Tidying and pottering

I've been spending a little time today doing some tidying in the garden and greenhouse, sorting the plant pots neatly by size and planting what I can while the weather is still reasonably mild. The one thing I hate about tidying in the garden is disturbing the creatures that live there. Lift a pot and out scurries dozens of frantic little woodlice - I feel so guilty for disrupting their peace. I think of them carrying on with their lives, doing whatever it is that woodlice do, until I happen along and create chaos in their world. That's why I very rarely tidy up in the garden.

As I reached for a plant, from the side of my eyes I saw this fella in the pot next to it - he made me jump! I didn't produce the same effect in him - he didn't budge while I went for my camera and took his photograph. He was probably sleeping off his Sunday dinner of slugs.

This is one instance where I should be more careful - tidying away the seed packets. I'd left this lot stuffed in a plant pot on the floor of the potting shed and the mice have made some pretty cut-out patterns! Thankfully, they didn't feast on the seeds - they must have only wanted the paper for their nest.

After tidying up, I had a little wander round the garden and took a photograph of this beautiful sedum. It's Sedum spectabile and it's the first year I've grown it. I have it in a container where it cascades over the top. It's so pretty with its tiny starlike flowers. I hope it survives the Winter.

I don't know how I've never noticed this before. It's the main stem of a white Jasmine I have growing over one of the metal arches. While examining the plant constantly throughout the Summer for signs of flower buds, I missed the lovely pattern on its stem. I only noticed it when looking at the nasturtiums growing nearby. I don't know why it hasn't flowered yet as it's about three years old - never mind, at least it has a beautiful stem. :)

Here it is a bit closer. And if you look carefully, you'll see a white hair - one of Benji's. :O)

My tidying up in the garden is finished for this year, so any creatures that want to settle down here will be quite safe to do so.

Emergency Ward Gastropod

Horace on a runner bean leaf with raspberry

I've been looking after another casualty for the past week. Meet Horace. I found him on our kitchen door after following the silver trail he'd left behind on the carpet. We had various bits and pieces in the garden that needed to be taken to the council tip and we think he'd been brought in on them and knocked off in the process.

Part of his shell had been damaged but luckily his internal organs were intact, so I was hopeful that he would make a good recovery. I've read that snails store deposits of calcium that can be used in the event of damage. I thought at this stage it would be unwise to release him back into the garden in case he got an infection in his wound or became dried out. So into a plastic container he went along with a selection snail goodies.

Sure enough, within a couple of days a film began to grow over the damaged part of the shell. It's now quite tough and protective. Today, Horace is ready to leave intensive care and return to his natural environment. I'll take him down to the bottom of the garden where the ferns grow and it's nice and shady. He can then find a comfy spot to sleep in and rest while his body continues the healing process.

You can go here to read more about snails' shells.

Benji's Invalid Ramp

Benji's 13 years old now, the youngest of our three dogs and the least able to get around. He was having trouble managing to get up and down the steps in the garden, so I made him a ramp. There was a drop of about 3 feet at the side of the steps which I built up with soil taken from one of the compost bins. I planted self-heal, yarrow, clover and birds-foot-trefoil in it and then put down grass seed.

Here he is enjoying todays sunshine, lying on the cool grass on his ramp..... which has totally surprised me by growing so well! It took him a while to use it. In fact our other two dogs, Bob and Charlie, used it first. Eventually, Benji realised that it was much easier to saunter down the little grassy bank than tumble down the stone steps.

I've been doing a few jobs in the garden so that it will be easier for the old boys to get around..... like removing shrubs and flower borders from the centre of the garden and planting it up with grass, and disposing of gravel so that they wont lose their footing or get bits stuck in between the pads of their paws. I'm aiming to make the garden as O.A.D.-friendly (old age dog) as I can and anyway, grass is good for wildlife too..... even though I'm rubbish at maintaining lawns!

Garden art ......... and architecture

I felt a sudden compulsion to get all arty, so I took this photograph of the inside of a Nasturtium flower. The colours and pattern are amazing! It wasn't easy to get this because it's blowing a gale outside and the petals were waving around. I had to quickly click in between gusts of wind.

This is a lovely little silvery-green Sedum (sorry, not sure of its name) alongside Houseleeks that are growing in an old metal watering-can. The can is under a Rowan Tree and that's how the berry came to be there.

I think this is the first time I've taken a photograph of an insect and it didn't fly off! Okay, I know it's not a great close-up, but it shows how pretty the Sweet Pea 'Cupani' is.

I just had to show you this, although it's difficult to see from the photograph just how small this little nest is. I found it in the potting-shed while tidying up. Don't worry, it's not being used or I wouldn't have moved it. It's 4 1/2 inches wide and the shallow hollow in the centre is only 2 inches wide! It was on the floor in the corner, behind some plant pots. I'm not sure which bird built this..... anyone any ideas?

A good heart is very hard to find......

..... and thankfully, my son has one. Seeing this photograph from his album makes me smile. It reminds me of a sunny day when we were in the garden together. He was about 13 years old at the time. I spotted a tiny beetle crawling up his arm and went to blow it off.

"Don't!" he cried, swinging his arm away, "You'll break its legs!" He then proceeded to lift the beetle on a leaf to safety.

wildflowers and mountains of Switzerland

Jon-Paul lives and works in Switzerland and this is how he describes part of his journey to work:

".....every day I walk down the little hill to the train station to go to work I see the Swiss/French Alps and Lac Leman. Every day I see birds of prey flying overhead, hunting or playing with each other in flight, and quite often over the rooftops of the houses in Vevey, they seem used to civilisation here. See quite a few different kinds of birds, and lizards too, the fire salamanders are my favourite, black with yellow spots/splashes."

Gruyere, Switzerland

This was taken when we lived in the Scottish Highlands. Jon-Paul is on the right and brother, Robert Francis (Bobby) is on the left..... pretending to be a stag. Hmmmm, wonder if he still does it?! Lol, look at the 1970s pudding-bowl haircuts. (I'm so for it for this!)

Jon-Paul with his partner, Nadia

....... just me having a few sentimental moments.