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GGBD June 2010

What is GBBD? Originated and still hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day it’s a monthly date where bloggers from around the world join together to post what is in flower in their gardens on the same day. It is fascinating to see these blooms that may also appear in my small Scottish garden and those that I will never see in flower here… ever 🙂

What’s the date for GBBD? It’s the 15th of the month, although Carol and the others won’t mind if you are a little late to the party as I am today. On saying that, I usually make a point of taking my photos on the 15th so I feel I’ve properly taken part even though I don’t always post then.

Plants flowering in my front garden. Red Campion, Nepata ‘Walkers Low’, Cranesbill, Perennial Wallflower Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve, Knautia Mars Midget, Allium Christphii.

If you are new to blogging and would like to join in please don’t feel pressure to take lots of photos (especially if you are short on time). Lists are good too or a mix of the two. Another way to look at GBBD is that it’s a great regular record of your own garden in flower that you can compare month to month, year to year… interesting to look back on especially during the winter months.

To take part with GBBD for this month all you need to do is publish your post then head over to Carol’s posting with your post URL (not your blog name one) and add your name and link to the list there. Most bloggers leave a comment on Carol’s posting too. To enjoy this festival of gardens in bloom from around the world just start clicking on the names on the list and you’re off!!

View from my front door step towards the garden gate. Generous show of flowers from Perennial Wallflower Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve.

For GBBD bloggers that may stroll their way to this post I’d like to briefly mention that recently I have been posting (at length) on birds nesting in my garden in a nestbox that has had a camera. It has been fascinating to watch especially as for the first time in the last 4 years we have had a family survive. You can see my Nestbox Diary here.

The birds were Blue Tits ( Parus caeruleus) and I have photos and video from the nest build all the way to the first chick fledging. At present, I am about to edit the last video footage from the last full day of the chicks and their activity in our nestbox. The first chick fledged last Saturday night at 9:28pm. The remaining five chicks stayed overnight in the nestbox leaving very early the next morning.

Photos of our newly fledged young family in my garden would have been a special addition to GBBD but alas as yet we have not seen them visit yet. If you are new to GBBD I’d like to wish you fun with this. It is definitely a great way to meet new bloggers with the same plant interests. I have really enjoyed taking part and hope you do to.

View in my front garden just outside my garden gate showing
Nepata (large skirt on the ground). Behind Stipa Gigantea flowers,
generous displays of Red Campion and Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’.

Finally, on a more personal note, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time blogging (over 3½ years) and I look forward to browsing the GBBD posts, discovering new blogs and meeting new bloggers. It has been great fun and I have enjoyed being part of this garden community.

However, now having met one of my main blogging goals to share a successful nestbox story (which has been fantastic) I now feel in a bit of a quandary where to take my blog from here. I often feel a little in ‘no mans’ blogging land posting on gardens/plants and birds/wildlife. There will always be seasonal periods for both which doesn’t make it easy for followers of one or the other. I understand this.

View from my back garden just behind the garden gate. Red Campion and Aqueligia growing through lush foliage of ferns, Hellebores, Ivy and Golden hop. Gunnera flower spike below leaf canopy.

My biggest blogging goal has always been to try and show that you don’t need to compromise planting and design to have birds and wildlife visit your garden. In essence, gardens for wildlife don’t really need to be wild.

I will always be a plants person first and the reality is that the birds and hedgehogs don’t care if I plant Alliums or brightly coloured summer bedding (don’t do bedding though). They also don’t care if my plants are in drifts, straight lines or I alternate colours in a formal pattern (the later I don’t do either).

Detail of Gunnera Flower. Physocarpus Diablo foliage including flowers, Red Campion, Allium Purple Sensation.

View of planting below wisteria. White flowers of Choysia
Aztec Peal & Ternata, Pink flowers of Red Campion & Cransebill,
Purple globe flowers from Alliums & Chives.

Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria)

2010 is the Year of Biodiversity and for me I am in absolutely no doubt whatsoever on the valuable role our gardens play here. I guess unbeknown to me I’ve really being promoting Biodiversity in my blog for some time. As my plant group tastes change and I restructure beds and planting I am providing new food sources and habits for insects and birds… and they come!

