Poppies - Wave

 Part of the poppies sculpture - Wave -  from the Tower of London "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red" , has come to Lincoln Castle as part of its tour.  As we hadn't been able to visit the sculpture in London during 2014, it was lovely to have the opportunity to see a part of it.  I took lots of photos, as you can imagine, and I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

It was a sobering thought that each poppy represented a life lost and that this was just one small element of the main sculpture.

I have always loved poppies and this beautiful painting was given to me for my 21st birthday by my parents.  It takes on an added significance now.
Lest we forget.

Open Gardens 2016

A village about twenty minutes from where we live had their Open Gardens on Sunday, so, as the weather was reasonable and I do enjoy nosing round other people's gardens, off we went.  We visited last time they were open, in 2014 and you can see the posts here and here . There was a variety of sizes of gardens but all had lots to interest the visitor.  Many of them had large borders, which showed the plants off beautifully.

 This poppy had escaped into the next door field.

 I liked this arrangement with peonies and delphiniums.  A nice place for a G & T (or cup of tea), depending on your preference.

There were small gardens behind a terrace of cottages which were beautifully maintained.  The owner of this garden made me laugh.  She told me that one of the organisers of the afternoon had sent all the owners badges to wear, but "mine's still in the envelope...I'm not wearing that!"

There were roses, lupins and geraniums a-plenty.

In the next door garden, there was some fiery planting with the orange and red of the potentilla.

 There was a very inviting deck chair in a quiet corner.

Hardy geraniums were everywhere and this one caught my eye with its gentle apricot and lilac tones.  It is a double flower, which meant it wasn't good for wildlife, but it was still very pretty.  I think it may be Geranium 'Summer Skies'.

These photos were from my favourite garden, which was very photogenic (and looked very labour intensive).

 There were some inviting shady area with lots of foxgloves...

 ...as well as some sunny borders with hot colours.

 The screens and trellis dividing areas of the garden provided some pretty views.

 Doesn't this archway make you feel that you want to explore?

 The rose had climbed right to the top of the tree and looked amazing.

The front garden was full of roses, cat mint and geraniums.  Scruffy would have loved the cat mint - it is a good job he wasn't with us!  We had a lovely afternoon and enjoyed sandwiches, cake and tea at the Village Hall.  A perfect Sunday afternoon.

Visit in the rain

We ventured out again yesterday to another open garden, this time one with crafts and ice cream too.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't quite so kind, but being hardy sorts, would that put us off?  No!  Although the formal gardens were beautiful, with stunning views wherever we looked, it was the wildflower meadow which we were both drawn to.  It was a haze of white daisies with splashes of blue cornflowers and echiums.

 Grasses were intermingled among the flowers to create a relaxing and beautiful space.  Here and there, I spied bold flashes of colour from poppies and one in particular caught my eye.

 I followed the mown grass paths round and there it was, shining out despite the soaking it had received.

 I couldn't resist that colour!

I loved the way the raindrops were clinging to the petals.  Having wandered in the gardens, we looked at the craft stalls and then enjoyed an ice cream (Chris had toffee ripple and strawberries and cream and I went for chocolate - well, you have to, don't you?  It is nearly July!)

 Coming back from a garden visit is always a little dispiriting, but this hydrangea was there to help to cheer me up!  I have always wanted a blue hydrangea and this one is doing a great job of being lilac-y blue.

Watching the flowers change from creamy white to creamy green to blue has been a joy.
P.S Welcome to my new followers - I really hope you'll enjoy reading my blog.