Not a bad week after all!

The rain on Tuesday eased off in the afternoon enough to be able to get out and tend to a couple of fairly large properties, and so not all the day was lost....hurrah!

Yesterday, wonderfully hot and sunny, and a really good and productive day. This is what it's all about! Food for the soul.

I will do a bit more about the places that I look after shortly, but for now a little update on our own garden as this is the little piece of Eden that I come back to and relax in each day.

My father was german, and so there is a lot of influence in my life from this lovely, soulful man who is so sadly not with us anymore. We used to go to Bavaria with him on occasions, and he would watch myself and my brother head off for a day in the mountains with a wishful look in his eye as he was alas not well enough to join us. It was in a small town called Mittenwald that I was first introduced to the coloured glass balls that people use in abundance to add points of interest to a garden covered in snow. The gardens there would be full of these in all sizes and colours, stuck on the top of poles to allow for the snowfall. I went back to Mittenwald with A several years after his death to put a cross for him on the mountain there and had to return with a glass ball of my own, although I have never had to worry about deep snow though!

This was a variety of petunia that I can't remember the name of, but thought it was really pretty and so bought one at a small nursery.

The Calendula is doing what it's supposed to, flowering reliably and profusely. Common as muck but a stalwart nonetheless.

One of our New Guinea Busy Lizzies, again just sooooo pretty in the early morning/evening light.

The Tibouchina is showing signs of promise in the flower bud department. I can't wait to see these gorgeous purple blooms break open. Ahh......just as I write this at 7am, the bird song has been replaced by the sound of A watering the garden. Sat here with my cup of tea and it doesn't get much better.

The new shoots on the Berberis positively glow in the morning sun, although this picture doesn't do it justice.

The Kalmia flowers are my favourite flower of all time. Just about to pop open, I will post a picture when they do as it will take your breath away. The front of the plant doesn't have so much flower coming this year, I think because there is a Fuchsia just in front of it that smothered it a bit last year, but has been whacked back down to size for this season.

Finally, the Rhododendron that I mentioned in an earlier post is now in full bloom and looking great. ......................TTFN