My goal for this year of Biodiversity is to consider insects in the flowering plants I introduce into my garden. I think these plants are the key ones… especially for bees who have seen a decline in numbers.

I love foliage too and am a keen advocate of ground covering plants merging together and that would be a tip I’d give to new gardeners as this foliage provides home and shelter to garden wildlife… as well as keeping down on weeding 😉

Celmisia, Broom, London Pride, Heuchera, Alpine Aster, Cotoneaster tree, Ajuga.

My garden project for this year is to build a new wildife pond. Although, it is the reflection of light this water will bring that I am really looking forward to I am also very keen to introduce a whole new range of plants here too. I will then sit back and do some garden watching to see what visits it! ‘If you build it they will come’… I wonder what ‘they’ will be.

Rose Mdm Alfred Carriere, Cirsium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’, Candelabra primula, Meconopsis (Blue Poppy).
Newest arrivals from Garden Show (still in pots):
Purple flower from spotted leaf hardy Orchid Dactylorhiza x Grandis.
Globe cup flower from pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea
(oops perhaps not so insect friendly!)

Coming back to ‘Finally…’ I am seriously considering a break in blogging over the summer months. Blogging as I do with much chat, photos and video is taking time away from my garden at the moment. Don’t get me wrong I have loved blogging very much and really enjoyed the social side through comments and email too.

For now though, I really need to get out into my garden and get it back into order, get my pond completed and some general maintenance done. Oh yes… some weeding, pruning, cuttings taken etc too. I’d like to step away from the ‘talking the talk’ for a while and get back out to ‘walking the walk’.

Before I break for the summer, I’ll post video from the last day in our nestbox and perhaps some tie up ones too.

Meanwhile, if you are new here please do say Hi in a comment and I’ll pop over for a visit to see you before I go. To my regular visitors I’d like to say a huge THANK-YOU for all your visits and comments during the time I have been blogging. It has been wonderful to meet you all… thanks so much for your support 😀

Just in case you’re not back for my next couple of postings, I’d like to wish you a brilliant summer! I’ll keep in touch… catch you later… now to the big question… will I be able to keep away 😉

All photos above were taken in my garden on June 15th 2010.

22 thoughts on “GGBD June 2010

  1. An excellent range of blooms as always Shirl. Have a great Summer in your lovely garden.
    Can you stay away from the computer? That is a definite maybe 😉

  2. What a nice post, Shirl. GBBD is always a good post-opportunity! You have a diverse garden already, so you won't have to work hard to make it more so! Enjoy your summer and make sure we get to see something of your special gardens from time-to-time! 🙂

  3. Oh I will miss your posts very much. Please try to send a little hello every once in a while won't you and a few pix. Today's selection were lovely, as was your heartfelt message. Are you sure that isn't my arbour and wisteria???? ahahah. Teasing))). Thanks Shirl, and enjoy your summer!!

  4. Hi Shirl! What a nice post! First, your garden is absolutely beautiful and your pictures are very inspiring. Second, you are right, this is a gardening season, and our priority is to be in our gardens. Don't worry, we'll be here when you are back.
    …About one of the plants. I love Wallflower Erysimum Bowles' Mauve. For some reason, it lived for a very short time in my garden. I'm wondering how old is your plant?
    All the best,
    Tatyana

  5. Enjoy your summer but hurry back!
    Loved seeing everything it's a beautiful world you live in Miss Shirl.
    hugs from Savannah, Cherry

  6. Thanks, John 🙂 As I said in my post I want to sort out another couple of postings before I take a break… lol… don’t think I’ll manage to stay completely away from the computer 😉

    Ideally, I would like to pop around Blogland from time to time to say hello and catch up with everyone. I need to catch up with you already! However, if there are extra special gardenwatching moments in my garden over the summer I will post pics/video 😀

  7. Thank-you, Shady funnily enough I wasn’t sure until this morning that I would actually make this statement on having a summer break for real. After posting for so long this is a big step for me 🙂

    I sorted/croppped my photos last night and was all set to just post my blooms and chat about GBBD for new bloggers and then it just grew from there. I do believe it is the right decision for now. I agree, perhaps more of my blogging friends will see this through GBBD than perhaps would have.

