How heavenly are the roses that bloom
turning heads to sun in June
tiny faces in perfect form
that scatter their smiles on the lawn
majestic, abundant and heavens gift
that give of their beauty, and our hearts a lift…
“No spring or winter has such grace as I have seen in one little face…“  This little verse is dedicated to the memory of Maeve Craven, much loved Mother of Karen who died in June 2014.
It was our village ‘open gardens’ day this Sunday, the morning dawned fair and after such preparation from the eleven sensational gardens that would be open to the public, we knew we were in for an exciting and enticing day. Abundant flower drenched bowers, roses dripping in splendour, colourful arbour’s, covering walkways, plants of such exotic delights, lawns manicured to perfection, handmade paths so clever in design. All manner of interest and panoramic views to mesmerize, scents to please the senses and calm and serene borders and textures. Corners of interest and wonderful hidden places to sit and view awhile. Vegetables crammed and laden, bursting full of goodness and showing skills of years of knowledge and precious tending. For many of the gardens with chickens, ducks and geese producing a self sufficiency with daily eggs, crops of every vegetable, fresh and packed full of glorious vitamins. We feasted on wonderful fare on the stroll around the lanes of this enchanting village, stopping for a ploughman’s lunch with a selection of English cheeses and pickle and a cooling drink at the hottest part of the day. Then peeping into our little church to view the theme displays of flowers, some shown below. On we went, with ice-cream in hand to end our very English day at the last garden for afternoon tea and delicious cakes and scones laden with strawberries and cream. My photos do not do justice to these wonderful gardens but perhaps will give you my reader a little idea of this heavenly day…
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My dear sister brought these beautiful roses as a gift at the weekend, how lovely they are and how they cheered and lifted our spirits. It has been rather a sad week in our little village, losing a much loved older village member. Arthur was in his eighties and had started work at the age of thirteen on the local farm – he was such an interesting and very knowledgeable man – often winning the first prize at the village vegetable show. He knew all there was to know about growing vegetables and was a fount of knowledge for us all. He answered all our gardening questions with such grace and clarity. He had not been well in recent years but still managed to tend his plot and produce the best tasting and marvelously ‘giant’ marrows and onions amongst all other vegetables, that I have ever seen. We will miss him at all the shows and when on our walks, seeing him with his cheery smile, sitting in his window, waiting with a wave. Today we celebrated his life. The village church was full to bursting as over two hundred people paid their respects to this much loved man. He never travelled far, once visiting Skegness but didn’t like it much there, quickly returning to his beloved village. Arthur was honoured with a medal from the Queen for forty years service to farming but carried on for many more years after that. He was laid to rest in the village churchyard with his family and many friends around him. We will miss him so.
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