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Here is the beautiful viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' in early summer.

It appeared to die a number of years ago then over the past five or six years floourished again, mysteriously. However there is no mystery as to why it is now a stump. The deer have eaten it!

I don't usually get deer in the garden until spring, or when there is snow on the higher ground and I manage to deter them by putting down bits of strongly perfumed soap (works a treat to protect your tulips by the way).

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Simply..not storm proof....

18/11/2022

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I suspect the decoratons on my wreath (see this post) are a bit delicate for the front door, exposed as it is to wind and rain.

The wreath itself is sturdy enough but the leaves will just have to take their chance..

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Simply..when it does stop raining....

17/11/2022

I have to get out there and enjoy it.

Coffee for ten in my small sitting room today! Our village Conservation Group got together for the first time since Covid to tidy Coronation Wood and plant lots of bulbs in tubs. It rained. But we are hardy folks, and it was good to catch up and get to know some new residents..

Click on Menu to see the story of Coronation Wood.

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Simply..hop bines....

27/10/2022

..make a lovely wreath. The days have been pretty wet and grey, but in a sunny spell yesterday afternoon I took apart the yellow wigwam which had the golden hop growing on it and made a wreath with the tangled but still supple stems. You just have to bully them into submission, tuck in the loose ends and leave flat to dry.

I will also press some leaves under the rug to decorate it with later.

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Simply..spectacular....

24/10/2022

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Is autumn as colourful where you are? If you are in the northern hemisphere that is!
I'd love to know if readers from Australia and New Zealand are still with us...

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Sinply..prunings....

19/10/2022

Some large scale cutting back is going on in the garden, and much of it comes into the house for the few days it lasts

This is azalea lutea.

..

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Simply..looking ahead....

12/10/2022

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I have bought lots of bulbs ffrom the supermarket this year, though Sarah Raven has tupios at 50% off right now (thank you Rosemary). Tempting. You can't have too many tulips..

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Simplt..sweet peas and snow?

22/9/2022

The sweet peas are still flowering, and there has been snow in Scotland!

Really.

In the Cairngorm mountains in the north.

The stems are very short indeed but the scent is still srong.

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Simply..press the pause button....

20/9/2022

Simply..the last rose....

5/9/2022

Well, hopefully not the last rose of summer as we seem to be having a heatwave! I leave you with this while I take a blog break. May the weather be kind wherever you are.

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Simply..a gentle day....

29/8/2022

..in the garden. A very pleasant 20 degrees. Some light weeding and thinking, as gardeners do, of what I will grow next year. Sweet peas Gwendoline and Anniversary, wave series petunias in lime and lilac, lots of gypsophila Covent Garden..

All the meadow areas in the front have been cut and it feels very spacious and calm.

There is a little robin which is becoming quite tame.

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Simply..drawn to the light....

28/8/2022

Even when they are dying the dark coloured flowers are seductive.

They are attractive, and interesting, but I think my summer love aafair with the deep dark tones is over. We are not truly compatible, not at the deepest level...

My heart is always drawn to the light.

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Simply..beach life....

17/8/2022

..is somewhat curtailed due to rain, but gardening continutes between showers. I am so lucky to have both. It's been a long journey from a tenement flat in Glasgow with two window boxes! Today I picked the most luxuriant and sumptuous bunch of flowers I have ever picked from any of my gardens.

With so much warmth and rain the roses were floppy, their bloms facing the ground, so I thought I would cut them to enjoy them better, and also to prune them a bit in the hope that later flower stems will be sturdier. The clumps of agapannthus are so big now that I can afford to pick lots without diminishing the effect in the garden.

I doubt I could afford to buy this from a florist!

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Simply..grandasies....

16/8/2022

Thank you to Sheena and to Lynne who identified these gorgeous flowers I photographed in Shetland. They are argyranthemum Grandaisy series and I hope to grow them next year.

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Simply..vibrant....

6/8/2022

Nasturtium and cornflower.

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Simply..a day's gardening....

5/8/2022

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The preparation is all-important..

Charge up the cordless tools - a hedgetrimmer and a small strimmer for edging. I am taking Carol Bruce's advice to heart. She says 'With the right tools and methods it is not difficult to manage a garden on your own.' I do get occasional help with the grass and the hedges, but Jim couldn't come and everything is growing so fast..

Charge myself up with a protein breakfast.

Set up the coffee for laer.

And the hammock!

I have some pleasant company.

15 minutes with the lawnmower, 15 minutes in the hammock. I have arthritis in my shoulders but I can get through a few hours this way (I actually use a timer!). Works for me.

View from the hammock. Every cloud has a silver lining. It rained in the afternon, so I eased my long-Covid aches and pains with a daytime bath which feels great.

On a different subject, do tell me, has being made to feel guilty ever made you alter your behaviour for the better?

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Simply..blue....

4/8/2022

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The horse in the second photograph makes me think of a Chagall painting!

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Simply..failures....

30/7/2022

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There have been many failures in the garden this year. I was going to photograph them, but who wants to see slug eaten dahlias, miserable stunted little cornflowers, pathetic trays of seedlings with about 5% germination. I even failed with 'easy' annuals like night scented stock!

The peat free composts available are just waste products, not soil, and I think they may be to blame....or is it just me?

The very inexpensive little fuchsias from the supermarket have done well and are prettying up the greenhouse and hiding the scrawny and feble schizanthus which are producing plenty of flowers at the end of the straggling stems.

There's always next year!

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Simply..back home....

29/7/2022