THE CONTINUING STORY OF BUNGALOW BILL

Except we don't live in a bungalow.
But my first name is Bill (well William) even if I don't use it much.

Here we go again as I have just deleted the start of this blog (insert a grumpy) and - well, R has dug out the past-it forget-me-nots and put them up in the woodland to self seed. I am covered in greenfly and whitefly after weeding under the big sycamore (Notable tree - Woodland Trust) as the tree is a metropolis of little flying things.
Roses are being dead headed, weeding goes on - carrots, Nantes, are sown - the last, really the last, asparagus cut and eaten by R who loves it - a bowl of strawberries on the kitchen island - the Sweet Cicely cut back and chucked in the compost bin.

This is outside the kitchen doors -

and this the view down to the pond from there.

This is the house martin nest from where the fledglings went - just above the top picture. The swallows still seem to be building and a community on the beam seems likely - i.e. more than one nest. No sign of egg eating squirrels for a bit - fingers crossed.

The elder is flowering well but we are not making elderflower cordial this year - too lazy.
We have mullein moth caterpillars chomping our plants so have had to take action. 

On the shed the clematis montana Albert is in fine flower. I also have two montana Elizabeths in pots and still do not know where to put them.

Up something I suppose - but what?
The catmint (nepeta) this year is splendid and spilling onto the paving. It goes so well both with the alchemilla and euphorbia - both yellow/greens.

This is Rose Golden Showers, one of two we have and it is flooding the garden with sunshine despite the rain.

The poppies continue to blast us with colour, both in the flower beds and growing semi wild up on the banking near the fig. We have many colours but the good old blast of orange vermilion is still the best. (Goliath and Patty's Plum are not bad either.)

Now, every time I mention Putin I get a surge in hits for the blog - am I being monitored by the Russian secret service? It seems silly but could be true. On the other hand could it be the Vlad fan club - like its members in Marseille? Ultraviolent - the n is there on purpose - nothing to do with a suntan. 

Come Tuesday and a largely sunny day and I half kill myself hover mowing the lower banking. I forgot that if I perspire the flies come homing in on me.

Went to supermarket and bought a pot of basil and one of coriander. Each pot contains many plants so took out a few of each and planted them in the veg beds.

The pond is looking good and I sent a pic to Gary Primrose who helped us build it. He lives near Tarn Hows at a place called Yewfield and has a blog - http://www.yewfield.co.uk/about/gardeners-blog.

Well worth a visit on the net. There is a link to the left of this blog.
One last thing, pond related - the yellow mimulus (monkey flower) sows itself everywhere and R said we should try it in a vase. I thought it would be useless but to my surprise it has lasted over a week and is still going strong!

The rain has made many of the strawberries rotten so I am going to have a cup of tea to drown my sorrows.