Hello! I hope this finds you well. Is it glorious weather where you are? It is absolutely, most definitely, totally summer here. I can see the sea from my desk (which is a little too distracting) – it’s a gorgeous cerulean blue with lighter stripes where it must be completely calm; the sky is a lighter blue and there’s a slight yellow haze between the two which is a layer of fumes from the shipping. Despite this, I can see the cliffs on the opposite coast of France and ferries are crossing back and forth with the occasional yacht gliding past and massive container ships in the distance. I’m able to enjoy more of this view since we had a large sycamore felled last week and the height of the yew reduced. It’s made such a difference to the view from the house and I keep stopping to take it all in. Not good when you’ve got lots to be getting on with!
All is calm in this house. My boys have finished their exams and are on their summer holidays. They don’t quite know what to do with themselves. One has gone to visit a friend and the other is lying down somewhere. My daughter is due home from school any moment, so the peace will shortly be interrupted – she’s bring a friend home with her, so I’m braced. I’m busy working on a few book projects, which is keeping me out of mischief, away from my blog (and blog reading – I am very behind) and out of the garden. I walk around outside usually before I’ve walked the dog in the morning to water pots and anything else that needs it (tomatoes, newly planted stuff) and to check that the gooseberries are still ripening and haven’t been pinched by the bloody pigeons. They are ‘bloody’ pigeons not ordinary pigeons because they eat everything. They’re in cahoots with the slugs and snails, I reckon.
I snipped a few flowers for a Monday vase this morning and photographed it at lunchtime, not wanting to miss Cathy’s weekly gathering for two weeks on the trot. The flowers are a red-purple cornflower, deep pink pinks (with the most delicious clove-y scent), lavender (we are a week or two from peak lavender), Nigella seed heads, Alchemilla mollis, Erigeron karvinskianus from the steps and one stem of Cosmos atrosanguineus because I can only spare one flower!
Wishing you a lovely week. More soon…
acoastalplot 
What a beautiful bouquet and even prettier view of the ocean. How blessed and lucky you are to work with such magnificence in view!
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Our weather has been cool but we are due for a heat up so summer is coming. I adore the view of your sea against the garden lavender…..and your vase is special with all those bright rich colors.
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You must be in heaven…with those views, the sea, and a lovely mixed arrangment. Enjoy….
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I am envying you your view, it’s gorgeous. And I’d love it on a wild dark day too. Wonderful, just wonderful. It’s lovely to be able to look into the distance I think, it always makes me feel good. Hurray for the end of exams. Months and months of freedom now? Beautiful delicate summer flowers today, they really are pretty. Pinks are one of my favourites. I had Mrs Sinkins last year, but she didn’t do well in a pot so she was composted. I’m missing the scent though. CJ xx
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Heavenly view from your window and such a pretty summer arrangement. What a fabulous summer we are having.
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So so pretty. I miss the delicacy of wildflowers; here in Australia so many of our flowers are just big and bold, or else non-existent!
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Your vase is a lovely summery mix! It made me wish I’d managed to tuck Dianthus into my garden somewhere. I had to smile at your poetic description of the horizon visible from your window, wondering how you’d describe the interface between the sky and the ocean visible from my back garden, which I can’t think of as anything other than dirty gray.
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I am also envious of your view, it was money well spent to remove the tree. Summer has arrived here, how long before we are threatened with hosepipe bans!
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Inspired by yours I planted a short lavender hedge earlier this year. A bit of a risk in the wet (until this year!) West Country perhaps but I’ll try and do my best for it. When do you prune yours? It looks so shapely and compact!
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Very belatedly (sorry!), we prune ours about now (as soon as the flowers have gone to seed) so that the plants can put on some new growth before winter. Check out https://www.downderry-nursery.co.uk for lots of helpful lavender info.
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The bouquet looks like a lovely flower meadow 🙂
It is definitely summer here in Canada, hotter than what I am used to from Scotland. I am en route back now but hope there is some summer left upon my return, to enjoy with my family. What a relief, no more exams! I hope all went well.
Cerulean – love this shade of blue that is almost a little green! x
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We’re on vacation this week, staying in a rented cabin. We can’t see the ocean, but we can see Lake Superior, which is the world’s largest freshwater lake. The air is crisp and smells of pine trees. Your lavender is glorious!
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That is a summer bounty – including your new expanded views! Your vase is so whimsical and light and inviting!! Laughing about your pigeon description and the after exams daze of your kids. My son has had that same aura of disbelief and being lost, but it is quickly dissipating with the realization of true summer break.
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