    Thanks for your kind comments, my OH and daughters have been suggesting I post photos from time to time for our records too. I may just do that… but it is the chat that catches me out and others when they visit… I find that one hard.

    We’ll see, I certainly don’t plan to vanish of the face of Blogland quite yet. I’ve a couple more posts I’ll do first anyway. Perhaps, I’ll have time to visit you more often. However, if something extra special happens in my garden… I’ll be back 😀

  8. Oh… thank-you, Bren 🙂 it’s a shame I’ve just been discovering your blog right now. This really has been a big step for me today. I believe it’s the right one though 🙂

    Posting photos from time to time I may well do. Not really sure how this is going to work. Lol… you just can’t switch off to blogging after so long 😉

    I do know that I fully intend popping by and visiting blogs to say hello and plan to keep in touch with everyone. I’ve still a couple of posts I’d like to do before I take this break from posting myself. However, before I do that I’m going to buzz around GBBD posts and visit ‘old’ friends!!

    Oh my… snap on the Wisteria covered Arbour… you just need the Ivy Sulphur heart! Congrats on your first flowers… I really do know how exciting this is for you 😀

  9. Your garden has many flowers that are unknown to me. I enjoyed seeing the bluetits. Wish you a great summer holiday, and a return to blogging at the earliest!

  10. Thank-you, Tatyana:-) Gosh, I’ve just had a peek a your front bed posting and see similarity in plant tastes… that’s been the great thing about blogging and blog hopping. I’ll be by to comment later 😉

    Thanks for understanding, as I garden single handed 99% of the time and don’t do hot weather too well I long to be out the garden in the evenings which is the same time I tend to prepare posts. Despite the Scottish midge buzzing around my head then I hope to get lots done so that once again I can share what I experiment with in my small garden.

    My Bowles Mauve is only now in its second year. I bought it last April. I have heard of others who’ve had it longer and they say it may only last a few years. I plan to take cuttings shortly. It really has been a great doer in my garden and I really do want to keep it a while yet. Hope that helps. I’ll pop by to see you soon 😀

  11. Your garden looks so beautiful Shirley. All of those blooms. I tend to forget what a marvelous gardener you are when watching the drama of the baby birds. Happy GBBD.

  12. Hi Shirl

    I know only too well about the time restraints – I mostly posted photos for my June GBBD and few words as I didn't have the time. For me having a day job, being a wife and mother and gardening and a photography hobby makes it difficult just writing good pieces of material at this time of year and then visiting other folks blogs aswell.

    I'm just in from a really productive evening in the garden and I had this little blackbird gathering material for her nest and she came right up beside me as I weeded – she was watching to see if any worms would appear with my weeding…. which they did. She was very comfortable in my presence – I wonder is that because I feed them in the garden maybe?

    Your garden looks as if it has some beautiful blooms in it just now so I can understand the lur it has on you. Shirl have a wonderful summer in the garden making your new pond and getting every thing in order and I look forward to your return.

    Rosie 🙂

  13. Hi there Rosie, and a Happy Bloom Day to you 😀

    Yes, I guess we all have the same problems re time for blogging at this time of year. It is tricky to find a balance where a family is concerned too. Although my daughters are at the older end of school and beginning of Uni stage I have been involved in a lot with them both. They have had different long term (last few years) health issues too which adds to the mix. Exam times have been a tad stressful too and I have been in the background as a means of support in the whole de-stressing thing – as best I can.

    Often by the time I have free in the evening it is a tad late for posting and I won’t confess to my latest wee small hour I have actually posted!! By that time it is way too late for browsing and leaving comments to others which has always bothered me.

