Thursday, June 14, 2012

In An English Garden (To Say Nothing Of The Dog)







Forget-me-nots  (These are also at the bottom of my blog from two years ago!)



An English Rose!



Red Hot Poker With PeTe in the background!


Ceanothus (Just missed it at its best, still blue and beautiful)
Columbines

POPPIES! Can you see the big green poppy bud? It suddenly "pops" open into this magnificent flower.  Is that why it is called a poppy?  I love this flower!!!
T
This gladilous was in a garden, but we also saw it growing in parking lots! Look at the color!

It's wonderful to hang out your wash on a clothes line in such a beautiful garden!  Do you see that after hanging the clothes there is a long pole to elevate the line so as to catch the wind to make them dry faster? How clever is that?
If you click on that last photo, you can hear the song, "In An English Country Garden".   When I first heard this song in the 80's, I knew the tune from English movies and TV shows, but I didn't know the words.   Now I know the song, and I understand the joy behind it! (And sorry for the American robin that is shown in this video, the English robin is very different.  "Don't forget the robin", the song says...looks like someone did! The American robin is much bigger than the English robin. I love both of the robins, English and American, but they should have put the English one on this video!!)

 All of these photos were taken in the garden of my husband's parents, with the exception of the gladioli photo.  Lovely!  Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.  There will be more flowers to come!

Did you wonder about the title of this post?  Please, if you want to read a very funny English book, read this one:  Three Men In A Boat (To Say Nothing Of The Dog).  I believe it was written during Victorian times and it is laugh out loud funny.  My son read it recently and agreed with me!

24 comments:

  1. I like the garden, and the song. I think I'll have a go at singing it too.

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    1. Okay, I will hope to hear it on your blog now!

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  2. Gorgeous photos, Kay. What lovely flowers. I'm especially fond of columbines. They are spectacular. I really enjoyed this video. What a sweet and happy song! I pictured myself walking through a garden and listening to the birds. This song is kind of magical, don't you think? It'll be in my head all day, especially while I'm out in the garden.

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    1. I took even more photos of flowers. I think you will like them, Martha! The song is good to hum along with, even if you don't know the words!

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  3. A truly lovely garden :) Poppies are one of my favourite flowers - it's a shame they only last a few days. I remember my great-grandmother's washing line out on the family farm. They were very British. It spanned quite a distance around the yard. They had the exact set-up and I specifically recall those wooden poles (made of wood with a large notch at the top of each)!!

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    1. I took a photo of some peach colored poppies and you will see that photo on another post!
      The clothes smell so good when you take them off the line after drying in the sun and fresh air...

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  4. Ah, my black thumb that kills all but weeds and crabgrass salutes your in-laws! Beautiful gardens, beautiful pictures.

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    1. Thank you, Mimi! I'm not a great gardener myself, but I enjoy the labors of others!

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  5. Oh my, I have sudden garden envy! Red poppies are my favorite flower so I especially enjoyed those photos. That last photo with the clothesline is just divine. I saw it and it made me feel happy....but, you know me, I'm all about the simple things. Sitting there with a cuppa watching the clothes dry sounds like a good time to me. (smile)

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    1. Dear Audrey,
      HA! Guess what, we were able to hang those clothes out on the line, I took that photo quickly and then we were out the door to see the movie, "Prometheus" and Joan was left to take the clothes down for us! I hope Joan put her feet up and had a cuppa and relaxed just as you described! :-)

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  6. Three Men in a Boat is one of my husband's favorite books, I haven't read it, but I have read Connie Willis's science fiction take on it.

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    1. Hey! I just looked up that book by Connie Willis and I thank you for telling me about it. Sounds like one that I would like! (And I fixed the title, it should be "To Say Nothing Of the Dog" instead of "Not To Mention The Dog". That's my memory for you!)

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  7. Yes, a lovely garden and wonderful pictures to prove it. Three Men in a Boat is also well-known in German (maybe not to younger people, but to my and my parents' generation certainly). I read it when I was a teenager and found it hilarious!

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    1. Thanks. With the dog, my father-in-law says he has not had as much time to work in his garden, but it still looks great to me! Glad you like this book too. You won't hear anything about this book these days, not enough blood sucking vampires in it, I suppose.

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  8. Your in-laws have a very pretty garden. Do they refer to the pole for the washing line as the prop? My mum has a line like that and a prop. I have one of those rotary clothes lines that folds up, mum insists things don't dry evenly on those, lol.
    Three Men in a Boat is very funny. I especially like the part where he describes days ruined because he listened to the weather forecast and acted upon its advice.
    I used to sing this song when I was little, but didn't know the words and just listed any flowers I could think of!

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    1. Dear Tracey,
      I hope my inlaws will read this, so I will say thank you for them!
      I just asked Richard and he said that yes, he would call that a "prop". I didn't know it was called that!
      I remember the part in Three Men In A Boat where they had the stinky cheese! Made me laugh out loud, it did.

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  9. What a beautiful garden. Love the poppies but I can't seem to grow them in my yard. I think Three man in a boat is universally funny.:) Welcome back again

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    1. Thank you! I have never once seen a poppy grow in Georgia, not ever. I have only seen them in England, but I LOVE them! Glad you like Three Men In A Boat too!

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  10. Beautiful flowers and very sweet video. I do remember Jimmy Rodgers and this song. We'll forgive the robin -- just this once. I do love the English robin. He is so cheeky.

    Lovely post.

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    1. Dear Chris,
      Thank you so much! Richard says he remembers this song too. I also love the English robin. I first saw the drawing of the robin in the book, The Secret Garden, and as a child, I just thought the artist didn't know what a robin looked like!

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  11. It had never crossed my mind that "others" would not know what the "pole" was called. There it is again - the same language but totally different and mystifying at times. The prop is a necessity up here in Lewis, otherwise the washing line would be swinging madly about. Because we have so much wind here -being out on a peninsula with water on three sides of us, we have three washing lines that make a triangle so that we can put the washing out whichever way the wind is blowing so that it, (the washing) doesn't get tangled and wrap itself around the line. Does that make sense?! We have now had over six weeks without rain. Apparently, according to the experts, the jet stream has sunk down to the south and so, sorry southern England, but you are getting our rain. So glad you enjoyed your stay in my country Kay.

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  12. Dear Pat,
    You really should feel sorry for me living with my English husband and my English-influenced son! I once asked my boy to bring me a "pen" and I looked up to see his outstretched hand holding a safety PIN! (I pronounce both words the same way...but my son says both words the English way!)
    And yes, that does make sense about the wind blowing the clothes about and wrapping around the line. My mother-in-law is able to hang them in such a way to minimize the clothes doing that. Also, she irons clothes so beautifully that it looks as if they have come from the dry cleaners.
    Wow, the rain became even worse after we left, I think, and they are due to get even more. Came home to very comfortable weather in Georgia, warm and sunny but comfortably so...don't tell anyone in Eastbourne now, Pat, it will be our secret!
    And thank you, I so enjoyed your country!!

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  13. You have solved a problem for me, Kay. I called the plants that are scattered around our garden Aquilegea and Jo said it wasn't the name she knew it by but she couldn't think what it was. Columbine, of course. That's what they are also called. Thank you!

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    1. Ceanothus...I just noticed I spelled it wrong, I will try to fix it.
      And columbines! They are lovely, aren't they? My sister, Pam had these out in Colorado, but they don't grow here.
      So happy that I could help YOU for a change! :-)

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