Gardening ...

... makes a mess of your hands!  Not that I'm short of gardening gloves ... three new pairs sit rebuking me ... but somehow the work started and my hands were dirty and ... it was too late!  The dog dozed beside me ... not a bark ... nor from Sooty ... did they hear the conversation last night and made a pact to behave quietly?  Certainly a relief to be able to be out and no noise from them at all ... but that's not  unusual really.
So, what was I doing ... apart from adding some lawn feed to the "meadow"?

 That is what I was doing!
One of four small beds that had become indistinguishable from the grass around it ... cleared, dug deeply, sown with Sweet Pea, Aquilegia, Anemones and Cornflower.  Then the whole thing tied up with pretty ribbon so that the birds know exactly where to dig for fresh seeds!  Should Eliot decide that he wants to bury something ... the ground there will be beautifully soft for him too.
Time will tell who wins and maybe there'll be August flowers?

I'm not sure that I want to tackle the other 75% ... maybe the gardener will be tasked with completing the work ... my plot is the demonstration model for him to follow!  The other three beds have Rhubarb, Lavender and Acanthus in them ... but they do need a good bit of attention.
And then, there's the "Flower Bed" ... that's still untouched and needing drastic attention!  Maybe if Kirk digs it all out onto a tarpaulin then I can replace what is wanted ... we'll see.
Tomorrow is Royal Wedding so there won't be a lot of weeding done then.  Can you believe that the shops where you'd normally be able to buy hundreds of Union Flags are sold out.  Not a flag to be had on Sandy Row or the Newtownards Road!  What is "Norn Iron" coming to?!!
Meanwhile ... it is hard to resist taking pictures in the front garden.

 Both the darker and the lighter orange Azaleas are now in full bloom catching the late afternoon sun.  What a picture!

 The paler one isn't quite so dramatic as its neighbour ... but is so beautiful.
Right next to it is a much smaller variety in purple just beginning to show the open buds.

 And beside it is a small dark pink one that is still tightly budded.  I love the way that each in turn opens to display their glory.

Beside the gate is a mixture of Rhodendron and Lilac ... they've grown together over the years and make a bold statement at the entrance.  Of course, for most of the year this front garden is just "green" as almost all the colour comes in spring.  However, I'm cultivating a few roses which will, in time, add a later summer glow.  Maybe I need to look out for something colourful for the autumn and winter?

Praise in Creation

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things --

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced -- fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.