Alan Titchmarsh is a fibber

Here at the end of a very hot flaming June, over a cup of tea, I’m looking back at some photographs I’ve taken of our garden. Flowering in the foreground is Sedum kamschaticum variegatum. At the back of that is a towering specimen of Buddleia Globosa. It’s flowering wonderfully but it’s massive! There is a reason why I have had to let it get so big. 

This is its third summer here. All the received wisdom is that you prune your buddleias in early Spring, everyone knows that. However this advice does not apply to B. Globosa.

I planted it as a pot grown shrub, as it was in the Spring, I duly cut it back. I got lots of healthy foliage but no flowers, I wasn’t worried, it was just settling in, how lovely it would be in its second year. Unfortunately, I again pruned it in Spring. I was puzzled why there were no flowers the following Summer, it just kept growing, getting bigger and bigger. 

When pruning time came round again THIS Spring, I checked on-line and discovered, unlike the Davidii cultivars, Buddleia Globosa only flowers on last year’s growth so I had been cutting off all the flower-bearing branches. Even though it was already quite big, if I wanted flowers this year, I would have to leave off pruning for at least another few months so it just got bigger until it got to the gigantic proportions you see. 

Who knew Alan Titchmarsh was such a fibber ... he even repeated the advice “If you haven’t already done it, prune your Buddleias now” on his Classic FM Programme one Saturday morning in March; of course he was talking about Davidii but even so, I was tempted to send a cross letter!

Loft conversion craft room on its way

The guys have had only a couple of days on converting our loft into my new craft room but it’s taking pretty good shape so far.

If we can get a couple of Velux windows here in time for Friday, then those will be fitted then to bring light in. First fix electrical work is happening next week. 

The room that used to by my craft room is immediately below this room. That is going to be dry lined and also have new windows, it will become a guest bedroom with a Jack and Jill ensuite shower room. The ensuite will have a door from that room and be shared, via a second door (hence the term Jack and Jill) with the other first storey bedroom which MTM currently uses as his study when he’s working from home. I also have my desktop computer in that room. 

Most of today I have stayed out of the way in my outdoor studio making beads whilst they got on with it but came indoors briefly to make bacon butties for us all late morning. This afternoon, I came indoors to prepare some packages to send out before the post goes at 4.45pm so I was in the study printing packing slips and sellotaping beads into five packages. 

On the radio, entertaining the workers, was Steve Wright’s unfailing chipper cheerfulness, golden oldies incongruously mixed in with medical matters such as information on sciatica and the latest developments in antibiotics. Not my idea of good listening, I realise I sound very ungrateful for all they have achieved today but at one point, I had my head on the desk whilst MTM laughed at me “when are they going home?” I wail; they’ve been here since 7am! Fortunately, I only had to put up with it for an hour but the antidote (as soon as they’d gone) is the melancholy lyrics of Justin Currie and Del Amitri. Del Amitri are touring England and Scotland in July, some venues still have tickets. 

By the time of the concerts, I hope the renovations will be finished so all that’s left is decorating which I can do myself .... whilst playing my own choice of music.