Feathered Friends in the Garden

We've had lots of feathered garden visitors over the last number of weeks. The Blue Tits have been bringing their fledgling chicks to learn how to feed on the suet nibbles. In particular, they love the RSPB's Buggy Nibbles, which you can see on the RSPB's website.

These precious little birds aren't too bothered by me, as I'm the mad woman with all the food!

You can hear the Blue Tits flitting to and fro in the shrubs and trees with their young. There is a very specific song they sing when they have the little ones in tow.

I plopped myself into a chair, not too far away from one of the feeding stations, and the Blue Tits happily came and fed while I snapped these shots.

Daisies in the Garden

I planted some Ganzia, African daisies, in our back garden last Thursday. At that time, the daisies were standing tall and blooming brightly in the English sunshine. However, after planting them, our weather turned windy, overcast and downright cool for the weekend. Hubby Niall kept looking at the Ganzia flowers, with their heads completely shut, and questioned why I purchased such reluctant specimens. I promised him that they are stunning when the sun shines and the flowers spread open.

Now that the weekend is over, OF COURSE the weather has improved, the sun has returned, the wind has died down, and the temperatures are warmer. I have taken photos of the Ganzia as proof to my husband that they really do open up during the day!

In addition, the Livingstone Daisies are finally blooming, too. They also wait for the nudging of the sun before they open and share their vibrant colors.

Strawberries in June

If it's June in England, there must be strawberries!

These are strawberries from one of the six plants that I bought last year. They have been prolific this season.

And, last autumn, I potted up about 30 baby plants from the runners from the original plants. This spring, I planted them into an old rubble pile in the back garden.

The plants have lots of lots of little strawberries, ready to ripen. Where's the cream?

We've also had a lot of success with the potted roses this year. There's something in the climate this summer that favors the roses. The entire neighborhood is filled with roses, and you can smell the lovely scent hanging in the air when out walking.



The potted plants in the back garden are just starting to bloom and fill out. In a couple of weeks, they will be a lot fuller and more vibrant, but it's always interesting to see their progress over the summer.

Garden in Bloom!

Some of our late spring/early summer flowers have bloomed in the back garden. In particular, the lupins have come out in their majesty, standing tall and proud -- for now! I hate when they lose their freshness and start to droop over. For now, let's enjoy them in all their glory.


I originally planted these lupins last year, and they didn't produce much. However, they are much more established now and seem to like the location and soil.


In addition, we also have a couple of Delphinium, and they has come in strong, too. Last year, the newly planted perennials fell over after they bloomed!


Our first poppy bloomed over the weekend, and I love the frail paper-like quality of the petals.


I'm sure you can tell by the posts on my blog that Niall and I love color in our garden. Hope you enjoy the show, too.