Natural stone steps

In the process of creating a garden there are millions, no..., trillions of decisions to make and in my case it gets very difficult when more and more options are available.

With the time I have developed some basic rules to follow to start with and the rest is detail or improvement. One of the rules is to use original materials of the surroundings if possible. It gives automatically a cosy and authentic atmosphere and is by far, the cheapest of the options.

This is a very good example. Why to plaster with concrete or perfect formed steps if the whole vineyard is full of stones!

Frozen berberis

Cold, very cold. That is winter but its beauty is undeniable.

The snow piling all over the place; white, so white that it dazzles in the moment the sun has a chance to appear.

And the very low temperatures make possible the miracle. Frozen berberis like candies jumping into the eyes.

Berberis thunbergii

Good to remember it.

New garden bench

It was hard to resist. When you see something like this you should get it if possible.

This is the new acquisition for the garden. Among all the materials available I prefer wood for the garden furniture and this piece has an special touch. It is made of teak but recycled teak and it looks quite new after all. In the pictures you can see that the bench seat is made ​of different pieces put together (one of them keeps little holes from older times) and then sanded to shape the smooth rounded corners.

Recycled teak bench

Is very stable but not so large that it can’t be moved wherever necessary. So far it was the seat for the grill master in the last barbecue, the horse for the little ones and do not know why people tend to sit down there and not on the other "more comfortable" chairs and benches.

Recycled garden teak bench

English rose Graham Thomas

David Austin in his book “The English Roses” says about his Graham Thomas rose...

“Graham Thomas” might be described as no longer in the top flight of English Roses, although it is a valuable variety, no least for its colour, which is unique among English Roses and rare among other roses.

And I only can think that he wrote down this under a serious attack of modesty because how this beauty can not be on the top of the top. Healthy plant, beautiful foliage and what a colour! In this point I totally agree with Mr. Austin, of course.

Graham Thomas

Honestly a flower garden must have this rose or something important would be missing. Don’t you think so?

Pink flower garden

It must be something unconscious. It is obvious that the Garden Chair likes pink in all of the shades available. Just with the almost fading roses of the Leonardo da Vinci rose, the Red Leonardo da Vinci rose, the Strawberry Hill rose and the peonies I got these arrangements.

Leonardo da Vinci rose, Red Leonardo da Vinci rose and Strawberry Hill rose

The Leonardo da Vinci varieties go perfectly together. From crimson to pale pink these flowers go through all the spectrum.

Leonardo da Vinci rose and Red Leonardo da Vinci rose

I save these peonies from the hunger of the slimy slugs and voilà!

Peonies

The roses below are Strawberry Hill and although they look like falling apart they hold their beauty long and the smell is fantastic.

Strawberry Hill rose

Chamomile

I really like the smell of chamomile in the air. Among all of the herbs I must say that this is the best. Beautiful colour and better fragrance.

Every year I seed chamomile in pots and place them where it looks prettier then I pick the flowers little by little and I get enough for having a nice herb tee for the next autumn.

Sweet chestnut tree

I can hardly believe that we could seed a sweet chestnut tree! Actually three of them.

We just replanted to bigger pots and who knows, perhaps we can eat chestnuts in few years.

But it is better to enjoy the moment and see how little by little they grow.