However, good things sometimes arrive early and their son was born on 20 December. An auspicious birthdate - twenty - twelve - twenty twelve. He is just gorgeous and she has settled in nicely to being a stay at home mum.
My other Grandson is now almost nine months old and is also just gorgeous. My daughter in law has just recently gone back to work part time and so he is having three days a week at a local day care centre.
I could just eat him!
With all the rain we've had lately, the weeds in the garden have gone ahead in leaps and bounds. A few weeks ago, I started weeding the rose bed on the western side of the house and at that stage, the summer grass was sprouting and was up to here (hand at about shin height). Now, with the rain and the warm, oh so humid weather, the summer grass has gone to seed and is up to here (hand at chin height)! Atrocious stuff! I have so lost my gardening fitness - a few hours out there and I am so knackered. And the next day, I have such sore and stiff muscles that gardening at the moment is done on alternate days only.
The roses are putting on heaps of new growth after the rain. The dreadfully hot weather we had in January, getting up to 45 degrees C on a few occasions, combined with the lack of water and lack of care with me holed up inside the house meant that they had been looking decidedly seedy. We had a few casualties of the hot weather, two geraniums in front of the verandah all but expired but have little patches of new growth although thankfully my Johnson's Blue survived okay. The clematis on the archway near the front door looks like it has totally gone to God. Strangely, it was just the common Montana which I would have thought was hardier than the other hybrids I have which both survived and are flowering at the moment.
This one is DA Charlotte. None of these roses got to be pruned last year with me having broken my leg.
The western bed looks like a bit of a jungle - note the trash bag full of summer grass - one of seven I filled on Monday of this week. Much more needs to be done here!
The last of the flowers on the cut leaf lilac. This is the first time I've seen many flowers on it. So sweetly perfumed.
The view along the front of the house with the now bare archway. The banksia rose growing on the right hand side has been chopped to the barest stump, poisoned with Roundup, had every shoot removed countless times and still it persists in growing. Maybe I should just let it be.
Mike bought me a new present. Actually he bought it last July and it was finally delivered last week.
It's an AGA and I think I've wanted one for about a hundred years. Such anticipation - what a pity it arrived damaged, with great chunks broken off the enamel - four new oven doors are in the process of being made over in England and a specialist repairman will be visiting me within the next few weeks to see if he can repair the damage to the body of the stove. I was so disappointed.
New doors for the resized cupboards at the sides of the stove are being ordered and then with any luck, the whole of the kitchen, including the cupboards, will be repainted. I like progress . . . but why does it all have to take so long?
Is there something wrong with Banksia Roses? I was thinking of planting a couple but now you have me questioning whether or not I should?!?
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with them at all! They only flower once a year but when they do they are spectacular. It's just that they grow so big and throw out great long canes, that they are more suitable to cover your shearing shed than a little dinkie garden arch. That said, you can keep them trimmed back as much as you like and they won't mind. You just may not get as many flowers. This one is a yellow one. Where are you thinking of planting them?
ReplyDelete