Sun is shy in Glasgow ! It so ironical that while I am seating in a place where the days are so much longer than say in the South of France we get so little sun light … A little annoying if I may say so ! But the up side is that comes the end of July when all flowers are burned up in all French gardens we have beautiful blooms here and they are here to stay for another long while … A pleasure for the eyes. 

No hose pipe bans in scotland that is for sure ! 

 
But the downside is off course the speed at which weeds grow. Spend an afternoon on your knees weeding and by the time you have sat down for that well deserved coffee … Those weeds have grown back … A lost battle before you start it ! 

   
 
And off course there are the slugs … Should you be innocently planting delicate plants and soft herbs they will have an overnight feast and by the time you make it back to the garden the next morning … GONE all your lettuces, sweet peas shoots etc .. In their fat bellys ! And for proofs you only have left the shiny trails they have left ! Shining in the sunlight of the early morning.
  
Never mind you can concentrate on bushes and hardy plants and I love Hydrengeas to bits … It’s a bit like the Britanny Coast had moved in my garden and my front steps … It is a bit of an obsession with me but every season I have to buy one … And most of the time they are blue ! I give them to my neighbours ! Plant them in the back! Move the pots around but at the end I always have too many !

  
I love winter roses as well.. I won’t bore you with the Latin name for it. They are glorious and so resilient coming out in the cold winter season with their delicate flowers which die from instant heat if you try and put them in a case inside ! 

   
 But my fav is definitely the little snake flower which Charles rennie Mackintosh loved to the point of painting them. I only discovered them when I moved to Glasgow and I have panted the delicate little bulbs everywhere in my garden so it’s always a surprise when one new one comes out …

  
I could make my garden prettier like my friend Katrina who leaves in the borders and added some delicate little touches in the shape of a painted garden shed but that is too civilised for me. My garden is a retreat to clear your head not good for a cup of tea and a chat.

   
 
Bill and Celia have a grand garden ! It’s really more like a park and it has a duck pond as well as some beautiful borders … I like walking through it but the size of it would overwhelm me.

  

   
 
My garden is just the right size for me and I like it to be disorganised … There is always a task at hand there for me.

I will spend a few hours in the garden today mainly getting rid of sone unwanted weeds because that is mainly what one does before you get the chance to plant something new ! 

What will your day bring you ?

Love 

Betty xx

Ps: if you like my garden photos why don’t you treat yourself to a set of them as greeting cards ? They are available on http://www.etsy.com filter on thelansdownehouse ! They are the perfect treat for garden lovers.