Long Mizzle Garden

 Hello m' seafaring saints, The girls were desperate for a summer holiday adventure. One morning at breakfast I said -  "Right, we're going abroad! Pack your rucksacks." We promptly headed down to Falmouth's Prince of Wales pier & hopped on the 10:30 yellow ferry *. This took us across Falmouth bay and twenty minutes later we arrived at St Mawes harbour. The littlest one did actually believe we were in France. If only going abroad was that effortless & cheap!  * £10 adult return/ children go free on this one.   After a walk up and down by the immaculately painted seafront houses and a peek in the church hall charity sale, manned by the plumiest (we're talking King Charles' Camilla here) but loveliest two ladies, it was time for an early lunch at the harbour bakery.  "Why is everyone so friendly here?" the girls asked. We sat eating our pasties, watching the paddle boarders, sail school kids and daft swimming dogs. Then onward to my ulter...

 Hello m' hot scrumpies,   Apologies for my blogging absence. It feels work wise, mentally and physically I have been living in a pressure cooker for the past month This coincided with the hottest June globally on record. Hello El Niño - you arrived too soon. The garden sat thirsty for weeks on end. Some of the luckier beds received buckets of used bath water. A hose pipe ban has been in place in the South West since last summer. The reservoirs are critically low and the water company is scrambling to set up the desalination of seawater. Most plants seem shorter in height this year. The roses however seemed to love the dry heat.  Dog on quay dutifully watches over sea swimming owner Now there are reports of a potential maritime heatwave. Since taking up sea swimming, I can confirm the sea is still officially flippin' cold to my skin. My brother says 'knees, hips, nips and tips' is the way to enter the water without shocking the body. The nips seems to be the hardest s...

 Hello m' sunny June berries, Please forgive me for my naughty blogging absence! Before May disappears in a purple haze, here's the garden turning slowly from starry blue to fiery orange.         Above: Tree Echium Below: Cordyline flowers   Forget-me-nots going over. Californian poppies and Sweet Williams coming into bloom.   Above: the 'Faraway Tree'   Poor sad frost damaged succulents - out for their summer hols! It's been a busy half term 'holiday' week, involving not one but two job interviews for me, together with the associated swatting & stressing. Aside from some sea swimming and a carbooty jaunt, we've mostly been pottering around the garden and enjoying the unseasonably dry hot weather. On Thursday, Long Mizzle had a very special visit from author Sue Kittow (Pen name 'SL Roswarne'). I know Sue from following her Flowerpot Days blog here . Isn't it lovely when bloggers can meet up in person for a proper natter!   We sat on th...