I hope that vibrant mallow up there got your attention? Good.
Despite having been absent for a couple of weeks, I have very little to say for myselves and next to no time with which to say it, so here are a few photos from the garden and the beach. Please accept the garden photos as a reminder to get snapping in your own gardens in readiness for...
the House of
I N F O M A N I A C
Garden Photos Event 2023
... later in the year. November, to be a little more precise.
(I'm hoping my wall-hanging green gate will be repleat with passionflowers, fuchsias, and spiderplants come the end of the season)
At the end of the garden lurk lilac, Ligularia przewalskii, laurel, and hostas.
Some of the surviving fuchsia cuttings from last summer:
On the left is "Next to the swing" and the three on the right are "Blacky". "Next to the garage door" got knocked off the shelf by a pigeon which is why the pot's almost empty.
Ooh! It must be gin-o'clock!
Remember: the entirely voluntary and non-binding theme for this year's GPE is Wildlife.
So, if you can, please include some photos of wildlife visiting your garden - such as, for example, this bumblebee visiting my tiny little foxgloves, Digitalis parviflora.
The photos above were taken yesterday, and the following were taken today:
From this morning's early Bitey-walk: down the Coast Road slipway.
The large 'clock' of some sort of Taraxacum.
Star-crossed.
The cliffs and beach huts.
He may look all lovely and adorable, but Bitey is a little monster.
I'll tell you why in a mo.
That honeybee swarm from last month's GPE Reminder liked my compost heap so much that they moved in!
I almost stepped on this baby mouse as I walked across the grass.
Why was it in the middle of the lawn rather than tucked up in its nest? Because Bitey had dug it up and turfed them out!
Bitey then spent all afternoon catching baby mice, soaking them in his saliva, flinging them about the lawn, then leaving them on the step when we wouldn't let him in the house with them.
See? I told you he's a monster.
I can still hear their terrified squeaks...
Bitey's a rat-catcher breed, so it's in his nature to deal with rodents...
ReplyDeleteLove the mallow - in fact I love all your photos! Jx
Funnily enough, the mallow - along with a red poppy - is a survivor of one of Bitey's attempts to dig to the centre of the Earth where there just might be a rat that needs a good shaking!
DeleteEchoing Jon. And dead jealous of the Gin Corner!
ReplyDeleteIt's not all that, Dinah. For one, the gingko - and the Himalayan honeysuckle for that matter - tickle one's neck while relaxing (the other chair isn't usable as the magnolia and chocolate vine overhangs too much). And there's not enough space for a water butt full of G&T so one has to go all the way indoors for a top up!
DeletePruning, dear. Pruning. Jx
DeletePS I spot what seems to be a Eucomis on the table. Both of ours (the original and the bulblet from your kind self) appear to have died.
DeleteWell, all I know, if I sit in your gin corner with you, it best not be the Himalayan honeysuckle tickling my thighs, but something else......
DeleteOh, I haven't the heart to prune them when they're doing so well, Jon. Besides, should a certain someone be visiting, I wouldn't want something else to get caught in the secateurs...
DeleteP.S. Oh, bad news about your Eucomis. The Eucomis-a-like on the table is actually a Hymenocallis I bought a couple of years ago (it got et by slugs/snails last year which is why there was no showing). A couple of my young Eucomis seem to have disappeared too, but there are two or three still around the place.
DeleteSid is the same! Small furries run for their lives! The worst was the baby weasel because although a hunter, it looked so sweet and all the other baby weasels started screaming. Mice quite often run rings around Sid - literally run between his legs when he pulls a nest from a hedge - it was a sight to behold, and I wish I had it on video.
ReplyDeleteSx
I wish these mice were able to run as I can quite imagine the sight of Bitey not knowing which one to try and get, just like Sid!
DeleteDid any of the baby weasels escape Sid's jaws?
Your LIGULARIA. Your DIGITALIS. And that gin corner -! OO I am jealous! It all looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThe Ligularia is usually bigger, but it's been stunted somewhat by the long dry spell (not to mention the lilac on one side and the laurel on the other). Still, there are plenty of seedling popping up, so hopefully you'll see more about the garden - maybe from the Gin Corner - next year!
DeleteOh Mr DeVice, you had me with those lovely purple flowers in the opening picture!!! I have yet to snap any new picture yet that I haven't featured on my own blog yet. Wildlife? Do crabs count?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the poor baby mice, I hope they are alright? Just last week not only did I come across a garden toad again to my dismay...but now we have the tiniest of a tan field mouse scurrying about, zipping around the gardens. What could it all mean??
Crabs? I'm sure we can get you something to clear them up...
DeleteThe baby mice all carked it, unfortunately. Bitey didn't eat them, but his play was far too boisterous for them. And if they survived that, they probably suffocated under his saliva, poor little things :(
A toad? But that's wonderful, Maddie! And a field mouse, too? It means you have ingredients for a spell!
Ohhhhh the poor babies.
DeleteMeanwhile, I admit, and I wondered if the toad was you in guise. It only seems to appear when I'm in the garden in short shorts. I was going to kiss it and see what would happen. We also have no water or stream or pond or such, so just where the toad came from is another mystery. I thought they had to be near water?
Toads can stray quite a distance from water - as long as they can get back in the Spring to breed.
DeleteI have been known to use another's eyes to see through, Maddie. Especially when there are short shorts around!
What if my wildlife photos have critters in them but you can't see the plants/flowers because the critters are sat on a patch of grass or open space? Does that count as a submission, nonetheless?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, Very Mistress. I shall allow it - as long as there are other photos that display your greenfingered prowess.
DeleteI guess I'd better add this to the submission guidelines in the next GPE Reminder.
It's her prowess we're worried about seeing.
Delete*frankly hiding
DeleteShake it Bitey shake it! You should take him ratting for a special treat, he would love it.
ReplyDeleteThe mallow roused my attention too.
He would have the time of his life, Mitzi! He can go with someone else though, as I could only stand the squeaking for a minute or so.
DeleteThere's nothing like an erect stem with a big purple head to rouse the spirits!
What's this about an erect stem??? Im good, and highly versed in erect stems.
DeleteMmmm purple head.
DeleteI suspect the GPE will be quite the show!
DeleteLovely photos. I haven't gotten any bear pics yet, but I do have an awesome 2 for 1 bird picture with my Dianthus to share for the GPE.
ReplyDeleteMy dog gets the occasional vole now and then, but they get nary a chance to make a sound. It's like having a domesticated coyote as a companion. Chomp and dead. I applaud efficiency in such matters. Death is inevitable, but torture is cruel and unnecessary for things just trying to exist in the world.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a serendipitous coming together of a bear, your garden, your camera, and your shutter button pushing finger! And if it doesn't come to pass, at least there will be birds!
DeleteI'll have to get Bitey to take some lessons form your dog. I wish he would kill the poor little things first, and then play with them.
Poor little mousies. I hate hearing such tales. I have a neighborhood cat who terrorizes my baby bunnies. He got an earful the other day and I managed to save one from her clutches. Such great photos. I have been taking a few. This year? I have been very adventuresome (for me) with the gardening. We'll see. Kizzes.
ReplyDeleteWell done for saving a bunny. I couldn't get near enough to Bitey to try and rescue the mice as he kept running off with them in his mouth, the little aggravator!
DeleteOoh! I can't wait to see some photos form your Adventures in Gardening!