When Is A Cosmos Not A Cosmos?

It’s been a funny old day. Productive in one sense but mightily confusing in another. Let me explain.

Having spent the last few days chasing my sixteen year old cat around the house, I can now confirm that all his claws have been duly clipped. Each time he took a snooze I approached stealthily, gently took a paw and clip, there went another claw. After a few occasions of this antic he got wise. On permanent alert, one eye half open, ready to pounce. So I tried the ‘sit on my lap, gently hypnotise him with soothing words' and strokes and then snip. Not quite so easy but achievable nevertheless. Three more claws went this way. Six down, fourteen to go. And so the process has gone on, clippers to the ready at the oddest of moments. The last two went as he snoozed in the summer house just now. I feel I should blow a trumpet or some such. Hopefully they will take their time to grow back.

Leave me alone woman!

The garden is taking most of my time this week. Permanent weeding is the name of the game. You turn your back for five minutes and up they pop. At the garden centre I remembered I needed some cosmos seeds. By now they are usually in the ground but I had forgotten to buy any seeds earlier in the year. Not a problem as they only take a few days to germinate and they are so worthwhile as a late flowerer in the autumn. I chose a tall variety called Cosmos Purity. A large white variety that will go well in most borders. The goldfinches love their seeds.

This is the variety inside the Cosmos packet.

Back home I impressed myself by sowing them straight away. Imagine my surprise when I opened the packet to find the seeds inside were called Argemone Platycerus. Certainly not Cosmos Purity. Thank goodness for google. A quick search told me they were a type of poppy, white in colour with a very prickly stem, commonly know as Prickly Poppy. I suppose I could have returned the seeds, but in the interests of saving the planet and not wasting fuel I have sown my prickly poppies. Let’s hope they are a good addition to the garden. I gather their flower heads can be up to 15cm wide.

The family are arriving shortly and a chocolate  mousse cake awaits their arrival. Take away Thai is on the menu for a change. We were meant to have this a fortnight ago on our return from France but the ferry was delayed due to engine problems, so it had to be postponed. I felt a little miffed at the time but now I’m pleased it was delayed :).

I’m being entertained while we wait by the antics of our squabbly goldfinches. They’ve been joined at the feeder by a pair of green finches, very new additions to the garden. An enormous red admiral has been perching very photogenically on a variety of plants clearly trying to get in my good books and the tortoise for some reason has taken to nibbling the perennial wallflowers. It takes all sorts.

I’ll be back soon with a few more photos from France, in the meanwhile have a lovely weekend .

Barbara xxx