Highlights Of The Year

What a year...it has flown by and yet I'm really looking forward to getting back out into the garden full time, after the hectic festive season and the house refurb.

Back to normal, to a routine, that's what I like. I lost my "get up & go" for a while there but I'm feeling really positive about 2014 - things can only get better.


A few photos of highlights of 2013. Happy new year & happy gardening for 2014! xx

Merry & Bright

Christmas Fairs done and dusted, two wreath making workshops completed - tree up, house almost decorated.

I've been playing around with my new camera but the manual is not very instructive, that's my excuse anyway.

Am completely and utterly addicted to pinterest, the trouble being that you spend your entire free time looking at nice pictures and tutorials as opposed to getting off your b end and actually creating something.

I'm living in a virtual world and I think it's starting to fry my brain.

Laters.......

Say Cheese

I have a new camera, a Nikon D3200, my first SLR. It arrived by post yesterday via courier but I have been too busy to read the manual - honestly I'm not putting it off. Sounds pretty foolproof.....it's a big brute of a thing so here's hoping I don't drop it what with my reputation for being a clumsy lass.

Things are gonna change around here....anythings that moves will be shot (with the camera of course) and anything a la "still life" will be captured with all possible light combinations, angles, settings etc.

Watch this space.......

Deck The Halls

It's getting to that time of year and I'm really rather excited. The Victorian Street Fair was held for the fifth time in Whitehead yesterday. A tremendous turnout as always although I didn't have a chance to leave my stall to really take in the atmosphere, I was hiding behind my pussy willow.

Two Fairs down, three to go.........many wreaths to make, foliage to forage, bows to tie, paperwhites to plants, lots of workshops to hold......busy busy and loving it.

Looking Back

Have been trawling through photos of spring, I love looking back in mid winter, it never ceases to amaze me how the garden changes.

This muscari is latifolium, a strong tallish muscari which comes back every year. I have planted another 200 this autumn - that's the lovely thing about bulbs - they're a lovely surprise when they come up as you can never remember where you planted them!

 

May Your Days

Be merry and bright. Can it really be that time of year? Yikes! (As Shaggy would say).

So much to do, so much to do.........am too busy sitting in front of my lovely wood burning stove, drinking wine and watching Game of Thrones (only 2 episodes left til end of series 3 - boohoo).

I have harvested my pussy willow and seedheads. The berries are very early this year and so I'm worried that the birds will have eaten them all by Christmas.

This week I need to: pot up paperwhites, dry orange slices, make willow hearts and cone garlands, collect alder cones, gather moss and paint birch branches  - I love this time of year, just wish that I was better organised. A leopard never changes etc....

On the garden front, we moved daylilies from the cottage garden where they had outgrown their space and moved them up the field - to the prairie and laneside. We also planted lots of camassia bulbs in the orchard - they seem to thrive on our heavy, damp clay soil and bulk up well.


The willow arch got a hair cut this week.

The river lilies are flowering their little hearts out.

Nothing To Declare

Have so neglected the garden that the blog has followed suit. So last week I was glad to be back in swing of things. I'm working my way through the bulbs, have planted 300 crocus, 600 muscari, 300 narcissus and 200 tulips so far but still a lot to get through - hopefully tomorrow will complete the bulb planting.

I have also brought some bits and pieces into the tunnel hoping to force them for Mother's Day - hesperis, feverfew, applemint beside where I have already planted wallflowers,, sweet william and ranunculus. Difficult to time things for a certain date but here's hoping.

Thursday was such a lovely day and we had planned to make a new bed to mirror the autumn bed. With extra help, we managed to complete the bed (the lazy no dig way or course) in less than a day. With only recently acquired horse bedding (still steaming) on top, the bed will be left over winter to "mature" before planting starts in the spring (the fun bit).

Update

The kitchen is in - just need tiles & lights. Living area almost complete - just need skirting & curtains. Cannot wait to clutter it all up a bit, make it more homely. The new windows are coming tomorrow - am dreading it.

