Both Friday and Saturday were lovely days dry, sunny and warm enough to sit outside. On Friday I made a very small Victoria Sponge cake as I'm now down to my last quarter bag of self raising flour. We sat outside in the afternoon and had tea and cake in the garden as a treat. We could hear people enjoying their gardens across the walls, fences and hedges and the smell of cooking wafted in the air. Barbeques were certainly being put to good use.
I sat out later in the evening and saw the most amazing thing. I was under the canopy looking at the pond when suddenly something silvery and shimmering in the sunlight rose up into the air from amongst the flag irises. It flew straight towards me and then into the top of the canopy where it rested for a few seconds before flying off over the hedge. It was a dragonfly which had a shorter but wider body in a dark colour. I looked into the middle of the irises and saw where it had emerged from.
Saturday was another lovely day, I did a bit of gardening in the morning in the front garden, taking out a few weeds.
Wood Avens has appeared here now. It's hard to spot as it looks very similar to the geums until the flower appears. I've given up trying to take it all out and grudgingly accepted it here and there but the trouble is it's very invasive and springs up everywhere.
Wood Avens
Geum Rivale is also known as Water Avens so it does seem there is a connection between the two plants. A few years ago we were given a big clump of the Geum Rivale by a friend who lives in mid Wales and who is a keen gardener. It has spread quite a lot, been split and planted in quite a few places across the garden. It seems to like our soil here.
The peony flowers have opened up on the front but are still in tight buds in the back garden.
London Pride
Later that day I had my first experience of Zoom as we chatted to friends in Nottingham for over an hour. It was great fun and seemed an easy and delightful thing to do. In the evening we watched the film The Darkest Hour.
Today has been colder and wetter so I've been inside ironing, reading and making a plum and apple crumble for tea. I forgot to take a photo it was delicious and we still have some left for tomorrow.
Photos taken from the bedroom window this evening. The vixen visited earlier and I was hoping to spot her again in the daylight. The Tamarisk tree has taken on a lovely pink hue.
Meanwhile here is a photo from Fox Cam or is it Badger Cam?
How was your weekend?
What a lovely post Rosie.
ReplyDeleteThe tamarisk does look splendid in the garden, I wondered what that was called after seeing it in many gardens last year.... now I know, thank you.
Our London pride is amazing this year, never been so many flowers on it.
Love peonies, yours is stunning, my daughter has the same one.
Have a lovely week.
Thank you Julie. I love the Tamarisk at this time of year. The London Pride does seem to be doing well, ours has seeded in one of the paths. I'm always pleased to see the peony flower each year. Take care:)
DeleteYour garden is stunningly beautiful. A wee bit envious! We get dragonflies here too, as I think they like it if you have a pond or some sort of water feature in the garden. Were the badgers & fox frolicking together in the garden? Only a so-so weekend here, being cold & miserable & not being able to see DD & family. Miss our boys too, but they are interstate, so that is always a problem anyway & step DD in UK is hard as well. Take care, stay safe & huggles.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan - I only show the best bits:) Lots of straggly grass, unkempt hedges and weeds in paths but it does have a good layout, a legacy of whoever designed it before we came here. It's cold here today, such a shame you can't see your family at the moment, times are hard aren't they? Do take care and stay well:)
DeleteI think you may have seen a 'Broad bodied chaser' like a dragonfly but as you said with a broader shorter body. We used to have them in our pond and they leave their shells on the reeds.
ReplyDeleteCan I have some of the sponge it looks delicious. lol
Briony
x
Thank you Briony, that would be it. It was so pretty and reminded me of a fairy in a film flitting about. The cake was delicious and lasted until yesterday:)
DeleteHow wonderful, your garden looks so pretty full of so many exciting things. Who needs a café when you can have some tea and cake in such a beautiful setting. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen, yes we can make our own cafes. Morning coffee outside, when it is warmer again, afternoon tea in the sunshine, we are lucky to have some lovely flowers and trees in the garden:)
DeleteI've given up baking as, with no one to share things with, cakes have a very short shelf life though evidence of their consumption remains about my middle for rather longer. Wood Avens is supposed to protect you from evil spirits so maybe you should keep a little if it to ward off viruses.
ReplyDeleteThank you John, ah yes, I'm trying not to make cakes too often especially as excercise doesn't get done as often as it should. Oh, I didn't know about wood avens having protective qualities, perhaps it can stay:)
DeleteI have just got off the scales, baking is off the agenda for awhile...You have a beautiful garden Rosie, an oasis of colour.
