Thursday 20 May 2010

Wisteria hysteria.... and garden love!! ;-)


We are lucky enough to have two beautiful Wisteria in our garden.


One runs along our boundary, towards the church.

The other Wisteria is running rampant at the back of our house!



A lovely sight...and it's quite sad to hear that Wisteria is in trouble in some parts of the country.


There's not a day goes by when I don't think how lucky we were to have found this lovely piece of heaven, in 2001. I recall that we viewed it at exactly this time of the year . We very nearly didn't bother to view it because the estate agent's details contained a pretty ropey photo of the garden! I remember saying, 'Huh the garden looks crummy!!'

I could not have been more wrong!

On the day that we viewed what was to be our new home, the Woodpeckers flew down to greet us ; it was as if the owner had them on some sort of string and he was pulling it to get them to perform!

At that point, the property had a different name...one which we did not really like. It was called 'Dumblederry'....!
Previous to that, it was called 'Buzz Buzz'! No prizes for guessing why!
And so... we put our heads together and, 'Woodpeckers', seemed the obvious choice!
Woodpeckers were in abundance.
The Greater Spotted Woody frequently visits and feeds on the nuts. The Green Woody forages
for food, on the lawn.


I loved the garden instantly and I took little notice of the rest of the house when we came to view it!
It was also a bungalow then ...but we've added a loft room and knocked a few walls down to alter it somewhat!! (Like you do!)


It is at this time of year when the garden comes into its own.
Just to sit in it and watch the world go by, is sheer delight. I can take photos til the cows come home (we can hear those from the garden too as we live very close to a farm...in fact last year one or two 'escaped' and came into the garden!!) but what I can't give you is the incessant noise of birdsong. It does not stop until the last blackbird sings its final song of the day, which is often quite late into the evening.
It is beautiful.
Waking up at around 5am to the dawn chorus and of course the call of the newly acquired Pheasant, means that we are only free from birdsong for about 7 hours of the night. Then it starts all over again.
Endless. Joyous.
...and all for free!

The garden is not without its animal life either. We've had Badgers and Foxes, (Deer in the lane nearby but not in the garden... yet) ....oh and I must not forget ...Rats!

We're in the country and so we have to fit in with whatever nature throws at us.


Another feature of the garden ... trees.
Trees give us our privacy...and that is at its best, now through til the autumn. A grand variety of trees we have too!


My garden is such that I don't have many borders . I tend to grow most of my plants in containers and now and again I have the 'occasional grumble' about this.

I should not grumble at all , with a garden like this!






Having a greenhouse and always having loved greenhouse gardening, I do find it slightly frustrating that I have not got the large herbaceous border...you know the sort they have at Wisley!!! ;-)






However, I do adore herbaceous borders.


And so, at the weekend, dear Mr S dug over a smallish border which I started to cut last year and so now I have a mini border, to garden.


With a nice curve...cos I hate straight lines in gardens!!





So that's my garden.. these pictures were taken on a gloomy day and yet it is beautiful !

We've often thought about cutting into the grass and making veg plots, fruit plots, building a

grand patio, pond etc etc etc...but the truth is that we just don't want to spoil what we have!

And so, for now, it remains just as it was when we stepped out into it in 2001.


Hope you are all enjoying yourselves in your gardens!

T'is not quite the 'Ice Cream' weather they were forecasting...at least not in South Devon...yet!

;-)

Tuesday 18 May 2010

The best thing happening in Exeter, on Saturday is ....


It's about time Exeter had a decent handmade/crafty/vintagey etc fair and ...way hay...it's happening this Saturday, 22nd May .
'Handmade Home Fair'
The Phoenix, Gandy Street, Exeter, 11am til 3pm !



This fair is being organised by Joe, of Josie Mary blog fame!
And I know that she has worked exceedingly hard to make sure that it is happening!



For my part...I'm taking along some of my wares...vintage bits, handmade bits etc
Today, I've been playing about in my kitchen!!




Here's a sneak preview!








Well done to Joe for getting this sorted!!
Hope to see one or two of you there, if you happen to be in Exeter!!
;-)
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