Saturday, August 11, 2018

Lavender, Berries and Poppies

What a strange year it has been so far.  Even at the height of summer there are distinct signs of Autumn  in the hedgerows.

Sun bleached grass paths, mown fields in the distance and the last of the wonderful rows of lavender at the Shropshire Lavender farm.  The lavender flowers were covered in bees and little blue butterflies.  Both hard to capture on camera but the scents and aromas were sending them into a frenzy in the heat of the early afternoon sun.

After coffee with a lavender scone and a piece of lemon and lavender cake - thank you for the recommendation Mrs Tiggywinkle, both were delicious - we wandered around the rest of the garden and orchard.

I love orchards, the warmth, the scent and the colour at this time of year. 


Apples and pears were falling to the floor as branches were weighed down by so many fruits.

 What did strike me though was the amount of berries on each of the bushes and trees around the garden

Above - Rowan Berries


Above - Red Currants

The next day we took an early morning walk at RSPB Coombes Valley

  Here I spotted ripening blackberries.

Crab Apples and below a Red Admiral butterfly more signs of late summer and the closeness of the changing of the seasons.
A few days later we walked along the canal from Westport Lake to Middleport Pottery.

The elder bushes were full of ripe berries, such a wonderful colour to guide us on our way.

As we passed by the pottery we could see the display of poppies which makes up 'The Weeping Window.'  Many of the ceramic poppies from the installation 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Blood' first shown at the Tower of London in 2014 were made in the city so it is nice for some of them to return home for a while.  The exhibition can be seen at Middleport Pottery until 16th September and we will probably visit in early September so I will write more about it then.

47 comments:

  1. The lavender is such a pretty sight!

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  2. I love lavender and I've tried a dozen times to grow it, but it always does.

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    1. I love it too! It's a shame it won't grown in your garden:)

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  3. The lavender looks beautiful and I can imagine all the bees and butterflies around. I think it’s going to be a good autumn for berries. B x

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    1. The lavender was buzzing with bees. They usually say many berries means a bad winter, I hope not:)

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  4. "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness......to load and bless
    With fruit the vines...bend with apples...fill all fruit with ripeness to the core..."


    Your photos are gorgeous. The fruits are like jewels. -happy sigh- Beautiful... Beautiful... Beautiful...

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    1. Thank you I love fruits and berries at this time of year:)

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  5. "Back" to how wonderfully your blog reads, now that you have enlarged the font size... I think you have double spaces now, also.

    I enlarged my font size, too. After seeing how wonderful yours looks. But I am using Bold, and single spacing. Thinking of going to your look..... Not Bold, double spacing.

    And I will ask for my Dear Readers comments. We can never know, how our blog looks, on anyone else's screens. That's why I ask, now and then. :-)

    Thank you so much, for enlarging here. And for giving me the prompt, to change too. :-)

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    1. I hope you get some positive comments about the font size, a bit larger font is much easier to read isn't it?:)

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  6. Wonderful photos of a wonderful outing. Love the lavender fields and the weeping poppies. Although it's still summer, autumn is not far off here, or there.

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    1. Thank you,Lorrie. There are still signs of summer and yet autumn is lurking in the wings waiting to make an entrance:)

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  7. The field of lavender is a wonderful sight as are the butterflies and the bees. I've also noticed the berries have formed and ripened earlier than usual. One of our daughters says she has made blackberry jam
    and I'm looking forward to tasting some!

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    1. Thank you Linda, we were late visiting the lavender farm last year so I was determined to go earlier this year before all the lavender was cut. Blackberry jam sounds delicious:)

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  8. Looks like a wonderful trip. The rows of lavender were a feast for the eyes, such a shame we couldn't smell it. There is an old wives tale that says if there is an abundance of berries it will be harsh Winter. Lets hope not!

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    1. I hope the old wives tale doesn't come true but when I saw all the early berries I thought exactly the same. The lavender had a wonderful scent aswe walked around:)

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  9. WOW! enjoyed seeing all the berries, apples, lavender etc... Love to have the berries.
    Sounds you had a wonderful time with yummy cake and a tea:)

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    1. Thank you, yes the visit to the lavender farm was lovely and the cake delicious:)

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  10. You have had some lovely outings - the lavender farm looks so beautiful and I can hear the hum of bees and picture the butterflies :) The cake and scone sound delicious :)

    I've noticed too how many berries are ripening and there is already a definite feel of autumn in the air especially now it has thankfully gone cooler.

    The Weeping Window is stunning and I look forward to seeing more photos when you visit again. There was a display at Hereford Cathedral a while back but sadly I never got round to visiting.

