of lists.

There is a large terrace at the back of the house with some nice paving. Well when it’s clean it may be nice and that’s a job for another day. Or week. Don’t look at the fence which at the height of sumner you can’t see. Don’t ask about it either. It’s a jointly owned fence. If it wasn’t then there would be a new one. I’ve uncovered the slime off the tops of the agapanthus pots to discover tulips popping through. I’m convinced I’ve lost the agapanthus but I’m not giving up yet. If I have then I’ll get some more. They light up the terrace in the summer and are drought friendly so ideal.

I watch in awe as friends post on social media of the snowdrop frenzy at this time of year whilst being thankful we don’t have any. Except we do. A small clump under the ancient and dead apple tree covered tightly by the rambling rector. There have been a few of those in this parish over the years. Rambling rectors whose sermons have rambled on. . This one has been in the garden for over 30. The rose. Not the rector.

I tried to get a decent Photo of the snowdrop in the garden. Give me the chance to photograph an agapanthus any day. There’s no getting down on one lneee or both to get ‘that shot’. Getting downs not usually too bad. Getting up is. I will stick to standing photos only. But this flower is rather lovely but I’m going to resist going down that rabbit hole of snowdrop desire. Well I will try anyway. Says the man who already has started his 2024 tulip list.

One benefit of the cutting back and a grand tidy up is that the primroses and the bluebells are getting some light. Primroses remind me of childhood walks along the Rusty line ~ an old disused railway line whose banks were littered with primroses. I bought some more last year to plant in a grassy area but also think I should plant some on the river bank. Or should it be wild garlic. Or lovely blue wild chicory. Or all of them. Where’s my list?

Blue bells. ~ but are they Spanish or English. Interestingly ~ well for me anyway. I have never seen a Spanish bluebell in Spain in fact I’ve never seen any bluebells in Spain. . A few years ago a neighbour whose garden I love and who is a proper gardener, indeed an expert said that I hadn’t asked her to come and see the garden. I know. For me it would be like asking Picasso to come and look at my paintings. Or Mario Testino to look at my photographs. But I said if she’d like to come and look then she was always welcome. Right she replied. I will be around on Sunday at 2pm. Cold sweats. Hot sweats. Weeds pulled. Nail scissors taken to the grass and she did come and have a look. But I always remember her saying. I hope they aren’t Spanish bluebellls. If they are you need to dig them up. Every year since I look.

Pulmonaria grows like a weed in this garden. I could cover the garden with this ground elder and bindweed. It’s now growing well on the river bank and is always a welcome colour splash at this time of year and with it dotted all around the garden and is a great attraction for early pollinators.

The garden is wet in the winter. Even with the rainfall this winter the ground is wet. Bulbs don’t do very well in the back garden as they generally rot. So there are not many of them. The dahlias I left in are useless. Some years they are ok but this winter has been at times both wet and very cold. So it’s no surprise really. I’ve lost the daffodils along the greenhouse as well ~ a few are through but don’t look promising. I get asked why I don’t plant the tulips in the garden when I empty the pots after they have died back. I’ve done it once and it wasn’t a success. Too much effort for little gain. Last year I bagged them up and people who wanted them for their garden took them. But I must remember to water the tulip pots. They benefit from a weekly watering if you want decent flowers.

Once the lawn dries out a bit it will have its first haircut. Not a short back and sides but a gentle trim. I hate how at this time of year there’s a well worn path compacting the grass on the walk to the bottom of the garden and the compost bin. That’s along with the cat walk ~ not us practising our model walk up and down the garden ~ but the local cats path through. That and then badger when he can get across the river.

Im trying to plan a few things differently this year. Where to plant the runner beans. I’ve got an ear worm of my dad telling me I have to dig a trench. Growing up one of my jobs in the garden was to dig the annual trench for two rows of runner beans. This would be filled with all the peelings from the veg and newspaper. My father was disappointed to find that I didn’t continue to do it in my own garden. But as I’m a creature of some habit I suspect the two rows I put in will be in the same place and the ideas for the dahlia bed will not materialise either. I will have dahlias as I love to pick them for the house.

But we have made one decision and that is a new log store. Ordered and a place identified for its position. It’s all part of a bigger plan but that’s for another day.

There’s still a lot to do. We put in this inexpensive arch decades ago and it’s now smothered with the scent of honeysuckle. Not now obviously. But at the height of summer it’s glorious. But it needs a bit of a haircut ~ like me. It’s in front of the pergola which was put up two decades ago when we bought no 4 to make the two terraces flow. My big mistake then was bad planning for growing over it. but I have a plan. There’s a theme in this blog. Plans. Garden. House. Cottage. Oh another arch is planned toward the bottom of the garden.

