More photo's from Hampton Court.

Rain stopped play today ! it stopped me playing in my garden and on the allotment, never mind we had a lovely time this afternoon/evening at a friend and his wife's combined birthday 'Hog roast' party.

They hired a local butcher to cook the hog over the fire, we were not expecting to see the whole pig though, head and everything. It was a bit startling, but I waited until the chef had cut it all up before venturing up for my food. It was delicious and everyone enjoyed it.

I'm not sure what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, but I need to get some weeding and cutting back on various things at the lottie as it's all looking a bit overgrown, speaking of which ! the council didn't send anyone to strim the three plots around me ( well that's a surprise !!!) so I will have to make another phone call on Monday. Perhaps if I pester them they may do it just to keep me quite.

I hope you enjoy these photo's taken at Hampton Court.

A VERY COMFY LOOKING CHAIR.

A VERY NOVEL WAY TO GROW CUCUMBERS.

SUCH LUSCIOUS COLOURS.

ECHINACEA

I BOUGHT ONE, AND SO DID EVERY OTHER PERSON

THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO BE POPULAR.

GOTHIC STONE WALLS TO DECORATE THE GARDEN.

I WANT I WANT ! I WISH I HAD BOUGHT ONE.

ARE WE IN ENGLAND ?

IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEING LIT UP FROM INSIDE.

OH SO PRETTY !

LOVE THIS SIGN, WISH I HAD BOUGHT ONE !


COCK A DOODLE DOO.

MIAOW !

Images from Hampton Court Flower Show.

I hope you like these photo's I took at Hampton Court on Thursday. I took almost 200 in total but a few had to be deleted. I would love to show them all, but it will have to be in stages over the coming weeks. The weather was perfect and just breezy enough to be comfortable although it did get very hot in the afternoon. We had a fantastic day there. I have been going every year for many years now, but Austin has only been twice, this being his second visit and he enjoyed it much more this time since helping me on the allotment and in the garden, I guess he is more aware of plants now and has a keener interest in them.

My favourite kind of photography at these flower shows is the close up of the planting and the odds and ends around the grounds, such as on the various stalls with interesting bric a brac. These kind of photo's make lovely greetings cards.

I'm off to the lottie now to harvest my broad beans and peas and plant my 'Florence Fennel' this last job is well overdue as it's growing quickly and needs to go into the ground. I have it growing in little newspaper pots, so that the roots don't get disturbed.

HAVE A LOVELY WEEK-END EVERYONE.

INTERESTING GARDENS.

THIS VISITOR WAS DRESSED AS COLOURFUL AS THE FLOWERS.

HE LOOKED AMAZING.

SOME FABULOUS PLANTING

A TINKERS HOME AND GARDEN

THE DESERT GARDEN COMPLETE WITH BEDOUIN SUMMERHOUSE.

THAILAND, GARDEN OF SERENITY.

ODDS AND ENDS, MY FAVOURITE SHOTS.

A whinge and a pictorial tour.

I said I would post photo's of the allotment and here are the ones I took today. It was raining here most of the day so when we got a dry half hour we went up to take some rubbish to the dump and I took these. Everything has grown so tall, that's good I know but it does look rather full.

And now for the whinge. I am surrounded on three sides, left, right and behind my plot with uncultivated plots all of them have weeds with seed heads just waiting to pop all over my plot. I am so fed up with it! i phoned the council 3 weeks ago about the problem and nothing has happened. So I phoned again today, and have been promised that in the next 3 days they will come and strim all three plots. The one on the left is supposedly tenanted (not cultivated, so throw them off I say !!) the one behind has been given up ! so why hasn't it been given to someone on the 148 strong waiting list ???? and the one to the right apparently has been just taken, so hopefully it will be someone who will get on with cultivating it, although rumour has it that person is just going to keep chicken's. as long as the weeds are gone I don't care what they keep.

The photo below is what I have to look at all around me. WHINGE over, what are your views on the red tape on allotments and waiting lists in your area ??

I'm glad I got that off my chest, and I hope you like the pictorial view of my 'allotment heaven' (with weeds !!)

LOOK AT THE WEEDS I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH !!!

Views around the greenhouse

Tasty Yellow courgettes

Round Italian courgettes, wonderful roasted with garlic and herbs.

The first chillies

Aubergine in flower at last!

The first cucumber, it's still very small.

The sweetcorn is so tall now.

Cabbages, 'wheelers imperial'

Squashes and pumpkins in the middle, onions left, raspberries right

view looking down from the shed, everything has grown so big.

The sunflower hedge., look at those high weeds on the empty plot at the back ! oh sorry, I said whinge over didn't I ?

close up of the sunflower, they are mixed shades of rust,bronze and dark reds.

Runner beans, can you see the high weeds on the empty plot behind mine? SORRY !

Can you see the weeds on the plot next to me(left) ? supposed to be tenanted but not cultivated oh no! here I go again !!

Flower bed behind the peas and broad beans.