Greetings...
It has been a while since I posted.
I have been busy trying to keep up with the jobs here in the garden.
The HOT weather has affected our ability to keep the plants watered and healthy.
Thankfully the Hydrangeas are Still Blooming...
despite the intense heat.
This hydrangea is planted out front
We received it from my husband's firm in 2007 when my father passed away...
It has thinned out a bit this year and I am rather concerned that it is not happy.
We had a rather harsh winter, a warm spell, then a really icy cold snap.
Lots of our plants perished.
Mostly grasses and tender perennials
but despite our best efforts there are still blank spots scattered about the garden.
Lots of work required...and many visits to the garden centres!!
The Lavender is having a riotous growth pattern this season.
Bees buzzing on the flowers all throughout the day.
You can hear them all busily working when you stand close by the plants!
Last summer I made lavender sachets and I plan to make some more soon.
I need to dedicate several hours to remove the buds from the stems then pop them into gauze bags.
We LOVE Poppies!
My husband saves the seeds and plants them early every Spring.
Bees love them too...
The flowers are a work of art...
Thank you Mother Nature :-))
We were invited to an afternoon visit the garden of some new friends.
We "met" each other on Instagram.
Both of us are retired and are passionate gardeners!
We share a love of plants and growing things...
plus we have other people we both know in common.
I wanted to take a big bouquet of roses but the heat has wilted the many rose blooms.
Their petals are dropping as soon as I pick them.
I took a wee posy of lavender and some magazines with us.
The tour of the garden was an amazing experience...
water features gurgling, many areas to sit and enjoy the views.
Covered dining space, vegetable beds, poly tunnels, a greenhouse, a sun filled deck at the back of the home with loungers and tables.
Each space was designed beautifully with an artistic eye focusing on the details.
I found it incredibly inspiring and came away with many ideas!
We sat and chatted...
savoured the glorious space
sipped cool beverages and nibbled on these delicious treats...
chocolate covered cherries and pistachio bites.
Look at the lovely floral presentation on the plate!
On my beach walk I collected a few shells and a piece of driftwood.
I had a project in mind for the cottage.
I decided to paint the driftwood and glue some shells to it...
Maybe I went a wee bit overboard on the shells but I did have fun!
The results are rather rustic looking and have a folk art air.
In true
Wabi Sabi
Style
~ Marigold Tagates ~
Seeds saved from last years flowers.
Lots of these plants popping up around The Humble Bungalow Garden.
Each afternoon we stop work around 3:00 and sip some cool lemonade.
The front porch is a shady spot to sit and read our books.
Fabulous Book!!!
I read it in two days...
Could not put it down...love Paris and this story did not disappoint.
I am going to go and find some of her other books.
Can you see The Annabelle Hydrangeas just starting to bloom in the top left?
These Big Mop Head Blooms make quite a BOLD statement.
The Limelight hydrangeas are almost ready to pop...
Well I must close for now and hope that you are enjoying your day...
Thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.
~ Be Well and Be Kind ~
15 comments:
Your hydrangeas are so beautiful...and sounds like you are having a great summer. Thanks for the tip on the book....also adore Paris and hoping to get there this Fall to make up for the trip we had to cancel because of my fall and surgery. I am coming along and the doctor says it is ok to travel...so bring it on. Hope to get back to blogging this week now that I have no brace and can type a little better. Have a great rest of July and keep enjoying your beautiful gardens. It is SO DARN HOT here we don't even use our screen porch...hoping for a big storm and a cook down soon. Take care !
I have recently found your blog and love it. The posts share beauty and calm, which are so needed. I have just this year started plantings to develop a native flower/grasses garden where an above-ground pool was placed by the previous owner of this home, and your stories of garden development are inspiring!
Your photos are always stunning, whether of your flowers, coastal scenery or beautifully composed indoor shots. I no longer have a garden so I enjoy yours muchly. Thanks for continuing your blog which brings so much pleasure. Marguerite
Beautiful flowers! What is the silver sphere in your bird bath?
Beautiful garden shots, as usual!
I've got that book on hold at the library, but there's a LONG waiting list -- I'm really looking forward to reading it!
I always enjoy your blog, your garden and daily observations.
We saw some gorgeous hydrangeas at Finnerty Gardens last week, poppies too! I love all the lavender out right now, and you're right, the bees are loving it. Thank you for sharing these lovely pics with us!
Enjoyed all the photos. The Poppy is incredible. What a shame to loose plants in the garden due to extremes in weather. But fun to think about what to replace them with and create new. These ebbs and flows in the garden create new opportunities. How pleasant to have inspiration from a visit to fellow passionate gardeners home. Thank you for the book suggestion - I will have a look and see if our library has it. We have lots of rain where I live in NZ at the moment. The beginning of last year we had flooding with so much rain - I still get 'button down the hatches' tension - hopefully that wears off. Must transfer my two new roses to larger pots when the rain eases. Best wishes to you Leslie.
Beautiful garden, especially like the poppies one of my favorites.
Your hydrangeas are just beautiful. And I read The Paris Novel, based on your recommendation and loved it!
I come here for the blooms, as I don't have a garden of my own. They never disappoint. Thank you!
Ann ~ Paris in The Fall sounds perfect...I am sure it it really busy right now with the Olympics. Hope you are doing well...we have been busy and I am behind on the blog!
Anonymous ~ Welcome to the blog! Your native planting sounds wonderful. My husband has planted the front boulevards with "meadow" plants and it looks great!
Marguerite ~ Oh thank you for your comment...I am falling behind on the blog comments and the actual writing of the blog! Life here is quite full :-)) Will try and get a new post up soon.
Jeannine ~ The silver ball is made of metal and it is like a float...the raccoons have been playing in the water so it is an ongoing challenge to keep the water clean! Flowers are at their peak right now...hope you are keeping cool!
Materfamilias ~ Have been enjoying your packing posts and OOTD...the book was in demand here at the library too....but there were several in circulation so I did not have to wait as long as I thought. Safe travels.
Sheila ~ Finnerty Gardens is a lovely place to wander...I love the bamboo! We are enjoying the sunshine and warm weather and our garden is keeping us very busy!
Kathryn P ~ Oh we could use some rain here...lots of forest fires burning here in BC. Smokey skies this morning from a fire near Sooke. Garden is full of flowers and we are kept busy deadheading the roses! Lovely to pick bouquets for the house. Take care.
Vicki Christian ~ Hello and welcome to the blog! Poppies are fabulous plants and I love how they reseed themselves.
Jean ~ Happy to hear that you enjoyed the book! She is an amazing author.
Kat Lee ~ Welcome to the Blog! Spring and Summer I share oodles of flowers and blooms! Our garden is quite heavily planted! Will share more in my next post.
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