So the work will continue this week. Some digging. More tidying. Cake eating. But. I have a day planned in Bath on my own. Except for my camera. And dreaming of tulips. Like the ones at Columbia Road Flower Market today.

Posted on December 18, 2022December 19, 2022 by happyretiredblog · 2 Comments

Frosty Days. Cold nights.

Oh my. We are never happy are we. Too hot. Too cold. Too wet. Too dry. But I have to admit this last week or so has been Baltic. Been right brass monkey weather. The bonus against cold v wet is that at least you can layer up. Ok there are days when I looked like a Michelin man. But warmth over style rules when it’s freezing. But. A bit of frost. A bit of snow. Great for photos right?

This is the lane at the back of the cottage. The road to granny and grandads. Like the roundabout that’s not a roundabout Intalk about in Spain they aren’t my granny and grandad. But if you’ve read any of my blogs you’ll know that. Taken early one morning with a coffee in one hand and my iPhone in another. A morning chat with Farmer Paul on the bridge on his way to start the day with his cattle. To be fair I had gone into the lane as there was a water leak running down the hill. Don’t even get me started on trying to report the leak. Online report only. Wanted so many of my details before I could report. I nearly gave up the will to live

I usually creep over the old bridge. Not that I’d disturb the neighbours but you never know what’s on the river. That morning I could have kicked myself. Four. Yes four white egrets flew up as I passed. Try taking a photo quickly with coffee in one hand and the other hand in your coat pocket. Epic fail. But trust me. It was a sight.

There were some spectacular icicles hanging down from the viaduct. The ones hanging down our front door from an overflowing tank in the loft weren’t quite as spectacular but I nearly impaled myself on them as I opened the door. Thankfully quickly sorted. The leak. Not me.

It makes everything look so pretty. Not that I’m biased. I love the village and it is a bit picture perfect. But I love that it’s also still a working village. Cattle. Sheep. Hay. Straw and for my godchildren ( not the farming ones) ~ the DFL’s ~ the tractors and agricultural machinery.

I had the urge to recreate that scene from The Holiday where Cameron Díaz runs across the field back to the house. Two things stopped me. There wasn’t really enough snow. And the running. Oh. And Ian was still fast asleep back at the cottage. This field is Alders. Not the department store. But I suspect named after the line of alder trees along the river bank which are no longer. After the flood the line of trees on the bank were removed to allow the field to act as an overflow for the river.

Our decision to be at the cottage last week was to plant the tulip pots. I didn’t plan on the weather. I knew it was cold. I knew I was waiting for a cold spell. But I didn’t bargain on having to remove the top 4 inches of compost as it was frozen solid. I wanted to remove half of the compost anyway but not with a pick axe and a screwdriver.

But. I did it. Compost removed. New compost bought. But. Another but. The compost from the local gardening centre was frozen. I had no option. As well as warm my feet by the wood burner two bags of peat free compost were being de frosted,

And yes. I did it. Well. 12 of the 15 pots. The last two defeated me with more frost and snow.

These aren’t all the colours. As usual I started with the plan. And the weather and the cold got to me. So it will be a dolly mixture again this year. Plus. Three pots will be done in January.

Back to the views. The days and the light changes so quickly and as well as the frosty grey days the morning light can be magical. As long as you are up early enough. Wrapped up. And with a hot drink in your hand.

The same view on a different day. The day before the snow and frost pic. Look at that sky. No filter. iPhone 12 Pro. Right time. Right place.

Ifuvuvuvuvu

I haven’t cut anything back in the garden this autumn/winter. I’d like to say it has been planned. But in reality it’s either been too wet for this fair weather gardener or I just haven’t had the time. But it certainly makes for a pretty sight in the frost and the birds have been loving the seed heads. And one single frosted rose looked fabulous.

We both had to go back to London mid visit. The plan was to go by train and stay for two nights and head back for the weekend to attend a friends 60th. Best laid plans and all that. We had to be in London. So we had to drive. Being back we also had our usual walk through the park which was also looking good.

No sticking to the paths for us. I couldn’t walk on blocks of ice. No doubt I’d be flat on my back. But back to Somerset it was and a hideous journey with the A303 closed near Stonehenge and a diversion over Salisbury Plain. Great views. Slippery roads.

Just back in time for the carol service at St Leonard’s church Pitcombe. It’s been a while since I’ve been. Many years ago. Decades actually the parish priest called me a festival worshipper. Christmas. Easter. Harvest festival. Patronal festival. He didn’t say it as a bad thing. But he was right. I was there to sing the hymns & the carols. Oh. And for the mince pies and mulled wine.

