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💜🌸💙🌸💜I accidentally created a drought-tolerant cutting garden 🌸I threw a mixture of leftover, unused seeds into some com...
05/09/2026

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I accidentally created a drought-tolerant cutting garden 🌸

I threw a mixture of leftover, unused seeds into some compost and scattered it over my cutting garden beds in May. No plan. No particular combination. Just a little gardening experiment due to being behind with my usual seed sowing routine.

Then came the heatwaves… ☀️

And surprisingly, some of the flowers absolutely thrived.

💜 Verbena
🌺 Clarkia
💙 Cornflowers
🌸 Lavatera

I decided to look them up and discovered they all have something in common…

They’re drought tolerant. 🌿

So what started as a complete fluke has turned into a lesson I’ll definitely be taking into next year.

These four will be on my seed list again. And I think I might deliberately create another drought-tolerant cutting bed. Sometimes the garden teaches you more when you don’t quite know what you’re doing.

Would you grow a drought-tolerant cutting garden? Have you got any other drought tolerant annual suggestions?



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💚🌸🩷🌸💚A rose I still miss ….There are some plants that you grow in your garden and years later, you can still remember ex...
04/09/2026

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A rose I still miss ….

There are some plants that you grow in your garden and years later, you can still remember exactly where they stood.

‘James Galway’ was one of those roses for me.

I grew it for about five years and it was absolutely beautiful, a stunning pink climbing rose. Sadly, we eventually lost it to ‘rose rust’, which was such a disappointment.

As it happened, not long afterwards we decided to completely change our patio area, to make room for the pergola, so the rose would have had to have been moved anyway. Perhaps it was meant to be … although I still miss seeing it flowering here.

Gardens are constantly changing. Plants come and go, borders change, and sometimes the garden we have today is completely different from the one we had years ago. But there are always a few plants that remain in your memory.

‘James Galway’ is definitely one of mine. ☺️

Have you ever lost a plant that you still wish you had?

Happy Floral Friday everyone ☺️



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💚🩷🌸🩷💚I’ve literally dreamt about this moment for years …Erigeron self seeding into the cracks of my garden path. (It’s t...
02/09/2026

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I’ve literally dreamt about this moment for years …

Erigeron self seeding into the cracks of my garden path. (It’s the little things! 🫢)

It might not sound like much, but if you’ve followed our garden for a while, you’ll know just how much I’ve struggled to get Erigeron established.

Then this year, I finally cracked it. I added sand for drainage and, at long last, the plants took off. I shared a post (14th August) about my little experiment and it became apparent that I wasn’t the only one struggling with it.

Anyway, as mentioned previously, something even more exciting happened …

It’s self seeded, lots of gorgeous little Erigeron seedlings are appearing all along the cracks in the path, exactly how I’ve always imagined it, my dream has come true!

Then at the weekend, unknown to me, ‘the man who can’ decided this was the weekend for jet washing the garden path. 🥺🫣 As soon as I heard the sound of that jet washer, my heart sank, surely he would remember my precious seedlings? I literally couldn’t bring myself to look when I got outside, but luckily he had started on the patio at the side of the cottage, which has all been pointed. Someone somewhere was looking over those precious seedlings!

I then very quickly took urgent action. Thankfully I’d recently bought some chalk for Max and Finn, and out I went and drew around every single seedling growing in the cracks in the garden path. There were no excuses now! 😂

You can imagine the reaction I got can’t you? It was hard enough trying to jet wash the flags, never mind having to avoid seedlings at the same time. 😂

But, as always, he did a great job and even removed the chalk marks without being asked!! 😂😂

Happy Wednesday everyone ….. and it’s a very special day for Finn 🧒🏼 who starts pre school today …. Good luck Finn, I know you’ll be brilliant and I’ll miss our weekly ‘Granny days’! 🥲❤️



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💚🩷💚🩷💚Same garden, but three years apart. What happened? …..I’ve been looking back to August 2023 and I honestly can’t be...
30/08/2026

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Same garden, but three years apart. What happened? …..

