It's that time of year again

Every midsummer, our lives are adorned by the prolific peony on the north side of the house. This year is no exception. The blooms are spreading around because there is no point them all staying on the bush. We have a large bunch in the kitchen. A&N have a bunch they took home last weekend in their house. And tomorrow, we will send friends home with some peony blooms to avoid them going to "waste". If I could change one aspect of this house, it would be to either have the peony where we can see it on the east or west side, or to have a window on the north side.

Today, I had a steady day at the laptop defeating the creep of email and ticking things off the to do list. I accompanied Mr A down to the supermarket. I did a good peloton workout - the last in the programme I have been following. And in the late afternoon, we mowed / strimmed the remaining bits of the lawn at the back to make it more inviting to visitors.

It was exceptionally hot around 5pm and we assumed that this would still be the case when we went round to A&N's for drinks in the garden (the house is under renovation....) at 7pm. In fact, almost as soon as we left the house, I felt underdressed because it was getting much cooler and the sun had gone in. By the time the sky cleared again, it was too late for any warmth from the sun. Luckily, A&N had a wrap I could borrow. It was lovely sitting out there with them, it having been a while since I had seen them. Elmer was largely well behaved! There was just enough breeze to keep the midges at bay.

Their garden is developing very nicely, and we were happy to contribute a couple of plants to the mix. A poppy (looking horribly bedraggled, which we had dug out of the back, but which A assures me she can bring back to life) and a foxglove for next year, which I dug out of the bottom of the front garden because we've decided no foxgloves in the bottom bit next year because they are bit "cuckoo in the nest" there.

I've added extras of the campanula which is going a bit bonkers in the back garden and one of the two clematis on the north wall. This one is doing pretty well for only its second year. The other one is smaller and hasn't yet made it to the wall, but it does have some flowers on it, so watch this space.