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| Knickers |
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| Twinkles, who will be seven this week. |
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| Cotton |
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Is it Safe to Say Spring is Here?
This time
of the year everything is bursting back into life. Its been another slow year for Spring to arrive, looking back into the archives we have complained about late springs before, so maybe its not really late and we are just impatient!
Now we are a few weeks past the clocks going forward the evenings are also light and bright, and we can actually spend some time in the garden after work. Although usually tempted to find a job to do it is an enjoyable way to just wind down after three quarters of an hour on the train.
So whats looking good in the garden now...
The bright pink flush on this Pieris appears on a few other plants and to the casual observer looks like flowers. Almost like the flowers on this potted Rhododendron, (potted to give it the soil conditions it likes, our garden is just a little too alkaline for rhododendrons to do well).
Now we are a few weeks past the clocks going forward the evenings are also light and bright, and we can actually spend some time in the garden after work. Although usually tempted to find a job to do it is an enjoyable way to just wind down after three quarters of an hour on the train.
So whats looking good in the garden now...
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| Pieris japonica |
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Yorkshire Revisited
Almost five years ago we wrote about friends garden in Yorkshire. Well last weekend we went "up North" for a visit and although the garden is only just waking up in April it was a delight to revisit this gem.
As you enter the garden a greenhouse that most of us would be very proud of greats you. full of tempting exotics tucked away for winter periods. Bananas were just starting to wake up. Unfortunately I go carried away in talking about the plants to actually remember to take a photo inside.
The stone cottage would typically be surrounded by cottage style plantings, however a backbone of hardy yuccas and tetrapanax and an understory of far more interesting plants provide a much more interesting feel.
The garden has a great addition with a valley style portion to the side of the house, with a covering of large deciduous natives, the exotics give a Cornish feel to this garden. Something we remarked on in our previous blog.
The dappled spring sunlight filtering through a stand of bamboo.
Once again we were delighted to visit our friends garden, and we promise not to leave it quite so long for a follow up.
Gaz
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| An old beach tree that was removed due to disease lives on as these characters |
As you enter the garden a greenhouse that most of us would be very proud of greats you. full of tempting exotics tucked away for winter periods. Bananas were just starting to wake up. Unfortunately I go carried away in talking about the plants to actually remember to take a photo inside.
The stone cottage would typically be surrounded by cottage style plantings, however a backbone of hardy yuccas and tetrapanax and an understory of far more interesting plants provide a much more interesting feel.
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| A brave cat surveys her territory |
The garden has a great addition with a valley style portion to the side of the house, with a covering of large deciduous natives, the exotics give a Cornish feel to this garden. Something we remarked on in our previous blog.
The dappled spring sunlight filtering through a stand of bamboo.
One of the other garden kitties "helping out" by stripping the bark
Once again we were delighted to visit our friends garden, and we promise not to leave it quite so long for a follow up.
Gaz
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Tokyo 2016 - Part II pink swans and skyscrapers.
Our third day started out with a very relaxing morning in Ueno park a park surrounded by towers, immediately reminding us of New Yorks Central Park albeit on a smaller scale. Our approach into the park was met with a sea of brown 'reeds' that really seemed quite off putting. Surely the super clean Tokyoites wouldn't tolerate such a messy lake. We quickly realised however that this wasn't a lake full of scruffy reeds but actually a huge lotus pond associated with the temple located in the centre of this section of the park. This must look stunning in the summer time.
Heading round the park the larger body of water was home to a floating armada of pink swans (and blue, yellow, green etc), how could we resist!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Sunday, February 02, 2014
Quietly We Enter February
So January has gone past and quietly we have entered February...
That's what I remarked anyway on Saturday morning when we both noted how calm and serene it felt at that time and such an atmosphere lasted for us all weekend. This is in contrast to our anticipation that February is actually set to be an activity filled month for us, which will be good as there will be plenty of blog material coming out of it.
Serenity this weekend however was much appreciated, and much needed especially as we're still feeling the after effects and recovering from the silly busy year for us that was 2013.
It was sunny and the air was still for most of the weekend, in contrast to how the weather was the weekdays before that wherein endless rainfall and gusts of winds were the norm. So the break from all of them was a welcome relief and contributed greatly to this sense of calm at the start of February.
But sunny it may be, it's still only February which means its still winter. And winter mode we will remain in for now so we only had a quick wander down the garden and carried on with indoor pursuits (house redecoration continues) afterwards.
At least the cats kept us company too!
A calm entry to a fun filled February...
Mark :-)
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| Echeveria rosea enjoying some winter sun |
Serenity this weekend however was much appreciated, and much needed especially as we're still feeling the after effects and recovering from the silly busy year for us that was 2013.
It was sunny and the air was still for most of the weekend, in contrast to how the weather was the weekdays before that wherein endless rainfall and gusts of winds were the norm. So the break from all of them was a welcome relief and contributed greatly to this sense of calm at the start of February.
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| This was fine |
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| This was fine |
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| Even this fungi is fine! |
At least the cats kept us company too!
