The great summer shake-up

This week I have been shaking things up, sometimes literally and sometimes less so. The literal shake-up is mostly taking place in our garden, where I am trying to tie up the various rose bushes that are out of control. I know that it’s our national flower and much loved by many, but I can’t be doing with them. Most bloom for a very short time (if they haven’t succumbed to greenfly) and then develop black spot, causing all the leaves to fall off. They’re not evergreen, so once the leaves are gone, you’re left with nothing but stalks until the following spring. Many of the modern versions don’t even have a perfume and although cabbage roses (the ones with whorls of petals) are very pretty, their tightly furled flowers mean that they’re of little use to pollinators. Pollinating insects are attracted by fragrance and open flowers that brazenly offer up their pollen and nectar to all comers. I am at one with the pollinating insects: flowers that aren’t prepared to share their riches have to go.

Anyway, back to the roses in our garden, which are so full of blossom that the branches are collapsing under the weight and need remedial help. The problem is that we haven’t had rain in ages and the ground is absolutely solid, so how are you to insert supporting canes? Obviously, you find the fattest drill bit you have and then drill a hole in the ground. This has met with mixed success. Had I known, I could have planned ahead and put stakes in the ground in early spring, but I probably wouldn’t have. Honestly, with all the staking, pruning, greenfly and blackspot, roses are simply not worth the effort. In my view. And they’re selfish. Although drilling holes in the ground is quite fun.

The great indoor shake-up is taking place right now as all the walls in our house are being painted. I have mentioned before about our house being a tribute to all things grey, a showcase for the entire spectrum from the palest summer cloud to the deepest, murkiest charcoal. I‘m not averse to some grey, but I do crave colour. The only relief from all that grey was our black front door. So, I have completely overreacted with creamy yellow walls and a teal green front door. They are giving me great pleasure, although I’m not sure the door is going down so well with the neighbours. The only problem with painting the walls is that everything else starts to look really shabby and the carpets are looking particularly moth-eaten. What goes well with yellow walls, I ask myself. I’m thinking pale grey carpets…

Finally, we’re in for a musical shake-up tonight: we’re off to our local club to see two American country and western singers. I know, get us. Out clubbing on a Friday night. I love a bit of twangy C&W, all those songs about doomed love affairs, cheating partners “who done me wrong” and lonesome lives with only a bottle of whisky for a friend. We’ll certainly be in need of our newly painted sunshine yellow walls after all that.