I Went to the Garden Centre and Didn't Buy Anything!

this rose is having an identity crisis ... it's supposed to be pink!

 

It's a beautiful rose but it's definitely not the pale pink New Dawn rose that I was expecting and it sticks out like a sore thumb amidst all my other plants so I contacted the garden centre about it. This is The Nursery in Hilperton Marsh, just up the road from me, and I can't praise their customer service enough. They didn't ask to see a receipt and asked me to come in and choose a replacement at no extra cost, which I did yesterday morning. The owner of The Nursery helped me select the replacement and, following his advice, I chose Blush Noisette which is very similar to the New Dawn but which he said is a much better flowerer. I can also keep the other rose, which M (my gardener) is going to have. 

I did have a look round while I was waiting for him to finish with another customer and managed to resist the temptation to buy anything else, though this was probably because I didn't have my purse with me rather than any willpower on my part! I will still need some more plants but am waiting until the pergola is finished to decide what to get. So far I've replaced all of the plants lost over the winter and have filled some of the pots usually set aside for annuals with perennials instead. There are still six empty pots but I'm undecided whether to fill them with perennials or annuals.

Blogging problems still continue but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things will improve soon. I am able to read blogs but not comment, so at least am keeping up with what you're all up to. However, I was able to comment on Lady Ella's blog a couple of days ago so that's an improvement and I'm hopeful that whatever has changed behind the scenes with her blog will also have a knock on effect to all the other blogs I read. Eileen @ Deja Brew lll kindly pointed out that my blog wasn't updating in her reader list but that seems to have corrected itself already, so it was just last Friday's post that seems to have been affected ... the one with my first SPSH photos.

I'm joining in with Sharon @ My New Uneventful Life and am attempting to declutter 50 items in June. So far I have managed to declutter 1 dinner service I never use, 3 unwanted Christmas decorations, 6 books (but there will be more), a selection of used gift bags, some unwanted stationery items, and a black bag of rubbish from the garage. It's all gone to the charity shop, to friends, or to the recycling yard. Later this week I will make a start on the older cameras and the darkroom equipment - hopefully I can find a buyer now that film cameras are becoming popular again. 

My grocery delivery came yesterday so I have some batch cooking to do this morning (chicken curry, pork in mushroom sauce, and veggie chilli), and then it's the canasta group this afternoon with the possibility of a Zoom chat with L&P to finish off the evening.