When I took Dexter for a walk the other day I found myself looking around at all the wonderful countryside we have in England and thought to myself,
“This really is a green and pleasant land.”
I was astounded by the colours. Mostly it was green but so many different shades. There was dark green, not so dark green, mid green, light green, creamy green, bluey green, reddish green, golden green and silvery green. Perhaps it was the light on this particular day as it was very sunny and bright. In amongst all the greens were splashes of other colours. There was the blue from the last of the bluebells.
White from the flowers of wild garlic and ox eye daisies (a particular favourite of mine).
Mauves, pinks and purples from wild flowers I couldn’t identify. We reached the top of a gentle slope and I turned and looked around me. The view that I saw was just achingly beautiful. In a moment of eloquence that I’m not often capable of I said;
“Fuck me!”
I felt a sense of complete contentment, peace and well being. So much so that I had to sit a while and have a jolly good think. I thought a great many thoughts which you are prone to do when thinking. Mostly they were to do with my life and how it had turned out so far. I thought of the appalling bad times I’d had and still have from time to time. I thought about the fabulous days and times I’d had and how I still have lots of those. One day soon I may pluck up the courage and write about those thoughts I’d thought. However, one of the thoughts I did have at that time was how wonderfully well nature created such stunning combinations of plants and colours and shapes. I try to bring that into my garden. I recently read a post by Steve Morris over at blogbloggerbloggest about a dogwood he has in his garden. Earlier this year he had pruned it really hard and now it’s in full growth mode with many superb young red stems. In addition, Steve planted a number of his cuttings and now has a great many more dogwoods to plant (and prune haha). This is a man after my own heart. Free plants! Can’t beat them. I’ve done a similar thing with foxgloves.
Some of the foxgloves in my back garden
I got a couple of purple foxgloves from our local garden centre two years ago and after they finished flowering I left them to set seed, which they do in huge quantities. Generally, I let them grow wherever they happen to grow, but if they really are in completely the wrong place or you want some in a different area they don’t mind being dug up and replanted. I probably have 20+ foxgloves flowering in my back garden now plus a dozen or so more in the front garden. All from two plants! I love ’em. So do the bees. The best thing though is that you can never be absolutely sure what you get. A bit like Mrs Gumps box of chocolates. The foxgloves I planted a couple of years ago were all purple.
In my garden earlier today
This year, I have purple foxgloves but I have also got WHITE foxgloves!
In my garden this morning. Beautiful flowers.
This isn’t an unusual colour but I never planted them. Some of the seeds that took just happened to have a white gene I guess but the combination really is tremendous.
Next year I hope I get many, many more growing. Most of them will be moved to the new beds I’m starting to prepare out in the front garden. I know what I want to do in my head and hopefully I’ll achieve it but suffice to say, scent will be an important part of the new beds. Roses however, will not feature. In the meantime, I am about to start my experiment with a sl*g deterrent. Despite hating the slimy bastards for eating my plants, I don’t like to kill them just because they’re doing what they do and besides, who wants little piles of snot all over the place? Nah. I chuck them in next doors garden! I hope it works because then me and Mrs SD Gates are going into business selling our patented slug deterrent, get us a shed load of cash, retire and spend all our waking hours pottering around in our respective gardens and walking our respective dogs.
Plus getting new furniture of course.
Have a great day.
More Dick soon
iplonker 
Very inspirational. Always a good read Dick x
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Thanks sweetheart. I’m glad you enjoy reading my stuff. Now go forth to your local garden centre and get stuck into your garden. xxx
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Looking at the beauty of nature always causes my mind to wander. Staring at blue skies or gazing at plants in their various shades, is always a time for self reflection for me.
Loving the white Foxgloves. They’re absolutely beautiful.
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I’m glad you like them. It’s always nice to find others who actually take a look around rather than constantly look at their phone or tablet. Have a lovely day.
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One of the things I really miss Mr D, is gardening, but I love to admire the way other people cultivate their gardens. Spawn and I went to the Chelsea Flower show once and it was amazing. Arranging flowers in colours and shades is an art form. We’re surrounded by beauty and yet much of it is ignored. Spawn and I used to spend hours doing simple things like lying on the grass and just looking at the formation of clouds. Good times.
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I have never been to the Chelsea Flower Show. My mum and dad used to go and one day I will. The RHS gardens at Wisley are fantastic and I’d recommend them. There’s even loads of space for you and Spawn to lounge on the grass, watch the clouds go by and chew a stem or two of grass while you consider the whichness of the why or other such complicated life issues. Or just chat about how well Chelsea will do in next years Champions League. I must admit to a fondness to looking at other peoples gardens although that makes me sound like a bit of an ancient geezer wearing a flat cap and on his way to the bowling club! You’re right. So much stuff around us is ignored simply because people can’t get their noses out of their phones. They believe the world will end if they are out of contact with everyone and need to see how many “likes” they have on Facetube. Morons! Now I will go and mow the grass and have a bit of a poke around in the garden.
