A Royal Toilet

 Well, RHS Sandringham was an experience, but not one I'd necessarily repeat (unless my friend gets more free tickets next time).  I didn't see much of the gardens because of how busy it was and how they got lost amongst all the exhibitors (mainly stalls selling snacks and tat), and only a very few of those that I did get a better look at were of any interest.  (On the plus side, it was easy to get to, there was plenty of parking, and it wasn't too hot.)  As a result, I didn't get many photos, so this is not a photos-heavy post - and half of them are from my own gardens!

 

 First up, a couple of photos from the Floral Marquee: 

Salvias, including at centre stage, Jon's favourite: Amistad

 

 

A veritable flurry of fuchsias including a few familiar faces (mainly from Jon's & Madam A's), but I couldn't find any that looked like my little not-Dorothy (see previous post).

Hexenhäusli Device Garden Update : July

 I thought I'd do a quick catch up from the gardens of Hexenhäusli Device as I have loads of garden photos sitting around waiting for me to sort them out and see which are worthy of the Garden Photos Event in November.  I don't think these will make the cut, but they do show what's going on here this month.

 

Early July was all about Ligularia and Lilies (last seen here).  Aside from one terminal triffid flower, the foxgloves in the Lake Border are just about over, as are the two towering Echium pininanas beyond.

 

 

Here's the view from the paysho doors.

Foxgloves Behaving Badly

 As well as the ongoing Parent Problems, I've also been dealing with foxgloves behaving badly - as the following photos demonstrate:

 

This is "Weird Foxglove 1" from the 13th of last month.

I'm not sure what it's trying to accomplish.

 

And here it is a few days later on the 19th.

Sweet July

 Well, a new normal has established itself here in Hexenhäusli Device so I thought I'd pop in during a moment of respite and share some new and old music, some snippets from the garden, and a photo from this morning's Bitey walk:

 

I wonder why Take That decided to release "Sweet July" now...?

 

As there's no video for Sweet July yet, here's one of my very favourite TT releases

(first seen at Jon's back in April)

 

 

The YouTube algorithm prominently displayed Richard X's Burning Flame remix of Bananarama's "Venus" for me the other day.

 

I prefer Bananarama's original, though

(which wasn't the original - that being a 1969 release by Shocking Blue)

 

 

 Right.  On to the garden photos.

It's all a bit pants, really

The Grand and Circular Payshos of Hexenhäusli Device on Friday.  But wait - what's that on the table?

 

 

 It must be the time of year, Mitzi.  Not only did I find my nephew's pants on the paysho table on Friday, but on this morning's walk with Bitey another two pairs of pants made themselves known:

 

This pair on the High Street looked like they belonged to another child.

 

Whereas this pair dropped on the old railway line between Cromer and Overstrand were adult sized.  Overstrand is obviously up there with Chester, Jon.

 

 

 In other news: Bitey managed a whole walk without killing anything.  Although he did find this dead muntjac on the beach - handily already half buried!

 

Of Tiny Treehouses, Triffid Trees, Sparkling Seas, Bluebells & Biteys, and a German vs Sun Loungers

It's another snippets post, dear reader (but this one's almost all about me!):

• 
  At the end of April, I finally got around to making this Forest Cottage, a Tiny Treehouse kit that Inexcuseable got me for my birthday.  It was one of the more fiddly kits and took me several hours - on and off - to complete.  Well, I say complete, I have one piece left over - I just hope it isn't structural!

• 
  This is my favourite tree in Norwich - or at least the bits of Norwich I walk through on my way to work.  However, I don't know what type of tree it is, so perhaps one of you, dear readers, can enlighten me?

• 
  My giant vipers buglosses (Echiums) started to flower on the last day of April - you should be able to make out a couple of the pale purple/blue flower buds in the close-up.  There are loads of flowers on them now - I'll be posting more photos soon.

• 
  Saturday morning's walk with Bitey found us walking along the promenade and over the base of the cliff (because the tide was right in) to the east beach.  Or the narrow strip between the revetments and cliffs.  I tried to get Bitey to strike some poses on the steps over the revetment, and eventually (after looking at me like I was losing my mind), he managed one. 

• 
  Bluebells blooming in The Gardener's Retreat behind the garage.

• 
  Oh, Bitey. What have you got?