I can’t remember seeing the stained glass looking so bright. Possibly as I was ambling along in the dark looking up for a change.

And no. I didn’t get the last three pots done. They had frosted again and I had lost the will to live. But I saw my godson who asked what I was doing later in the afternoon. Oh. I thought. He’s coming down with his girlfriend. No. Don’t be silly. I have my uses as does Ian. Any chance you can stand in the road. I’m bringing the sheep through from church ground and I need you both to stop them going up pitcombe Rock. How 20 years makes a difference. One day I’m feeding him his bottle. The next I’m watching him lead the sheep through the village.

That’s Somerset done until 2023. Strikes. Trains. Planes and weather permitting we head away for the Christmas and new year festivities. Some more tulip planting ~ I must take them out of the fridge before Ian realises that’s where they have been stored for the last month. I won’t need a pick axe to plant there. We have had the long awaited rain. And no. The rain in Spain doesn’t stay mainly on the plain.

There will be supper with friends. An overnight in Malaga to see the Christmas lights. A visit to the Botanical gardens to see the illuminations. Some gardening. Oh. And you know there will be the usual ramblings.

If not I’ll be planting those last three pots.

Posted on April 23, 2021April 29, 2021 by happyretiredblog · 5 Comments

Release from Lockdown prison

We weren’t quick out of the blocks on 12 April when the rules were relaxed. We couldn’t. We had hair cuts booked. Six months of cutting my own hair. It wasn’t my head that was lopsided. It was the hair.

But the day after at the crack of dawn we were off. It was strange. Packing the car. Actually driving over 20mph. Driving out of the Borough of Southwark. A motorway. A service station. Past Stonehenge ~ will be nice when it’s finished.

Finally singing the good old Peters & Lee song. “Welcome Home’

We had been away for nearly 5 months. Lockdowned in London. I’d planted tulips in haste in late November and crossed fingers that they would pop up. Crossed fingers that this year we may just get to see them. Unlike last where we relied on the generosity of friends and neighbours sending photographs. Watering the pots. By the time we arrived after lockdown 2 they had gone. The tulips. Not the friends and neighbours.

It’s amazing the difference ten days makes. Well. Ten days and sunshine. Cold nights. Some frosts. No rain. Georgie from Common Farm Flowers down the road said there had been no rain since 16 March. You can tell. Talk about dry. We are lucky to have a spring opposite the cottage ~ Jack’s shute. Don’t ask who Jack is/was. I haven’t a clue. But the water gushes unless it’s the end of a dry summer and then it’s a dribble. But the water is cool. Drinkable. And free. And great for watering the pots. I leave a watering can by the pots and kind people water them when we aren’t there!

Now I know that people say a weed is just a flower in the wrong place. Yes. The wrong place is in my garden. The weed. Mainly ground elder of which I must have the National Collection. Imagine. 5 months of the stuff. Romping away in the garden. No control. That question. Why don’t slugs munch on it. Or the rogue badger digging up the lawn.

We had dug out the ground elder from two beds during the period between lock down 2 and lockdown 3. Had planted up. Had put a cover over part of another border. Turned the key and left. The two beds weren’t bad. Anyway I had to clear one bed of the perennials. Well it wasn’t had to ~ I wanted to plant a bed of roses and agapanthus with some acedanthera amongst other things. These beds still had some ground elder but they were manageable.

We also hadn’t been able to cut back the perennials. To prune or just to generally tidy last years growth. So there was a lot to do. Trips to the dump. Decisions to be made.

We also had builders in which meant for 3 days we couldn’t really go out. Except to buy biscuits. Coffee and milk. My mother always said ‘ look after the workers and you’ll get a job well done’ We did. And we did. Apparently we have set the bar high. But as soon as they had gone we did manage to go out. Food shopping. A bit. But better still to a local nursery

Blooming Wild is lovely nursery with a great plant list and helpful friendly owners in Will and Lauren. All set down Cabbage Lane, a great name for the address of a plant nursery. The added bonus is that it’s not far from us.

I of course bought plants. It would be rude not to wouldn’t it ~ some Baptisia. Both the blue and the Dutch chocolate. Some geums, some cowslips which will hopefully self seed. I will be back. They have a few things on my list and will reserve them for me.

I also planted 80 freesia along the path ~ it’s an experiment but the ones I planted in pots in London two weeks ago are up and running. I planted some in Spain three years ago and to coin a phrase they are ‘blooming lovely.’ This year they have adorned our neighbours table as I have asked her to pick them. Which she happily does.

