Welp, I am not going to do a lick of work today. I am going to enjoy the quiet, the coolness of the light breeze and the fragrance and beauty of the flower garden. If I close my eyes, I can hear the birds coming and going as well as chirping and singing...I can hear the distant occasional sound of an air-plane. The sounds of people working the soil and the sounds of bees working the flowers above my head and around my feet. The variety of fragrances that float by, sometimes mixed and sometimes individual. When I perceive a fragrance, I make a mental image of the flowers that produce it. As I sit like this on the little bench in front of the garden house...there is the occasional 'plop' of a spent Wisteria bloom that falls beside me or sometimes on me. I smile slightly because my Chinese tea cup has a covering...so they cannot fall in the tea. I can smell the Bride's mint tea--very noticeable. It smells so good, reminds me of Morocco, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Over the past few days; in-between jobs, I have snapped a piccy here and there. They have stayed on my fone and were awaiting this moment-- the moment when they could shine. Since I am sitting under the Wisteria being bombarded by their numerous flat and cool blooms, Wisteria foto's is where I shall begin. Not as spectacular as Doghouse's, but for our small-scale garden they are performing pretty well. Their fragrance is nice heady. Here is our front sitting area under the pergola: Then on the East side of our garden house; where the vine is planted, you can see this massive accumulation of blooms in all their splendour: Up by the front entrance to the allotment are growing the Rosa 'Westerland'. Their beauty is so magnificent, through all their colour stages...and the fragrance, the fragrance. They are beginning to bloom now and are loaded with buds. I saw a few green aphids, which I hope will soon move to the Lonicera that I planted on the arch to distract them. The Dwarf Rhodi that my Bride got from her colleagues at her work is blooming smashingly: More fragrance is coming from the Syring. Then there are the Aquilegia's. Oh my there are so many, as I simply let them grow where they develop (except in the veggie plots). There are all colours--single and double, as are the petal structure--single and double. The Norwegian Brem is full of blooms and attracting loads of bumblebees. The Soloman Seal is showing off as well. Then especially for Cayu the Limnanthes, which is absolutely loaded with bees at any time of day. The sound of their buzzing sounds like a swarm: Well fellow gardeners, I can't show everything, but this generous display will give you an idea of what is on offer at the moment here. Repairing back to the bench, I shall resume my sedentary posture once again and dream of that crossword puzzle that is waiting patiently to be filled. Uh-oh -- the birds are complaining again. They want food, so I shall give them some more of the drone larvae--that ought to keep them busy for a while. They have young somewhere and are taking the larvae to feed them with. You can tell by how they fly and how frequently they travel back and forth. But just imagine that--begging birds are a bother to the sedentary chap. It must not get any more decadent that this. Ahhhhh....let's see then, where was I? Oh yes--gentle winds, lilting fragrances and restful sounds....sigh.....
Beautiful picture you paint with words, but in the shear fact you developed such a lovely post demonstrates how hard it is to simply sit back and relax. Glad you are such a busy bee.
Lovely photos Sjoerd! I wish I could have one of those days where I do absolutely nothing, and just sit and enjoy nature. I just don't think I have it in me yet ... still so much work to do!
Sjoerd, you are probably the least "sedentary" person ever! Your gardens, your plants, your food, all are gorgeous. You are busy, but in such a good way.
Norwegian Brem, we call it broom here. We have two species of it here. Here is a picture I snapped yesterday. And at 6 o’clock this morning.
Odif, your sunrise photo is stunningly beautiful! We have broom also, the thicker stalked type. It invades pastures and wasteland, but it's pretty so nobody minds much. Today is garlic harvest. We are stringing rope between cleats in the barn to hang the garlic to dry. After I dig and semi-clean the garlic to get most of the dirt off, tie the bunches and hang them, I'll take a shower so as not to smell garlicky all day!
Thank you PALU! Oh, it was, EILEEN. Thanks RONNI. I appreciate that so much, MART. Cheers. Heh, heh, heh JEWELL-- I hadn't looked at it that way. You are an insightful person. NETTY--I know what you mean. It hasn't been easy to make it this far. Y'know my Bride and I had a heart-to-heart a few years ago and came to the conclusion that having a garden is great, but if one never stops and look at what one has done and what is going on the never can truly fully appreciate the garden and how far the gardeners and garden have come together. So now we forcibly take more breaks and sometimes whole days where we do almost nothing and just appreciate being in the surroundings. I have to say, I have a greater appreciate of the garden and of Mother Nature this way. It does take some discipline to not work though. I am really happy that you liked this posting CAROLYN--Those lovely flowers reflect how happy I am that you are better. What a kind thing to say, JANE--I don't know what to say to that. I can see why some farmers decide to leave the brem--they are gorgeous. CAYU--I am so pleased that you appreciated this thread. You can sometimes say the most heart-warming things. ODIF-- Your brem looks as though it could be the same species. I called it "Norwegian" because I picked up some seeds on a hike when visiting Droopy in the fall a couple of years ago. She and her family live in Norway. Those foto's you posted are really quite nice. The second one shows the verdant charm of your geography there.
Apart from golf days, I often say to my wife in the morning, "I'm just going to have a walk round the garden and feed the birds." Then I find something "that needs doing" and it's 2.00pm by the time I go in.
That's the problem with lounging about in the lottie...you always see something that needs doing. This is where the discipline comes in--to see something and yet, not get up and doing it right away. Mate, I tell you--gardening is not an easy hobby.