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    1. Thank you, RR. So pleased it is a little cooler everything seems more manageable again now. The cake and scone were delicious. I bet the poppies looked wonderful at Hereford Cathedral. I was lucky to see Weeping Window at Derby Silk Mill last year and Wave at the YSP in 2014 - both wonderful displays, it is nice to now be able to see them so close to home:)

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  11. I've heard that it has been a great year for Lavender here in England as the hot dry Mediterranean weather conditions were well suited to it. I bet the lavender smelt divine baking in the sun releasing its scent. The blackberries have finished here and the elder tree is smothered in berries. It is definitely looking autumnal. The ceramic poppies are lovely. My brother-in-law was lucky enough to be able to purchase one. x

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    1. Thank you Simone, I think weather conditions have been perfect for lavender, Shropshire could have been Provence for a while. It sounds as if your blackberries were a lot earlier than ours, they are just appearing around here. How lovely to own a poppy, I assume you could buy one if you had an ancestor lost during the war? What a lovely way to remember them:)

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  12. Just had to stop by!
    Loved seeing your photographs, the lavender fields and the weeping poppies were very special.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Hello Jan and thank you for your kind comment:)

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  13. That's absolutely wonderful, what glorious colours everywhere. 😊

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    1. It does seem very colourful what with all the fruit and berries, they are such wonderful colours aren't they?:)

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  14. That scone looks very good! I've noticed how autumnal things are looking too - so many berries, apples and so many autumnal colours. The trees are looking very autumnal too. It makes me wonder how things are going to be when it's actually autumn.

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    1. The seasons do seem to be moving don't they? I hope the the appearance of loads of berries doesn't mean we will have a very bad winter:)

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  15. Lavender is my favourite! It looks like a gorgeous place to visit :)

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    1. Thank you Pam, yes it is a lovely place to visit:)

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  16. now the heat has gone, it does feel more autumnal, sad as that means the end of the summer. I love lavender and have some in our garden but I have never baked with it. All those fruits....Do you think that it is a sign we are due a bad winter? xxx

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    1. I'm usually sad at the end of summer as it brings with it a birthday and I become another year older but this year it has been too hot for me and I feel as if I've lost the whole of July to lethargy. I hope we don't have a harsh winter:)

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  17. What a lovely, sensuous post! Your photos are spectacular. I'm glad the cake was good! While I was away last week some friends of mine arranged a trip to Middleport tomorrow to see the poppies and they got a ticket for me too because they knew I would want to see them. It was a lovely surprise to come home to. x

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    1. Thank you Mrs T. We brought a piece of cake home for our neighbour too. I think you are coming to Middleport today fom the date of your comment. I hope you and your kind friends have a wonderful time, the museum, cafe and shop are lovely too when you have seen the poppies. I think there is a designated car park with a shuttle bus service as parking is diffilcult near the factory because of the narrow streets and housing. We are out walking today but I will think about you visiting the poppies:)

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    2. Thanks for the tips Rosie. We had a lovely afternoon there and I was out for far longer than the Best Beloved had anticipated. x

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    3. That's good Mrs T. Glad you all had a great time:)

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  18. The lavender field is gorgeous ! I'd like to have a piece of lavender cake and the scone!

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    1. Thank you Sandra, the field was beautiful and both cake and scone very tasty:)

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  19. Aug. 19, 2018
    Thank you so much for commenting that you like my present Header. The illustration of 'The Black Cat Book Cafe.' :-) When I came across it, I wanted to go right in that door!

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  20. We see ostensible signs of fall here too (southern Ontario) but I am not always sure that it represents true signals of autumn. We have had unbelievable periods of hot weather and weeks on end without rain, causing trauma to trees which drop their leaves in an attempt to conserve moisture. Stress may be playing a major role in the fall-like conditions of many plants unable to cope with abnormally hot summers.

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    1. Hello David, thanks for visiting. Yes, you are right about the trees. We have a tulip tree in our garden and the leaves started falling off in the July heat beacuse it was stressed due to lack of water. It has rained a few times recently not enough but the tree looks healthier and won't start it's proper Autumn leaf fall for a few weeks yet. We have lost a couple of shrubs due to the heat and the rhododendron bushes are turning copper coloured, I'm hoping they will survive:)

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  21. Que lindas imagens. Feliz semana. Cumprimentos.

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    1. Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. Happy week to you too:)

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  22. The nurse at you GP surgery was telling me about the poppies in Stoke and how lovely they are.
    What a spectacle to see.

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    1. Thank you, Julie. they are indeed a wonderful sight. We have tickets to go in and see them week after next. I saw them at Derby last year to, they are very thought provoking:)

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  23. What a fun outing, Rosie. I just love to see lavender fields and the baked treats look delicious. It is good to see that the poppies are still on display around the country, as we approach the centenary of the end of the First World War. Marie x

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