Dad's Day - The Idleness of the Reluctant Gardener

Oh my, we are enjoying a heatwave extraordinaire.  And that makes me happy.  So happy that I have just somehow deleted the first draft of this post and this face is only just the slightest bit bothered.
This post is shorter.  Yes, shorter!  Consider yourself let off lightly.  So happy days, eh.

Yes, the sun is shining, bigly, and I'm happy and all is good.  My roof work started this week, that made me happy for no rain is forecast for the duration.  Unfortunately, heatwaves do not make roof guys quite so happy.  To ameliorate the sweltering conditions they find themselves in up on my roof, I am supplying an endless stream of cold water and ice lollies.  Whilst I come into this cool room and chat away with you guys.  I know who's got the better deal!

Father's Day was equally hot.  I decreed sweetly suggested that The Photographer should construct his day according to his wishes; he decided it would kick off with brunch on the beach.  But first, after watering the plants (and myself!), I had a little detour to make around the garden, as I want to show you the lofty heights my echium have reached.

Pretty lofty, huh?  Bees love the little blue flowers on these plants.

  

I've found a new blog trick tool.  Andrea Nine top-tipped that wearing a big hat and sunglasses is a good cover on those days when you've worn minimal make up and not bothered too much with your hair.  I was going to the beach and hair and make up do not figure.   Is this trickery working?

I wore a cool maxi dress over my black tankini.  I was beach-ready. 

Do you have a fave dress for throwing over bathing gear?

The dress is made of uber fine cotton knit and it's reminiscent of an H&M one I had in the 70s.  This dress comes from H&M too and it also comes with a story.  The story in the original draft was humongous.  Let's be easy on you, let's test out my precis skills.

• Saw dress online early SS11.  Loved dress.  #excited, as dress reminded me of fave 70s dress.  Discovered H&M does not ship to Guernsey.  Walked away from dress.  Move to July holiday that year, Helsingborg, Sweden.  Young Swedish lady crosses road in front of our car, looking gorgeous in elusive H&M dress.  Fall instantly in love all over again.  In that instant, I am determined that dress will be mine.  It was meant to be!  Bypass H&M Guernsey-ist shipping policy and arrange with cousin Top Cat to have dress delivered to her UK address, as TC is visiting island shortly after.  Turns out dress weighs less than a small fluffy cloud and rolls into nothingness, so TC's packing plans weren't compromised by extra baggage of Obsessive Pout's dress. 

Bingo, successful precis, just one bullet point!

So what is this fixation I have with Swedish lady outfits?  That same holiday here I was obsessing over a simple blonde and white outfit spotted on another Swedish lady.

If I lived in Sweden, I think I would spend myself out of house and home recreating looks I espied in the street.  Or gatan, for that is what I would be calling the street there.

So let's move on from my Swedish issues and my desire to wear dresses I wore in my 20s.

After my echium shots I took garden pics on the way back to the house.

The agapanthi are about to burst forth.  They self seed.  Anywhere.  Which means that although I pull many up, they still thrive in huge swathes throughout the garden, and pop up between patio slabs, granite pathways, you name it and they'll set up home there.  They are determined and robust.  And when they are in that mood, they are a devil to pull up. So the rest I let stay put and tell visitors that I am letting nature be nature. 

But the truth is that I am a lazy gardener.

The following tree has surprised us this summer.  We planted it about 7-8 years ago.  We didn't have a tag on it so as it grew we determined that it was a cherry tree.  An ornamental cherry tree, for it did not bear fruit.  And so it was left.

Until a few weeks ago.  It is now a proper, grown up cherry tree!

The figs are also doing well.

I also have pear and peach trees and strawberries.  And if the back jungle  soft fruit area was cleared I would also have raspberries, redcurrants and blueberries.  I need to get a man in if I am to feast off home-grown fruit salad through the summer.

Here is a pergola clematis which each year I think I've killed I aggressively cut back hard.

It's starting to flower but is facing the wrong way.  When the bloke comes in to clear my jungle soft fruit area, I will find my garden wire and reposition this resilient plant.





More examples of my laziness repurposing of garden plants.  I planted a new grape vine here 3-4 years ago.  It died over a year ago.  I just haven't got round to digging it out.  But now the back wisteria is stretching out to the side and has latched on to the dead vine.  So I will be telling visitors that I repurposed the vine as a natural climbing frame for the wisteria.  Letting nature be nature :-).

A lazy gardener  ... but a lying cunning one.

This pergola inspection ended the garden tour and I reached the house, grabbed our beach stuff and off we sped down the road to ...

... our favourite pitching spot on Grandes Rocques beach.

We watched doggies and their strollers as we sat on our tartan rug, ate our cheese and tomato sarnies, drank coffee from a thermos.  Pretty retro, eh.

After waiting the requisite amount of time after eating ...

... we stepped tentatively plunged into the cooling sea.

And with a pic of The Photographer, so endeth his Father's Day beach brunch.  Cheers.

A la perchoine.