Some Colour and a Farewell

I have been crafting and stitching but not much to show on here.  Mainly City & Guilds and Christmas things.

After the terrible weather we have been having just lately, it was a wonderful surprise to wake up to a bright blue sky this morning.  As John and I were wandering around picking up the mess the neighbours fireworks left for us, I thought I would take a few photos of colour still left in the garden.  I thought you may like a wander around the back garden of the House household too. 

You can't fault some colours.  This is beautiful when the leaves are just opening as well as before they drop.

Cercis canadensis Forest Pansy

Our last Hollyhock for this year.

A little moth eaten but still fabulous markings and quite a few buds still to come.

Alstromeria

One of natures stranger creations as it's the only one in it's class and known as a living fossil.  I just loved the contrast with the sky.

I'm not sure if there is anything more yellow out there at the moment. 

Ginkgo biloba

A few of the roses still just hanging in there.

Rosa Dizzy Heights

Rosa Little Rambler

Rosa Markham Pink

Rosa Summer Wine

A view up to Tully Dew 2 with the Symphoricarpus albus (Snowberry) behind that had totally swamped everything in its path, (including TD2), and had to be hacked back.

Cotoneaster tree

The Trains with their winter clip done.

We've yet to have flowers on our Tulip Tree but it's still a baby at about 10 years old.  We always hope each year.  The leaves are rather lovely too though.

Liriodendron tulipifera

A close up of Tully Dew 2.  We dug up the old concrete grass roller and I found the bird bath top in the compost pile when we moved in.  The little gnome just needed a perch.

Cox's Orange Pippin.

We had a little crop of summer figs this year and the bush has a fabulous second crop.  Unfortunately they won't last the winter here.  Food for the birds anyway.

Ficus Brown Turkey

Spiraea, Geranium 'Anne Thomson' and Rosa 'Kent'.

We kept an eye out for the Spindle Ermine Moth this spring and sprayed a couple of the spindle bushes that had it.  This one managed to avoid being eaten away and has made it through to dropping its vivid orange seeds from the bright pink cases.

Euonomus 

I don't think I have ever seen the Pheasant Berry so heavily laden as this year.

Leycesteria formosa

Geum in Pheasant's Tail grass

This vine was a wedding gift from Elsa and it's really enjoying itself on the pergola.  Huge amounts of grapes this year, still not ripe enough for wine but we are over run with grape jelly so they will stay on the vine for the birds.

Vitis vinifera Aglianico

And we had another cat farewell this week.  Foxy our sorrel Somali hung on for as long as he could after his accident with a car in 2007.  At that time he had both hips broken, a broken pelvis and tail and a complete gastric shut-down.  The vets had him in for two weeks and eventually we were allowed to bring him home after his insides started working again.  He never really fully recovered the ability to totally absorb food again and steadily lost weight until last week when we thought he wasn't benefiting from a good quality of life any more.  14 years old is still a good innings and now he's terrorising the mice somewhere with Izzy. 

Foxy helping Elsa on the computer.

Wenlo Foxtrot 27.11.97 - 04.11.2011