''PLEASE EXCUSE THE WEEDS, I'M FEEDING THE BEES''

stunning purple poppy in a friends, potted and very healthy with lots more flowers to bloom on it - this is the first, what a colour! hopefully I can take a seed pod when they're ready.
the garden here has some colour, mostly from ''weeds'', rosebay willow herb, cow parsley, forget-me-nots, daisys, hawkweed - I'm leaving them in situ providing some food for the bees , I should get a sigh that I saw on the internet somewhere, which I have made the title of this post.
''PLEASE EXCUSE THE WEEDS, I'M FEEDING THE BEES''

all my garden tools and equipment went into storage in various friends/relatives garages/sheds. unfortunately not all of it has returned. I am having to borrow a lawn mower to cut the grass, nothing has been strimmed as I've no time to keep running about borrowing things. I've bought lopers and a pruning saw, and just bought a hedge trimmer. Of course,  after two amazingly dry warm days which I spent at work, now its a rainy weekend and there is nothing to be done outside. Three mistreated tomato plants did get potted yesterday..... poor things.

Casper is going outside daily now and not peeing inside... however where he has already done so continues to resist being cleaned and I will have to replace three rooms of carpets which is an expense I could well have done without just now.

Garden Cat

Casper is a bundle of energy, he's now been here over four weeks so time to start introducing the outside world, the first day he was out of site for about 5 hours... just as I really started to worry he appeared back. Then the rest of this week, as not as work, I've been here to let him out for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours at night.
This hasn't immediately stopped him spraying in the house though, was hoping it would...but at 14 years old and on his third home this year... he's probably still settling in and for now I can put up with it. Every carpet in the house needed replaced anyway... and now that they are all decorated with cat pee... even more so.
I have never in my life, and all the cats that have shared that time with me, had a cat that does this.
 
The garden is getting ''damage control'' rather than actual gardening, more large shrubs cut right down. On Thursday I cut the grass and made a start on the hedge... its been allowed to grow to about 6ft and I would prefer it at 4ft at least round the front. Privacy is nice .. but... its too small a garden to have such a large hedge , makes it seem dark and cramped, and when I did garden  people could look over and chat.. now I don't even know who's passing by.
I took Casper out with me when I was pottering that afternoon...  but he wasn't impressed and took himself back into the house.