Busy

We haven't posted anything recently as we just haven't had time. We have been slaves to the garden. The weather throughout June has been in the middle thirties consequently we have continued the regime of up at 6.30am to water and then another 2 hours watering from 8-10pm. It is lovely to be out early in the morning and late in the evening but after 1pm we just have to retreat indoors. The heat wave just got too much for everyone. Still we have now got storms just in time for our open garden this weekend. We are opening the garden 2 weeks earlier this year but as no two years are the same we have missed the peak flowering time again. However I am more philosophical this year and it is what it is!!
I took these photos a couple of weeks ago - when things were looking better.

We had our second garden club visit yesterday, just before the storm arrived. I was very pleased because the group were very appreciative and understood the amount of effort we put in. Even I was surprised to see John out weeding the prairie beds at gone 10 o'clock on Monday night!!

Sandwiched between all this weeding and watering we have fitted in some socialising including a friends 60th birthday party for which we made a quick 300 canapes by 12 o'clock.

We have been a bit busy!!

Finishing Touches

'Life is a mere Bagatelle'
                                                or
                                                         'How to use up your old off-cuts'

Closing the door on that Era

The old barn doors have hung there, deteriorating, eaten by woodpeckers, since way before our time.  Some visitors have come and loved the rusticity of them, but ... having had the roof redone last year, the time came to 'tidy up' this aspect.  And so ...

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

 

DAY 5

The colour choice was a bit problematic as the head gardener wouldn't go with a shade of red!  We agreed on a green but then the problems began.  Sue seemed to want a browny green whilst I favoured a green green.  We settled on a colour which the tin described as Olive ... which is what you see in the photo.  However I was imagining Olive meant the colour of an olive, but no ... it's the colour of the leaves of an olive tree!!!  No matter, I'm happy that the colour tones with the surrounding greens of grass, trees, hills.

All that remains to be done is for me to fabricate the 'feature', based on an idea we saw in Taiwan, which will hang on the 'door'.