China Girl blog 29th Auguts 2019

Like a moth caught in a spider’s web, Cothay is caught in its timeless past, where the system of life never seems to change and the breathless hush is only disturbed by our thoughts.

The Inner Court has become weedy and overgrown; it took Chris and Joy the whole day to get it under control. Meanwhile, David and Marcus struggled with the bull rushes in the lake, which had threatened to swamp everything; it was most important to remove them before they went to seed. Picking them out, and not leaving any old roots was a tough job. Now you can see from one end of the water to the other. Attractive as bull rushes are, once they get a hold they soon cover the entire surface of the water.

Luckily Wesley managed to get the propagator working; we thought we were going to have to buy a new unit at huge expense. More breakdowns followed when the router, which is essential as it provides internet connection to the tearoom till, went on the blink. Happily, Peter who is a genius with anything technical, managed to work his magic and after an hour, had another router up and running.

On Friday we had a coach full of Italians; only one person spoke English, which made the house tours somewhat problematic. The coach driver balked at bringing the coach down the lane from Greenham so the group had to transfer into a smaller coach, all of which took a long time.

The late salvias bring a splash of colour to the garden. The seven-foot pink Salvia involucrata from Mexico, where it grows in shady places has just started to flower; it really is a gem. The many-coloured Sallvia nachtvlinder, meaning night moth are still glorious. Whilst Salvia ‘wendy’s wish’, and ‘love and wishes’ are a cross between Salvia buchananii and Salvia chiapensis, Salvia kisses and wishes is a mutation from Wendy’s wish. All rather complicated! Ma’s favourite though is the darkest Love & Wishes.

As September comes into sight, some days are as bright as jewels. You can feel the difference in the air as the season changes and we settle down to autumn colours and cosy evenings beside the fire.