    Thanks for sharing the moments in your garden tonight. I do love the Blackbirds following me in the garden too 🙂

    Looking at your posting I can see that we have common plant favs. Lol… my garden will never truly be in order when I’m always changing planting schemes… that’s what I love about gardening though. I am so looking forward to seeing my new pond be visualised. I’m still working on the design and trying to be a bit imaginative with it. I’ll probably need to scale things back but you’ve got to start somewhere 😉

    Thanks, as I have said above I don’t intend completely cutting myself off from everyone… I’ll see how it goes 😀

  14. Hello Cherry, thanks for stopping by today! I’ll pop over to visit you soon 🙂

    Gosh things are looking good in your Savannah garden… must be warm with you for all those daylilies to be looking so well 😀

  15. Hi again lotusleaf, I’m delighted to share both my different plant range and Blue tits with you. I should say I equally enjoy seeing what grows and lives in your tropical South India garden and area. That’s the brilliant thing about GBBD isn’t it? It really does connect us all.

    Thanks-you, wishing you a great summer too 😀

  16. Thank-you, Lisa 🙂 what a very generous comment! You really have been most kind in your visits here and I have appreciated it 😀

    Yes, plants really are my first love but the birds are coming a very close second… equal with the hedgehogs of course. Thanks, and a very good GBBD to you too 😀

  17. Such lovely blooms, Shirl (I'm still loving the Blue Poppy) and it certainly isn't apparent from the photos that your garden is suffering from lack of attention, now mine…well! mine definitely is 🙁

    I am so sorry we won't have the pleasure of your company for a while but completely understand the reasons. I know only too well how difficult it is to juggle everything!

    I have enjoyed your blog so much, and for much longer than you realise 🙂 I note that you have a couple more posts to come before your break but want to wish you a very happy Summer and thank you very much for the huge pleasure your blog has given me.

    Don't enjoy your break too much when you take it 🙂 We want you back eventually!

  18. Hi again, Jan… thank-you! Careful cropping can hide a multitude of sins… like the grater in the middle of one area and the overspill of rocks on my paths 😉

    The late night postings do eventually take their toll (as you’ll know yourself) leaving a limited time to go blog visiting. I fully intend to dip in and out of the blogging world with visits to my friends there.

    Thank-you, for your very kind support through the time I have been blogging. I always smile when I see you’ve left a comment. I honestly don’t know how you manage to follow so many blogs as closely as you do and fit in time looking up poetry verses alone for your own blogs!

    It is wonderful for me that you have enjoyed visiting my blog for so long… I know my long postings don’t make it easy for you. Yes, as I’ve said, I’ve a couple more postings I’d like to do before I break up for the summer. Lol… oh I do think you’ll have me back 😀

  19. I'll miss your blog, Shirl, but can understand why you'd want to take a break – it's very time-consuming, isn't it?! I look forward to the occasional photos – and perhaps to more blogging from you after the gardening season is over …

  20. Hi Shirl. As always I enjoyed the June update from your garden…naturally colourful and inspiring. Enjoy Summer in your own fabulous space and the various projects you have up your sleeve.
    You are a consumate communicator, can you really stay away?
    Bless you….FAB.

  21. Thanks, Juliet. Oops, I’ve posted again. Yes, the writing especially takes me time. I’m not a touch typist either. Lol… I do get by on more than a few fingers though. However, I love doing it.

    Unfortunately there are heaps of other things that need my attention right now too both inside my house and outside in the garden. It’s time to catch up. Yes, occasional photos will be a good idea so I can keep a record of what I’ve been up to for myself too.

    Wishing you a great summer 😀

  22. Hi there Frank, thanks for popping by. I’ll be honest and say that your blog is one of the ones I wish I could find time to keep up with more… leave comments too 🙂

    Thanks, yes my projects are still in the planning and clearing stage at the moment and I’ve been a bit stop start with some of it. All the while my head is gathering ideas though so that is a plus there.

    ‘can you really stay away’ oops, I guess not for the moment!! However, when the schools break up at the end of the week then things will be different. Enjoy your summer. I’ll pop by to see what you get up to 😀

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