The garden at home

Hello everybody,It's been hectic round here lately with me trying to settle the house down and get ready to switch countries.For that, I spent several days getting the garden ready for my absence.We've been having lovely sunny days and that's really helped in the garden.Our little resident humming bird has been eyeing the crocosmia and visiting the blossoms every day.It's been a fabulous season in my garden for raspberries. I managed to freeze several bags for Chloe so when she comes back from Japan in the New Year, she'll have garden raspberries for her smoothies.The lavender is heavenly right now. I wonder if I have some time to make a few lavender bottles before I leave.I'm sure that this early summer and me feeding the bees is what's responsible for the bumper raspberry crop.The peas in the garden have come thru. I was really worried about the seeds I chose for this season. There was an abundance of green growth with only one or two blossoms, but suddenly the plants erupted in a massive bloom and there are peas for miles and miles.The kale, chard and celery root are all doing really well too, and I spread the rest of last year's straw on the ground to help with the moisture and keep the weeds down while I'm away.Oh, also, the little row of pollinators is a big hit. It was supposed to be sunflowers, poppies and calendula, but has turned into mostly calendula. That's ok though, it's working brilliantly to bring in the bees. I think I'll do this again next year.The early tomatoes are also coming. They will all be for my house sitters though.And the last thing I did was repot all the houseplants and stick them all outside where they will be easier to water and care for.My little cactus has so much new growth on it. Even the one branch pod leaf round segment that I managed to break off during repotting (it's the one in the middle leaning up against the larger part), has rooted and sprouted new round bits. This is one of my first ventures into cacti. My grandfather loved them and so do I, but I just haven't grown very many before. This one is deadly though. Just a quick brush against it and tons of invisible barbs stick in and stay there irritating for days and days. Next time I'm going to chose a much friendlier cactus!And lastly, Morgan is doing much better. If you are my friend of FB then you'll know the trouble Morgan has had, if not, why not? Come be my friend.Her asthma is under control and she seems to be having less pain in her knee, so I feel much better about leaving her in the capable hands of my house sitters while to go back to England.But first, a quick little visit out to see Kerstie and our little girls.