A lovesome thing

It has been something of a tough time here in recent weeks.  My poor husband has been undergoing various therapies for his back problem, each of them causing him more pain and decreasing his mobility. We have  spent a great deal of time in hospital and doctors' waiting rooms but now, having eventually made our way past what my son calls 'the gatekeepers,' he is being treated by an excellent spinal consultant. The NHS works really well once one gets into the system, it is the frustrating period of procedure-following that lets us down. We are now waiting for lots of test results to come together and  then the consultant should come up with a solution or at least a plan.

My respite from all the anxiety and frustration has been my garden, which may not be the biggest or the best in the world but it is my 'lovesome thing' and the glorious weather that we are enjoying has made it possible for me to spend most of my free time out there. I'm afraid that I haven't been able to concentrate on writing or even reading; I'm sorry if I haven't called in on you for a while but I will catch up eventually.

A GARDEN is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Fern'd grot—
The veriest school
Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not—
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign;
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.

Thomas Edward Brown

 The white lilac is the highlight of the garden for a very brief time. I love to go out at night to see it glow in the moonlight. Alas, it has already turned brown but the birds love to sit and sing in it and it is now covered in honeysuckle so its glory changes rather than fades.

I don't have a rose plot but there are a few lovely roses, each with a particular memory attached, dotted around the garden. These three were given to me by my pupils when I retired.

 As it is a cottage garden, I can have anything in it and I do! Here is just a fraction of what is in bloom just now, there is no order or planning, I just put in what I like!

I keep a lot of pots by the kitchen door so that I have easy access to the salads, tomatoes  and vegetables; just enough for our needs, I have to buy more when we have visitors.

In the few days that have passed since I took these photos, everything has grown at an amazing rate. The tomatoes are in flower, the peas and beans are producing a daily crop and the potatoes are ready to pick.  If I get to them before the birds, I even manage to add a few strawberries to my breakfast cereal. The  pots of flowers are for my pleasure and for the local bee population to enjoy. I planted up a number of pots with Sarah Raven's pollinator friendly seeds last year and this year they have produced a splendid array of wild flowers.

'When the eve is cool,' I walk around my garden with watering cans in hand and I feel the peace and appreciate the beauty of this lovesome place.