While I've been out madly traipsing around London, Dave has been continuing his work in the garden. Things are looking pretty good out there.
The rose bushes are flourishing, now that we've cut back the surrounding greenery. Some bushes back in the shadowy hedge are seeing sun for the first time this year, and all have put out new growth. Many are blooming. You saw before that we have yellow and red ones -- and here are pink and salmon ones. We've got white, too, and several that we haven't yet seen bloom, so we don't know what color they might be.
All of the rose bushes are very gangly. I think it's been ages since they were pruned, and Dave is chafing to get at them, but we've been holding back because it's not pruning season. I suppose it's still possible that the landlord will hire a gardener to do it, but we haven't heard any more from her about that.
The horseradish plant is quite gigantic. Its lower leaves are looking a bit ratty and spent.
Something has been gnawing the hell out of it, but I haven't been able to find many creatures. I did find a slug once, and I just left him there -- why disturb his dinner? -- so maybe he's what created these holes. I've seen cabbage whites flitting around the plant but no caterpillars so far this year.
The firespikes that Dave planted are blooming healthily. Out of all the plants that we've put in the ground, they seem to have adapted best. Some of the others have barely grown at all or -- like our lilies of the valley -- have been trampled by the dog.
Finally, our hebe bush is blooming. This is another plant that we freed from encroachment by the surrounding forest. It's definitely looking more healthy and happy.
After I turned out the lights last night and prepared to go to bed, I sat in the living room for ten minutes or so, enjoying the moonlight. Lo and behold, the neighborhood fox returned, trotting through the grass and right up to the back door. He circled the patio and seemed to pause beneath the bird feeder, but I can't imagine he found much to eat in our yard. He was much prettier than our Notting Hill foxes -- red and glossy. I think if we'd left the back door open he'd have been in bed with us! (Well, maybe Olga would have fended him off.)
Isn't it funny how quickly Dave has become so interested in the garden? Would you have predicted that? And how cool that you have the firespike too! Mine looks different- much more in the way of the green plant and only one of mine has begun to spike but of course, I don't get much fun in this yard. At the end of the blooming season, if you cut them and place them in water, they will root like crazy over the winter and you can plant them in the spring.
ReplyDeleteI envy you your roses!
And maybe the fox wants to play with Olga. Maybe he or she is lonely.
what a joy to see the garden emerging with just a little care. so cool that you have foxes. while I was keeping my sister's dogs, they started barking during the night. when I got up and turned on the outside light and looked out the window I saw a big raccoon in the side yard. I knew we had them out here but it is the first time I've seen one in my yard.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers look wonderful. I so wish I had a green thumb. Very cool to have a fox visit your yard. There are no foxes around here but, we do see urban coyotes every now and then.
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