Time Is Flying

I can't believe that it's been ten days since my last post. Admittedly, work has been full on over the last week, resulting in Saturday becoming a work day as well. The weeks holiday starts on Friday, and there seems an infinite amount to do in all of the gardens. After a long session on Saturday, the evening was nearly upon us, and with what energy was left, I finally managed to cut our elderly neighbours hedge for the first time this year.

All of the sides done, with only the top to do, and Amanda came over with a very welcome cup of tea. Note the bags under my eyes, this was the face of someone who has now had enough.

 

Sunday was beautifully sunny. We got up quite early to attend to all of the vegetable seeds for the allotment, now shooting nicely, and with almost 100 per cent germination, which is always a bonus.

With all of the rain, things are growing somewhat, but the colour really stood out.

 

The Ceanothus and deciduous Azalea, and Rhododendron just in bud, are quite a nice colour combination.

Whilst the Hydrangea 'Blue Wave', although not in flower yet, has some quite eyecatching stems.

This Alpine Phlox is growing in a spot on the patio, where a slab is missing that I never got around to laying, but I think I would rather have the little blue flowers.

Hobie, well he was doing what he does best as you can see!

 

We decided to start the day with  trip to the car boot sale, to see if there were any glasses for my collection hidden amongst the stuff. The weather was good, and there were hundreds of sellers there, and first off were these guys. In most cases, people go to get rid of any junk that's building up in their homes, and what they can't sell goes into large bins on the site. Mostly rubbish, there can however be found some interesting things, and this couple, along with a few similarly like minded people, take advantage of this. They live and travel around the UK in these large converted lorries, picking up what they can from what others have thrown away. However, no vintage glassware for me here. I did manage to get hold of a beautiful champagne glass dating from about 1860, for 20p!

We finished up at the car boot sale at around 12pm, and as the weather was still gorgeous, decided to head over for our annual visit to Exbury Gardens near Beaulieu.

Owned and lived in by the world famous banking family, the Rothschilds, it has gardens renowned for it's Rhododendron and Azalea collection.

The rain over the last weeks had been very good for the shrubs, and the colour was breathtaking. We hadn't planned on staying for more than a few hours this time, and had grabbed a few take out sandwiches from the supermarket, so that we could have a picnic of sorts.

Amanda taking a picture of Rhododendron 'Seven Stars'

The sun caught a cluster of Acer Griseum, showing off the beautiful bark of this tree.

Rhododendron 'Lems Cameo', one of my favourites. But where to have the picnic?

The sunny area just beyond the tree looks good!

 

The sandwiches were soon devoured, washed down with a bottle of beer. I rolled over on the blanket, took
some photos of these daisies, and promptly fell asleep for more than two hours. I gues the weeks had caught up with me.

I came to with the feel of a gentle warm breeze on me, birdsong in the air, and Amanda lying next to me, facing the skies with a broad satisfied grin on her face, as she snapped away at the sky.

 

We walked some more, and headed around one of the main pools before starting the route back to the entrance.

 

Of course, there were flowers everywhere, far too many to photograph in one day, and of every hue.

 

A man trying to coax his small daughter into joining him while he flew her kite. She had an ice cream, and so her attention was elsewhere. I loved the colours of the kite.

 

Exbury is indeed a remarkable garden, with vistas opening up all over the place.

 

Even the weedlike Mares Tail was eye catching.

It's such a shame that these species don't keep flowering all year round. And hard to imagine that colours such as these will have started to 'go over' by the time we return from holiday.

 

It was however, a lovely day. Take care and thanks for dropping by.

PS..I am reading all of your blogs with great interest, but don't always have the time or energy to respond at the moment. I'm there with you all though!