Gardens and Cake

As the last few days of the holiday draw to a close we've been enjoying some lovely Welsh sunshine . . .  The first day of July took us out to Aberaeron for chips by the sea, followed by a walk out to Llanerchaeron  through woodlands and meadows.

Had a nice wander then around the gardens - they've really upped the activity on the veg and fruit plots this year, and everything is looking very impressive (must post an update on our own garden soon).

No good pigs today, but the climbing roses dotted around the walled gardens and elsewhere were looking stunning:










Ended the visit in the Llanerchaeron caff with the traditional bread pudding and chocolate cake:




Then headed back to Aberaeron via a slightly different route through deep wooded paths.

Finished with some further indulgence - honey ice-cream sitting in the sun by the harbour - before finally making our way home . . .

The Rose in the Hedge

We finished the first cut of the hedges today - after upgrading to a petrol trimmer (which has the advantage of having no cable to cut through!).



It's all looking very tidy now - and I managed to avoid the horseflies this year! 

We did leave one section though - the wild roses are looking far too pretty to trim back . . .

Rosebud to Rose

 

I planted a climbing rose on the trellis arch into the garden last year - I can't say it has exactly thrived, as much of its growth has been choked back by the clematis, which has really taken over.  But this year, finally, it put out a rosebud . . . and now we have a perfect rose: