BACK to the FUTURE .....

This will look a bit strange what with snow falling on my blog and Christmas just around the corner but .....

 

 

I've entered these photographs into the David Austin competition on my Instagram account  ... distressing_the_laurels ... into the categories Best Rose Bloom and Best Rose Climbing up an Arch/Pillar/Pergola ! There are zillions of entries so I don't stand a chance but it was fun to do. The photographs that win will go into the 2021 David Austin Roses UK Handbook.

 

It was something to do as, I cannot believe how organised I am for Christmas ! I have written our cards, bought all of our Christmas presents and even wrapped half of them ! All that's left to do is wrap the other half of the presents, dress the Christmas tree, do the other decorations and cook Christmas dinner !!  

 

Hope my photographs bring back memories of the Summer months of blue skies and warm sunshine. 

 

 

I think my ' Jackie ' has gone missing again and, Blogger won't let me Preview ! Arghhhhhhh !

 

XXXX

 

 

 all photographs via me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BACK to BACK ..........

We have had the most amazing weather for practically all of lockdown. Because of this, I wasn't going to stay in and clean, decorate or clear out my wardrobes ..... far better to be outside and tend to our garden .....

I think it was in the first week that I did my back in !!! Lower back pain that I often get when I do the first big tidy up of the garden in early Spring. I obviously use muscles that have been neglected over the Winter !

It was pretty painful so I thought my nice hot water bottle with the chunky knit cover would be very beneficial. I did place said water bottle down my knickers to get the maximum benefit of heat to the root of the problem !!!  After a couple of days of laying on the sofa with hot water bottle down my knickers, I needed to scratch my back and, when doing so, took bits of skin with it 😱 ..... yes, burnt my back !

After a couple of weeks, my back gradually improved but, I'm not sure if it was doing Joe Wicks exercises for Seniors,  scraping the moss off of the drive or doing too much too soon but, I got sciatica !!!  I have only had sciatica once about forty years ago and remember it being painful but this was relentless. I flatter myself that I am very good with pain which, thank goodness, I very rarely get, but sciatica is horrible .... it's like the worse toothache but in the length of your leg. No painkillers touch it and you just want to chop your leg off ! I endured ten days of it and then, it suddenly got better.... ish. Just a dull ache in the morning now. 

Sorry, other peoples pain can be pretty boring can't it, and there are others far worse off.

I will leave you with a photograph of the rose growing over our side gate, a much cheerier subject. It's David Austin Mortimer Sackler. Roses have been amazing this year. 

image 1; via pinterest, image 2: via not on the high street, image 3: via 50 shades of lust, image 4: via me

A THORN BETWEEN TWO ROSES .....

My husband was cutting down some ferns and asked me to tell him how far to cut them ..... I went out into the garden with nothing on my feet but flip flops, no gardening gloves, nothing ..... I told him what he wanted to know then, I spotted the rose that goes over the arch so, ran in for some secateurs and a step ladder and started pruning ..........

Hands are now cut to ribbons !!!!! I always have to do everything straight away and can't be bothered to don the right equipment .....

I saved these three ..... the last of my Penny Lane rose for this year although, the St Swithin out in the front garden is blooming like mad ! 

Looooook !!!!!

 A thorn between my sister { right } and my cousin { left } .....

 This is us a few years previous ..... not in the same positions ..... my sister is the taller and older one { haha !!! } at the back, I'm on the left and my cousin on the right. 

 

Went to see The Good Liar ..... I enjoyed it even though it was a bit obvious and I'm not a Helen Mirren fan !!!!!

XXXX

images 1 - 7: via me, image 8: via google

TAKE the TIME to SMELL the ROSES ..........

At the risk of boring you with more photographs of flowers in our garden, I'm going to bore you with more flowers in our garden !!!

We have just put this rose in ... it's called Mortimer Sackler...  graceful with a lovely Old Rose fragrance with hints of fruit.

Penny Lane rose ... large, fragrant, honey-champagne blooms , scrambling over our arch, inter-twined with Viticella Alba clematis.

St. Swithun rose ... Very large, many petalled, saucer-like flowers of pure soft pink ... strong, pure myrrh fragrance ...

Blush Noisette rose ... pretty clusters of small lilac pink flowers with a rich, clove scent ...

... and, do you remember the little plugs of gypsophila ' Gypsy Deep Rose, that got battered by the wind and rain ? Well, here it is now ...

It's going to be a scorcher today ... 33 C ... that's 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit ... time to strip off I think !!!

Don't forget the suncream.

XXXX

image 1: via pinterest, images 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8: via me, image 9: via this is glamorous

A ROSE IS A ROSE IS A ROSE ………. OR A CLEMATIS !!!! ……….

Roses seem to be especially good this year. The above is our David Austin ' St. Swithun' . The flowers are HUGE and there are so many this year that the whole plant is weighed down by them !! Each bloom has hundreds of pale pink petals and have that traditional old rose perfume of Myrrh and, after the first major flush of flowers in May/June, it flowers continually until October.

I picked these to bring indoors with some alchemilla mollis.

We planted this creamy rambler years ago and one on the other side of the garden and they are both smothered in flowers.

 We planted this one to tumble over our rusty arch about three years ago and I've lost the label so I don't know it's name. Not very Monty Don of me !!!! For non UK readers, Monty Don is a gardener on UK TV !!

….. and, finally, because they are out, are these clematis. They only grow between 1 and 2 feet and bloom from May to September. The purple one is called 'Bijou' and the pink one, 'Filigree'.

What a blooming lovely late Spring we're having !!!!

All photos by me !!