Monday, July 18, 2022

Death Star and Dragon's Egg


Since our heat wave is making international news, I'll keep giving you my day-to-day temperature report. Right now, just after 6 a.m., it's only 63º F (17º C), so it's pretty comfortable. But by 5 p.m. we'll be in the high 90's, not quite to 100º F -- and then even hotter tomorrow. Or so the forecasters say.

I've just finished hauling a pair of old lawn mowers through the house. Talk about things I never imagined having to do! We're getting rid of them, but they're so big I couldn't take them down the side return and squeeze them through the narrow gap between our garden shed and Mrs. K's fence. They had to come through the house. At least I could carry them rather than having to roll them across the floor.

I've set them out at the street, and they're supposed to be collected by the council later today. I've tried for weeks to offload them on Freecycle but there were no takers, surprisingly.

Yesterday was very quiet. I fixed one of our lawn chairs, which Dave broke during our dinner party on Saturday evening. (They're somewhat creaky chairs and if a sitter moves wrong on uneven ground, all bets are off. We use the creaky chairs and put our guests in sturdier ones.) Several of the joints popped apart but they were easily re-glued with the tail end of my tube of Super Glue and they seem to be holding. And I even managed to make the repair WITHOUT GETTING SUPER GLUE ON MY HANDS! It's a freakin' miracle.

Speaking of our dinner, some of you asked about Dave's culinary skills and training. He has indeed been professionally trained -- he completed a yearlong course at the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan right before we met in 2009. Hence the fancy menu. (If I were cooking we'd have been eating tuna fish sandwiches.)

Otherwise I sat outside and read. Today's photos are just a look at what's blooming in the garden at the moment. Above, a variety of campanula that grows of its own accord near our back steps.


Our globe thistles have started to bloom as well. This one looks a bit like the Death Star, floating through intergalactic clouds of yellow ragwort.


Gazoinks! It's a gazania! I bought two gazania plants this year and both of them are this white variety. They're fine, but I wish I had at least one yellow one.


Here's the dahlia that appeared from the bud I photographed about a week ago -- the one Linda Sue memorably likened to a dragon's egg.


Our penstemon is blooming. This is a tough plant that we though had died several years ago. It keeps bouncing back, if not exactly flourishing.


Some of our garden phlox. We have at least one more phlox plant but it didn't produce flowers this year.


And finally, this orchid just opened indoors -- on a plant I rescued from a baking windowsill at school just before our first lockdowns in 2020. We'd never seen it bloom so I didn't know what to expect. I think it's identical to another of our rescued orchids that I pulled from someone's trash. We've now seen all of our orchids in flower. There are no more mysteries!

29 comments:

River said...

Superglue on a chair? I'd be adding metal braces fixed in place with nuts and bolts.
I like tuna fish sandwiches. Do you mix your tuna with mayonnaise to make it spreadable? Do you add finely chopped dill? or dill cucumber?

Margaret said...

Your flowers are so beautiful and very different from each other. Sorry about the heat! We had it last summer but are enjoying 70s and 80s so far this year. Our milder temperatures are probably because I had a $14,000 heat pump installed last year. LOL

Moving with Mitchell said...

Your flower photos are always spectacular. I can’t imagine experiencing that heat without air-conditioning, which is such a rare thing where you are. As for Super Glue, I have never once used it without getting it on my hands. I’m impressed.

Frances said...

Apparently Luton is predicted to be the hottest place today.....5 miles away!!! I took the dog out to the field and woods at 7.30 and it was quite pleasant. I am soon off to Waitrose to ask if I can have a job for the next 2 days! Their shop is so cold!

Anonymous said...

I suppose your garden would be described as a cottage garden rather than a themed garden. There is always something of interest happening.

Tasker Dunham said...

I continue to be amazed by the variety in your garden.

Sabine said...

Your photographs are - as always! - spectacular!

Ed said...

Superglue is pretty handy to have around. I use it surprisingly quite a bit in woodworking but it is fairly brittle and won't stand up to use where force is applied to the joint. My favorite use it to put a few dabs of it among lots of better slow drying glue. Since it cures quickly, it acts as a clamp while the slower, much much stronger glue sets and becomes the bearer of loads.

Bob said...

Your heat wave is making news here while we have had one of the coolest July's on record; I mean, high 80s and low 90s kinda cool, but it's better than the 100-degrees plus. Stay safe and hydrated, you AND the plants.

NewRobin13 said...

I love seeing all the flowers you have blooming there. They always inspire me to plant more flowers here. If only I could remember when we go to the nursery!
I also love knowing that Dave went to culinary school. That is so cool. Yeah, I'm a tuna-fish sandwich kinda cook too. I admire people who really know how to do it.

Barbara Rogers said...

That's the first time I've seen a gazenia...or even heard of one. Great to see flowers happily blooming...hope the heat doesn't wilt them, or you all!

Sharon said...

Wow, such gorgeous flower photos today. I love them all. That orchid is wonderful and anyone who can make orchids bloom impresses me.
I hope you are able to stay cool during that heat wave. I heard about some bad fires in France on the news this morning. Things are getting pretty scary on this little planet of ours.

ellen abbott said...

That campanula is pretty and I like the white gazania, those maroon 'tongues' are striking. And I only got one little return from my penstemon this year and I hardly noticed it.

Jeanie said...