Back to the lovely world of flowers - have potted on lots of snapdragons and planted up the tunnel for Mother's Day next year - ranunculus, sweet william, wallflowers, narcissus in crates...... tulips still to go in. An autumn arrangement to be made for the weekend - will post a pic - I have lost my camera battery in the house upheaval - need to sort myself out big time. As a rather pathetic substitute I offer you a link to my autumnal pinterest board - http://www.pinterest.com/cherrytownsend/season-of-mist/

Laters :)

Chaos

What can I say....I have no kitchen, no washing machine, the builders have been living here since start of August....dust - don't talk to me about dust. Furniture piled high everywhere, I haven't watched TV for two months, I have very grey roots, very hairy legs but on the plus side have lost a stone in weight. Would you like to lose weight? Simple - just have your kitchen removed - it works wonders.

I shouldn't moan, things are starting to take shape and the new kitchen is coming this week.

Of course the garden has been rather neglected but I finished the season's workshops with a lovely bunch of ladies who were all friends and came together, on 21st September - the weather was beautiful and all went well.

 I am winding down now, putting the garden to rest, changing beds, making plans.

Was cheered up no end yesterday when a lovely lovely bride from last September emailed me some lovely pics of the wedding.

Makes it all worthwhile.

Thinking Ahead

Be prepared - something I find rather difficult but I have finally completed my bulb order for spring and ordered more perennials to bulk up the permanent planting beds from which I have removed the space wasters that weren't pulling their weight - out go the globe artichokes, anchusa, some hybrid tea roses, mathiasella bupleroides Green Dream (a beautiful plant but too precious for the cutting garden) and monarda (too scruffy!).

To fill the gaps, I am planting more of the star performers - phlox, veronicas, asters, toad flax, achillea, delphiniums and lysimachia.

I will also like to try something new each year but must not get carried away by the promise of something lovely in the seed catalogue, for instance, this year I tried achillea sibirica Love Parade. Basically, just like achillea ptarmica, the central "button" looks dirty when fully opened.

Bulbs for spring include more lovely multi headed, scented narcissus, some tulips and ranunculus for the tunnel.  And lots more alliums which are fab!

Pink ranunculus, Thalia narcissus and cherry blossom from spring past.

Mellow Fruitfulness

There's a definite nip in the air and yet, we are in for a pretty lovely month by the look of it.

Berries and hips and gourds.

Mist and golden leaves, the leaves are the best. It's early yet but here a few pics taken from last year....I'm hoping for a repeat performance.

I've started a new pinterest board ...check it out - here

Busy Bee

I can't believe the summer's almost over, I've been so busy that the blog has been neglected. They say you shouldn't mention that you've been a poor blogger but how can you not?

Very busy month and rather stressful - we're knocking three rooms into one at home, 3 weeks in and still like a building site...will keep you posted on progress - windows and new kitchen going in end of September so has to be finished by then.

On the flower front, been busy with weddings, workshops and orders.

On the garden side of things, my cut flower perennial beds need a major overhaul - there are too many plants not pulling their weight and taking up too much room - globe artichokes, anchusa, sidalcea bianca, achillea ptarmica The Pearl (it produces a tonne of flowers but as soon as they fully open, they look dirty as the centre of the button is a sort of beige colour. This means that there is a very short window for cutting).

I'm sticking to the stalwarts - toadflax, catmint, centranthus, phlox, veronicas, feverfew. I've had four good years now to try things out and am going to completely re-organise my beds. Watch this space!

Sometimes the simplest things are the prettiest.

Prairie Makeover

Last Autumn I had decided to make a new border along the lane, somewhere to move all of the hot coloured flowers that weren't in demand in bouquets. Heleniums, crocosmia etc.

We started planting up the border in March - you can check out the earlier post from March here.

The weather was so horribly cold that we thought that the plants would never grow but, since the mini heatwave in July, the border has suddenly filled out and although we ran out of plants towards the top, the first half looks pretty good (even if I do say so myself!) 

The heleniums are amazing - the plants were all purchased within the last 2 years and were divided in the spring - they clump up so quickly. The grasses will be slower but will give us something to look forward to next year. I have also bought achillea seeds - we are sticking to the hot colours within the red, orange, yellow, bronze colour palette.

The annual rudbeckias and calendulas make great fillers at the front of the border and we have also added some red geums to the mix.

I will post more pics within the next few weeks as the crocosmia are only starting to flower.

Last Autumn before we started.

We strimmed the area and laid cardboard.

Then we added grit to lighten the soil.

Grass clippings to add bulk.

Then lots of garden compost.

Spring planting.

In May, slow growth with the cold weather.

In July after a few weeks of heat and drought!

This week, above and below.

Will post more pics next week!