Just a mere two years ago, it would have been inconceivable for me to appear in public looking so au natural (ie, scruffy). It suddenly struck me that there are various signs indicating that I am beginning to go native . . . and blend into my new habitat.
- I have dirty wellies in the boot of my car.
- It doesn't seem like a Sunday if we don't have roast dinner.
- I cannot get going in the morning without two cups of tea.
- I would rather have some antique garden urns than new clothes.
- I was discovered clipping out information on the opening times of local gardens who are participating in the National Gardens Scheme.
- I am becoming *somewhat* impervious to the vagaries and extremities of English weather . . . for example:
- I stayed outside until after 9 pm last night, even though it was cold and extremely windy -- all because I was determined to finish planting my new rose hedge.
- Even more shocking: I was gardening all morning, even though it was raining off and on, and even though I have at least three good books which I am hot to read.
- Finally, I actually have dirt under my fingernails!
Will this gardening craze prove permanent, or it just a passing fancy? Who will predict? But stay tuned for the next installment in my rose dilemma.
I need to go plant some bay trees now.
13 comments:
joco said:
Hi again,
Second visit today: I keep meaning to start at the beginning of your blog, but then the latest post looks so interesting that I get enmeshed there :-)
You are getting too native by far.. Yesterday was too windy and today too wet. Can't remember two days in a row that I didn't venture out. In the end I carried my latest acquisition into the kitchen, so I could admire them without either them or me getting damp: 2 French Delbard Impressionist roses that are too pretty for words.
joco,
I was just visiting you!! I tried to comment, but your site wouldn't let me. Did you know (I assume you know) that comments are disabled at the moment?
I can't wait to hear about what you saw at Chelsea. Will you post the "French Delbard Impressionist" roses? Even the name makes them sound gorgeous.
Yes, even I cannot believe that I was actually outside gardening last night . . . in the waning of the light, no less. I have the odd compulsive moment; and getting my hedge of Penelope roses planted was one of them. (Luckily they were more or less sheltered from the wind. On the other side of the fence is a field -- and the cow parsley and long grass have formed an effective wind barrier.)
I just realized something for the first time -- you don't use photos in your blog. I probably didn't notice before because the words you use paint pictures, and you link to local color. But when I found myself curious about what the rose hedge looked like, that's when I realized you're picture less.
I'm guessing you own a digital camera, modern lass that you are. Will we someday see your English garden?
(One of my best friends is Irish; another is English. It took me a while to realize that what my Irish friend was referring to when she said "garden" was my yard. Garden is far more poetic. I would get flustered because what we were looking at hardly, in my mind, qualified as garden.)
Change is good, you know. It keeps Bee from being a dull girl.
Good for you old thing!
Just a quick comment, as Dizzy is after me to play fetch, and making quite a fuss about it. I can't wait to see pictures of your garden. With all the hard work you're putting in, it must be growing by leaps and bounds!
I mentioned your rose dilemma to my mom, btw. As I should have guessed, your roses won't be shipped until November because that's bare-root season. You could go out and get some potted roses now, but you'd be paying about three times as much for them! I guess it just depends on how much you want those roses. :)
I really laughed out loud reading this. I couldn't help thinking, "Aw she's one of us now!"
Or she will be when she can actually miss her daily shower and not care! - Now that's just going too far!
Well done Bee you have just passed a very high standard of Brit-ness, I think your softening towards this little Isle came about the time you wrote your wonderful Texas piece.
The work is not done yet Bee, learn to shop only in sales, use words frequently like "sensitivities" instead of 'that is so totally a bad subject/person etc', say that the weather is "close" instead of muggy, and use the sentence " I'll run you over in the car" as an offer of kindness and not a threat.
Try talking only about the weather, when you can talk to total strangers for at least 10 minutes on the subject of the weather that is an achievement. Queue for anything and look appalled (another good word) at anyone who tries to jump the queue, as your confidence in queueing builds you will be able to say "excuse me, this is a queue".
Miss a dentist appointment and feel no guilt.
Openly and brazenly complain about the trains, NHS and do it while on a train or in a hospital, all around you will nod in knowing agreement.
I could go on but will leave you with a few starter pointers, keep going Bee, I'm proud of you !
Oh my gosh, I was laughing while reading this post and the comments. I'm sitting here enjoying a cup of tea all the while worrying about the rain and wind hammering at my huge, single rose. It's as large as a salad plate and has only been in bloom for a few days. I'm not ready for it to fade just yet!
Bee, I remember one of the first times I encountered someone wearing wellies in the grocery store here. I thought, wow--they really do wear them here! And of course, I have mine in the boot of my car as well.
Bitty,
That's a nice compliment that you haven't (until the rose hedge) noticed the pictures missing from my blog! I am an infamously forgetful person when it comes to bringing my camera along with me. I have acquired this bad habit from the place whence many bad habits come: my family tradition. We were the sort of family that could have an entire year of holidays (perhaps missing out on the summer vacation or a birthday or two) on one roll of film. I DO have a digital camera, but it is lost somewhere. (I know this might seem inexplicable, but it is the sad truth.) Some day I will hope to surprise you all with piccies.
Re: yard vs. garden. Yard sounds like "lawn" or "grass," doesn't it? While garden implies flower borders, statues, and even a folly or two. I much prefer "garden" -- so much more resonant!
Lucy,
Yes, I will start going around in moth-eaten jumpers any day now.
Anne,
Cats are much like children -- ignoring one for ages, and then so insistent on being paid attention to!
You are EXACTLY right about the roses . . . I am going to write about it as soon as I finish up here.
janeyv,
I DID go all day without showering, but then I had a long soak before bedtime. I can't quite imagine going to bed, sheer horror, DIRTY.
Debski beat,
Yes, I am still a little open and blunt in my style -- will work on "sensitivities" bit. Will try to perfect the "bless" thing. But I AM making progress in talking about the weather . . . a topic of which I am passionately fond.
(Do English people really not feel guilt about missing their dentist appointments?)
JAPRA,
I'm glad we're not the only people sitting inside and drinking copious amounts of tea today.
I hope your rose makes it!
Little daughter and I are fretting about the veggies we put in this weekend. At lunch today, (yes, we read during meals), she learned from Alan Titchmarsh that cucumbers hate to be cold and wet! Cucumbers must to be the Texans of the veggie world!
tsoxnrBee,
Dentist appointments are not only often cancelled but more often not booked for years. Some folks on this fair Isle do not find these details a problem more preferring to find a good queue to line up in.... any queue to queue to where .... hopefully not the dentist.
Good for you! Sounds like you've got a hobby that can make you imprevious to the elements. I love when you can feel so passionate about something. And I hope, one day, as I've mentioned before, to take up the gardening hobby.
Good luck with your roses!
Bee,
Turn back! You're going native!
I thought that Debski Beat's comments are hilarious.
I am totally obsessed by the weather at this point. It's all I want to talk about. Help! I've been in Blighty too long!!!
Multitude,
When the weather is this BLECH, what else is there to talk about??
BTW, I walked 15 miles today, in the rain . . . and felt some bitterness!!
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