Out with the old, in with...

I have been off the grid for a while, had a bit of a computer disaster when my laptop decided to break down. I have managed to get online again by using borrowed equipment but I will have to bite the bullet and buy myself a new laptop again. This will be my third laptop, the one that just broke down only lasted 3 years and 4 months and even had to be repaired after 18 months. My son, who works in IT retail assures me that 3 years and a bit is a decent life for a mid range laptop that runs 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, but I think it is a short life. I suppose it is the same as with all electrical appliances today, not really made to last. Can you remember when fridges and washing machines were expected to last at least 25 years? Oh, I guess I sound old now, but I can remember those days, and it’s not that long ago. These days, a washing machine would never last 25 years! And I am not asking for 25 years from my next laptop either, it would be a piece of museum exhibit by then – but a few more years than 3... would that be such a big ask? I have already chosen my next laptop, it is a Sony Vaio, haven’t had that before, it cost more than my previous one and hopefully it will last a bit longer, time will show...

September in my garden

What a strange month September has been so far. It started with a careful promise of better weather, then a week of Indian summer and now we have a definite autumnal feel with chilly evenings. I am still not doing much work in my garden after my hip dislocation a month ago and it really shows. I keep up with the watering, that’s it really. My new garden helper hasn’t been back yet after her first visit, she was meant to come again this week but had to cancel and now I don’t know when next visit will be. I have a very long list of garden chores ready for next time she comes :-)

Aphis nerii, a wacky aphid

Every summer I have a bit of an invasion in my garden. Small, orange bugs that have only one thing in mind, attacking my highly precious Dregea sinensis – the wine covering the arch. If I keep up with the spraying against aphids I can keep the numbers down, but sooner or later the war against these particular bugs gets lost and they win. I use a combination of soil drenching and spraying with a liquid mix of herbs and fermented soy oil, an amazing product against all kind of aphids, including these ones, but they seem to get more resistant over the summer and into the autumn the population just explode.

A bit of reminiscence

What do you know – we finally got summer here in London! Well, better late than never I suppose...may it last the whole month! I have been out in my garden trying to do a bit of work the last week. My new garden helper came Monday and together we started on a long list of tasks for my neglected garden.

Discovering my garden again

I have finally managed to take some photos of my garden again, I don’t think I have ever had such a long break from taking photos of my horticultural hobby. The last photos on my camera was from 6th August, the day I dislocated my hip and since then I have found it very difficult to stand and take photos since I am on crutches. But yesterday and today I have been outside with my tripod and a chair and taken a few, just to get some of the things flowering in my garden right now recorded. I can’t believe autumn has arrived already. I waited patiently for spring to arrive, but it was so cold and most of it rained away. Summer didn’t really arrive either, although we have had days here and there with nice sunshine and warm temperatures. The longest spell of warm weather was when I was in hospital, typically. And now it’s all over and my garden has started to put on autumn colours. The big tree outside in my street have already started dropping its leaves. Yes, autumn is here, and it will be a whole year until next summer.

I am slowly recovering

Three weeks ago I dislocated my hip replacement and I am now slowly recovering, but I realise that it’s going to take time to get back to where I was right before the incident, and I have been told that I have to be careful for the rest of my life so that I don’t dislocate my hip again. I had my hip replacement operation in June last year, my third operation on that hip, after the two previous operations turned out to be unsuccessful and no other solutions were found than to give me a hip replacement despite my relatively young age. Since the hip replacement my hip has been a bit unstable and the pain after the operation never really settled, this is due to my primary condition and not something gone wrong during the operation. I have now been told that there is nothing more that can be done for my hip, I will not have the planned hip replacement on the other hip, and I will just have to careful not to dislocate again.

GBBD post from my sickbed

I am writing this GBBD post from my bed, sorry if you have wondered why I haven’t posted for the last 10 days, but I have been in hospital for a week. I managed to dislocate my hip whilst working in my garden on Monday the 6th August and today is the first day I am looking at my blog again. I know this is going to sound unbelievable, I can hardly believe it myself and I have had a hard time explaining this to all the doctors I have seen over the week I was in hospital, but I was standing in one of my flower beds, cutting off spent roses on my new David Austin rose Wildeve, when some of the petals fell to the ground. I bent down to pick the petals up and then my hip popped out; the hip replacement I got 14 months ago. That’s all I did. No fall or any force applied. I knew straight away what had happened, I felt it pop out, I heard it pop out and one second later I got an excruciating pain in my hip and groin and although I have experienced really bad pain in the past with 7 prolapsed disks in my back and neck and numerous surgeries to my spine, hip and stomach – this was pain like nothing I have experienced before.

A touch of oriental

The air in my garden is heavy with the scent of lilies wherever I turn, finally the rest of my lilies are in flower! It’s been a long wait; my Asiatic lilies flowered in beginning of July and most of my Lilium regales were finished flowering by mid July. But now the rest of the oriental lilies are finally catching up.