Just past the old loo with its broken door and ivy clad roof is a small sitting area with steps down into the river. At this time of the year you can cross the river with barely getting your feet wet. Don’t try it in the winter months. Steps have been cleaned. The seating area tidied up under the large spindle which last year was glorious. The bonus of not being at the cottage for such a long time is that things haven’t been pruned back. This old spindle has flowered brilliantly over the last 12 months and is set to do the same this year.

The two pots with tulips are a surprise as I potted up agapanthus in compost without fully clearing last years tulips. The lovely red Uncle Tom have pushed their way through. Amazing really as they haven’t been watered in months.

The old loo is due a makeover. New doorframe. A new lock but we are trying to keep the old door ~ some clearing of the ivy from getting under the roof tiles. I don’t have to say it’s not used these days. Trotting 120 ft down the garden to the loo in the rain wouldn’t be my idea of fun. I remember having to use the outside loo at my Aunts. In the dark. In the rain. Thanks. But no thanks.

Being down in the bottom of the U in the valley we are prone to catching the frosts which means we often lose the apple pear and plum blossom. Despite the late frosts so far it hasn’t hit. But who knows. Apples are usually fine but the plum usually gets it. That or the wasps and the birds getting the little fruit that does develop. I don’t mind feeding the birds but wasps aren’t welcome. Two years ago I got stung near my eye by a wasp and had to go to the minor injuries unit. Apparently at my ripe old age I was allergic to wasp stings. Not epi pen allergic thankfully but enough to make me look like I’d done ten rounds with Henry Cooper.

A singularly unattractive specimen which needed a tidy up. I missed the timing for pruning but a call for advice from insta friends helped. This rose bush gives plentiful pink flowers repeatedly through the summer ~ so it’s been pruned a little and fed. Underneath the rose Pulmonaria have gone mad and are covered in bees. Again had we been around it is likely that I would have cut them back a bit. Lesson learnt as the bees love them early in the season.

It’s a little surprising to find that some of the salvias are romping away and that the canna are starting to poke through Why? Because these are in the greenhouse which hadn’t been opened in 5 months. I bubble wrapped the inside in December, watered and shut the door only to be reopened mid April. So yes. It was a surprise. A pleasant one.

Salvia super trouper. Canna Annei. Canna musifolia and a couple more canna.

The boxes are the 5 new roses from Todds Botanics along with the 6 agapanthus to go in the new bed. Thankfully I got the delivery address right unlike last year.

As the days went on more and more tulips opened. The pots were full of tulip Brown sugar which stand head and shoulders above the others. The others will be out. Hopefully when we get back.

I have sweet peas growing in London to plant in Somerset in the middle of the rose bed. . Two things I’m rubbish at are seed sowing and plant labels. I must do better in both. I labelled the sweet peas ~ but!

The dahlia tubers I bought from Todds Botanics are popping through and will be taken to Somerset to plant out.

It’s back to the London garden and an easier time to sort things out. No lawn. All in pots. Tiny garden. Lockdown 3 has meant it’s manicured of sorts to a T. Ian would say with a nail scissors. It’s not.

But from now until September I suspect we will be up and down the A303. Then to tackle a Mediterranean garden where we have been away from for a whole year. That will be a whole new story.

Posted on September 6, 2020January 31, 2021 by happyretiredblog · 4 Comments

A tale of Three Gardens ~ part 1

The question or sometimes the Statement is. “So you have three gardens?” Often the reaction to the answer is ” that’s a bit greedy ” you must be loaded” ” are you mad”: but the answer is ” a little bit mad. Yes” Greedily loaded. “no”; the real answer is circumstantial ~ we never set out for three. Two yes. But not three. And yes it’s a struggle to juggle. At some point there will be two. Not yet. But there will. Only one of them is non negotiable ~ and we go through stages of which of the other two will be the second permanent with one today being a strong contender. But tomorrow ……

When I met Ian nearly three decades ago I was living in a one bedroom flat. No garden. Not even a window box. Ian moved in ~ travelling between his flat in SW london and mine in SE london was a pain. Realising that the papers for your meeting were across London became a pain in the posterior. That your suit was not where it should be.

Ian wanted to buy a house somewhere but we didn’t want to move in London and at that stage we weren’t sure if the relationship would last ~ Which now nearly thirty years later is hilarious.

So Ian bought the cottage so we could work in London and stay at the flat. Then head off to the cottage on a Thursday or Friday ~ us and the two cats. To a cottage furnished with second hand furniture and a decent sized garden. Ten years later we bought the cottage next door and to quote the Spice girls “Two became one’.

