A Glorious Miniature Flower......... and a collapsing arch

We  did indeed have a heatwave - PHEW - the roses came out, looked lovely, went over,  and the strawberries fruited and finished in under a fortnight - so none for Wimbledon! Now things have changed yet again .....

Actually my entire purpose in this blog is to flag up the fact that my Gloriosa Lily in the conservatory is looking wonderful - BUT, more importantly to urge you all to rush over to Ilona's blog
http://minimumloon.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/hittegolf-heat-wave.html to see the most fantastic, wonderful delicate representation of the same plant in 1/12th scale.  Truly this lady has magic in her fingers! I run out of superlatives each time I see her newest blog. Thanks for being such an inspiration Ilona.

This is my real life Gloriosa Lily - now take a look at Ilona's

Out in the garden the heatwave came to a dramatic end with high winds and rain - to be fair the ground was desperate for rain - our rose arch, already ancient and wobbly has almost collapsed and resembles a flowery tunnel into a secret garden.
A big pruning operation will be necessary very soon but I've been rather too keen with the secateurs later and sprained  the old dodgy wrist............not 'appy.

The Rose is Veilchenblau, a really old rose introduced in the late 1800s.  We first came across it in an old garden established in 1900 that we inherited, and it's been in our gardens ever since as we love it. It's still readily available and is a proper trouper - this one is also climbing high into the nearby conifer along with American Pillar and a clematis.

Back to miniatures next time as I show you the little treasures found at a car boot sale and Antique Fair.

Thank you for looking
Robin

Here Comes the Summer!

We've had more than a week of lovely weather with just enough rain to keep my garden watered. More of the same please!

So my miniature workbench, which these days is a space to play just for me, as distinct from 'working,' is an idle muddle while the weather is calling me to the garden. The end to frosts meant that we could relocate really BIG plants from the conservatory to the garden for the summer, so again we have space to sit on the sofa and chairs for early breakfast or a glass of wine and a big re-jig moving the orchids to the back wall means that they are happier and there are YARDS of extra space.
The big picture you can see was once part of a much loved dress - back in the day when The Beatles were Top of the Pops.
(Yes that does make me feel old....)

Out in the garden our mammoth efforts to prune, clear and tidy in the autumn and spring have paid dividends and even the weeds are feeling the fight-back!

Super dark-leaved elder with flowers like pink lace

Glorious peony

Rosa 'Blue Moon' - lives a long way from more traditional roses so the clours don't clash.

The old shed is resplendent now with a series of hanging pots

Dainty little collared doves have taken their young from the nest in the middle of the rose arch so when it's flowered we can prune (before it collapses the actual arch) but we're looking forward to a spectacular display very soon.
In the pond the tadpoles are growing little legs and skitter about very happily, and the wild patch is about to errupt in moon daisies and corncockle.  Happy days!

Thank you for looking
Robin