Blowing a storm

It’s been a wild week. Monday was dominated with a downpour of water, as rain came down most of the day in stair rods.

When I first got up on Tuesday I had a quick look in the garden. It was quick as the rain soon began once more. Various plants were already looking flattened. With the rain came the wind. That was the predominant feature of Tuesday. By the afternoon the rain had stopped but the wind blew on & with such force. We ventured out, only because we needed some bread. We went along to the golf club to find shutters down – the wind was blowing the windows inwards. Two members of staff opened the doors to enable us to get in the shelter. Needless to say we were the only people foolhardy enough to have ventured out.

As we ate our dinner we were entertained by the tarantella being dance by the huge silver birch in our neighbour’s garden. It whirled & twirled in some sort of frenzy. Further up our garden we could see our young silver birches almost reaching down to touch the ground with the tips of the height. The lavender became a sea of green & silver, blowing in waves along the path.

Yesterday the wind blew on though not as violently. Today once more it rains though the wind has eased.

Our gardener is going to have a busy time when she next gets here. The lupins have broken down & lie across the path. The delphiniums are very droopy despite being staked up. I suspect they will need just cutting down. The mock orange which was just budding up, has most of its stems bent over. Who knows what other damage there is further up. I suspect the peonies will be flattened, along with many of the Canterbury bells & aquilegia. I’m just grateful that the fences have all held, no trees have fallen & no damage has been done to the house itself. The garden will regrow, even if some of the show has gone for this year.

I just hope the weather settles down to more tranquil state soon.