A calm entry to a fun filled February...
Mark :-)
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Black and White
First it was Bright and White.
Now it is Black and White.
Heck, even our cats are Black and White!
But this entry isn't about our cats. It's about the big black transformation of our pond.
There it was, after two and a half years of hard work, and after just two and a half days work by the fibreglasser, the pond is now fibreglassed - waterproof and black. And what a wonderful moment it was when I got home and found the pond and small water feature are finally black.
And don't you just love professionals? You hire them and they get things done in such a short amount of time. So quick as well too, especially on this case. If we fibreglassed the pond ourselves it would have probably taken us an entire week or two to complete the task, being the after work DIY-ers that we are. Although we would have never done the fibreglassing ourselves anyway, it's one of those jobs that is best left to the professionals. Hence that's why we got John to do the deed.
John is a seasoned pro and has been doing this for many, many years. And he is a long time koi keeper too as well as a fellow member of our local koi club, hence fully understanding the special needs a koi pond demands. With his expertise well known in the circuit, he has been commissioned several times to fibreglass ponds for show gardens, four of which were for the Chelsea Flower Show.
Getting the pond waterproof is such a huge turning point for the project. After all, if it ain't waterproof, it ain't a pond! It feels great that we are actually through to this very important stage and now we can move on to the remaining stages.
There is still a lot of prep work to the interior of pond itself before we can fill it up with water (once or twice before fishes are introduced), including the installation of the filters first. Otherwise it will just flood the filtration house. But for now we can start finishing off the exterior part like putting on the coping stone edging, etc.
And there's the small water feature too which was easy enough to finish off. A few evenings after work and a few hours over the weekend and it is mostly finished. All we need to do now is to install its own filtration and it will be up and running shortly.
Sometimes I feel we move at such a slow pace. Maybe because we're both overly meticulous at times? I think it's more of a case of mentally wanting to achieve more in a limited amount of time, more than realistic but I think we're not doing bad at all. I had a quick look back at our photo archives, of what we have done exactly a year ago and here it was:
So glad to finally see the back of all that clay!
I have been looking at everything recently, pinching myself that we are actually at this stage. And that I have to think about relatively minor things now like lighting, outdoor speakers, etc. Rather than just endless digging and cementing.
Hard work yes but overall what an enjoyable journey. And I'm enjoying things even more now that we are almost there.
Mark :-)
Now it is Black and White.
Heck, even our cats are Black and White!
But this entry isn't about our cats. It's about the big black transformation of our pond.
There it was, after two and a half years of hard work, and after just two and a half days work by the fibreglasser, the pond is now fibreglassed - waterproof and black. And what a wonderful moment it was when I got home and found the pond and small water feature are finally black.
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| Look Ma, no creases! |
And don't you just love professionals? You hire them and they get things done in such a short amount of time. So quick as well too, especially on this case. If we fibreglassed the pond ourselves it would have probably taken us an entire week or two to complete the task, being the after work DIY-ers that we are. Although we would have never done the fibreglassing ourselves anyway, it's one of those jobs that is best left to the professionals. Hence that's why we got John to do the deed.
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| John (facing away, right) and his assistant fibreglassing away |
Getting the pond waterproof is such a huge turning point for the project. After all, if it ain't waterproof, it ain't a pond! It feels great that we are actually through to this very important stage and now we can move on to the remaining stages.
There is still a lot of prep work to the interior of pond itself before we can fill it up with water (once or twice before fishes are introduced), including the installation of the filters first. Otherwise it will just flood the filtration house. But for now we can start finishing off the exterior part like putting on the coping stone edging, etc.
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| Gaz doing some measurement before angle grinding some of the sandstone slabs. |
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| And you'll need some cement to fix them in place. |
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| For months it just sat there accumulating rainwater |
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| Once the fibreglass has dried, sanded down, washed; coping stones have been cemented into place |
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| And once the mortar has dried, it was blended away inside with a black pond paint. Just have to paint the outside white now! |
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| How it was, exactly a year ago. |
I have been looking at everything recently, pinching myself that we are actually at this stage. And that I have to think about relatively minor things now like lighting, outdoor speakers, etc. Rather than just endless digging and cementing.
Hard work yes but overall what an enjoyable journey. And I'm enjoying things even more now that we are almost there.
Mark :-)
Tuesday, August 07, 2012
Twinkles Tuesday
Our youngest Cat, Twinkles is just over a year old and always full of energy. She loves helping us on the pond, although perhaps her definition of the word "help" may need a little amendment!
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| They won't see me if I hide in here |
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| Oh no, they spotted me... |
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| If I give them my best scowl that will teach them... |
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| Hurry up I want to go fishing |
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| Whats this string doing here? |
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| I think I'll tidy it up |
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| Or maybe I'll hunt it... |
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| Hunting string is very tiring |
She usually chooses an awkward moment to decide its cuddle time, and has been known to climb up us, digging her claws in to get a good hold until she gets the cuddle she is after.
I'm sure we are not the only bloggers with gardening companions, it would be great to hear about your helpers too!
Gaz :)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
