A day at Speke Hall and June in the garden

I have been spending most evenings lately in the garden until well gone 9pm trying to finish all my pots of bedding plants so that come July and August should have a pretty summery display .The resident Thrush has been singing along madly on the house roof until really late and I managed to catch him in full voice so to speak in the photo .

We had a lovely weekend and took a trip to Speke Hall nr Liverpool, in fact it's very close to the Airport. I last went there some 30 years ago and remember it as being a little jaded and tired looking at the time but the National Trust took over in 1986 and since then they have restored the gardens and by the looks of it done a tremendous amount of work. I will be going back soon as there is so much to see and do.
Have also been catching up with some scrapbook layouts , getting a few ideas lately and trying to do at least one or two a week.I have decided to look further back to some good family pictures for inspiration. I've put a few up here and will be putting a few more soon.
Don't know how long this lovely weather will last but I am trying to enjoy it while we can and today went out on the bike twice which was lovely.
Have also put up some snaps of lovely Tom my gentle ginger cat and some of the summer flowers now looking nice in the garden.

Rufford Old Hall in Lancashire begun in the 1300s was the last stop on my Aunts stay up here in the county of Lancashire. She has been really surprised that we have such a wealth of old building and interesting towns, having mostly on previous trips, toured the southern half of England.

Its rumoured that in the late 1500s Will Shakespeare himself was part of a company of 'players , that were paid to put on shows here. It certainly does have a very fine old great hall that would have suited theatrical shows!

She is now down on the second phase of her holiday and has a full itinerary planned with visits to bath, Wisley Gardens and Waddesdon Manor.

It was a lovely 10 days and we all enjoyed our selves very much.
I have been taking photos of scarecrows I keep finding so far this is the scariest

Chester is a beautiful City to visit on any holiday. It just has so much to offer ,with all the wonderful old buildings and streets filled with great little shops to easily spend all your money in! Then there are no shortages of good restaurants and art galleries and museums.
We went into the Cathedral refectory for a lovely coffee and cake and I took the picture of the bright and cheerful stained glass window while we were there.

This past week I have been showing my Aunt from America the tourist 'hot spots of the North west of England. The weather, although not the nicest May weather we have experienced has been fairly good to us and not rained on our days out.
Tatton Park in Cheshire was one of our first visits , we looked around the house but first took a stroll in the gardens , stopping to admire the beautiful Rhododendron which are at their best right now. My favourite part of the gardens has to be the Japanese Water garden it is just so scenic and so tranquil.
The other few photos are of our time around York. We had two packed days there and enjoyed every moment.

Last Saturday we went into an English haven, a Bluebell Wood! A sea of blue carpeted the ground and the air was softly fragranced by wonderful woodlands scents, insects hovered and birds sang from the treetops. It really was quite magical to walk through on that lovely spring afternoon in the sunshine. We were out on the boat,coming back from a little trip up to Garstang...the new Booths there is coming along nicely] and as I had my camera with me I took a few snaps along the way.

As you can see the canoeists were also making the most of the lovely day too.

A sunny April day and the sight of these lovely Tulips had me out in the garden with the camera trying to capture some of their beauty before they start to fade. Everybody who saw them could not believe that they were tulips as they were so full of petals.
Then with the camera set to' super macro' I was able to see how intricate the pink one was on the inside too.
The lovely warm days have seen the spring flowers finish earlier this year but it was a small price to pay for the enjoyment of nice weather and the lilac bush is now in full bloom and the azaleas are nearly out too.

Easter Greetings

Easter greeting to you all. I hope you have had a peaceful one and enjoyed the really lovely weather we have been rewarded with this time around.
It has made the spring flowers look the best they have been for a very long time and my Tulips this year are gorgeous, with so many lovely shades coming into flower at once. I went out with the camera just after a light shower the other day and took these photos.
Things in the greenhouse are sprouting and and shooting up at a mad rate now and I am kept busy pricking out the seedlings and still sowing and picking up bargains where I can.

The Blackbirds have a nest again in the garden somewhere because they are collecting mouthfuls of worms from the lawn all day and trying to pinch bits off the cats plates if they leave any meat behind. They have even been cheeky enough to venture into the kitchen and see whats there.I am dreading them all emerging from the nests as with all our cats about I will be on alert !
The Heron was again seen in the garden at the back.. there is something there he likes!
We have spent the easter break doing a few jobs around the garden but also managed to get out on our boat on the lancaster canal which was lovely in the spring sunshine.