prim and proper

Yesterday was the first real day of spring in our garden.

That is, the first day warm and sunny enough to tempt me out of the house to actually see what’s happening out there.

It was a pleasant surprise.

Far from everything being dead, as expected, there are some lovely things growing!

The forget-me-nots are just opening, peeping out from under the hedge and between blades of uncut grass at the edge of the lawn.The oriental poppies have produced an encouraging show of greenery:But the stars of this spring’s show are the primroses…
I remember as a child watching Geoffrey Smith on telly.

Forever with a pair of pruning shears in hand, he seemed always hell bent on “cutting back hard”, hacking shrubs to shreds and dishing out his particular brand of tough love to plants.

I think this must’ve penetrated my subconscious and scarred me, for I am not a ruthless gardener.

I should have taken a tough approach with my prims at the end of last spring, dividing them up so they were more evenly spread across the border, giving them room to grow. But a combination of holidays away, laziness and a feeling of pointlessness at the very thought of gardening following such a poor summer weather-wise, meant that I didn’t bother.

As it turns out, my prims knew what to do and have turned out proper without any help from me.

the sanctuary

At the top of the driveway to my sister’s home there is a sign that reads “Welcome to The Sanctuary”.

It was put there by the previous owner – and builder – of the house that is now home to my sister, her partner, their three children, Aihlbie the Irish Wolfhound, Mao Mao the cat, and, for the next few weeks, us.

The house nestles against a hillside and has lots of wild, tree-covered land surrounding it.

There are snakes, spiders, kookaburras, wombats, raccoons and other wildlife galore.

Indoors, my sister has made the house both cosy and homely.

My sister has lots of lovely things.

Outside her front door, there is a patio with astroturf, plants and a small table and chairs.

The perfect spot for a leisurely cup of tea (when the temperature allows).

Round the back live the chickens. And a rather noisy rooster (provider of our early morning alarm call).

Periodically the chickens sneak into the house, to peck at forbidden treats in the fruitbowl, or poo in the shower.

One of them is broody and currently spends all day sitting in a box on top of the printer.

My sister’s family never refer to their home as “The Sanctuary”.

But I think the name is rather apt. ♥

fennel flowers

Feathery and sculptural, I love the flowers of the fennel plant.

They have flourished whilst we have been away, so I decided to take a few indoors.

Flowers are few and far between in the garden just now, so I also made use of my jasmine prunings.

Perhaps not the most elegant of arrangements, but nice to have a bit of greenery.

welcome home

Well, the wonders of France are now behind us.

We had such a wonderful time! Dragonflies and river swims, chateaux and wine, thunder and lightning, friendship and fun.

We were sad to leave.

Arriving home after midnight following an epic 14 hour car journey, we slept like logs in the comfort of our own beds.

Morning brought a surprise. Whilst we were away, our previously neat garden has gone its own sweet way.

The lawn is now a meadow of yellow hawkbit.

There are runner beans and herbs a-plenty for our dinner.

And two special garden gifts.

The first: a flower from my hollyhock. It’s been several years since I planted it and quite frankly, I’d given up on ever seeing it bloom.

But there it is.

Just a single flower, but there will be more to come.

And the second?

A tiny sampling of very late alpine strawberries. Like jewels.

A celebration of the last sweet abundance of summer.

I’m very grateful for the garden’s gifts. They chased away any immediate post-holiday blues.

It is lovely to go away.

But it’s very good to be home again, too.

my top five

Post number 5: other people’s pillows. Chosen because it has lots of nice pictures of cushions – mmmmmmm!

By the time you read this, I will be in the middle of France, hopefully enjoying le camping, le soleil, et du vin.

Or something like that.

I am happy to say that a few people seem to like my blog enough to come back again.

Some more than once.

My followers have grown. (Or rather, the number of followers has grown – I imagine that most of you have stayed more-or-less the same size).

Whilst I am taking a break, I thought it might be nice to take a little look back at my five favourite posts since I started this blogging lark, back at the start of the year.

Because some of my more recent visitors may not have seen them before.

Just click on the pics to visit the original posts.

Post number 4: mothers day musings. Chosen because it partly explains why I hang onto stuff.

Post number 3: shed envy. Chosen because it sums up how I suspect many people feel about their sheds.

Post number 2: pottery reflections. Chosen because of my hopeless sentimentality about objects that remind me of the past.

Post number 1: enchanted by ercol. My favourite post because it gave me the most views ever on my blog. The Ercol company actually said they liked it!

garden envy

I love seeing what other people do with their gardens.

My friend Jodi and her family moved to the countryside last Easter. They took on a dilapidated farmhouse and its large, untended garden.

In less than the time it took me to decide on which wallpaper to have in our kitchen, they have totally transformed the place.

I don’t have the “before” photos, unfortunately.

But due to her hard work and dedication, not to mention style, Jodi’s is now the garden I most envy.

When they moved in, there were fruit trees: Victoria plums, damsons, two sorts of pears, and apples.

There are now also gooseberries and raspberries.

Where once there was a hovel, there  now stands a greenhouse lush with herbs, peppers and chillis.

A large, enviable veg patch has been cut from the turf and filled with rainbow-hued chard, runner and French beans, pumpkins, tomatoes, kale, flat-leaved parsley in glorious abundance, lettuces, courgettes (round, yellow and Lebanese varieties), leeks…

I could go on, but hopefully you get the picture.

Sigh.

It is a valuable lesson in how, for me, procrastination is the thief of time.

Well done to Jodi (and Alan, who has transformed the house).

I stand in awe of your energy and dedication.

And thank you for inspiring me to do better in future ♥