I got down-hearted over the wind damage to my rose trellis this week. I  know that’s not that big a deal in terms of international natural disasters but it rattled my cage  and challenged my gardening instinct to remain optimistic about the ebbing and flowing of the seasons.

Yesterday the man came to fix it and, well, the world went wild with summer. What can I say but hello hot weather and hi to all these colourful hints of summer round the corner. I’m happy again now but then I’m a very superficial kind of person. I took these photographs yesterday and thought you’d like to see them too. I’m sorry you can’t smell them but that’s another story.

STEPHEN DEARSLEY’S SUMMER OF LOVE BY COLIN BELL

My novel, Stephen Dearsley’s Summer Of Love, was published  on 31 October 2013. It is the story of a young fogey living in Brighton in 1967 who has a lot to learn when the flowering hippie counter culture changes him and the world around him.

It is now available as a paperback or on Kindle (go to your region’s Amazon site for Kindle orders)

You can order the book from the publishers, Ward Wood Publishing:

http://wardwoodpublishing.co.uk/titles-fiction-colin-bell-stephen-dearsleys-summer-of-love.htm 

…or from Book Depository:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Stephen-Dearsleys-Summer-Love-Colin-Bell/9781908742070

…or from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Stephen%20Dearsley’s%20Summer%20Of%20love

The post The sun came out here in Lewes and look what happened! appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

I’ve been summer pruning my roses after  this year’s spectacular display in my little Lewes town garden. Sad though it is to see the roses go after their glorious first  flush, I’m an enthusiastic pruner who delights in retaining control over plants that insist on growing beyond the restraints I impose on them.

The rose bushes, all from David Austen Ltd,  form a hedge down one side of the garden and, if allowed, would soon turn into climbers with nowhere to go. It’s good to see them cut down to size again before the new cycle begins and the roses return in August. They haven’t all disappeared luckily because I’ve planted some less vigorous shrub roses out there too and some of them are still in their first flush.

This is Brother Cadfael one of my garden’s current stars with its beautifully solid flowers, radiantly pink colouring and deep old rose perfume.

Golden Celebration gets going later than the others too and it now in its full glory. This too has a seductive perfume, tangier but no less intoxicating than Brother Cadfael.

The climber that still hasn’t quite given up on its first flush is the vigorous and eye-catching white rose, Iceberg. Another week it it too will be pruned back ready to start all over again between August and the first frosts.

I took these photographs just as the heatwave in this part of England started to threaten a thunder storm. It rained but, so far, the thunder and lightning are still just an imminent threat. I’m pleased though that the pruning work was completed before the inevitable storm.

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Hey, a sunny weekend in Lewes, UK – it almost convinces me that we might have a bit of Summer in this country this year. I don’t feel quite so bad now about returning from Italy. I daren’t look at the weather forecast though – I don’t want to get depressed.

My roses cheer me up anyway – meals alfresco until further notice. I think it’s time for Mrs Baxter’s Summer tea-cosy.

The post Hey, it’s Summertime in Lewes. appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

With all the rain that we’ve been having here in the UK, I decided to cut some of my garden roses and bring them indoors before they got battered to pieces. I’ve never really wanted to do this before as I think garden flowers and meant to stay where they belong, in the garden.

Out there though these days there is a harsh climate for delicate rose petals. I have to admit though that they have been a wonderful thing in the house. These pink roses (the mauve hint is a trick of the indoor lighting) is a David Austin rose called Mortimer Sackler and it not only looks pretty fine in a vase but it is filling the room with its heady perfume. I might just do this again even when they are flowering out there in the summer sunshine free from storm and tempest.

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There are some red roses and some white ones there and the sky is very blue so, maybe even my Lewes garden is looking patriotic this Jubilee weekend. There is pink and yellow too so let’s not get too carried away. Maybe you should try to forget about the Diamond Jubilee for a bit and just take a quiet look at my roses trying to imagine the perfume. This year the different colours are beginning to mingle and the result, so far, is very satisfying. There are a lot of buds out there so it will only get better. Enjoy.

The post My roses are on their way for the Jubilee weekend. appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

The post My Roses and Sweet Williams bask in the Lewes heat appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

I know I showed you my garden last weekend but here it is again with no apologies. I live in Lewes in Southern England and we have had two months of above average temperatures and very little rain. My roses started to show their colours just over a week ago but I think it is worth the revisit to show you just how well they are doing in this their third year since I designed my small town garden from, er, scratch. Have a look whilst I go and get myself some sunshine. Oh yes, enjoy the clematis plants too whilst you are here.

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