June already and soon be Midsummers Day.....

Are you as fed up as I am Sue!
My garden is doing ok especially the roses, but am fed up of the rain and the cold wind!
My friend and I are going back to Suffolk for a week's holiday where Rick and I used to go and guess what the forecast is...rain and more rain!!
But if it rains here in Cleethorpes while I am away, my neighbour won't have much watering to do!
As always your garden is lovely as ever and the roses are looking good.
In fact, everything is!
I do enjoy your blogs. I think the garden has been our salvation.

I feel exactly the same. So many of our bike trips have been cancelled due to the rain. Even if they were not cancelled we wouldn't be going on the classic British bikes as they are too nice.

The weeds are having a whale of a time in my garden. some are welcome-ish as they are food plants for the moths and butterflies that are visiting. Though their numbers are down.

Your garden is gorgeous Sue.

Rose I'm alright if I keep myself busy but still not sleeping well, I get maudlin at times so have to give myself a stern lecture....
The garden certainly keeps me going Rose, I have to work at a slower pace as I'm still having back and hip problems, been going on since last autumn, walking uphill or the stairs too often is what affects me the most and also sitting down too much as I seize up, I can work in the garden for hours on end which naturally is a relief to me, I'd flip my lid if I couldn't do that...
.I hope you have a lovely time in Suffolk, be bittersweet for you I know but it will make you remember more of your happy times with Rick, some tears are healing ones aren't they............ I've booked summer to start in August so book another week away then Rose...

Thanks Eileen.......I don't blame you, we used to like looking at the bikes when we were out and about, Matlock Bath was always a good place to visit, plenty there to admire and some of them must be worth a lot of money, always well cared for and definitely someones pride and joy ....
I've noticed the lack of butterflies, we did have a few of the little blue ones a few weeks back,hardly any ladybirds, also what has surprised me is the lack of moths, we have a lot of lights dotted about in our garden so you'd expect there to be moths especially on the patio when its lit up, I admit I'm a wuss so I am glad to be able to keep the doors and windows open without being divebombed(not happening many times this year) but its not good is it...
I've made a start today on that St Johns Wort, thanks for answering my question, its tough going but I'll get as much out as possible before I treat the ground, then its fingers xx

Your garden looks wonderful, Lincs! You have so many lovely roses flowering! When did they start for you? Here I saw the first yellow ones on a climber during April! In fact it was just across the road from us! I saw another yellow climber a few days later in another garden as well!

Thanks for sharing your lovely garden Lincs.Your roses are certainly standing proud. I've noticed here how clean they are...very little blackspot if any.I've noticed there are many more bees especially bumble ones. Your pool always looks so natural.

It was April for mine as well David, first was the red climber which is next to the house and my iceberg near the patio, the shrub rose next to my arch was also early but its taking a while for the new buds to form, other years its been ongoing once starting to flower, doesn't matter as I have the gorgeous Pilgrims Progress growing up the arch, its been in 5yrs and is having its best year so far, no stopping that one, all of the bulbs were early as well, I do like a long flowering season.....Just wish the lawns wouldn't grow so fast, I refuse to cut them twice a week....

Thanks Julia, so far so good with the roses, I've been using a garlic wash on them in recent years if I spot any browning on the leaves and it seems to work, why spend money on excessively priced products when I have the answer in my herb cupboard, I watched a programme based on our late Queens garden years back and that is where the idea came from, if its good enough for the royal gardens then its good enough for me, LOL.. We get a lot of bees now and some of them are quite big so perhaps they are the bumble bee, I'm not very good at telling them apart, think they like my choice of flowers, saying that my neighbours all have just lawns, no shrubs or flowers, always kept closely cut so I get the visitors......x

Your garden is looking well-loved, Lincs, with lots of colour. I am glad you are getting pleasure from it.

Lovely garden & roses Linclass. I like your pond as well. I wish the weather would buck up. It doesn’t feel much like global warming to me, I’m still wearing jumpers & putting the heating on for a few minutes am & night.

Sue, it's definitely not 'Flaming June'...:-(
Your garden and greenhouse are both full 9f real garden treats! I love your rose collection too! Fabulous colours!
As always, your pond looks so pretty, I love your surroundings plants too.
I'm sorry things are tough at the moment, it can't be easy.I'm just happy to hear your garden in its loveliness is a big help to you, thank goodness for the therapy it gives!
Best wishes, x

I envy your roses Lincs. Every time I grow them they either get sucked dry by white fly or the leaves get turned lacey by Japanese beetle. The weather here (across the pond) is very erratic ....one day like early spring and the next day like mid summer with the nights unusually cool. Right now we have gotten word that the Juro Spider is about to make its way into my local. Its about the size of the palm of ones hand and resides in a communal web several meters wide. It is said to find the marmorated stink bug to its liking a well as flies and mosquitos I will not be displeased upon its arrival. Its wonderful to see and hear from you Lincs!

Thankyou Ange I would be lost without my garden....x

Thankyou Kate, its certainly not Flaming June today, its bitterly cold, even wearing a jacket wasn't helping so I gave up and retreated indoors, don't know what we did to upset the weather but its not summer temps that is a fact....x

Hello L'strife its good to see you too, I haven't been posting as much as I used to but I'm still here, reason being I haven't changed anything in a while so it would be repeating myself all the time, don't want to bore folks....LOL...
.I admit the roses are my favourites, in fact I'm awaiting delivery of a new addition, "Blue Moon"this will be the third time I've tried to get one to grow here so fingers xx for me please...My garden is loving our weather, not so much myself, today its very cold, its a fact we don't need sunscreen or even summer clothing, I dislike working in jackets so no gardening except on here in the warm..
I'm petrified of spiders, just read up on that one you mentioned, no offence but you can keep it L'strife although if it keeps the mosquito's at bay for you I can understand what you mean......Take care now..x

I’m pestered with Gnat bites all year round & how they itch! However I couldn’t cope with a spider that big to keep them under control, & a communal web metres across, sounds like something from a sci-fi film. What a horror. :-(

Sue, I have enjoyed seeing your lovely flowers, especially the colourful Roses, but boy, oh boy, isn't the weather chilly for June?
Yesterday, half elevenish, I started weeding where all the Crocus bulbs brown foliage needs removing and wore a sun hat and a tee-shirt. Within half an hour the hat was off, a long sleeved top was on and I was muttering under my breath about the weather!

It's now 7pm, rain is falling and I may just have to put the heating on for a while ... :o(

It certainly is cold for June! The day I stepped off the plane returning to the UK, (24 years ago this June!) the pilot told us it was the hottest day of the year so far! To me it felt cold! I'd just left Madrid in the mid 30sC! That day I don't think it was more than 25C at most! This month we've had to put the heating on almost every day for a few hours!

It is always a pleasure to see your wonderful garden Lincslass, especially your beautiful roses.

That was lovely Sue :) xx