Olivia and Tobias

Wow, it's great here.

I think you are great.

Hey, you two. Break it up. No fraternizing on my hyacinths.

The party went well - and no, I didn't get any photos. It continued to rain here in Cornwall, so we had 24 pink helium balloons and half as many pink, little girls playing squealing games in the house. All helpers were issued with earplugs, in line with health and safety guidelines. It was a bit dark and a bit manic, so the camera didn't come out. The carnage was terrible. I considered posting photos of Poor Philip the Pinata, but have decided to respect his dignity and let him rest in peace. He was brave soul but the end was not pretty. Girls can be so cruel.

It has been a great day. Mad Dog went to bed, happy and eight years old. Thanks to Nanny and Grandad, Martin, Kelly and Sam, James, Jill, and everyone one who came to make it a special day. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and presents - you know who you are. I will be in touch.

Phillip

Hi.

Hello.

Are you new here?

Yes, I am heading for the new frogpool in town.

Cool. So am I.

HELLO, MY NAME IS PHILLIP.

Gosh, he's a bit loud.

Yes, poor guy. It's Mad Dog's birthday today, party tomorrow. Just look what she does with plastic sharks. He still hasn't realized why he has been invited. He thinks it's great, getting stuffed with sweets. Just keep your head down, keep quiet and keep moving. We'll be safe once we reach the frogpool - Alfred will look after us.




Oh no, Misty has seen us.

Happy Birthday Mad Dog.

Where did every one go?

To be continued. . .

Rain

We needed rain and today it arrived.

Mustn't grumble. It is good for the Garden.

As I have spent the day indoors, shopping, cooking and preforming mundane and mindless chores, I will share some sunny photos of yet more flowers from the past, few sunny days.

Daisies

Clematis

Sea Holly

Misty the Vigilant

Misty won't go out in the rain. She has spent the day sleeping on her favourite, new fur blanket. Don't be fooled by her mild manners - she brought down that zebra herself.

Cool for Cats

Out the front door and turn left, . . .

. . . is our neighbors' cat. I don't know its name, but it has a different outfit on every day. Cool.

Turn right and you will see some random, but interesting graffiti on a power station near by. Someone spent some time thinking about this.

Back home again. Frogpool is taking shape - gunnera, reeds and papyrus are all planted. But the best surprise of the day is . . .

our first water lily bloom. Lovely.

Flowers of July

Borage

White Nigella

White Agapanthus and Pasionflower

Hebe

Abutilon

Inula helenium, Elecampane

Eucomis, Pineapple Lily

Misty the Watchful

It's Hot Enough to Hatch a Flamingo

Chickadee

With all the dreadful news and headlines lately, I was heartened to see this headline in the Times.
This is the first lesser flamingo chick to hatch in Britain, 40 years after the birds were introduced. Flamingo experts attribute the birth to the recent heatwave, as temperatures have been comparable with the birds' native East Africa.

I may have mixed feelings about pink, plastic replicas, but this story brought a tear to my eye.

It has been hot.

I have been busy.

Busy in the Garden. I have dirt engrained into my fingers and toes.

Here are some of the things I have been doing.

Weeding and planting.

I grow salad and vegetables in raised beds. It resolves a lot of issues. Less bending over. Less weeding. With rich soil, there is no need for rows or wasted space. It is also easier to control slugs and snails - don't get me started on them. I have planted more salad greens, herbs, beetroot, carrots and squash plants at the weekend. I also have a crop of beans, tomatoes, potatoes and onions that look promising.

Bean Flowers

Radishes

Misty the Lazy

Fish Charmer

Fish Charming

Such good news!

First Born dangled her fingers in the frog pool - only to find our fish family wanted to play. They all came up to the surface like magic, nibbling the tips of her fingers.

I didn't know we had a fish charmer in the family. The Simpsons are still with us. Joy. They must have been shy when moving into their new pool. The mosquito larvae have gone. The Simpsons are doing their job. They are now eating their food. And Alfred is earning his keep as well.

The seagull family have been eating my apples, I have realized. I am annoyed, but so happy that the Simpsons are well, that I am putting out dishes of applesauce for the gulls, just as a distraction.

Then First Born started to play with the water hyacinths - marvelling at their balloon-like structure. She wanted to show them off, so here they are . . .

It is a great contrast to the collection of plants I have just picked up. Over the winter and spring, I conducted a rather (un)scientific experiment with succulents at college. I wanted to see how long they could go without water. A few of the smaller sempervivums in small pots died, but the majority survived for six months without any water. Those that went without need a bit of TLC, but here they are . . .

Survivors

And last, but not least . . .

Happy Birthday Angeles

Derek the Dragonfly

This is Derek. Derek the Dragonfly.

Please hold your mirth. He was not my idea. I was even less sure of Derek, when I first met him, than I was of Alfred.

I am still coming to terms with Alfred; to me, Alfred is the ornithological version of a garden gnome. Don't get me started on garden gnomes. I will address them later.