So if you want to be pedantic. It’s 4. The gardens were merged together so technically it’s one ~ I’ll stop as I’m confusing myself. And this continued for the next 24 years until we threw a spanish spanner in the works. Which added to retirement changed everything.

Though I had loved helping my parents garden when I was living at home I hadn’t had a garden myself for a long time. Finally we moved from the flat ~ now I’m not one for a massive change so we moved a couple of hundred yards down the road to a house and we have been here 17 years. See how I don’t like change. To a house. With a garden. Madness.

Those that know understand it’s more a patio garden here. Tiny. Though big enough for us to dig up a cooker ! ( yes, honestly) and all manner of things when we started to renovate the house.

The question I get asked is ” Are the gardens different? ” Umm. Chalk cheese and concrete come to mind. A cottage garden. A small patio garden and a hot Mediterranean garden. Somerset has fabulous soil. London I garden in pots. Spain. I garden with pick axes. In Somerset we have sufficient water. In Spain water is a luxury. We have some common plants in all three gardens. Agapanthus is the main one. Honeysuckle is another. Salvia Amistad.

The cottage garden

When we bought no 3 the cottage garden was in good shape except for a hideous hedge that had grown into trees at the bottom of the garden. Eventually they came out. The borders widened. Fruit trees planted ~ some do well. Some will be replaced. The plums are pretty non existent but the apples do well. Gooseberries. Raspberries. Red currants blunder through and need a good prune and a bit of tlc. This years crop sit in the freezer ready for a day of red currant jelly Making.

All we did when we bought no 4 was to remove the fence. It was that easy. I remember on completion day going straight out and started taking the fence down. Like an animal marking the boundaries.

View from the bedroom

These photographs were taken in July this year. Our first visit to the cottage in 6 months following lockdown. During lockdown we stayed in London but the grass was cut and some weeding done ~ trust me we have the National collection of ground elder and bindweed. No matter how much we have tried it comes back. And back again. Usually with a vengeance. ~ I’ve learnt not to stand too still for too long. Otherwise it’s up to my waist. I’d managed to prune the roses so we had had a good first flush. To be fair a number need replacing but that goes onto a list of things to do. Of which I have three separate lists. Obviously. And that’s just gardening lists.

We have a tsunami of golden rod. I hate it and I’m forever pulling it up and disposing of it. It’s fine in places. But. ,,,,,,, to be honest it’s got to go.

The garden has suffered over the last three years as I have split my time unequally but hopefully we are now in a pattern where we can get back on top of it. Funny that I’d said that at the start of the year and then look what happened.

I’d spent some time in February doing some work on the garden and our summer was planned. August and September in Somerset. How things changed.

The garden falls down to a small river. Come the Summer you can walk across it and not get your feet wet. We are in a valley and after heavy rains the little Pitt fills up pretty quick. This picture is when we had the steps put in ~ a few years ago. It needs a bit of a tidy now. Can you imagine Ian and I sat here with a glass of wine on a balmy evening? I wouldn’t. It doesn’t happen. If you ever see a public display of affection I’ll slip you a fiver.

It’s usually me trying to get a phone signal standing on one leg on the bench waving my hands in the air. Not a pretty sight and not the thing to do when the bench really needs replacing.

I started to cut things back in July ~ but remember we hadn’t been here been for 6 months. Plants don’t stop growing in a pandemic! Especially in a wet Somerset garden.

Need the loo anyone? The old loo 100 ft down the garden close to the river for obvious reasons. No signs of that today ~ Funny enough we have loos indoors.

The door needs repairing and that clump of Crocosmia splitting as it never flowers.

Ian’s not running away. Not this time. We worked hard as a team in February. I didnt throw my toys out of the pram once. Well maybe a rattle and a dummy but we didn’t stop. He did keep saying when are you off to Spain. I’d like to think he was just checking dates but in reality he knew once I was away he could sit and relax.

Umm. We were busy ~ so busy that my godson came along with his tractor to take away the garden rubbish.

But despite the neglect we have worked hard to get some normality back. A boot full of new plants from the plant stand at Ultimg Wick and our friend Phillipa Burrough and some canna and agapanthus from Todds Botanics together with some plants that have done well despite the neglect we have made a start. Next is to plant some daffodil and narcissi bulbs but bulbs aren’t great in the garden. The ground can get too wet. But il going to have another bash.

I am yet to see the result of the July work and planting as I’ve been away for over 8 weeks and I’m now in quarantine for two. But I have had some photographs. The friend who sent them mentioned the grass needed cutting and she would get onto it. Which is easy as it’s her husband who does it. I shall be back shortly and again it will be a week of gardening.

