The Garden sings in July . . .

 

The rain let go yesterday and we ended up having a gorgeously sunny day. Today promises more of the same wall to wall sunshine.   I am not against the rain per se . . . it is the rain which helps to turn the garden lush and green, and . . . for that I am grateful, along with the sound of it's pitter patter on the roof tops, which is so sweet and endearing.   You can almost see the garden turning with every little droplet that falls . . .

But those sunny days in between . . . they do the heart good, perhaps even more so because of the frequent rain.  I find everything standing at attention after a summer rain, as if to say here we are . . . brisk and lively and ready to take on the world.

Can anything taste better than fresh baby salad greens with rain drops still on their leaves????   Oh no . . . there is not . . . unless it is a strawberry, still warm from the sunshine with bits of straw clinging to it's leaves . . .

There is so much to fall in love with in this most beautiful month of the year . . .



We took ourselves off into Chester for the afternoon once we got everything done in the house that needed doing, and took a walk around the walls.  It was so lush and beautiful.  I was so sorry that I had not brought the camera with me . . . I was reminded of my first trip over here to Chester and to meet Todd and how very much I fell in love with this beautiful city . . . seems so long ago now, but then again, it seems like only yesterday . . .

A forever love is like that you know . . . it is at once both eternal and fresh at the same time.

We treated ourselves to fish and chips at our favourite spot . . . a piece of fish for each of us and a chips to share . . . food tastes better when shared, don't you think?   I think so . . .

I wasn't sure I could eat it because of my tooth, but the fish was soft and delicate inside the batter.   That is my favourite part.   No, not the batter . . . the sweet, soft fish inside.  The place we go to . . . the fish is always perfectly done.   I love it.



The roses in our garden are breathtakingly beautiful at the moment!   Each one more lovely than the rest.  These wild Tudor roses are so sweet and the area is dusted all over with tons of little buds waiting to burst open.  When they do it will be glorious  to behold . . . 



Some more of the same.   I know . . . can you just imagine how beautiful these will all be in about a day's time?   I shall have to take even more photos then . . .

 

We have roses of every colour imaginable . . . and this is only in the back garden.  There are even more in the front.   We adore roses.   These small gloriously red ones are so beautiful . . . I shall have to try to dry a few petals . . . my charge for today to find out something which I can do with rose petals . . . perhaps rosewater?   Or sugared rose petals?



Are these not stunning???   I know . . . takes the breath away.   And that's not all . . .



Look at these . . .

 

And these . . . and we're still only in the back garden and only the flower part of it . . . I am going to have to be figuring out something to do with black currants any day now . . . not to mention our gooseberries . . . and the strawberries . . . sigh . . .

Life IS good . . .



The wild flower section.   Every garden should have a section which is left to go wild with abandon . . . that is so English is it not?   The wildness . . . it attracts wildlife and butterflies . . . so sweet . . .

 

Two types of daisies living together in perfect harmony . . . friends together in the same patch.   Such a lovely picture and thought . . . were that people could only be the same harmonious companions as a rule . . .



Even cornflowers are welcome in this patch . . . no one soul is turned away . . .

I love it.



I had so much fun playing in the garden with my camera late yesterday afternoon . . .

Some days are like that.   Camera days.   Todd calls me Mrs. CanITakeAPhoto . . .
He is so not funny . . . ha  . . . ha . . . ha . . .

 

You would think he would be most used to my odd ways by now . . .

"A simple porch that stands alone . . . plain and shy looking . . . but full of romance."
~Marcel Proust

That's me . . .in a "nut" shell . . . nut being the operative word!

 

My newest painting . . . I could not get it to scan properly, so this is a photo I took of it, but it's still not right color wise . . . sigh . . .



This is the scan . . . a bit too bright.   Not sure how to fix it, but oh well . . .

I did enjoy painting it.

And the different words give each one a different feeling, and yet . . . it is the same picture!  Amazing . . .

  

Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Oven Fried Picnic Chicken and a Creamy Garden Potato Salad.   Deliciously tempting on a hot summer's day!

Smile!   It's Friday!  (How did that happen?)