Thanks to our very mild autumn a lot of flowers are still blooming away and providing some glorious colour for the gardens. Here is an old wooden trough I planted up in May, it's doing even better now and is overflowing with fuchsias and impatiens.
This nasturtium found a shady place and is providing a lovely splash of colour in a dull corner.
Have you guessed what it is yet?! Yes, it is a cotoneaster - but it's actually providing a disguise. Believe it or not, underneath this is our coal bunker! As I've yet to see a coal bunker which is pleasing to look at (although I don't doubt there are some out there!) I decided many years ago to allow the cotoneaster to grow over it. It does receive a haircut at this time of year so I can get the coal out of the little door at the front. We had our first delivery of the season last week and the coalman asked the same question he asks every year - have you cut that triffid back?!! It's always a joint effort when he calls - it takes two of us to raise the lid (it's like something out of Thunderbirds!) and hold it there while he empties the coal into the bunker.
Whilst I'm on the subject, that's another thing I love about living the 'vintage way' - people in traditional services and trades are such great characters and go out of their way to help. Our coalman has to come through the house to get to our coal bunker, avoiding all my textiles and vintage bits and pieces on the way and never dropping so much as a sprinkle of coal dust! How's that for service?
Do you still have a service or delivery which you would class as traditional or 'vintage'?