ReplyDeleteThank you MM, I daren't get on the scales after the last week or two! My jeans still fit as yet but I do feel as if I have put a little weight on. The garden is a lovely haven from all that is going on outside:)
DeleteI noticed our local Morrisons had flour on Friday - but only about 6 bags at 16kgs each!! How wonderful to have the dragonfly emerge in front of you! The garden is looking good, very colourful :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam, we maaged to ge bread flour from Shipton Mill on line but not self raising so we ordered some baking powder to go with the plain flour. It was wonderful to see the dragonfly:)
DeleteHow wonderful to see the dragonfly emerge and find the larval case :) I do hope your flour arrives soon so you can continue baking. Interesting to see your London Pride - I suspect mine was misidentified years ago and in fact it is something else entirely!!! Your garden is looking so lovely and I love the tamarisk :) Our peony in the back garden is only just forming buds! We have Wood Avens in the garden too - it took me years to id it!! and I agree it does pop up everywhere!! Take care and have a good week.
ReplyDeleteThank you RR. I was thrilled to see the dragonfly, couldn't quite believe it. I like to have wild flowers in the garden but both buttercups and wood avens are really hard to control as they spread so rapidly and I find pulling them out hard as it hurts my fingers. The flour arrived yesterday but we couldn't order self raising, just the bread flour so we had some baking powder too:)
DeleteSo pleased the flour has arrived :) but sorry you couldn't get any self raising. Baking powder will be handy :) Last time I did an online food shop I noticed eggs suddenly seem in short supply :(
DeleteOh you took my breath away, with your words, about the dragonfly.
ReplyDeleteHow I love, love, love dragonflies!!!!!!!!
-smile-
Gentle hugs,
🌸💜🌸💜🌸💜🌸
Thank you WoW, it was lovely to witness the first flight of the draonfly such a special moment:)
DeleteWhat beautiful blooming views, your garden gives you!!!!
ReplyDeleteGentle hugs,
🌸💜🌸💜🌸💜🌸
Thank you, yes the garden is looking pink and pretty at the moment:)
DeleteIt sounds like your weekend was full of nice things Rosie! A welcome surprise visitor, home made cake, gardening etc! My weekend was very productive with a lot of cutting back overgrown shrubs. It looks so much nicer now. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone, yes it was a pleasant weekend. Glad you were able to get out and work in your garden. It's good to look at what you have achieved and appreciate all your hard work:)
DeleteYour garden is looking lovely with the tamarisk tree standing out in all its feathery pinkness. We had one in one of our gardens in Berkshire and I remember it well. Your pond is attracting all kinds of wildlife as is the rest of the garden. Tomorrow I might think about doing some baking which needs a bit of planning. Thankfully we do have different types of flour in the cupboard. Also yeast for making bread. I've not been baking much as mainly I baked cakes for family times and that's not happening, of course.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda, I always love the Tamarisk when it is in its pink, fluffy phase the birds seen to appreciate it too. The pond seems to have smails, butterfly larvae and newts but we haven't seen a frog or toad for ages. We had a delivery of bread flour yesterday but still no SR flour. Not much baking here as there are only the two of us:)
DeleteLovely garden photos. I recently heard ( after finding some on a woodland roadside) that London Pride is named so after springing from bombed rubble during the second world war. That cake looks good. X
ReplyDeleteThank you shazza, I love the story of the London Pride and hope it is true, my grandma's garden used to be full of it so it holds a memory for me. The cake was delicious:)
DeleteThat sounds like a really lovely weekend :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Louise, it was a lovely, quiet weekend:)
DeleteWe have had the most lovely spring haven't we? So glad we have some outdoor space to enjoy during the lockdown xxx
ReplyDeleteYes, Spring has been gorgeous, I don't know what we would have done without our garden and areas to walk from home, I feel so sorry for those trapped in blocks of flats:)
DeleteI've enjoyed this beautiful garden, Rosie. And am now in the mood to make a very small Victoria Sponge cake as well. A great post.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Thank you Amalia. Hope if you made a Victoria sponge that you enjoyed both baking and eating it:)
DeleteDear Rosie, you have been busy. I love your peonies. Alas it is too warm here in Auckland to grow them. Your sponge cake has made me hungry! My weekend was quite relaxed. Lots of reading and colouring in. Keep well. Hugs Rose x
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose Petal. I love peonies they have such exhuberant flowers, we have a pink one but it has never flowered, I must try and find out why. Glad you had a good weekend, thank you for visiting:)
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