Saturday 10 June 2017

Strawberry season

strawberries? no haven't chewed them at all...


Shall we talk politics? No? No appetite for it? I think we need a break. At least until Monday.

I spent almost the entire day at a cold and very windy football tournament. My entire face has gone bright pink with windburn. It's very eye-catching.

The littlest boy was charged with staying at home and looking after his puppy all by himself. Well, other people were at home too, but he was main dog man. He did beautifully. Feeding, entertainment, scooping etc.

Thank you for all of your tips, I've read your comments through a few times and memorised them. Bertie's settling in nicely. He sleeps so well; it's his saving grace. And he matches the cushions, that's good too.

He has long wavy ears. It occurs to me that I may be one of those people who looks like their dog. We could enter the 'Owner Who Looks Most Like Their Dog' class at dog shows. Something to aim for no?


A couple of new plants here this year. I've been a bit obsessed with aeonium Schwartzkopf since seeing it at the American Museum in Bath a couple of years ago. I found this photo I took - not the best picture of the plant, but you can just see it by the doorway. Lots of long bare stems with beautiful dark glossy balls of foliage on top.


Then I saw more outside of a seaman's cottage in Porthmadog, North Wales.


There are some other big green ones there as well. It became one of those plants I really hankered after. A few weeks back I bought a tiny one on eBay. When it turned up it was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. Pale green and weedy with hardly any purple tinge. I potted it out into a bigger pot and popped it on the windowsill. At the time I wondered if it even was a Schwartzkopf.

It quickly transformed beyond all recognition though. Now it's much bigger and a glossy dark purple. It'll be a long time until it reaches the size of the one at the American Museum, but I'm patient. I'm a gardener after all.

Another plant I was after was pelargonium Lord Bute. A Victorian variety, but still quite popular. It's a scrumptious deep purple, just about my favourite colour in the garden, after green and white.


Again, it's a small plant. I'll probably take a cutting or two if it's big enough in a month or so. Both this and the aeonium will need to be overwintered somewhere frost-free I think.


I hope all is well with you. Have a lovely Sunday. We'll be concentrating on not eating unripe strawberries and not biting small boys no matter how tasty they are. CJ xx

24 comments:

  1. C.J., I predict that Bertie will be easy to train - he has a very intelligent face! And so cute! I am forced to admit to being a cat person now, but we raised poodles when I was a teenager, so I guess I have had the best of both worlds. Good luck with your new plant varieties.

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  2. I hope he's easy to train. He's certainly cute, so that should help when he does very bad things to your house and garden. :)

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  3. If he has inherited a poodles intelligence he will train himself and you too. Puppy teeth are like needles aren't they? I hope you manage to harvest some strawberries, we have started to enjoy ours.

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    1. Yes, they're coming thick and fast now. Earlier than usual by two or three weeks. I'm glad the rain has stopped now, otherwise I know they would start to go mushy. CJ xx

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  4. Do you think there should be a category for plant that most looks like your dog? In this case I'm thinking Bertie and aeonium Schwartzkopf.

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  5. HE is so cute, I just want to snuggle him. Can I come over to play with him?

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  6. You are so funny, Claire...your last line had me in stitches. Bertie is a cutie. What breed is he? I'm thinking cocker spaniel or cockapoo. Then again, we have all sorts of different terms in our countries.

    When you mentioned politics I thought for one second you meant our president. Not going to say how badly I feel about that...at least not in less than 10,000 words.

    Lovely plants. I wish we had some of your beautiful species here. I also envy what friends grow in the south and east and west here in the states. Still, we have our beauties in the upper midwest.!

    Hope your weekend has been wonderful. Spent too much time on the beach today reading a cheap novel, turned a nice shade of red and added to the multiple freckles on my face. :((

    Jane xxx

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  7. What a delightful post and lovely pictures to start my day off with. Bertie's innocent look has me laughing.
    Thanks, and you too. xx

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  8. I'm seeing aeonium Schwartzkopf everywhere this year. Not sure if it was our hot dry spring but lots of them have sprouted vivid yellow flowers. They look spectacular. We have a small one in the garden, but no flowers yet. Maybe next year. Bertie is truly gorgeous. If my cats allowed me a dog it would be a Bertie variety. Enjoy. B x

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  9. It's probably not helpful to tell you my 14 month old 'puppy' still mouths... Very gently though!

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  10. The plants are obviously happy living with you. Bertie really is very cute. Hopefully learning not to nip will occur quickly! Xx

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  11. I can see Bertie stealing the show on your blog. :-) I like Lord Bute too.

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  12. Your flowers are lovely, but I'm afraid Bertie upstages them all. :-)

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  13. Gorgeous plants ....but even more gorgeous puppy!

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  14. Is he a cockpoo? Or a labradoodle? I get confused. Molly didn't eat plants, but then she wasn't a puppy. Let's not talk about politics, I go from euphoria (labour gains!) to despondency (the DUP) in seconds. X

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  15. I'm over the moon happy that your family has found the perfect puppy for you all! He's simply the cutest little guy ever! Bertie is my sister's nickname.. love it! Now I want one of those plants! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  16. He is so cute!!! No strawberries to talk about in my garden yet. We had to throw out last years strawberries. They went ill... New once were planted a couple of weeks ago. Not sure they will produce this year. Yours look big and so nice! How do you make them stand up straight like that? Mine always tend to lay on the ground and get dirty and mushy because of the weight... Snuggles for Bertie. And well done on little boy to take care of him on his own. I bet that makes him mature in rapid speed with the responsibility. He is a lucky boy.
    Xx
    Annette

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  17. I am trying to imagine your long wavy ears... it makes me giggle. Did you mean to write hair? Bertie sure is a cute little fur ball. Your little boy is doing great, looking after his pup all by himself. Pelargonium is the unofficial national flower of Switzerland, everyone has a few (bright red) on their windowsills. We used to winter them in the basement. If you have a garage or a shed, that'll probably work, too. Does yours smell really strongly in the evening? Love the fragrance very much. Have a really good week xx

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  18. Your boy must be on cloud nine (maybe even ten!) and Bertie looks to be settling in beautifully. Oh, yes, I remember the nibbling stage. Boo had a 'thing' for the TV remote control and we had a Dalmatian who chewed a whole washing line of clothes. We were wearing string vests for ages! Love that pelargonium.

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  19. It strikes me that the aeonium looks like Bertie too. (Our dog was going to be called Bertie).Oh I see reading back that Curvywitch had the same thought.

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  20. Oh a post full of beautiful pictures of beautiful things. Bertie is a dear and sounds like such a good boy just like his Main dog Man. (how cute was that?) You know, I know that purple plant. Had them growing in the yard I grew up in, but never knew the name until today. Your patience pays off, gardener lady.

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