Garden suprises

All summer we've been finding the unexpected cropping up in the garden - by the way, it's largely a vegetable garden with a few flowering plants thrown in to keep the bees happy :)

This evening I landed home from a round trip to Erris in County Mayo, and while re-acquainting myself with this summer's Holly Cottage garden veggys I spotted something blonde and dazzling from the corner of my tired from driving eye. Over the last year we've been slowly clearing out the front garden (aka bombshelled area that has been ignored for the last two years) and the odd rose I tried to salvage usually died at my clumsy, amateur flowering fingertips. One of these I had tried to save but failed, and it ended up on the green waste area in the furthest darkest, coldest corner of the garden..to be forgotten. But funny how it happens that a plant will just suprise you. This fiesty rose wasn't going to settle for dried out potential fire starter - it has somehow taken root amongst the sticks of chopped up snowberry and despite all odds, is currently displaying two beautiful yellow roses with more buds to follow! And the scent, well. Do the old roses have the best of scents? This rose was probably growing in the front for maybe even 50 years. And there I had banished it to the cold and dark. Respect :)

Other welcome suprises (weeds don't count) are a few rogue tomato plants, several sporadic flowering blackcurrants, the odd holly sapling, a couple of unknown squash plants (hopefully they will provide a fruit) and the tastiest wild rocket ever. The rocket has superseded the variety we planted - it has a yellow flower and a very peppery taste. Four plants around the garden are enough for both of us and Holly the dog (she has a thing for lettuce, peas and strawberries).

So you never know! Before you top that potential weed, have a close look and be sure it's not a more welcome garden suprise...