summer captured

At its most perfect best. A very fine rose, thriving when the weather is dryish, so those gorgeous petals can fully open. Pest and disease free, fabulous perfume. Rose “Abraham Darby” from David Austin roses.

The last of August

The last day of August always makes me feel a little sad. There is no getting away from the fact that the best of the year is over and there is the steady downhill slide towards the dark days of winter to come. I know there are lots of things to look forward to and enjoy in the autumn and in the winter too, but the last of August is the end of another summer, whatever the weather may say.

We are under a quiet spell of weather, after the wettest English summer since 1956, and I took the chance to take some photographs of roses, to carry the summer through a little longer. The one above is my favourite Abraham Darby, now in a second flush of blooms. This newly opened flower is in its full apricot colouring. It fades after a day or so. Look at those spot free leaves too-I never spray roses so that s another bonus to it. And the perfume is heavenly.

And this is the delightfully named English Miss, another David Austin rose, flourishing where the Council ripped out my lovely golden conifer in July. It has never bloomed so well, so there’s a bonus to come from their destruction. This too has healthy foliage and a divine scent.

I send them as a gift to anyone who reads my blog.

"Raindrops on roses.."

I couldn’t resist continuing the flower blog when this beauty came into flower today, complete with raindrops. It’s such a splendid colour and has a beautiful scent too-everything you need in a rose. It is called William Shakespeare and I think the Bard would have enjoyed having this one named for him.

I was listening to the weather report for June this morning. It has been wetter than average, as we all suspected, but also warmer than average. So far this year we are 1 1/2 degrees above the average. And apparently we are now entering our 5th year of above average temperatures. Hmm.
I know averages are just that, but it makes you wonder about climatic instability. I read that the jet stream, controlling the airflow in the upper atmosphere is much further south than usual at this time of year, which is why we are receiving one wet Atlantic depression after another. I live in hope that it will shift north at some point before September.