Hip Hip Hip Hooray… the faded blooms of the Rosa Ragusa are now turning to rose hips, first green then orange to brilliant red. Rose Hip Syrup was the great comforter and cough mixture when I was a child and the pink syrup was made from such hips. I remember clearly that it always tasted of roses like the sweets called Turkish Delights.
The summer is passing all too quickly now and the other night, we had a ‘Blue Moon’ which actually was bright orange! I think ‘Blue Moon’ means there are two full moons in the month. Those colours are reflected in the garden this month in cascades of orange and yellow nasturtiums and fiery crocosmias.
The blue agapanthuses and hydrangeas are their magnificent statuesque selves along with the butterflies’ and bees’ favourite, verbena. The summer rains have worked their magic on these thirsty plants.
You can feel the season is turning as the days are shorter and chillier but there is still an exciting pop of red from the old faithful geraniums. They are so continental!
The autumn solstice arrives in a few weeks – where did the summer go? But in the meantime, there is still some warmth and sun to be had while clambering over the rocks down on the beach at low tide.
Old Lady by the Sea 