Don't worry, this is not Raspberry.  It is Raspberry's 'friend' though.  He died quickly.

 

• And finally: Although Mr Mago is currently on holiday, I don't think this German tourist is him.  He doesn't strike me as one for sun loungers, anyway.

 

 And the weather?  Blue skies abound!  For now, anyway...

New Arrivals

 There may have been orange tip butterflies in the gardens of Hexenhäusli Device earlier this year, but this one is the first I've seen (I've seen several up at the allotment and surrounding fields, though).  And there are plenty of black ladybirds around here, but the 'eye' markings on this harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) are the first I've noticed.

 

 Anyway, that's the new fauna out of the way.  Now for the flora!

 

 On Thursday, I took The Mother to Hadfields garden centre in North Walsham.  I wanted a cherry tree, some 8ft canes, seed trays, and plant pots of the right size (as Jon pointed out, all the plant pots one has at home are "never the right size").  While I didn't get plant pots of the right size - does no one have them?! - I did come away with some 'extras':

 

Back left: Fuchsias 'Delta's Sarah', 'Dark Eyes', 'Wendy's Beauty', 'Marinka' and 'Dancing Flame'

Back right: Salvias 'Amistad', 'Cherry Lips', and 'Plum Crazy'

The four trays at the front are The Mother's cosmos and snapdragons.  In the middle is an agapanthus she bought a couple of weeks ago (at the back is a pot of narcissus and a horse chestnut).

"Did Someone Say ----?"* : The Sequel!**

The aftermath of an orgy in the pond Lake.  Disgraceful!

 

 

* Answers in the comments, please.

** To this post from a year ago.

 

 Hello!  Here I am!  I don't have much to say, so I will just bombard you with gardening-related photos (mostly) which may also serve as a prompt to start photographing your own gardens and/or green patches for the 16th annual Lady Garden Presentation

 

I N F O M A N I A C

Garden Photos Event

later in the year.

 

 But first some music to accompany your scrolling, from the Project Hail Mary soundtrack, Daniel Pemberton's "Amaze Amaze Amaze (Life on Erid)": 

(I loved my birthday viewing of this film - and the soundtrack - so much that I went to see it again on Tuesday afternoon!  The similar, but not quite as euphoric "Amaze Amaze Amaze (Fist My Bump)" almost made the cut here.)

 

MARCH

The 15th to be precise...

 

The Echiums (pininana, I believe - AKA Giant Viper's Bugloss) made it through the winter.  Phew!

It is snowing

 

 That is all.

 

Not considering byzantine intercalation

 Aside from being somewhat cold and windy, it's been a good start to the year* here weatherwise. I hope all of you have enjoyed a good start to 2026 in some shape or form.

 

[Photo above from the promenade this morning, and those below are from the South Wing of Hexenhäusli Device a couple of hours or so ago.]

 

 

 

 * Starting the year just prior to the depths of winter seems pretty daft to me.  I must look into adopting a calendar which begins in March (but not the early Julian calendar with it's byzantine intercalation).

GPE #11 : IDV's Year of the Greengage

I N E X P L I C A B L E

D E V I C E

 

 Yes, it's finally my turn!

 I'm sure you mean our turn, hmm?  After all, whose hands and body - not to mention knowledge and bank account - is used to maintain our garden?  If it was left to you, the Hexenhäusli Device gardens would be a prickly, poisonous wilderness of brambles, apple trees, hemlock, and foxgloves!

 It would save having to go out on the increasingly unsafe Broom to gather ingredients.  Besides, you like those plants.

 Yes, but not just those plants as a garden!

 Oh, fine.  You can get on with the captioning and the like as you're the "expert"!

 I will, then!

Oh, good.  This is turning out well, as usual.

Wake me up when it's all over.

 

 Right.  Now that Witchface and the dratted SubCs have shut up, I'll continue.

 You may have noticed that we've been decidedly absent from the blog this year, which means that there were rather fewer garden updates than usual.  A consequence of that is a glut of garden and allotment photos that are all being dumped here because they haven't yet seen the light of day.  I've tried to include mainly plants that haven't featured in the previous couple of years, and I've smushed some together to make sure this post didn't wear out your scrolling fingers.

 

It may be rather dull and overlooked usually, but when in flower (such as here in early May), I think laurel is quite lovely.

