New Fence...

After many years of mulling it over I decided to have my old, rotten fence removed and a new, higher one erected; 1) to give me some privacy and 2) to hopefully put paid to the whole neighbour/tree-chopping saga. I cut back my beloved forsythia to make life easier (and cheaper) called a ‘friend of a friend’ who came round in January to take a look, and he said he’d ring with a quote. Long story short (!) he failed to get in touch and by March (after many messages remained unreturned) it was time for Plan B.

I was given the name of a local chap and I asked him to come round. He gave me a quote there and then and said he could start work this week – RESULT!!

MARCH 30, 2012 

Indian Summer...

It’s official – it’s the hottest October since 1985 and I’m loving it!

We’ve had several gloriously hot days in a row and the weather’s currently making up for the somewhat mediocre summer we’ve had this year, however, the plants seem flummoxed and while trees are dropping their leaves all around, certain shrubs and flowers think it’s spring again.

My forsythia has begun to bloom, despite the fact it’s shedding leaves faster than I can sweep them up, there’s still a few Red Admirals on the hunt for whatever’s left on the buddlia – which is precious little to be honest, ladybirds are out in their hundreds, basking in the high temperatures, and there’s still a few bees around the lobelias, geraniums and pansies. The red jasmine is proudly displaying shiny back berries and the chives are in seed, and yet the magnolia branches have grown several more inches this past week…but it gets dark around 6pm!

All very strange…. but I could easily get very used to these hazy, dewy mornings and dappled sunlight evenings…

OCTOBER 1, 2011 

September Sunshine...

When the nights are drawing in fast, and there’s a distinct nip in the air, occasionally you’ll get a day like today with glorious sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Despite the fact that the lobelias look like they’ve seen better days, and there’s no ignoring the forsythia leaves dropping to the ground, it’s just nice to be able to sit outside for a while and soak up the last sunshine of what has been a rather unimpressive summer…

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Neighbour From Hell...

It would seem that not only does the moron next door vandalise my forsythia every time I go on holiday (see pic), but under cover of darkness he also chops stems off my buddleia! There was nothing wrong with my plant when I went to bed late last night, but when I woke this morning I could see some wilted stems hanging lifelessly throughout the plant. On closer inspection I could see they’d been hacked off and thrown back into the shrub, for no reason other than the fact that he’s a malicious vandal and seems hell bent on provoking me.

You can see from the photo just how far over the fence he’s leant in order to destroy my plants…


AUGUST 21, 2011

Sabotage...

It’s rather unfortunate that there are certain individuals who, for unknown reasons, choose to act in malicious ways against their neighbours. It’s also unfortunate that I happen to live next door to a bloke who apparently deems it necessary to lean across and cut back 2-3 feet of my forsythia, on MY side of the fence, EVERY TIME I go away on holiday, throwing the chopped off branches into my small suburban garden. Of course, he’s one of those types who loves confrontation and would find my distress hilariously funny, and therefore any form of dialogue with him about these wanton acts of vandalism is purely pointless. In fact, he would probably do it even more simply to get a reaction out of me. And therefore, I know that until such a time as I can afford to employ a builder to create an 8 feet high brick wall between the two properties I shall have no choice but to accept that whenever my home is left unattended for any longer than 24 hours I must expect to return to find carnage.

JULY 24, 2011

Hello Yellow...

When the weather has been less than splendid, there’s nothing that gladdens the heart quite like seeing the forsythia in full bloom. Obviously, it helps if the temperature outdoors is in double figures, but even so, those gorgeous bright yellow flowers (and their intoxicating heady scent) are real sight for sore eyes.

MARCH 10, 2011