Shasta Disaster

I don't know what happened; maybe I did it with too much love i.e. fertiliser, regardless, it happened and my Summer dreams of Shasta daisies gently swaying in the sea breeze have been shattered.

Last year they flowered on and on, producing bunches and bunches of flowers for in the house and still having a fabulous display for in the garden. I have known for weeks what needs to be done. I know I need to be brutal and cut them back to the ground so the new shoots will have the rest of the Summer to harden up and grow big enough to survive the winter.

You can see the new shoots and baby daisies just waiting to burst into growth. I've filled a garden waste bag with my Shasta disaster and now there is a gaping hole in the cherub garden. I'll just have to toddle off to the garden shop :) The things I must suffer (hand to head, swooning just a little).

This was all B2 could salvage. She was my gardening helper, snipping all the 'good ones' off and placing them in a bucket of water until we could take them inside to artfully arrange.

The last of the poppies have finally finished as well so they made a nice companion in the vase. I do like my mysterious poppy flowers but I think I like their seed pods even more; very architectural.

The seed pods dry well and hold their shape so I am working on one of those nature displays for somewhere around the house. You know the ones, bowls of seeds, feathers, interesting rocks and shells grouped together with flair (of course darling). The great thing is that I have made it into a holiday project for the Bumble Bee'rs. They help me to collect items from around about and it is a very easy way of getting them out of the house and going for a walk.

The Shastas won't last that long in the vase. Their centers have already lost their bright, sunshine yellow and faded to a deep gold with a few dark brown spots here and there but they will add that little something to the kitchen for a few days at least.