A warm weather weekend

We had the most beautiful weather this past weekend and so we enjoyed as much of it as possible outside. If all English summers are as pleasant as we've seen in this one so far, we are never going to want to leave!

Our house has a lot of hedges surrounding the yard (the English like their privacy fences, high hedges, and more). We initially inquired with our landlord about hiring a gardener and have kept the name of file in case we needed it. However, after our neighbor asked us if we needed a name of a gardener, we knew it must be time to get our hedges back in shape to keep up to the neighborhood standards! 

After we received a rough estimate on the cost from our neighbor's gardener, Scott opted for a do-it-yourself project. So, off to HomeBase (the Home Depot of the UK) we went to purchase a hedge trimmer, gloves and more, so he could embark upon his gardening duties.  

As you can see, the "before" version of our hedges was quite a messy sight....

So, with his newly purchased power hedge trimmer, Scott worked for TWO full days to trim the hedges surrounding our house. It required a ladder/step-stool and more because the hedges are so tall! I tried to rake the mess he made on the lawn but only lasted for a few hours. 

The "after" version of our hedges is much nicer and more clean looking. We had so many yard clippings from this project, that our trash bin overflowed and we had to take an extra trunk-full of hedge trimmings to the TIP. I am wondering if it was really worth the pounds we saved!?!?

Meanwhile, I spent time planting my little vegetable "garden" (of potted plants) in our back patio area. 

I have two containers of herbs, one container of strawberries, about 8 tomato plants in various pots out on our patio to grow. 

We also purchased this lovely new patio table & chair set so we can enjoy the nice weather and dine al fresco. We have been eating out there almost every night and it's wonderful! 

With the weather being so nice, it called for a taste of the US....iced tea. They drink a lot of tea over here, but unfortunately it will be difficult to order an iced tea in any restaurant around here. Taking matters into our own hands, we made sun tea for a refreshing taste of summer!