A Celtic emblem on my back door. The paint on the door is well scratched and there is a definite patina of life therein. Dogs and children, all attempting to enter the cottage with little patience and no time to wait! I know I have to paint it soon, because the weather demands it, but then this testament to life and laughter and fun and games will be erased…
Moving the tyres in the vegetable garden is a milestone reached this week…converting all to log, deep beds and narrow paths…easier to mulch and now that the soil has improved, I can do this. It has taken 7 years of work and patience, but it has finally paid off!
Apples continue to swell and grow and are, each one, quite perfect. These trees have never had any sprays or chemicals of any kind at all, yet continue to give perfect harvest every single year. Nature knows best!
The beautiful flowers of the remarkable Comfrey plant. This generous herb is not just a pretty face!
Look how well this tiny spider manages to camouflage itself on the Cotoneaster bush…Nature is so very clever!
Flowers have opened on the Fuschia…almost an adopted native plant here in the west of Ireland…
Beautiful photos as always! And beautiful soil in your garden as well 🙂 It’s so satisfying and rewarding to see that wonderful black earth after working on it for so many years.
And I remember my first trip to Ireland (in 2000 to run the Dublin Marathon), I was amazed to see fuschias growing everywhere like weeds! Wonderful! And to think I struggle to keep hanging baskets of them looking good throughout the summer here in central Pennsylvania….sigh.
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From Colette: Deb, so much of the Fuschia suffered greatly during what was an extremenly cold winter here in Ireland…it’s amazing to have come back as well as it did!…So, you run then? Well done you!
Colette, yes, I LOVE to run! You?
Glad the Fuschia has been able to make a come-back! It’s such a beautiful plant.
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From Colette: I love to walk…especially where I can look out over distances. Mountains are great too and there are lots of them here! I noticed that your blog is static…nothing since last year? It looks fascinating…any chance of a re-start?
Colette, I’ve been amazingly busy this past year, but your blog has inspired me to get back at mine! I’ve got tons and tons of photos that I’ve taken specifically for the blog, so I’ll be updating it SOON. Actually I had intended to update yesterday, but obviously that didn’t happen!
I grew up in northern Indiana where it’s as flat as a pancake. Pennsylvania is full of mountains and hills and I looooove it here for that reason. I adore walking and running through the trails that wind through the woods here…Mother Nature is the best gardener/landscaper of all 🙂
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Colette: I’m glad to hear that you are inspired to write and post…it’s great to keep a ‘growing’ diary like this and so many people enjoy reading it…I look forward to reading and will create a link on my site to yours, as from what I have read so far has been really enjoyable! And you are so right…Mother Nature is the best landscaper of all, we must trust and respect her…blogging in her favour is serving her well!
Best wishes!