End of Month View ~ July 2011

After spending a good part of July away from home, garden and allotment  the settled weather of the last week has provided me with a good chance to catch up with a myriad of tasks. Sadly I did not like what greeted me in the new end of month of border. BINDWEED has reared its must ugly head in no uncertain terms ~ I could weep!  I can cope with the clover, thistles and other undesirables that have appeared but bindweed is another matter. This thug was not there last year so my suspicion is falling on the topsoil that came in during the spring. So there is a serious war to be waged.

In the meantime despite the bindweed most of the plants which were planted in May are flourishing. I did treat myself at the time to a couple of new hardy geraniums, a chocolate cosmos and a penstemon which has still to flower. The majority of the plants were either grown from seed, established from cuttings or were gifts from friends. It has been amazing to see how much growth dahlias 'Bishops Children' have put on in during the course of three months. They are a definite to be repeated.

However the plants that are giving me the greatest satisfaction at the moment though are dwarf French beans 'Stanley'. In a moment of madness I stuck a few spare bean plants in to fill some bare earth the day before we went on holiday. They were surplus and were initially heading for the compost heap. I puddled them in well and then forgot about them. They are doing better than the beans at the allotment, which have received tender loving care from my allotment neighbours and from me when I have been about. Sometimes it seems that plants thrive on tough love.

I am looking forward later on today to seeing how the end of July is treating other people's gardens and allotments over at 'The Patient Gardener's Weblog', where Helen kindly hosts the end of month view.

A Day in the Park - Piedmont Park

This morning we headed out extra early for a morning in the park. Not just any park. We spent the morning playing in Piedmont Park, a beautiful 189 acre park that provides green space and recreational resources in the city of Atlanta. 

 The park is beautiful and in several locations it provides beautiful views of the city skyline. It was designed by the sons of the NY Central Park architect, Frederick Olmstead and today is considered the city's favorite in-town park. 

Today I'm linking up with The Tablescaper's Seasonal Sundays so be sure to stop by and see other beautiful and inspiring posts.

Salt water…

Standing at the salty edge of the ocean… looking out… I always see so much color.

Yet when I look down at my feet the liquid is as clear as gin.

Sometimes I wonder if two of us standing at the same placeand the same time truly even see the same colors the water holds.

Art in the moment…each movement and ripple depicts another color. None the same.I imagine

Water can present a special challenge for artists. Having no consistent shape or color.

It doesn’t reflect light or cast shadows the way solid objects do.

I so admire when artists capture the soul of the ocean.

Surf Baby wave of the future 36x24 acrylic

Florida Artist Marie DeCosta beautifully depicts

different examples of the oceans temperament

…and it’s color…In her work.

Blue Crush 30x40 acrylic on canvas

Sister to landlocked but equally talented designer and shop owner and blogger Maryanne of

Beadboard Upcountry

**and...btw...check out her FAB knitwear trunkshow. I drool!**

Marie finds inspiration in much of nature

A1A Blues 20x16 inches acrylic on canvas

But her Florida tribute

moves my soul.

find more of her work and style here.

Celebrate Wet 18x36 acrylic on canvas

It's Hard to Keep Up

This week it's harder than usual to keep up with blogging, work, chores around the house and THE GRANDGIRLS!   

Yes, the grandgirls have been with us all week attending a day camp at the Atlanta History Center and they have had a great week.   It's been really funny to listen to them talk about playing over at the Swan House.

And at night it's really been fun to go play in the park, play charades, watch movies, play butterfly bingo, put puzzles together, take bubble baths and read Junie B. Jones books.   

We've got lots more to do this weekend before taking them home, but it has been a great week. 

Slightly Blushing

One of the most exciting moments of the gardening year for me is when I see my tomatoes beginning to turn colour. Each year you begin to think that it will never ever happen and then by magic overnight there is a subtle but distinct change. Even then I have to go back for a second and even a third peek just to reassure myself. This year the first of my tomatoes began to blush a couple of days ago.

The tomato in question is 'Losetto' which was a new introduction this year from Thompson and Morgan. It is an F1 variety and has been bred with blight resistance in mind. It has a cascading habit so is suitable for containers and can be grown under cover or outdoors in a sheltered sunny spot. I must admit I did not have my full wits about me when I bought the seed on a garden centre trip back in January, as if I had clocked the price before I got to the till, I think that they would have not come home with me. At £3.49 for six seeds these are rather expensive. One of my allotment friends happened to choose the same variety to try and had the misfortune to sneeze when sowing them, blowing one of the seeds away into obscurity. She was not amused.

