Small White on lavender

Another very hot day. I was out in the garden straight after breakfast, dead heading the roses in the parterre and feeding and watering the tubs (and taking this photo to blip). I then moved over to start on the Pretty Lady rose bed, but couldn’t find the secateurs I’d just been using, despite them having bright red handles which normally make them so easy to spot. I was also using a long-handled pair of secateurs, which are great for hard-to-reach blooms but not as easy for selecting single blooms out of a floribunda group. For that you need to have secateurs in one hand, and use the other hand to pull the buds out of the way.

I spent many frustrating minutes retracing my steps, emptying the container of dead heads, checking the box hedge in the parterre in case they had dropped down inside it, to no avail. They are still missing, and my Pretty Lady roses are looking sad and unloved. It’s very strange.

On a brighter note, I’ve made all the alterations to the dressmaking pattern that I’m going to use (which is not the one I blipped on Monday, because I’ve decided to use the other one I bought at the same time) and I have pre-washed the fabric. It’s now out on the line to dry and this evening I will start cutting out once I’ve ironed it. I’m so excited, I just hope it will fit. That’s the hardest part for me – altering patterns to get exactly the style I want.

Watch this space.