Have a lovely day.
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Hahaha! Facetube. I think you may have invented a new social network. Luckily Spawn isn’t the type of kid that sees his phone as an extension of his arm, so I’m fortunate that he likes long walks and taking in his surroundings.
The RHS gardens at Wisley sounds good. Might be one to consider during the 6 weeks holidays.
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I think PIL and I may be taking a wander up there during the summer holidays. Not sure the kids will want to go though as they are far too old and sophisticated to doing such mundane things. However, there are restaurants and cafes there so the prospect of food at our expense may tempt them! My problem will be avoiding spending the mortgage money on new plants!
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i must admit I like your comment about you and Spawn looking at clouds passing by. Haven’t done that for years. Last time I remember doing that was many moons ago in Richmond Park with a girlfriend. We just lay on the grass watching the clouds go by and talking softly and when we came round from our reverie we were surrounded by deer. Lovely
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I am looking over my crappy garden and realise that I can grow a mean weed (not the smoking type), in fact I think the grass is screaming out “here I am, over here you silly woman – can’t you see me through the prickles, bindis and clover!” They are tormenting me. Looking at the sky, its bleak, rainy and cold.. so much for living in Paradise! I am taking my grumblebum and staying in bed!
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Nothing wrong with a mean weed girl. Weeds often bring all kinds of wildlife into a garden. Mainly the creepie crawlie type. plus bees love clover so don’t worry about it. Have a lovely time in bed! I’m off to Leicester Square. Great.
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That is a whole different kettle of fish.. creepy crawlies and I do not mix well. Have fun with the pigeons… I am looking at the raining crappy winter night ahead of me from the other side of the world
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Now I guess you mean Australia and I now know what you mean about not getting on with creepy crawlies. I read recently that 19 of the worlds top 10 most deadly insects live in Australia, 13 of the worlds top 10 most deadly snakes and sundry other bits of wildlife including stuff in the sea just poised waiting to take a nibble or insert something!
Bill Bryson wrote a funny book about his travels there although it was his horror at the huge number of beasts that could kill or maim you in Australia that amused me. My old canoeing partner emigrated to Oz years ago. Living in Perth. Probably got ate by a Great White.
Did not get crapped on by the bloody pigeons in Leicester Square yesterday so there’s a result! Have a great day.
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Or possibly killed by skippy….now they are vicious bastards
You must be one of the rare ones that pigeons avoid
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Love foxgloves but spend a good proportion of my time removing them from our fields where they grow in such profusion its detrimental to all other flora and fauna. Although of medical importance they are in fact very poisonous. Don’t think the horses that graze our fields are that silly but as a precaution we remove as much temptation as we can. They seem to grow wild in the countryside here and a wonderful sight it is indeed. Love the pictures of your garden. It looks very tranquil.
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OH. I’d forgotten they’re poisonous. Now you’ve said that, my foxgloves have taken on a very sinister look! All they need now is a trilby hat and a raincoat with an upturned collar and you’d think they were some kind of Cold War Soviet spy or worse, a journalist! Can you not replant them in your garden or will the clucks and frucks eat them as well as your horses? Or give them to neighbours?
My garden is far from tranquil! Besides the back garden looking like a council tip, the tribe is here today in it’s entirety as sprog No.1 is finally home from Uni. See you soon. Have a great day xxx
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Yay!!!!! We are going to be rich, rich, rich. I have discovered another way to deter slugs – don’t water. They seem to go away, but so do the plants and the trees. I love the Great Dane picture. I actually had a Great Dane named Sheila that ate an entire sofa. I came home and the living room was filled with little pieces of padding, a skeleton frame of a sofa and I found Sheila hiding in the bathtub behind the shower curtain.
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Hahaha. Despite everything they do, you just can’t help loving your pooch can you? Love that Sheila was hiding!!! Our dog Dexter hasn’t destroyed anything vital yet but he did have a chomp on a very expensive Laura Ashley book case when he was a puppy. PIL was not amused!
I will let you know how the slug thing goes. Plan is to filter the liquor next week end, plant up a couple of hostas, spray them with a dilute solution and hope the slugs ignore them. Hope it rains there soon so you can water your garden properly again.
Have a great day
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You too!!! Good luck with the Nectar of Nettle – The Safe Slug Deterrent!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed.
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Of course I will let you know how it goes. I have my fingers crossed too.
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Deep thoughts. Thanks for the plug, and I really must get some foxgloves into the garden. I love foxgloves. Plus, since they are poisonous, they might act as a deer deterrent, or at least survive in our deer-menaced garden (it’s a rough neighbourhood.)
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