I sowed my seeds in a heated propagator on 28th February. From there they moved to a heated sandbench in the greenhouse, where they continued to grow except for the occasional night in the house when the temperature was very low. This particular plant has had a bit of a nomadic life going from greenhouse at home to outside at the allotment and then back to the greenhouse at home.

I will have to reserve judgement though until the first tasting, which by the looks of things will not be too far off in the future. Have you grown any new to you tomatoes this year - if so any recommendations as yet or are you like me still waiting to have that first bite?

PS I am pleased to report that when I got to the allotment this morning I saw that its siblings are turning colour too.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy"

B IS FOR?

BEES ! ~ 

"The only reason for making a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee...The only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey....and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it." 

~ Winnie the Pooh in A.A. Milne's 'The House at Pooh Corner'

The atmosphere has been positively buzzing at the allotment this last week with the arrival of a bevy of bees - approximately 20,000 of them. These busy creatures were out and about in bright sunshine on Saturday afternoon so hence not a particularly brilliant photo.

Three plotholders have taken courses in beekeeping via the British Beekeepers Association and now with the council's approval, have located two hives on the allotment site. The hives are situated in a closed off area at one end of the allotment which is going to be especially landscaped for them with a pond, wildflower area and other planting to get them off to the very best start.

The bees can fly up to five kilometres from the hives so there is a chance that I may well see some of them flying about in my garden. Next year hopefully we can look forward to munching bread, butter and some beautiful local honey.

Be prepared to be bewitched and bewildered by the letter B over at ABC Wednesday.

Look of Love!

Seasonal Sundays - Charleston

I'm linking up today with The Tablescaper and joining the Seasonal Sunday party.   We haven't taken a vacation this summer but we did go to Charleston this spring so I'd like to share just a few of the 500 or so pictures we took. 

I loved stopping to read the various signs posted throughout the historic district. 

 I'm a lover of "little things" and as a walking tourist, small and interesting details were everywhere. 

 Don't you just love the cobblestone streets?

 Not to mention the garden gates.  I wanted so badly to open a few of these gates to go inside!

 Happy summer.

Embrace the heat…

Like they tend to in Harbor Island Bahamas

Fans whiring lazily…inside and out

Screen doors even open to catch the ocean breeze…

I can hear the creak…and the slam...you?

Palm fronds and fruit off the tree as the only ornamentation…

Maybe a few found shells…a few inspiration pics tacked on a wall. effortlessley

Life is easy breezy here, people.

Yep…Embrace the heat.

See ya on the other side of the warm front.

stay cool.

Images: David Flint Wood for India Hicks

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men .....

A IS FOR?

AFTER EIGHTS! - not as in the chocolate kind but as in dahlia 'Twynings After Eight'.

Alas my attempts to have an artistic arrangement of dahlias at the allotment this year have gone abjectly awry along with a lot of other aims. I do have some new to me dahlias though albeit still in pots at home. This particular variety is most appealing I think with its white flowers occasionally streaked with pink and its dark foliage.

Away to ABC Wednesday for more adventures featuring the letter A.

P.S. Again this time around I am going to attempt to keep to a horticultural theme but may occasionally go astray!

A Secret Oasis

Don't you just love when life presents a beautiful moment.  Saturday night my husband and I were walking back to our car after going to a hear my niece in a concert.  We'd parked several blocks away from the venue and for the first time in several weeks, temperatures in Atlanta were perfect so it was a great night to be outside walking.  

As we strolled along we walked past a hotel that I have really never noticed even though I drive by it often.  

From the sidewalk I spotted a courtyard.

The sun had gone down and the courtyard was filled with twinkly lights. 

 There were people gathered to celebrate a birthday and they invited us to join the party.  An unexpected surprise.

I'm so happy to have found this lovely getaway located in the city.  I'm looking forward to future summer evening escapes.  

Contemplation...

I need some…

cute little John Derian tray, eh?

So… I get a bee in my bonnet, and try to paint a wall

in our library the color of the ocean

just before the sun rises…

a moody color.

well…as the paint dried it didn’t look like that. blech.

Ignore disheveled books and art and pillows…focus on the color, folks…the color.

It became a happy color…sweet color…

no likey.

Ideas for the color I want?? That gray/green/blue combo I cannot put my finger on.

also…while you are handing out your always fabulous ideas…

what can I do with these leather hides

that look like snakeskin purchased at a garage sale for 6 clams?

Any and ALL input much appreciated….

much.