Thankfully we don’t have a front garden. . The cottage opens onto the lane with a small gravel border. In the spring it’s planted with tulips. In the summer generally geraniums but again this year it’s not been a normal year. So it was agapanthus. Did I mention I like agapanthus.

I did manage to plant the tulips in the Autumn. Ok. I admit it. I’m a bit of a show off. I plant all new tulips each year ~ all in pots so it’s easy. I’ve tried explaining to Ian that it will look good and he just raises an eyebrow. Until he sees them and I get the eyebrow of approval. If he saw the invoice for the spring bulbs he would raise both.

This year I had to rely on friends and neighbours for photographs and a friend who runs past the cottage most days ~ not because she’s scared ~ she’s a runner ~ who posts the photos of the tulips on Instagram and tags me.

This year we missed flowering in Somerset and in Spain. Sad but the joy the photographs from both gardens and the thoughtfulness of friends was heart lifting. Good friends and good neighbours are worth their weight in gold. So are fabulous bulbs from Peter Nyssen.

These are some of the photos that were sent to me during lockdown. Good neighbours and friends ~ who obviously watered them through the weeks and months we weren’t able to be there. Using water from Jacks Shute just across from the cottage which has lovely spring water. Quite where it comes from we don’t know. I just wish I had a similar water source in Spain.

Previous year tulips

We have planted agapanthus this year in pots at the front of the cottage as we were too late for geraniums! Big tall white agapanthus which will be used again. We had ordered from our friends at Todds Botanics. I had a message from the courier. I called back and he said he had delivered the plants. I opened the door. Nothing. I called back. He was adamant he’d delivered. So he sent me a photo. He was right. To london and they were there on the doorstep waiting for me. Me. I was 125 miles away ! Schoolboy error. Mine.

To be continued.

Part2. London.

Posted on September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 by happyretiredblog · 4 Comments

Highs and lows of Summer ‘17

So I’m back in London. You can tell I’m in London. I am wearing long trousers. And socks. The garden here is looking tired. It needs a bit of a haircut. A bit like me. The lavender in the window boxes want s great whilst it lasted but is failing fast but the red of the geraniums and the blue of the lavender was a striking combination this year. The geraniums are still blooming despite the voice in my head telling me I should have been deadheading.

The geraniums still going strong in London

I have left behind in Spain a garden that is still dry. Is pretty green in parts with some glorious seedheads dripping future plants across the garden. Agapanthus and jacaranda being the two biggest culprits. There is a lack of colour. Yes the plumbago is still blooming. There is the odd flower on the oleander. The white oleander, the pink has none. The yucca is flowering, but is about to go over, jasmine has some flowers dotted here and there but its more a spring and early summer garden. When we wee viewing in March the scent of freesias was noticeable as you passed by, Needles to say my bulb order will include freesias.

This summer has had both highs and lows for me. The biggest high finally finding and deciding in a heartbeat that the garden and the house – see what came first- in Andalucia was right for us. Seen and bought In a matter of 8 weeks. Any regrets? Four months in – not one. A huge learning curve, well really more like a steep ascent up the highest mountain, on foot with a huge backpack, but great fun to see what has appeared so far and what will appear in early spring. Add the challenge of watering and you get the picture.

Casa Verano Eterno – House of Eternal Summer

The low – the acceptance that something had to give and after 23 years it was the Cottage in Somerset. The cottage is on the market and we will be sad to be moving on. But for one last season I was able to garden in all three gardens. All very different. All challenging in their own way. The wet West Country. The dry villages of Andalucia. The space restraints of London. Different environments. Different plants. Different requirements.

In Somerset I had to forgo some of my favourite plants this season. Dahlias. I have only grown to love them in recent years and now I am deserting them. I will not be able to grow them in Spain and the garden in London will need some rearranging to accommodate. But having seen Jack Wallington & Christopher Anderson’s garden open for NGS I think I may be able to do it. Not quite as spectacularly as Jack thats for sure, his Dahlias are huge and gorgeous.

I have loved the new Mediterranean garden as those who know me have been inundated with pictures, words a bit of a blog and stories of our trips there. Getting to grips with new plants. With new soil. The constant heat – I don’t know about the plants but at times I have wilted. In the shade! The joy of seeing what was in the garden. The excitement of being away for two weeks and finding new plants when I returned. New colours. New Scemts. The range of plants is excellent and the previous owner had an eye for detail. Some will need to change to take in the fact that we are not there peramanemtly. Some additions, More agapanthus more succulents. Some Mediterranean wildflower seed for the banks. A chop for the prickly pears to see if we can rid them of disease, a lesson in citrus.