Filling gaps and softening edges

 Here are some photos from the garden today.  I had intended to go through the garden photos I've taken throughout the year and select some for the upcoming Garden Photos Event-

 From the beginning of November, people!  We hope you've been snapping away at your green stuff?!

 Anyway, as I was saying, I'd started to select some photos for the GPE, but nieces descended upon us, so that went out the window leaving us with just enough time to slap together this post of a few hastily taken photos of our tired, end-of-season greenery.

 There's not much in the way of colour, but there are a few splashes here and there, like the pale purple (mauve?) scabious and yellow geum above.

I saw the underside of a painted lady...

... and her name was Vanessa

 Anyway, before we see more of Vanessa and her ilk, here's a summery tune to accompany your scrolling: 

 

Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Dolce Vita

This tatty silver-washed fritillary alternated between feeding...

 

... and fannying about amongst the webs under garage's eaves.

Hey Hi Hello

Alison Goldfrapp - Hey Hi Hello

 

 

 I think it's about time for a Garden Photos Event reminder, don't you, Very Mistress?

 

The House of

 

I N F O M A N I A C

 

Garden Photos Event 2025

 

 As with previous years, this year's GPE will be held throughout November, with the event kicking off on Hallowe'en with the now traditional Terrifying Triffidery exhibit.  This leaves you little more than three months to take photos of your green spaces (if you haven't already made a start) and curate them before emailing them to me by the end of October.

 

 Infomaniac Bitches should already know the score, but for the muddled, forgetful, and easily startled/distracted - not to mention anyone new who'd like to take part - there's a potted history of the Infomaniac GPE on its own dedicated page at the top of this blog so you can see what you'll be letting yourself in for/getting involved in.  And despite some comments to the contrary, the GPE is NOT a contest, so your gardening efforts (or lack thereof) will not be judged and there will be no winner.  This means you, Savvy!

 There's no particular theme this year - we'll accept photos of pretty much anything garden-related, whether selected prize specimens that would make Monty Don weep or breathtaking vistas of your expansive grounds, to the potted dwellers on your balcony/windowsill, to a resilient plant that you haven't managed to kill yet. 

 And if you have a straggly and unruly bush that you suspect may be a weed but fascinated you enough to wonder what it is, the Official Plant Spotter of Hexenhäusli Device and its Extensive Witchdom, nay, All of Blogdom Itself, Jon, should be on hand to identify your unmentionables. 

 

 Right.  That's that bit done.  Here are a few bits & bobs from my garden this month to goad you into action:

 

View over the Circular Paysho from behind a hebe.

Four Photos: Wishful Thinking?

A hummingbird hawk moth drinking from one of the buddleias in the Hexenhäusli Device gardens this afternoon.

 

Oh my gods!!!  They're almost holding hands!  They're going to do It*!!!!!!

(Two of my three favourite** lowest of the Lower Deckers - Fin*** the super-hot, pretty boy human med tech and Charlie**** the adorable Andorian engineer - from the first episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, "Twovix".  I took this photo back in April as I couldn't take a screen shot and couldn't find one online [I have found one since then, though] - I wanted it for research purposes, the end result of which will probably be posted here at some point.)

 

Bitey on the beach on Wednesday evening.

 

Someone in this house had this for tea on Wednesday - and it certainly wasn't me!

 

 

* According to First Officer Jack Ransom (in "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place"), the Cerritos is the "horniest ship in the fleet" (and doesn't have any married couples on board).

** The third is Buddy the Vulcan, as featured here with the other two.

*** He's not named in the show as he's just a non-speaking background character, but he looks remarkably like my backup lifeguard at the pool I swim in, so I've given him the same name.

**** Again, unnamed in the show, but someone has named him Charlie.  I'm going with it for now as I haven't thought of anything better.

Four Photos: Bat!

 

Look what I found crawling up the inside of the carport on Tuesday morning: a tiny bat!

Probably a pipistrelle of some description.  Unless it was a young 'future predator'...?

 

An hour or so later it had disappeared - probably having climbed high enough to launch itself into the air and fly away to somewhere more hospitable (and darker) than my carport.

Four Photos: Let There Be Light

 The first foxglove of the season - and it's self illuminating!

From six years ago

 

 

G&T time! (July 2023)

 

 

From Madam's Lane (June 2018)