The vaguely green-fingered thoughts of a rambling rose.

Battening down the hatches...


...in preparation for storm Ciara which is whipping up in the Atlantic ocean as I type.

We have 16 trees, most of which are still quite youthful and needed their stakes and ties checking, and the ground firming.  The roses were also firmed in and had a bit of a prune to help prevent wind rock.  We will check them again after the storm has passed, particularly as snow is predicted for next week. 

Since the sun was shining, it was a good day for a bit of a tidy up to allow the spring bulbs some room to show off.







We have removed the ivy from the boundary wall 


Pruned the clematis that intertwines r. Maigold.


Cleared the old foliage from around the pond, scrubbed the waterfall and removed some pond weed.


Given the Acer Crimson King a little trim to remove crossing branches and any growing in the wrong direction.  We also trimmed the staghorn branches.


Pruned all the later flowering clematis.  The Montana looks good.  We gave it a hard prune last summer/autumn as it was getting out of hand.  It won't take long before the fence is smothered again.


Juicy fat sedum buds are pushing through. 


And the hellebores are looking amazing. 




The Yen had a tiny spruce up, by vacuuming the fallen leaves.



Rhododendron Christmas Cheer about to burst open it's bright pink blooms. 


We spent 2 and a half hours in the garden, working together.  Good for the body and soul.  Time to get warm and wait for the storm to pass.

A New Decade


As the first month of 2020 draws to a close, I realised that it's been longer than usual between entries.  It has taken us quite a while to get over the loss of Angel and then to find the time and inclination to venture into the garden, despite the weather being favourable.  The heart still aches when we do take a wander so perhaps it was better that we lost her in winter.

The old foliage remains untouched and unadorned stakes thrust out starkly among the detritus of the season.  However here and there, signs are appearing to remind us that life goes on.
























Crisp and cold


The last day of November. 














Winter is coming. 

Our Angel


Today's post is dedicated to our beautiful red border collie, Angel. 



I chose Angel when she was just a few days old, before she had even opened her eyes.  She had a pink heart shaped nose and pink foot pads.  We named her Angel and the breeder registered her with "celestial" as part of her KC papers.



After many play dates, at 12 weeks we were finally able to bring her home.  This tiny ball of fluff with a floppy ear became the most gentle, friendly, loyal companion I've ever known.




One of her favourite places was Filey beach in North Yorkshire where she visited at least once a year with the outlaws, camping.






Angel was a charmer.  She helped several children and my mother-in-law with their fear of dogs, and regularly received complements on how beautiful or well behaved she was.


She loved balls, sticks way too big for her, water and squirrels.


And she loved us as much as we loved her, if not more.


Angel

14.04.2005 - 10.11.2019