Then coming back to London to my window boxes. My small patio garden at the back of the house. So very different to Spain. Tree ferns. A black bamboo. Salvia, Monarda. A bit of lavender. Oh. And more agapanthus. Delighted to find that the agapanthus in Spain self seeds as easily as have the London ones.

The ‘expensive ‘ book Ian commented on when I bought it has proved invaluable to identifying a lot of the plants. It also helps that the author Lorraine Kavannagh has a Garden centre – Competa just outside town. Something I didn’t know when I bought the book. Needless to say we have visited. On more than once occasion. I have also bought another book. Wildflowers of Southern Spain. That’s my reading material for my next flight. In 3 weeks time and will prove invaluable for the Spring months.

Back in London I have ordered the tulips for this years window boxes and pots. I like to change the colours but cannot move away totally from the lovely Brown Sugar. First seen at RHS Malvern and grown for the first time last year. I have ordered a delivery of Alliums, freesia and Chionodoxa for Spain. All from Karen at Peter Nyssen who is so generous with her time and help. Especially with those of us who know a bit and need some guidance. I always say that I garden. I am not a gardener per se and Karen is so helpful with suggestions of what to plant whenI need some help, So my orders are in and no doubt I will add to them as I remember things I’d like. I’m hoping that by the time the Alliums arrive in Spain the ground will be easier to plant. Fingers crossed there will have been some rain. Otherwise it’s hi ho hi ho it’s off to work I go – with a pickaxe. Which in fact I have in the garage full of tools we bought with the house. I now realise why there is a pickaxe there.

The planting of the bulbs in London will be a more sedate and easier affair! There is no major worry of frost in Spain ( he says glibly) but I must collect some straw from the local farmer in Somerset to put in the crowns of the tree ferns in London. I didn’t last year and was lucky. We seem to have a micro climate in the garden here which they seem to like as does the little olives and the banana. We had geraniums still blooming one a first floor window in January.

The back garden London
Our Cottage in Somerset is to be sold. I have loved having a typical Cottage garden – foxgloves,roses,clematis,poppies,honeysuckle fruit trees and a bit of veg. But all good things, like plants, has a life cycle and our time in Somerset has been wonderful. I have made so many gardening friends there and have had the opportunity to see some amazing gardens. But the new adventure is exciting. Hard work but fun. When I know what I am doing it will be even more fun, There will be mistakes. I have already made one or two planting errors. But thats part of the fun. Isn’t it

So I head into Autumn with an air of excitement. New bulbs new choices for London. New bulbs and a wonderment of what’s to come for the Spring in Andalucia.
Who said that retirement would be boring.

Posted on February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 by happyretiredblog · 2 Comments

Roses and a day with Sara Venn

I’ve said it before. I got into gardening through my parents. They loved their garden and it was something they were proud of. Loved the attention when in full bloom. For years had borders full of roses. Gorgeous scented beautiful roses. Mum picked some. But not a lot if my memory serves me right. I recall her deadheading them. Every time she walked up and down the front path. She was obsessed with deadheading. No bad thing really. Dad did the planting. The pruning. Mum admired. And bought more.

I spent a day with Sara Venn last week in our garden in Somerset. The person who looked after our garden had sacked us the year before – yes we were sacked. Long story . A very long story and since I had retired ( early – keep repeating it Andrew) I had been doing the work myself. With some success. What I didn’t know I asked. But I was worried about pruning. The roses. The fruit trees. Some of the shrubs. But the Roses. I could hear my mother tutting. A lot. Her saying. ‘Your not like your father’ He would have pruned them all. On time. And properly. She said that a lot. ‘ your not like your father’.

Last year we were due to start an extension so I didn’t prune the roses. When the schedule was moved it was too late. Sara said. Leave them this year. We had roses. But not as good as in previous years. We were supposed to start the extension in the Autumn. And then the Winter. I could put it off no longer. If I had to dig them up later so be it.

Sara agreed to come and spend a day with me in the garden to give me advice on how and what and when. But it was more than that. It was the push I needed to get going again. I’d been in limbo with the garden. Would I have another year of the flower beds?. Should I move things. Should I wait. Should I extend the beds? Was this space the right one for my new greenhouse? Don’t mention the greenhouse to Sara. Please. Don’t mention my greenhouse.

So Sara arrived and we set to work. Talk of a practical. It was practical. Practically exhausted by the end of the day. Talk of a hard task master who encouraged me up a wobbly ladder – no elf and safety in this garden. But it was fun. Practical. Encouraging. And confidence boosting. I hadn’t made a total hash of the garden this last year.