Martin arrived unexpectedly, but not unwelcome. Martin is always welcome. He said he had a surprise. I hate surprises. Unless it is champagne and lobster, chances are I won't want to know.

Martin presented Derek. A metal dragonfly. I love most insects, in theory, but did not fall in love with Derek.

We put Derek near the frog pool - he looked out of place. Our frog pool is tiny, and he is, to put it politely, rather large. He is a good looking fella, but . . .

Derek is made of shiny metal. He is big. He is heavy. First Born said that she could tell that Alfred, our plastic, lightweight and rather timid, scare heron, was intimidated. What was I to do?

But, Howard was also here, doing valuable and essential jobs. He saw Derek and suggested that we put him on top of the greenhouse. Howard is a genius.

So, that is what we did.

Martin and Howard at work, gluing Derek to the Greenhouse.

I now love Derek. He can stay. He casts great shadows with his wings.

It's hard to tell if he is happy up there, but I sure we will soon know if there is a problem.

Thanks to Howard and to Martin. Also to the Metal Surgery of Penryn, from whens Derek came.

Derek in the afternoon.

P.S. Derek's wings are on backwards - it's true. Well spotted Melissa, I knew there was something odd that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Oh well. I will love him even more now, now that I know he is even less than imperfect.

Flock of Seagulls

I woke up early yesterday morning, to find a flock of seagulls in the Garden.

Seagulls are a nuisance. They eat rubbish, scattering it everywhere. They steal food from women and children. A marauding gull attacked a girlfriend recently - she is alive, but wouldn't come out of her house for days. Okay, okay, but she was really, really scared. He wanted her pasty and wouldn't leave her alone till he got some.

I don't like them as they like to poo on my car.

I am sorry to say, I think some of the Simpsons (our new family of goldfish) may have become a snack for the family of seagulls which live on the roof of my neighbor's house.

Seagulls love fish. I am afraid they had been eating our Simpsons.

Alfred, our stoic, plastic scare heron, apparently doesn't 'do' seagulls. His speciality is heron-attack.

All of this makes me realize how unreasonable it is to expect to be able to attract nice, cute wildlife, without attracting some nasty ones as well. Every one and everything has to eat.

Of course, every one's opinion of what is nice, and what is a nuisance, varies. (Don't get me started on slugs). As gardeners, we often create an imbalance of local flora and fauna, by introducing non native species or using lots of chemicals. Living in harmony with nature doesn't always go to plan.

If I had a photograph of you,

It's something to remind me.
I wouldn't spend my life just wishing.

In the evening, I was instantly heartened to see two little flashes of orange in the frog pool.

I have been unable to get any photos of them, but at least I know two of them are alive.

For now.

Howard's Truck

This is Howard's Truck

Howard's Truck is big and noisy - a truck with attitude. This is a truck that can do anything: it can go anywhere, haul everything, tow away small villages . . . It's a super truck. Today, it has been removing rubbish and junk, which I cannot recycle at home, from my garden.

You always know where Howard is, because he is never far from his truck. Howard loves his truck. I love the irony of Howard's Truck - despite it's camouflage, you can't miss it.

For years I thought Howard's Truck was an old ambulance. But, when I asked about it today, I was informed that it had been a Chaplin's Truck. Hence the cross on the front and side.

Howard isn't a Chaplin - but he helps people, like me, with odd jobs, heavy jobs, tricky jobs, and garden jobs. He once rescued my daughter from her room, when the doorknob broke off. We couldn't open the door. He used a table from my greenhouse to climb up the side of the house.

Howard is a Hero.

He is also very modest and declined to be photographed. But, Howard's Truck loves the attention.

Whilst having a cup of tea by the frogpool, we spied a tiny, baby frog. This is number three.

Howard thought it slightly odd that I asked him to keep an eye on the baby whilst I ran in the house to get the camera, but, then odd jobs are his speciality.

Teddy Bears' Picnic

This is a great English tradition - the Teddy Bears' Picnic. We stumbled upon this one in progress the other day at Trelissick Gardens. It was kind of eerie in a way, as there were no children to be seen. It was as if they had been whisked away. But, whoever (or whatever) took them, didn't want the bears.

Or, maybe, the bears themselves decided to have a day out. Some inner city bears hardly ever get out into the country. I wondered if they took the bus.

Or, maybe, it was a trap. So, my companions and I backed away slowly and reported it to the authorities.

They were very reassuring. Apparently no children had been reported missing that day.

They also suggested that I stay out of the sun for a while. It has been hot here lately.

Dream man

Summer

Summer is here. It has been a gorgeous day. Little One got to splash.

We have more new residents at the frogpool - two gorgeous damselflies.

Spent the day in the garden, playing with plants, whilst Little One lounged in the paddling pool. At one point, she looked up and asked, with an incredulous look, 'Mummy, is that really your idea of fun?'

When I smiled and said 'yes', she just shook her head . . .. . .
.

Leycesteria formosa, Pheasantberry, looking gorgeous in the sunlight.