Vivid imagination

Just outside our back door is a large pathed area that is covered by a huge carport creating a super place for us to sit or dine when the weather is suitably warm. Obviously as it is covered we can sit outside in the warm even when it is raining (yippee) and enjoy the fresh air and this afternoon I gave our white wire table and chairs a wash down in preparation for many meals I hope to have al fresco. In the height of the summer I usually take a day bed out there too, so that I can lie in the early evening warmth and read a book. I wish it looked as lovely as the picture below; this is the same dining set as ours, but our garden has a bit more 'character' (if weeds, chaos and overgrown wilderness creates character!).

(Suppliers photograph)
Garden Progress... Today the weather has been sunny and dry but windy too, and now the light is starting to fade due to the thick rain clouds that hovver above us. I spent a little time in the garden, snipping (hacking) away some overgrown branches and discovering that one of the forsythia plants has grown long branches that have now rooted themselves in the soil, so I now have about 6 plants. I have no idea what I can do with them and guess that they will end up in one of the compost heaps.

I also discovered that one of my favourite trees has a disease. I was given a cutting of a twisted willow tree about 15 years ago and have nurtured it and bought it with me from our last house, but sadly large parts of it have turned black and died off. This started some time last year and I thought that it had just suffered in the awful weather of last summer, but on close inspection, it looks like I am going to lose it completely this year.

I can't wait to get the garden back to it's former glory, I created an absolutely lovely garden when we moved here, full of large bloomed peonies and blousey roses, clipped box hedges and masses of colourful groundcovering plants. As Pretty Practicals has got busier, I have had less and less time to spend in the garden and last year I was unable to do anything out there, it was either raining or I was unable to get to the garden. So this year, there is so much to do, but in my imagination I will be able to cut a vase of beautiful blooms for our dining table on a regular basis, just like I did in previous years.(Supplier's photograph)

So in the meantime, I will be cheering dining table with this lovely bunch of faux flowers in a small round vase.

Time for another cup of tea, chat soon, Liz

All images and text copyright Pretty Practicals 2007 and 2008 except where stated.