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China Girl blog 4th July 2019

The sound of the birdsong and the scent of flowers fills the June garden with joy, as if the good Lord had painted the souls of the flowers with love.

This week, we had six pre-booked coaches. Ma again helped all day in the Tearoom for two days, as every group had booked lunch or tea. A group of Japanese booked a garden tour, which usually takes about one hour. They insisted on a group photograph with Ma in the centre of the group; Ma tried bending her knees to their height as she felt like a giant in the centre of the group, as they only came up to her shoulder!

The other foreign group came from Argentina; this was the third year the organiser had brought a party. We were amazed when a few of the group bought plastic buckets from our small garden shop, as apparently plastic weeding buckets are not sold in Argentina. We wondered how they would manage them on the aeroplane back to Argentina!

Visitors seem to come from all over England; we are a good stopping-off place for garden lovers on their way to holidays in Cornwall.

Flowering for the first time since Ma planted it about fifteen years ago is the climber Actinidia chinensis, the Chinese gooseberry, the kiwi fruit. It must have been last year’s hot summer which has spurred it on to flower; the charming pale pink-yellow flowers are about an inch across.

The terrace is a mass of the glorious Dierama, known as Angels Fishing Rods, or in South Africa where they grow in damp meadows, the African Hair bell. They are quite promiscuous, seeding and cross-pollinating wherever the seeds land. However, you have to be patient as they take about five years before they flower.

The summer days roll on, each day a new surprise when an unexpected bloom appears. Despite the fickle weather, how blessed we are to live on this green and lovely island.