Gorgeous blooms! What is it with getting rid of old lawn mowers? No one seems to want them for free. Baffles me.

Ellen D. said...

I admire your success with such a wide variety of blooms! I have to remember to plant zinnias next year as they are so beautiful. Do they thrive in a sunny spot of the garden?

Kelly said...

I'm surprised you had no takers on the mowers.... just for parts, if anything.

All your flowers are gorgeous! My imagination is seeing all sorts of things in the center of that orchid. (kind of like looking for things in clouds!)

Linda Sue said...

Gazania is insania! I could get lost in that flower for eternity! I could but I won't as there are dragon eggs ahead! Trained chef Dave - talented AND good looking- little wonder why you put a ring on it! Don't come back to the states- rights are being taken at a rapid clip!

Dark, cold and raining her- July mid summer- no complaints just adaptation.

Marcia LaRue said...

That gazania stopped me in my scrolling ... I am going to steal that picture, if that's ok with you!
We are looking at 99°+ here in S. Colorado today ... so dry and hot here just takes my breath away ... I have to stay inside and stay cool and hydrated!!

The Bug said...

That dahlia is gorgeous! Congrats on making the repair without gluing yourself - that is QUITE the accomplishment!

Edna B said...

Your flowers are awesonme! That orange dahlia is gorgeous! Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

Red said...

You must have a very colorful back yard. Why do they make lawn chairs so cheap. I'd like to know how many lawn chairs I've bought in my life.

Ms. Moon said...

Super Glue may not be the ultimate fix on that chair but who knows? Maybe?
Gosh, your flowers are gorgeous.
I hope you guys have some fans. Stay cool, dear friend!

e said...

I love all the blooms!

Boud said...

The flowers atr wonderful. Always something's interesting at your house.
Your temps ate pretty much ours, too, in fact normal July. But, big difference, i have air conditioning in house and car. If you can afford the costs, it's liveable. I set the thermostat at 82°f, run a fan snd the combo is fine. Mainly it extracts the humidity, which is the big issue.. without that, yes, miserable.

J. Mineo said...

Steve, Totally off topic...do you know what had happened to Vivian Swift blog? Her site has been down for ages now ... unless it's my computer. I know you are acquainted as she did that wonderful portrait of Olga ...do you know?
Jackie M

Allison said...

@J. Mineo - I can't get to her blog, either. I get a secure connection error failure message. However, I don't have any idea of how to fix things.
When we lived in Tucson, penstemon (spelling approximate) grew wild there. It was self seeding, and decided whose yard it would grow in.
Your flowers are lovely.

Steve Reed said...

River: Unfortunately, metal braces are beyond my technical ability! As long as we're the only people to sit in those chairs and we know their shortcomings we should be fine. I think they were glued even when they were new.

Margaret: Well, at least now you're prepared no matter what!

Mitchell: At least we have a little bit of a breeze, which makes a big difference.

Frances: I saw that they closed Luton airport because the runway melted!

Andrew: I'm not sure what to call it, but yes, there's always something.

Tasker: We have just enough to have something of interest going on all the time.

Sabine: Thank you! I hope you're enduring the heat OK where you are!

Ed: That sounds like a good system. I should probably buy some good wood glue and reinforce the joints with that.

Bob: Plus I'm sure you have air conditioning, unlike everyone here in the UK. Fortunately it's not incredibly humid here so the heat seems more bearable than it did in the South.

Robin: And he really enjoys cooking, too. To me it's just work and I default to the simplest possible methods.

Barbara: Gazanias are great for full sun. I think they're from South Africa. I've bought them several years in a row now.

Sharon: France is in a terrible state. Western France yesterday was as hot at the Sahara!

Ellen: I like that campanula a lot. It's growing in a terrible place, where there's lots of traffic, but it endures and we've seen it bloom a couple of times.

Jeanie: I know! I thought someone would jump at taking them for parts, if nothing else.

Ellen D: I have zinnias too, but mine look a little tattered for some reason. They do well in full sun.

Kelly: I was surprised too! I thought they'd have value to someone.

Linda Sue: Dark, cold and raining sounds WONDERFUL.

Marcia: By all means, steal it! We're at just about the same temperature as you are. I bet it's drier there, though.

Bug: I thought so too! It's certainly the first time that's ever happened. LOL

Edna: I like it too! Do you see the little bug on the right side of the dahlia flower?

Red: Ha! It's true! I must say, though, these chairs were here when we moved into this flat eight years ago, so they've held up pretty well. I refinished them a couple of years ago.

Ms Moon: We do indeed have a fan, thank goodness.

E: Me too!

Boud: Yeah, the one saving grace here is that it doesn't seem very humid. (Certainly nothing like Florida, my home state, in the summer.)

J. Mineo: Vivian turns up here as a commenter every now and then, so I know she's still out there, but I believe she intentionally took her blog down. As I recall she was having some issues with hosting. She wasn't on Blogger but was paying for her own domain name and servers, if I remember correctly.

Allison: I didn't know penstemon grew wild in Arizona! Is it native to that area or just a feral garden escapee? We used to have two of them, but the other one really DID die.

roentare said...

These flower shots are simply astounding! Love the colours too

jenny_o said...

I love the dahlia. It's so perfect! Reminds me of a spirograph drawing, or is it that a spirograph drawing reminds me of a dahlia? :)