We have a couple of blooming stargazer lilies in the flower bed near the back door. Getting a photo of them is always tricky because they point downward, and they're in a relatively inaccessible place, being surrounded by densely planted foliage. But they're having a good year.
I spent quite a bit of time in the garden yesterday -- not surprising since I can't leave the property. I finally repotted and planted out some of our foxglove seedlings:
I put seven of them straight into the ground, and another six into bigger pots. I have several trays still to deal with. I hope I can give some of them away at work. Foxglove overload!
The teasels should be blooming very soon. Those spiky seed heads will be surrounded by a ring of purple (or white) flowers.
And here's our jimsonweed, blooming away. It has several more buds and already there's a spiny seed head in the middle of the plant (jimsonweed or datura is also known as "thorn apple," apparently).
I got called by the NHS twice yesterday. I missed their first call while digging in the garden but picked up on the second, and a guy ran through essentially the same script the other three had used the day before: Am I isolating at home, did I take my Day 2 test, etc. Am I going to get multiple calls per day?!
It sounds like the NHS doesn’t have a very efficient process in place. And you think they wouldn’t bother given the fact that current travellers don’t even need to quarantine. What a zoo. I love your gardens and all the work YOU do.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's funny that they're being so thorough with me while people who arrived in the UK two days after me aren't being contacted at all!
DeleteThey will have fun calling me when I have to isolate next month if I go to France - signal here is desperate! Oh well, we will see.
ReplyDeleteI'm told they might even show up at my door! THAT would be interesting.
DeleteThe photo of the teasel is simply beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love the way their leaves and bracts (?) curl.
DeleteThe teasel looks like a graceful dancer, raising her arms to the sky. I know it's rather ridiculous having the NHS call you multiple times a day when the quarantine isn't even in effect any more but damn- I'm so impressed with their determination.
ReplyDeleteThey are being dogged, that's for sure.
Deletefunny those flowers are called stargazer lilies when they don't even look up at the stars!
ReplyDeleteHa! That's true! I never thought of that! Maybe we just need to give ours more support -- tie them up or something.
DeleteGood grief. What if you never answered your phone? What would they do? Come to your residence?
ReplyDeleteThey might! Apparently they have teams of people who come around to check whether or not we're quarantining. I don't know what would happen if they showed up and I wasn't home. I'd probably get fined.
DeleteI guess one of the ways to cool off covid is to keep vigilant and make sure that people follow the rules. However there are many people not on AHS's radar and the help spread covid around.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's the thing -- it's impressive they're being so careful about me, but I simply played by all the rules. What about all the people who are out there disregarding regulations and spreading it around?
DeleteThat's a beautiful photo of the teasel. Staying home is a plus. You're getting beautiful photos of your plants. Enjoy the down time while you have it. Hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't always feel like a plus, but you're right -- being required to stay home at least lets me rest and focus on things here.
DeleteYou may get several calls a day. Covid as you know is once again out of control in England and the U.S. Here in Canada, if someone is in quarantine they can't leave their homes at all and can't walk around the block. Seeing your mom was essential for both of you for sure.As a recreation aide in long term care, I have seen the devastation of residents separated from their families. But you chose to travel during a global pandemic to a place where Covid is again surging and return home to place where it is also surging. Getting several calls a day and working in your garden seems a small price to pay for that IMO. I get that it is frustrating though.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right -- I don't dispute ANY of that. My only question is why they need to call me so often. It doesn't seem necessary and in fact seems to waste their resources. I would think they could check in once a day or once every two days, rather than multiple times a day.
DeleteEverything looks so lush and pretty in your garden! You will be the star of Garden World! You may end up with your own show!
ReplyDeleteHa! THAT would be an interesting development!
DeleteInteresting about the NHS calling you so much. It sounds like they are pretty serious about contact tracing which I suppose is good. It reminds me that when I got my second dose of the vaccine, I got daily check-up text messages for two weeks and then after that once a week. I haven't gotten one since June 1st so maybe that was the last. They always asked the same set of questions.
ReplyDeleteThere is lots of flowering going on in your garden!
They are QUITE serious about tracing. In fact there's a government app that records whether we are near anyone who subsequently tests positive for Covid, and thousands of people have been "pinged" to quarantine because the app says they've had contact with the virus. It's causing a lot of drama here.
DeleteAs always, love your garden! On the one hand, it's good that the NHS is actually following up with people. On the other hand, it contradicts their current policy. It sort of reminds me of all the people in jail for weed infractions in states where weed it now legal.
ReplyDeleteYeah, exactly -- it's weird that they're being so thorough with me, and yet people who arrived just a few days after me aren't being followed up at all.
DeleteI am grateful for your perspective on teasels, you make them look lovely. We tear then out of the ground, hang them on the fence as an example and cautionary tale for others who may be thinking about moving in.
ReplyDeleteGarden World and television- there goes your privacy to stardom.
I love teasels. I think they're the coolest plants. They look like something that would have been around in the age of the dinosaurs.
DeleteA Day In The Life Of Gardening - Best Day Ever Says A Sleepy Olga Girl - Sunshine, Yes Please She Says
ReplyDeleteCheers
She is ALWAYS up for sunbathing!
DeleteLove seeing the flowers blooming there. Do your foxglove plants reseed in your yard? I think that may happen here as well. We see teasel out on our neighborhood walks, but don't have any growing in our yard...yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you're looking forward to the day you can finally get out from isolation.
If you scatter some teasel seeds you'll get plants, no problem. But they DO re-seed readily so be aware of that! We have some re-seeded foxgloves too, mostly growing in pots with other plants that were there first!
DeleteYet another name for your Datura/Moonflower! Jimsonweed was new to me, as is thorn apple. If you want to see "my" moonflower, I posted a photo of one last year. It's the bottom photo.
ReplyDeletehttps://ksrgmck.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/instagram-photos-8/
Thanks for the link to your blog! As I mentioned there, I think your moonflower is a different species from our jimsonweed. The moonflower is apparently a morning glory, Ipomoea alba, while the jimsonweed is Datura stramonium. Jimsonweed DOES have a lot of alternate names -- datura, thorn apple and devil's snare, among them.
DeleteThe bureaucracy of COVID and healthcare agencies is mind-numbing.
ReplyDeleteI'll just look at the pretty plants!
I'm so sick of Covid. As are we all.
DeleteI suspect that you are being called so much because you are known to be a tricky customer Steve. By the way, were you the horticultural reporter at "The New York Times"?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea I was so devious! But then again, we NYT alumni are known to be tricky customers. :)
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