August flowers

august gertieI’m just back from a sneaky flower delivery. Madame Robert didn’t answer when I knocked on her door this morning, but I left a large bouquet in her walking frame which was parked just outside. So that will be a treat for her.  She is into her nineties and a bit frail now, but full of zip and twinkle.

A bit like me. Well, not the nineties bit, but the twinkle. We are having the most glorious Gardener’s Weather for summer right now. Not too hot. Never more than 24C but sunny and calm.

And the results of last week’s rain are paying off.

Who knew I would have roses blooming in August?  I usually get a bumper crop in June and then some pale languid blooms in September.

But this year… rose petal syrup in summer. Hurrah.

And I’m having a lot of fun with my collection of copper vases in the living room.  It’s the perfect vehicle for random flowers.

At the moment I tend to be unearthing all sorts of things from my pockets at the end of each day. Dwarf french beans, slightly squished raspberries, strawberries, lilies that I seem to knock off as I walk past.

So now I can just shove them into my pots and make it look like I’m ‘staging’ this display.

coppervasesaugustThe dahlias are doing sterling work – but I’m waiting for the zinnias to start to explode. They will be oozing out of my bouquets soon.

marjoramflowerAnd if you were ever wondering what you could use as a filler for all this colour – asparagus ferns.  I love having a crop you can eat but also use for display.

That and marjoram that is going to flower.  You have to shoo the bees gently out of the way to cut the long stalks. But there is so much flowering right now I hope they won’t begrudge me a bit of colour in the house.

And I notice that you have been deprived of shots of his royal furriness this past week. He is enjoying the cooler weather as well.  But not enjoying my wrath.

On the staging. Lettuce seedlings. Moist tray full of carefully nurtured seeds. Artur Has Form when it comes to snoozing on special plants.  So I put up a cat barrier to try and deter him.  Pots, sticks, baffles, foils.

arturcatbarrierI didn’t do a very good job, did I?  GRRR.