A changed day

I was all set to have a quiet morning. I’d just started to scrape a few new potatoes, then I was going to come on-line & write a blog. I’d even decided on the theme, the joy of soup. Then a heard a rattle at the garden gate. It was Carol come to do a couple of hours of gardening. From then on the day was changed & very social.

Before Carol had gone, we had a delivery from a local garden centre we’d visited on Thursday. We’d bought various pots & plants, too much for our car so they said they would deliver. Here they were.

The delivery man had got lost on the way – the address had been writtten down wrong for me. When he’d got the address he’d been given, he took one look at that garden & concluded that was such a mess it couldn’t possibly be the right the place. He rang me to check & duly arrived shortly after. The price he wanted for delivery was a quick guided tour of the garden, which I duly gave him. He was most appreciative.

Carol beamed with joy when she saw a couple of buddleia arrive. She’s been going on for a while that buddleia were essential for the garden but none had been planted. She quickly got them put in their new homes. So now there is one yellow globus one & one more conventional blue-purple one. We now await the flood of butterflies that should be attracted to the garden, especially as we also bought a couple of “buzz” buddleias, miniature ones for the pots, one round the back in the walled garden, & one to brighten up the boring pebble-dashed wall of the garage.

As Carol went I stopped to have a chat with a neighbour. She moved in a couple of Christmases ago, but this is the first chance I’ve had to have any real chat with her.

As I sat there on Charlie, my stick/stool, I felt an arm come around my shoulders. It was Juan, another neighbour. She’s long fancied seeing our new garden. She’s peered over the fence often enough, keen to see the changes. So to our garden we adjourned. Juan loved the wild garden & the lavender rows along the footpaths. She also loved the quiet walled garden which she had never even realised existed.

After all this socialising, I had a quick cup of tea, before trying to get on with filling some of the new pots with some of the plant. Some sweet peas have now been transferred from their rather ugly plastic tubs into beautiful glazed brown ones & are now climbing up the back uprights of the pergola near the garage. The walled garden has gained its buddleia. The rest have yet to be sorted.

Instead of continuing we adjourned to the golf club & joined some friends there, catching up with their news. This was followed by a quick trip to buy some fish for the Fish Chowder I’d planned to make for dinner. It was nearly 5pm by the time we were back.

We quickly got the chowder made, then went outside for a relaxing aperitive. Finally we were able to flop a bit. By the time dinner was had & cleared away it was already nearer 8pm – a long busy day for me.

Hopefully it will be a quieter day today.