I always say I garden. I’m not a gardener. The garden is well established. We’ve been here 22 years. But I am rubbish at staking. I don’t plant deep enough. But I’m getting there. Slowly. Like my train journey this week accompanied by Doris.

It hadn’t mattered I’d not pruned. The fruit trees were ok. Ish. The roses leggy but not dead. So We pruned. Cut back. Laughed. I fought with the rose prunings. They won and it didn’t matter I wore gloves. They just went for the jugular. We tidied up. Had tea and cake. She gave encouragement. Orders. Ate my cake. Took one home for Mr Venn. As promised.

To be fair if we were being filmed it would have been more ‘Carry on Gardening’! Than big dreams – It was gardening made fun. ‘What do you think you are doing!’ was said a lot. And do you think you can wobble less’ what said I? As in walking or up the ladder? Both!

The roses don’t look like this now obviously but now have had a severe short back and sides. A proper job. Like my Dad would do!

Thinkimg of my parents garden got me thinking of their roses again All were bought in Woolworths when Woolworths had a gardening department. All grew well. Flowered strongly. From the department at the rear of the store. Memory is a wonderful thing. Before mum lost hers she could tell you the names of the roses. Each one. Not from the label. So I want some new roses. I looked up to see if I could get the named roses from their 1970’s and 80’s garden as I’d like to have a few. Josephine and Ernest were therir names so I may start there. Along with Superstar. That was my favourite.

Who knew Woolworths won not one but five RHS Chelsea golds! I didn’t.

Woolworths history
Superstar; Iceberg; Ena Harkness; Blue Moon ! ; Peace; queen Elizabeth ;Just Joey; Josephine Bruce; Ernest Morse. fragrant Cloud; the Fairy. Compassion

Those are ones I remember. None of that David Austin stuff for them. It was the wonder of Woolies !

Posted on February 15, 2017February 13, 2019 by happyretiredblog · 3 Comments

Flowers flowers flowers

I’m lucky enough to live close to Common Farm Flowers in Somerset and I’m even luckier to be able to say that I’m friends with Georgie Newberry. So I never miss an opportunity to go to the flower farm and help out when they are busy. Or to go to a workshop. Or two. Or three.
Don’t get me wrong. Help out is a bit of a grand sweeping statement. I sweep the floor. I make the tea. I talk a lot. I might pop some flowers in buckets ready for the artistic bit to be done by others. But what I do get is to be around some of the most lovely British grown flowers that you can find.

And to be with some lovely people and to eat cake. I always take cake. I think cake is the answer. To any question.

It also means I get to see Lorraine aka @lorraines_veg – queen of the jam jar posy who is there too. Not just for the cake though that helps but to help as well.

Getting to know Georgie, Sharon and the flowery folk has meant that I now look to see where the flowers I buy are grown. Drilled into me. Buy local. Grown not flown. These flowers are all British and dispels the myth that you can’t get British flowers except for the summer months. You can.

By and large I always buy British. But like lots of things sometimes you fall off the wagon. There is the odd occasion I don’t. Hands up. Guilty. Particularly when I am in London and I can’t source easily and I want flowers for the house. But more and more places do stock British.

Our garden In london isn’t a garden. It’s a back yard. Great for pots. For tree ferns. . But no room really for a cutting patch. Well not at all. There are flowers but not enough to pick. There for show . . For colour. Unlike Somerset where I can and do grow for cutting. ( I’d say picking rather than cutting!).

I digress. It’s about the flowers. Not me. For once.

So armed with thermals, vest.,Long johns and a Scarf. Oh. And cake I turned up for duty. You don’t heat up a flower studio – I learnt that bit very quickly! The first thing that hits you is the colour. Then the scent. Gorgeous sweet scents.

I love spring flowers. Well actually. I love flowers full stop. The ranunculus were stunning. The tulips fresh. The anemones like little jewels. The daffodils and narcissi wafting their scent across the studio. The foliage complementing the flowers. Individually lovely but put together in the bouquets – truly gorgeous.

Anemone jewels

I did manage to take some pictures. Well. A lot of pictures to be honest in between doing what ever I was told to do.

There were bouquets to make. Pussy willow to cut. Hand ties to do. Boxes to pack. Cake to eat. But there were flowers. Flowers everywhere.

I just loved the ranunculus. Beautiful red. Bright orange. Gorgeous yellow. White. Strong upstanding. Majestic. I brought some back to london on Monday and they are still making me smile.