This week the wild flower plot at the allotment has burst forth from the meadow grass to bring us poppies, blue cornflowers and bright yellow anthemis. More exciting still is the discovery in the nearby communal orchard of a spotted orchid. Thank you, bird. Something you did must have resulted in this new arrival. Spotted orchids are of course quite common around Much Wenlock. Nearly 4,000 were counted last Friday up on Windmill Hill in the annual orchid count. They thrive in limestone meadows. I’d show you its picture of the newbie, but when I went to check on it yesterday morning, the flower was very much ‘over’.
On the home front all is chaos in the Farrell garden – the vegetation rampant and he who builds sheds and greenhouses up to his ears in the new lean-to greenhouse whose parts are currently reclining rather than leaning. Well, it seemed like a good idea to remove the nasty plastic conservatory from the back door. But then how do you attach a metal framed greenhouse to a very unstraight limestone boulder wall? Much pondering involved. I am however informed that progress has finally being made – an intervening wooden frame being attached to said wall which will make gap filling and water-tight-involving interventions feasible. Phew!
This is the ‘upstairs’ garden with (thankfully) few glimpses of the greenhouse construction chaos below. Here you can meet some of our best ‘girls’.
And then there are tumbles of campanula and the exuberant ‘tapestry’ of colours in the downstairs garden:
Out in Townsend Meadow the barley is changing colour – hints of buttery yellow with gingery flushes, but still green on the peripheries. The grains are swelling fast after a few good showers. And talking of showers, the path to the allotment is now very overgrown, this despite my frequent to-ing and fro-ing. It is now the season of wet knees and rising damp in the gardening pants, and otherwise arriving dew-soaked on the plot. I could of course take the garden shears to it. This has been known.
We have not been far this month, though we did pop over to Ironbridge last week. It was good to see lots of visitors in the outdoor cafe in the Square, and the Severn Gorge brimming with greenness. But there’s no pretending, life is not as we knew it.
Tish Farrell 
Some beautiful photos Tish, and a lovely written post so descriptive. Buttery yellow and gingery flush, very evocative
Gosh you were quick off the mark, Alison. Thank you for that appreciative comment.
You’re welcome Tish 😎 just sitting here with my feet up having a read before I get up to start dinner
That’s a happy image of you.
absolutely lovely, tish
Thank you, Beth 🙂
Lovely! I am relishing also that this is a world and these are processes immune from the presence of Covid.
Absolutely immune, Sarah. All vitamin D enriched – us and the landscape 🙂
Delightfully lush and I love the image of upstairs and downstairs gardens
It’s only just occurred to me to describe them as such. It makes things a lot simpler.
busting out all over – you have created such a natural gardenscape that it is all the more beautiful for that
p.s. have had that Ann Thomson geranium on my wishlist for some years but not suitable now for the planned Japanese garden ;(
Oh but she’s such a good flower-er, Laura. I’m sure she sneak into a corner somewhere 🙂
All we need now over here is a return of the sun!
Today 12c, grey, wet and a stiff northerly. Where has the summer gone?
Grey here too, but thankfully without your northerly. So yes – where did summer go. It was lovely here yesterday.
Truly delightful and delovely!.
Up to our armpits in winter down here. Temp just dipped below 20c. Brrrr! I might even have to put on socks. 😉
I love your property/house. Reminds me of my grandparent’s place in Royston. And Townsend Meadow seems not unlike The Heath that backed onto their home.
We’ll have our front wall finished by next week sometime and once the area is properly cleared I’m going to try to give you and your allotment a run for your money!
I might have to put my socks on in a minute. Your winter is def. warmer than our summer today. Good to hear your construction is nearing completion. Today our greenhouse construction has met with a deviation. G is constructing his own scaffolding (think giant meccano but in timber) in order to mend a very annoying length of gutter which presently drips where said greenhouse is meant to be, and has defied all earlier attempts to sort it out. There is a plan, I gather, involving a new water butt, which is always good news.
Looking forward to seeing your garden catch-up 🙂
It’s the details. The day to day. What fun.
Thank you for dropping by, Thom. Another event to add to the day 🙂 🙂 🙂
All of your “over growth” looks so English while mine just looks like over growing disaster.
About the allotment path…do you not have cordless weed waters over there.? My uncut yard grass is so tall from all of the rain and my sub. mower man failing to mow that I had to weed eat a path to the car. And my offshore son will not be here until the end of the new month. I probably could use a goat or two.
We do indeed have all manner of cordless weed cutting devices in the UK, I just don’t own one now. The last one I had proved pretty useless – after a while anyway – battery recharging failure. Actually a goat sounds a very good idea.
really beautiful. thanks for sharing the lovely photos.
Thank you very much, Rebecca.
My goodness! I feel so energised after viewing your stunning images – bursting with colour, Tish!
Hope tidying & construction is proceeding apace, and that you’ve time for outings & leisure this month!
Thank you for the nice thought, Ju-Lyn. I’m thinking the construction may be lingering on for a while yet. There a zillions of glass panes to fit for one thing…
I can only imagine the magnitude of this! Cheering you on!
Reblogged this on Hutts Ultra Blogging World.
Thanks, Pete.
Very nice; we’re in the depths of winter down here in NZ.
Hope it’s not to chilly.
I give up–they’re all beautiful shots so I won’t even attempt to choose a favorite. I just wallowed in all the virtual beauty.
janet
Happy to have you wallowing, Janet 🙂
Truly, this has been the month of flowers and the month of sizzling heat. At least we got some rain to go with heat. It has been the month that the chipmunks have decided to take over the deck, but i think the squirrels are winning the battle, though the blue jays and flickers are hanging in there.
We haven’t been anywhere either. I feel like we are living in a dead zone. Everything is supposed to be getting back to normal, but somehow, it’s not. I’m not sure why exactly, but everything feels a little sideways and crooked.
At least we’ve had some rain and things are blooming, though the weeds are growing twice as fast as normal. Maybe next month will be better.
I love your deck menagerie. At least the wildlife are getting on with their lives. So yes, all fingers crossed for better (less weird) days ahead.
Such and eye for beauty you have. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for that lovely comment. I think you have a pretty good eye yourself 🙂
❤ ❤ ❤
You have such a lovely natural cottage garden Tish. Good luck with the lean-to. Having uneven walls can be an issue as we have found to our cost! And the iron bridge at Ironbridge appears to have had a new coat of paint since I last saw it.
Natural is probably the word, Jude. Or may be feral. It’s been escaping me this year. As for the Iron Bridge, yep, it has been done up in its original colours by English Heritage. They discovered the original paint when restoring the iron work and then went to great pains to match it. It’s much better than the former grey and black versions.
Yes, my garden is looking a little too overgrown! And I like the new colour of the bridge.
the rich abundance and beauty of summer! I had to chuckle when you mentioned your “upstairs” and “downstairs” gardens. I, too, have given names to mine: porch garden, rock garden, sanctuary garden, woodland garden, main garden – no wonder my husband is always confused! 🙂
Hello Annette. I love that you have so many gardens. You’ve also made me realise I have other hitherto unnamed ones including a mezzanine one beside the house. I’ve often wondered how to describe it. As to to husbandly confusion, mine is also bemused by the garden profusion.
So beautiful! These pictures make me feel happy:)
That’s very lovely to hear.
Beautiful photos. And your garden is absolutely gorgeous!
Alison
Just gorgeous!!
Thanks, Jennie.
You’re welcome, Tish.