Today’s guest picture was sent to me by Dropscone and shows the sort of food he had to put up with on his recent holiday abroad.
Standing in a gale looking at wild flowers for several hours yesterday proved to be curiously tiring and when I woke up this morning, I felt very much like having a quiet day.
I had a very quiet day.
I was helped to avoid any temptation to do something energetic by a strong wind and occasional rain showers.
I pottered around the garden, enjoying the colours on a grey day…
I thought about mowing some grass.
But I didn’t.
I went inside and did a crossword and looked out of the window. It was a day when there was always a siskin behind you.
I had another garden potter.
The bees were busy. Every Astrantia seemed to have one (or two).
We have sea holly in the garden under its Sunday name of Eryngium.
I went back in and made some carrot and lentil soup for lunch and then settled down to watch the Tour De France on the telly. Watching cycle racing on the telly is very peaceful for the most part, though the final kilometres usually provide great excitement and that was the pattern today.
When it was over, I added a little tennis to my viewing diet but Mrs Tootlepedal went back out to the garden. After a while, I went out to see what she was up to.
Attila the gardener was slashing hedges and demolishing box balls…
…in order to provide a more generous vista at the end of the back path. She always has a new plan just in case she isn’t doing enough work in the garden already. I helped by shredding the clippings.
When she had finished, I had a final wander round.
I found a late iris and a new courgette.
A Verbascum took the prize for the tallest flower of the day.
After tea, the day floated gently to its end and I am hoping that such a peaceful time will lead to the restoration of full power tomorrow.
The flower of the day is a dahlia…
..and the flying bird is a fuzzy chaffinch (the light wasn’t very good).
Tootlepedal's Blog 
An excellent Sunday post! I am looking forward to seeing the fully grown Cardoon. The dahlia has a beautifully rich colour.
We are bit worried that the cardoon may outgrow our garden entirely.
They are monster plants.
Not surprising that you’re tired after yesterday – wind is exhausting. Such lovely patterns and colours in your garden. I noted a zucchini (aka courgette) of about 4″ in my own wee garden today – great excitement!
How do you cook them?
My favourite is to slice and sauté in lemon olive oil, fresh herbs, and bacon, then mix with linguine (starting to sound a lot like carbonara, isn’t it!). Also tasty just drizzled with balsamic reduction.
It all sounds very tasty.
I’m guessing that the work that Mrs. T. did in the garden was very satisfying.
If that sweet William smells as good as it looks it’s a real winner.
The sea holly looks as good in the garden as it did on the sea shore. By Googling it I see that it also comes in different shades of blue.
It does. I am hoping that the one in the garden will show more colour later
If I tried to watch the Tour de France and a tennis match in the same day, I’d have gotten several hours of sound sleep. All the flowers are very lovely, although I’m surprised that there’s a verbascum in Mrs. T’s garden. Even though the flowers are pretty, it is considered an unwelcome weed here.
I don’t think she planted it and it is an out of the way corner so she is letting it go. Cycling is very restful I agree.
Sounds like you enjoyed your day of relaxation after yesterday’s winds, they can tire you out. I’m sure your body thanked you. And I loved seeing the sea holly in Mrs T’s garden, seeing it answered the question I sent a little while ago from yesterday’s post. 🙂
My body was more than grateful.
Well, even you run out of steam sometimes. I loved the bright colour of the Sweet William.
I hope you feel rested by your well deserved quiet day.
I like the tall verbascum and have also seen a couple of tall ones in the local cemetery. Might get the photo out later.Flowers and siskins made for a perfect Sunday entertainment.
🙂
Poor Dropscone, having to settle for that. 🙂
Dahlias I gave up on, as they seem to entice gophers as much as tulips. Enjoying all your photos!
I recognized the Verbascum. It goes by the common name of Mullein over here. I saw a lot of it on the east coast but have not encountered it in my immediate area, not yet. A prolific genus with 360 species in it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbascum
It may be a bit of a weed but it is impressive all the same.