Lovely Garden

Today I am in the Shropshire countryside- in a town called Ellesmere - which is just a few miles east of the (North) Wales border with England. It is close to the towns of Oswestry and Wrexham and about an hour away by car from Shrewsbury.

I've only been in the UK for about a day and I'm being spoiled already! Not only is the countryside beautiful, but I've been fed homemade cake and pizza too! Today, I had the luxury of a lovely summer day to explore the back garden from my hosts. I also had a little helper, by the name of Celyn, assist me in my explorations! (if you look closely, the freckles on the top of his nose spell the word "Yo")



Typical of British gardening style, none of the plants (apart from the tomotoes) have been planted in rows. Things have been lovingly plunked into the ground or into pots and are growing- happy as can be!

I really like the little robin garden ornament that they have. Isn't it cute? I also found some very pretty shamrocks (oxalis) with pink flowers and some gorgeous lillies - nearly as big as my hand!



One thing that I see commonly in the UK but not in Alberta, are things called "grow bags". They are basically bags of soil with small amounts of fertiziler, that you cut holes into and then either pot plants into them or simply put the plants right into the bag. I've seen them mostly with tomoatoes in them - like the ones in their garden. I think it's a neat way to keep the root systems of heat-loving plants warm. As you can see, the tomatoes here are doing quite well!

In the evening, some friends and I took the dog for a walk around the Mere (small lake or pond) where we saw some swans. Did you know that killing a swan is considered illegal treason? Apparently all swans are considered property of the Queen! I can understand why; they are very regal looking with their tall, slender necks!