Garden walkabout...iced tea and a weird dream!

As to my recent low...
the low that one experiences when spending a night tossing and turning.
I am happy to report that I had a better sleep  but it was broken
punctuated by periods of wake and absolutely crazy dreams!

I was in a store in a frenzy of handbag shopping...bags were whirling around in the air and I was frantically trying to catch them to take to the checkout!
I wonder what that means!

(Maybe there is a bag expedition in my immediate future!)

I had watched an episode of the Real House Wives of Beverly Hills. I had never seen the show before but was drawn in by the homes, their clothes and the appearance of chemically enhanced large lipped smiling faces. These are real women...it's a reality show but so far off of my radar!

The jury is out as to whether I would watch this again...

So back to my conservative world...
My camera and I walked about in The Humble Bungalow Garden....
it is a calm spot to just sit and be.

This is situated in the SE corner of the garden 

below the deck 

and has a massive honeysuckle growing above 

which acts as a natural canopy for shade.

It's a wonderful spot to sit and sip tea

Iced Tea 

is a great way to use up cold the from the pot

and it is so refreshing on a hot day

Put a few ice cubes into a tall glass 

add cold tea

1 tbsp. of lemon juice and 1 tbsp. of sugar

stir and sip

if you have a sprig of fresh mint handy

pop it on top!

SW back view of garden

looking East from the back of the garden

the fence is on the North side

Looking South

Garden shed at the back

situated NW

North patio

the wooly thyme has covered all the slate pavers

boggy garden North side of Bungalow

Boggy garden again

Alliums

the bees just love purple

they seem to congregate here

I will be planting more to encourage them to visit.

Looking at these images I have not captured many of the blooms

just the bones of the garden

bear with me there will be more as the season gets into full swing.

I am curious...

Do you remember your dreams?

Music for my mood...

I feel low today...
I slept fitfully and really it feels like not much more than a wink.

I have called in sick...

as I sit here in a stupor staring at my coffee
waiting for the caffeine to kick in
I am trying to shake this feeling that has settled in and permeated my usual cheerful disposition.

I so rarely have days like this it feels strange...

Abraham Darby cannot cheer me...

nor the lovely white Lilacs that so sweetly scent the bathroom

I am planning on a quiet day

and a nap is on the agenda

an

antidote

for

a sleep deprived Hostess.

I want to share a lovely, haunting, and soulful musical selection...
Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber....

Perhaps you will play it in the background while you do something else...
(for it is 10 minutes)

Do you feel the powerful emotions captured and released by the violins?
What do you do when you have a day of low energy or a night with little sleep?

Floral fever...weekend bliss!

When it comes to garden centers and all things floral I have a serious problem...
Trouble Not Spending Money!

I am frugal in many other areas...
but this area is a major weakness
it's really not a bad thing

I could be a compulsive gambler...
and have nothing to show for my money.

Flowers woo and charm me
and it's easy to see why...
when I look at these cheery blooms
I see Mother Nature smiling.

pretty and drought tolerant 

Osteospermums

White Begonias

white alyssum

 violet lobelia

osteospermums 

in yellow and fuchsia

 a planter of all white flowers

geraniums

silvery dusty miller

petunias and bacopa

all from the Garden Center.

I also attended a hardy plant sale

put on by a group of master gardener's.

It was a cash only sale 

and 

I went without checking the money that I had in my wallet

I'd forgotten that I had spent some already

so

what did I do?

I spent all of the cash on hand right down to a few red cents...

can you imagine just how annoying it was for the people in line up behind me?

Surprisingly they seemed to take it in their stride and made comments about how we gardener's are a frugal lot

and wasn't I clever to limit my spending

one $20 bill and the rest in...

loonies, toonies and small coins!

succulents

which I will plant together

Cerinthe 

major purpurascens

a lovely and interesting bloomer.

I have been planting and potting these up

my hands are filthy even with garden gloves

they have a few holes

(I'll be adding them to my list of things to buy)

but it has been a fabulous sunny weekend to play in the dirt!

Pictures will be shared in a future post

stay tuned...

It's time to make dinner 

and I am feeling fatigued

so

I am simply opening a jar 

Stonewall Kitchen's Traditional Marinara sauce and serving it with pasta.

I know to listen to my body

and it's OK not to make everything from scratch!

Next on the agenda...

my nails!

Hope that you had a fun weekend!

Friday Flowers....

Friday Flowers...

Clematis

Smilacena racemosa

Hosta 

and beyond

 Pride of London

a superb ground cover

White Lilac

A carpet of wooly thyme

where would we be

without the hard working honeybees?

Thank goodness we have the local Mason Bees

as

the honey bee population 

has been

severely depleted

and 

continues to be 

at risk...

Burt's Bees

produce products which I use 

and recommend

the cuticle cream and lip balms are favourites of mine

go here 

and see what Burt has to say about Bees.

The demise of bees

and the collapse of their colonies

scares the heck out of me...

I really dislike what's happening to Mother Earth

and that's one reason that The Humble Bungalow garden is totally pesticide free.

We 

recycle

compost

repurpose

donate things 

we no longer use

or 

want

This weekend 

I challenge you to try to do something "Green" 

Enjoy!

Mellow Yellow and an Award...

I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Rebekah from Cupcake Caramel
Thank you for the nod I appreciate it!

A few things that you might not already know about me...
after 400+ posts I think my life is pretty much an open book!

Yellow is the colour of happiness here in the Humble Bungalow.

Sweet Pansy

colour me Happy!

In my opinion just about the best bloomin bargain in the plant shop.

Fragrantly scented Azalea

Rothschild variety

my favourite

Delicate petals

an infusion of sunny sweetness

I love the contrast of the bloom and the foliage

nature has got so many things right.

I took a mosaic course a few years ago 

and made many pots

for friends and family.

(the centers of these black pansies are yellow!)

 I love to start the day with a sunny breakfast

protein 

packed with organic free range goodness.

A piece of whole wheat toast 

and a glass of water

To cut calories I used to skip breakfast 

until I read that the metabolism slows down

if food is not eaten.

I must have mentioned a bazillion times that I am not happy with my weight.

I try not to obsess about it

life's too short.

I also detest sweating 

or perspiring as Mother calls it!

I think it was because I have had more than my share of Hot Flashes!

I guess that's enough about me...

Mellow Yellow

 by Donovan Leitch 

a song that I listened to in the mid sixties

I thought he was a super cute bloke back in the day

and 

here he is in 2010!

you can read more about Donovan on his website

 Wow! 

he's performing at Royal Albert Hall June 3rd!

Hugs

from the Hostess

Thanks Rebekah!