Simple beauties sitting on the barn window

Who’s eating me Geraniums?

I noticed this white stuff on one of my pots, so being at our leisure decided to have a look.

We cut the stem off, chopped and chopped through the hollowed out stem until we saw a stripey end peeking out.

Another snip and this little wasp fell out. Never seen this before. Know there are wasps that do this. Wonder if its due to this warm damp summer and the bugs are breeding? Anyone else seen one of these little guys? He was about 1cm long

Geranium puzzle

My favourite plants on the patio are my geraniums and especially the striped/flecked ones. We keep them over winter in the cellar and do take cuttings. So this year, two of my older plants have got confused. Half the plant has true coloured petals and the other the flecked ones. Anyone any idea why????

Autumn blues

Friday September 13th

Some would say not to be good writing on this day but I don’t hold with all that nonsense! My Cowbell summer has ended, Dave is now home from the course and my hermit existence is over.  I’m adjusting and the peace God gave me remains.

We’ve a spell of colder weather with snow above 2000 metres which has put paid to any walking up really high, just now as we finally have the time after a busy summer to do some, typical!  Dave and I are now in the do we put the Geraniums away conflict.  I want to keep them out on the terrace as long as possible, winter dullness lasts too long with the monochrome white and black.  We get this cold blip in September but then October can be really warm.  Apparently its the reverse metereological effect of when the Ice Saints come in the spring, and is maybe why we now have English tv channels back!   I remember when we were house hunting being in Salzburg on the National day, all warmly sweating because the temperature was in the mid 20s!  But we have +3 forecast tonight which will may mean a frost.  So we have reached a compromise.  The largest plants which we’ve had for a few years will go in the greenhouse to dry off ready for going in the cellar, and the others will stay put, I may put a fleece on them tonight.

Maybe it is going to be a hard winter, after the nutty summer we’ve had. I need the next few weeks to pysch myself up for winter, by November I’ll be like a five year old watching for the first flakes!

As a post script, I lost the battle with the flowers going into the greenhouse the following Monday as there was a real frost forecast and there had been already quite a snowfall on the hills.  But I got my own back, I just happened to buy some Michelmass daisies and some pansies and some heather when I went into the Garden centre for some extra compost!!!!

Freaky Flower

How odd, in one geranium consisting of pink flowers, comes  suddenly one in orange!