BITTEN AND CHEWED - BUT IT'S STILL A HELIANTHUS!

Most gardens in the UK have suffered during the recent heatwave and I have said before that our flower garden has been decimated, mainly because Mr. HCB has used the water from his four water butts to water the vegetables, and I am happy with that.

I felt quite sad yesterday when I saw a headline in the newspaper that read “Britain’s Best Lawn is still just as lush as ever!”  The man who won the best lawn award last year, even in this heatwave, has a perfect sward and he doesn’t even let anyone but himself walk on it.  So while the rest of us have brown and patchy lawns, his lawn and the rest of his garden, including his flower beds look perfect - so it’s all about looks - or is it?  I have to say it did not make me “green with envy” as suggested in the article.

Well, I am here to tell you that even flowers that have been bitten and chewed are safe in our garden, as is this lovely Helianthus.  It is standing tall amongst other plants that are looking rather “worse for wear” and some are even dead, but it is blooming and despite not being watered for some time, is a shining example of what we should be doing in a world that shuns anything that is imperfect and that has the slightest blemish.  I may be “bitten and chewed” by what happens to me in life, but I am still me and I know that I am loved.

Thank goodness that even Morrisons are cottoning on to the fact that just because a vegetable is “wonky” it doesn’t mean it tastes any worse than a “perfect” one.

It is decidedly cooler today, but we have still had no rain - but that may change tomorrow - I just hope that the rain will hold off on Sunday, when Mr. HCB and our older son are due to go to watch a cricket match together at Bristol - the last one they went to was rained off, so they are hoping this one won't be.

“Our imperfections 
     make us unique 
          as surely as 
               our strengths.” 
Toni Sorenson