Use the Blues

Well June is nearly over. Is it me or does time seem to be speeding up?

Both of our gardens are burgeoning. We are eating salad veg including cucumbers, (tomatoes just about to start), turnips, kohlrabi, broad beans, carrots, garlic, onions, courgettes, raspberries, blueberries. I love it all.

Sweetpeas are coming thick and fast and long. Every room is perfumed with them. My favourite activity this week ... picking a huge bunch and mixing with gypsophila, at 7 a.m, just as the sun comes into the garden at home.

Tatty foxgloves are coming out. Aquilegia seed is being collected. 

The tortoises are enjoying the lettuce gone to seed.

The dahlias I grew from seed are proving to be very pretty.
  There have been a lot of slug pellets spread around to get them to this point. If I particularly like some I can save the tubers.

The first sunflowers are making a very welcome start. Keeping them healthy, untouched and alive has been a challenge this year. Plastic bottle protection has been very successful.

The cucumbers have strong healthy growth ..... until they keel over, that is. I am loving the way this one has coiled its tendrils round the post. No need to tie it.

The flower beds are starting to look lovely.

Lots of deadheading and tying in going on. We do get through a lot of string.

Weeding is important too and the odd 3 foot thistles still surprise me.

Unfortunately I spotted a squirrel near the fruit cage and sure enough some branches of raspberries are broken. I hope they stay clear of the sunflowers as I know they can play havoc with them.

 

At home the blue crochet blanket in granny squares is complete. It took me three weeks.

It is called

"Use the Blues"

because its existence owes itself to the fact that I wanted to use my extensive box of blue wool.

And of course I have added contrasts.

 

Happy days.