Kurt of Gerolstein: Roses are blooming in Gerolstein ...

It has, so far, been a most unsummery, switchback summer. Strong rain, unbearable heat, and, worst of all, intermittent destructive winds ... Well, that's the world. We and the horses and the kitties and the fowl all survived and the gardens seem rather to have enjoyed the silly season ..

I don't know what half these pretty things are named, but before they wither, here are a few picture from the last weeks ...

This one is called "Just Joey". But these ...?

I think this is "Sunset" from Gilroy Nurseries

Alas, the winds ripped this one, and several others, from their plants ..

But we are not all roses. Though Wendy has a vast display of Sally Holmes by her house. I hav'n't got that far on my photographic wanderings yet!

My Pansy patio is still in full bloom. Mr Peacock has had to, terminally, find a new place for his 'displays'. But the multicoloured pansies have had to share brickwork this year with ... well, a couple of years ago I bought some pretty looking plants at Mitre 10. $20 each! But I was on a 'shop' day. They did their thing, and fizzled out. So what was my surprise, this spring, to find that they had seeded not only in their boxes, but up to 50 meters away. Joy! But ... name please?

Little self-seeds (my favourites!) pop up everywhere ..

It changes almost daily. Here come the Tropicannas .. to join the ?salvia ... The garden was all-yellow a few weeks ago, lilies, gladioli etc ... now it is bright orange ...

I bought this wee begonia at Mitre 10 (find me a better nursery in the area!) for $6. OK? BEGONIA. I've written it down, so I won't forget. It's orange month. Love orange ...!

Wendy has made beautiful gardens at Gerolstein. Which is my favourite?

Well, it has no flowers. When I bought this place, 23 years ago, it was a cattle farm with the house (there was only one then) surrounded by shade cloth walls to keep out the cows. Gradually, I sort of remodelled the garden ... ripped out the elderly fruitless orchard ... then Wendy, totally and gloriously, remodelled the whole lot ...

One little area, under the window of what soon became the 'invalid room', with its wheelchair ramp et al, had simple been left to a mess of weedy things. I had an urge to change it into .. well, I like 'natural' gardens. I also really love ferns. A fern garden? I knew nothing of the hows and ifs of such a thing. Fern just, sort of ... grew.

Well, my friend Bryan came out one day with some of the beloved species, and made me a garden. It has been a long, long time becoming a success. But Bryan's original punga (after several suicidal attempts) has survived and grown. One of the five wild West Coasters that I swapped for a load of firewood, is hanging on in. And some 'indoor plants' have proven they are outdoor plants too ... and well, 20 years on, it looks rather sweet. The 'invalid room' is now this invalid's room, and I can gaze from my bed at beautiful fernery ..

Thank you, Bryan.

Gerolstein is not a huge place -- now reduced to some 20 acres -- the large part of which is inhabited by eight elderly horses. Some race winners (Lite Gasp, Fifteen C, Konnie Kase, Our Mabel) some old pets.

There is still room for us! And for growing things ...

The vegetable garden has reached a watershed-replanting time ... but still renders up daily bits ... visitors are inclined to leave with a cucumber or three!

Faster than I can eat them ..!

Yesterday's crop

Courgettes, beans, bay tree ....

Wenndy has planted a heap of herbs over the years. We have a gigantic rosemary bush! Loads of comfrey. Unfortunately, just after Wendy had planted a selection of Useful and Interesting Herbs, we had one of out periodic wind storms which blew away all the labels and she couldn't remember which was what!!!!

Identified as valerian. Grew madly when released from its wee pot

Er ..... it seems to have spawned a baby sheoak?!

Well, there's a floating label saying 'Echinacia', but ...

Well, we can recognise parsley, and basil ... but we may have to start again with the more exotic species ...

A pretty area between my house and the river was once a hedged orchard. Which, at my arrival, hadn't been tended in decades. So I pulled most of it out, razed the hedge and it tuned itself into a pretty, cool, glade towered over by a big plum tree ... with a little, green stream-side walk with a chestnut tree .. we planted a tiny walnut some years ago but it hasn't yielded nuts yet.