Phew, What a Scorcher

What a ridiculous day it was yesterday. My car recorded 26 degrees as I drove to one of my favourite places, the Walled Garden in Benhall, and I nearly passed out from the intense heat inside. Luckily there was some shade, though not much, and I kept darting under the odd tree for some respite. Why on earth didn't I bring my hat? I'm leaving one in the car permanently from now on, though two of my best ones, including a tasteful logo-less pale blue baseball cap from Port Angeles that I don't think makes me look like white trash, are playing hide and seek. Maybe the heat went to my head, but I left with little change from £80. Sarah Raven, unknown to me until a few weeks ago, markets such beautiful little packets of seeds that I bought some more escholzia on the basis that you can really never have too much of a good thing, at least in the garden. And so I now have six shrubs and some gorgeous bright red lobelia, variety Queen Victoria. Some of the shrubs are for the front, but I'll leave them for now.

Today, despite a forecast of 10 degrees maximum, it was already 16 by 11am and I was in shirt sleeves.. A man rang me as I drank coffee in the garden. "Good morning, and how are you today?" he brightly asked me. "Fine thanks," I muttered, "and what can I do for you?" "This is just a short, a very short call to tell you about sky ....." "It'll be much shorter than you expected," I told him, and hung up. Does anyone listen to this stuff, and even buy? How they irritate me. Nothing daunted, I lined up my perennials again, retrieving them from where they sheltered yesterday from a fierce wind and equally ardent sun, and proceeded to dig 18 holes. By late afternoon they were all planted apart from the phlox and the two mysteries. I even did my hallmark edging along the grass to make the bed stand out. I won't mention my neck, or my shoulders, or even my knees, but suffice it to say that I've just opened another tube of Ibuleve.

I put my tools away and limped indoors, and when the phone rang blow me if it wasn't the cold caller again: same voice, same breeziness, same chat-up line. "Oh please," I said, "you called me this morning. Just take me off your list will you?" And when I hung up he rang back immediately. The audacity! I'd just about recovered from my labours when my second pond quote person arrived. Julian is long and lean, youngish but with grey hair cut in a spiky style. I first met him last year and found his friendly, smiley attitude very engaging. He loves the idea of a rill and would enjoy installing one. I bet he would. His eyes grew large when he said it wouldn't be cheap. My friend Patrick down the lane built a tower in his grounds when he retired. Is a rill rilly asking too much?

Shorn wisteria, but still flowering profusely