I’ve been looking back to August 2023 and I honestly can’t believe how different the garden looks this year, compared to then.

These photographs popped up in my memories and the first thing that struck me was the colour.

Just look at those borders, the lush green grass, the hydrangeas, phlox, roses and all those flowers tumbling into one another. It was such a vibrant, abundant garden.

And then I look at the garden this August and the contrast is quite remarkable.

We’ve had such a hot, dry summer here, with long periods of very little rain, and the garden has really felt it. Some plants have coped beautifully, while others have struggled, flowered for a shorter time or simply look much more tired than they would normally do at this time of year. Everything looks drained of colour.

It has made me wonder whether we’re beginning to see the effect of our changing climate in our own gardens, not just in the big things, but in those subtle seasonal changes we notice when we’re outside every day.

Of course, gardens change. No two summers are ever the same, but when you put photographs from three years apart side by side, the difference can be quite extraordinary.

Have you noticed a difference in your garden this year, compared to previous years?

Have a lovely Sunday everyone ☺️



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🩶🏡🩶🏡🩶And just like that… summer seems to be slipping away. 🌧️🍂After weeks of heatwaves, scorching sunshine and a garden ...
29/08/2026

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And just like that… summer seems to be slipping away. 🌧️🍂

After weeks of heatwaves, scorching sunshine and a garden crying out for rain, we finally have what we’ve been wishing for.

It’s amazing how quickly the garden has changed. The grass is starting to turn greener, the light is different and those first little signs of autumn are beginning to appear everywhere.

After such a hot, dry summer, I’m more than ready for the rain, although I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to summer yet.

The roses certainly haven’t got the memo… they’re enjoying their second flush and putting on one last beautiful display before the seasons change.

There’s something rather magical about seeing our cottage and garden under a dramatic August sky. It feels like a turning point, that moment when you suddenly realise summer is coming to an end.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, it’s going to be a wet one here I think. Have you had rain yet, or are you still basking in sunshine?



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Garden views …… There’s something very special about looking out from our garden and knowing that the view will never be...
28/08/2026

Garden views ……

There’s something very special about looking out from our garden and knowing that the view will never be quite the same twice.

We’re lucky to have open fields surrounding us, so the sky has become part of the garden too.

Blue skies, storm clouds, misty mornings, golden evenings and those incredible sunsets that make you stop what you’re doing and simply look.

The garden changes with the seasons, and so does the view beyond it.

And I think that’s one of the things I love most about living here ….. there’s always something different to look at out there!

Which month would you choose as your favourite sky?

Happy Friday everyone ☺️

PS. It rained most of yesterday, and after I’d finished the housework I wondered what I could do with my time, I was bored without being able to garden … can you tell?! 🤔😂



Garden skies ~ Sky photos ~ Garden months ~ A year in my garden ~ English cottage garden ~ Beautiful sky ~ Garden views ~ Garden photography ~ Garden through the seasons ~ Cottage garden ~ Yorkshire garden ~ Country garden ~ The Little End Cottage

🌸🩷🌸🩷🌸A lovely little bit of Strawberry Hill magic 🌸This climbing rose has returned for a second time, with its soft pink...
27/08/2026

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A lovely little bit of Strawberry Hill magic 🌸

This climbing rose has returned for a second time, with its soft pink, petalled packed blooms tumbling through the arch.

I love roses that have that romantic, blowsy cottage-garden look, and Strawberry Hill certainly doesn’t disappoint.

It’s beautifully scented and, when it’s in full flower, it’s impossible to walk past without stopping for a closer look. It’s certainly my best rose for fragrance and it’s perfect for an archway!

One rose… but so many blooms.

Do you have a favourite scented rose in your garden?

Happy Thursday everyone ☺️



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