The Slope on Thursday 31st October

Another sunny day!  Every day that is as good as this is treasured as we approach November; time is really flying now; it seems only last week I was saying it was incredible that it was the end of September!

Wordless Wednesday – Praying

Praying Mantis Sphodromantis viridis

The Slope on Thursday 24th October

Again I’m late!  Yesterday, Thursday it rained from 8.30 in the morning through until 5 in the afternoon; and not just rain, but thunder rattled around for most of that time by which time I had other commitments and couldn’t get outside to take any photographs, today I went outside at about 9 to take these images; amazingly the sun was shining and the day became positively hot (about 24°C).  The day of rain was a surprise as the weather had been exceptional; warm, sunny, and no wind since last Thursday.

Today we began harvesting the olives, T-shirts were the order of the day and I really needed sun block as well as sunglasses!

GBFD – Luxurious Green

Last month I wrote about Sissinghurst Castle for GBFD so that it is two months since I wrote about the foliage in My Hesperides Garden.  What a difference two months make!  Then we had just experienced the first rain after the drought now the garden is luxuriant after a considerable quantity of rain, more than usual for this time of year but certainly very welcome.

The Slope on Thursday 17th October

Sorry this is a day late, but the images were taken on Thursday early in the morning so they are a true representation of the day.  I was away from home all day yesterday and most of today.

GBBD – Fresh October

I arrived home too late to join in Bloomday last month.  Although there had been major rainfall the temperatures were relatively high and the garden still had that faded summer look.  October has brought with it more rain in significant quantities and now the temperatures are lower especially at night.  At last the garden looks FRESH, with many of the roses re-flowering so I’m happy to be joining in this month.

The Slope on Thursday 10th October

Autumn has finally truly arrived with some rain every day this week; but not all day so that yesterday the weather was glorious warm sunshine for at least 4 or 5 hours, time to get weeding, especially the circular rose bed which becomes very overgrown each year with Gaura growing to about 1.2 plus metres!  Strangling the roses and hiding weeds.

This morning there was pleasant sunshine when I woke but by 9.30 rain was falling again; I just manages to take some photos of the Slope before the wind started making it unpleasant to be outside, who knows what it will be like this afternoon.

Visiting an Iconic Vegetable Garden

I grow a lot of vegetables; we are almost self-sufficient for most of the year which I have to admit actually gives me almost more pleasure than the rest of the garden.  The first time I made Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables using ALL my own produce (including the olive oil) I had such a deep sensation of contentment it is hard to describe.  Now it is something I make on almost a weekly basis from the end of July onwards; I still have enough of everything to make it one last time this year, but the courgettes are like marrows so I may use butternut squash instead this time.

I love cooking as much as I do working in the garden so I was thrilled with my birthday present from my husband (last mention of the birthday I promise); dinner and a night at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons.

The Slope on Thursday 3rd October

On Sunday night and most of Monday there was heavy rain with thunder and lightning to make things even more exciting.  With so much rain the garden is beginning to really return to the green colour that I haven’t seen since spring.

The Long View, October 2013

October has come in with a rush, I’m not sure what happened to September, I suppose being away for two weeks made it seem shorter, but I don’t even know what happened to the other two weeks!

On Sunday night there was a terrific thunder storm with heavy rain, Monday had lots of heavy showers.  The garden will appreciate the rain but it doesn’t make much difference to the images looking out of my top window for this month’s Long View.  Hosted by Xericstyle, the idea is to show a view from the same spot every first of the month to check how the view changes through the year.  Why not join in, I think I’m going to learn a lot from this, you might too.

I’m satisfied with the overall look

Perovskia still blue, this has been flowering since the end of June

The edge of the Large Island

Clematis Armandii is very brown, dead maybe?

Looking straight down, Rosa clair Martin is flowering strongly again

If I lift my eyes, this is the view from the window