Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - August, 1-10

Hi there everyone 😀

Well, following three weeks of being off, Martin is back at work this morning, and for the next two weeks. The house feels very peaceful and calm, though I'm sure in a couple of days I will be missing my pottering partner in crime.

We've had three weeks of very mixed weather, we've done a fair bit around the house and garden, been out visiting lots of new gardens and had plenty of down time too.

I've nothing really on the cards this week, so will be just doing some gentle pottering, catching up with bits and pieces that don't tend to get done when we're both off and starting to try and get ahead with some things for when we go away in a few weeks time.

The high winds and heavy rains have took their toll on the garden and there is definitely some 'end of season' activity that needs to start to get under way ... taking down of the French beans, trimming the conifers, a last tidy up of the baskets and pots and a last trim of the privet. We know only too well the frustrations caused if we leave these jobs too late and the benefits we will feel next spring if we have a really good autumn tidy up.

So, plenty to be keeping me busy whilst the hubster is at work, but for now, here are our last 10 days ...

Day 1 - We had a trip into town today for long overdue eye tests and managed to have a bit of a potter through the castle grounds which always look lovely, especially on a bright sunny day.

Day 2 - The cliome that we grew from seed are absolutely fabulous, with some of the flowers almost as big as a football. I will most definitely be growing these again next year.

Day 3 - Saturday ... and we had a weekend with no plans whatsoever. It was a glorious day and we decided to head over to Tutbury Castle for a vintage fair and we spent a very pleasant couple of hours just mooching around the stalls and having a look at the castle, before calling in at a garden centre for another mooch on the way back.

Day 4 - It was another glorious day and we spent it in the garden, moving a few bits around and having a general tidy up. We also potted on this agapanthus that we'd bought on our visit to Tutbury. Having split my old one into three last year and having only one flower between the three pots, I couldn't resist adding to the collection.

Day 5 - It was a day of blogging and washing for me and beer bottling for Martin. Whilst I was pegging out the washing there were four of these beauties buzzing around, which were just beautiful and not something we normally see in our garden.

Day 6 - It was a day of garden visiting. A rerun of a trip I'd made earlier in the year to Hidcote and Kiftsgate, this time with Martin and Mum and Dad. Both gardens were lovely but Kiftsgate absolutely blew us away. It was beautiful. None of us had ever agapanthus the size of these ... they were literally as big as our heads.

Day 7 - Another big day out. This time to Winterbourne House & Gardens, followed by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Winterbourne is on the Birmingham University site and I hadn't even known it was their until very recently. It was absolutely beautiful, definitely worth a visit.

Day 8 - After two pretty full on days, it was definitely time for a bit of a rest day. It was a real treat to see the first of the hibiscus flowers in bloom.

Day 9 - It was a day of an impromptu lunch with Mum, Dad and Daniel, my eldest nephew, followed by shopping. I did get chance to have a look at how my succulents are coming on though. None have died as yet so I am hopeful for a stack of new plants to replace those that we've lost this year.

Day 10 - And finally ... a non garden photo! I spent a good couple of hours working through the photos that I have left from Will Sidney's WW1 bits and pieces. I spent ages trying to work out when and where this photo could have been taken and can't tell you how thrilled I was when I was finally able to date it with certainty. You will be able to find out more in a coming post.

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