New month, new moon.....................

Squish

Just arrived : Two 25g batts of Irish lambswool from Armagh, dyed with madder to the  prettiest squishiest apricot colour you ever did see :)

Think about this one....................

................   really think hard about it.  Feel free to comment below :)

How I fell in love with the snakeshead fritillary

I have always been a big fan of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, especially loving his flower paintings.  I had in my collection of postcards a card of his painting of a small nodding flower with a chequerboard pattern of dark purple and white, in almost perfect squares. Back then I was still quite a novice gardener, and although the title must surely have been on the back of the card, I  believed that nature could not produce something so delicately and stunningly beautiful as this charming little nodding head on slender bright green stems and narrow leaves.  I thought that CRM had dreamt up such a flower and painted it, such was to my mind, the improbability of nature producing a square pattern to perfection.............  In the village we were lucky enough to have a garden centre, and I often went up there in my lunch hour for a change of scene and to gaze longingly at the plants and flowers, reading labels and generally learning. There, on the bench one day, was single pot of snakeshead fritillaries;  I remember how astounded I was that such a plant really did exist, and I bought it there and then, spending my lunch money on it.  It spent the afternoon on my desk, with one flower open and several to come, then was taken home and planted in a good spot in my tiny garden.  I then went on to do some research into fritillaries, falling in love with first the creamy white snakeshead - meleagris - then all the rest of them. It's a love affair that lasts to this day and there are several small stands established here in my garden.  Some will be moving with me, and I have been collecting up seeds of other varieties too  f. lusitanic,  f.messanensis and f.pudica so far. If ever the word exquisite was invented for something, then this wee plant must surely be it. I have a similar love for meconopsis, but that's a whole other story..................

River Cottage Canteen Axminster

I went down to Axminster this afternoon for tea and cake at the River Cottage Canteen; can thoroughly recommend it.  Lovely place, pleasant and helpful, friendly staff, excellent food. We had a big pot of tea (4 generous cups) and two slices of parsnip, apricot and walnut cake ( will be trying this at home, nice change from the usual carrot cake) for under £!0, which is pretty good value these days. I don't mind paying a bit more for good food and drink, it's when it's crap that I get annoyed!  I then fell foul of the deli counter, conveniently situated by the door lol  Came out with some smoked goat's cheddar, some Beenleigh Blue and a decent sized lump of my all-time favourite Sharpham Rustic ewe's milk cheese, plus four bottle of beer from the Town Mill Brewery n Lyme Regis - Ven and Revenge, both excellent. Earlier in the day I had breakfast out ( had a lovely break from cooking today :)  ) at the Engine Room at Poundbury -  cheese on toast and a large cappuccino.  Bargain of the day here - a beautiful gold-laced polyanthus for only £2 in the garden centre, was so pleased with that. :) After that we found a really good antiques/vintage place, where I picked up some useful bargains - the two herbal books were only £1 each, knitting needles 30p a pair, the wee pastry cutter £4. I couldn't resist the little purple heart necklace at only £4 too. So much beauty and loveliness for not many pennies at all.  I added in a very useful vintage knitting pattern for gloves at 20 p.  I am now hoping to be able to save up for the antique French cupboard I fell inn love with, for my new home.  I know I'll go back there again when I have some more spare cash http://www.thegardeneronline.co.uk/poundbury-gardens.asp http://www.rivercottage.net/canteens/axminster/ Had  intended to go to the Hive Café at Burton Bradstock, but it was stowed out, so had half an hour of very fresh sea air to replenish me before heading off to Axminster. http://www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk/?doing_wp_cron=1393098044.8443670272827148437500

More spring flowers..................

I bought these beautiful British-grown tulips today, my favourite colours

Blewbury Tart

Not a pudding, but a snowdrop. I bought this several years ago at Snape Cottage, when I went on a very cold Sunday to look round at the collections of snowdrops and hellebores grown there.  I only bought one plant, but wanted it to be special and went for Blewbury Tart, a variety discovered in Oxfordshire back in 1975.  A distinguishing feature is its propensity to hold the flower heads more erect than other snowdrops; it's a very pretty double.  It has taken a long time to establish here, and ironically I will be digging it up after flowering, to pot u in the green and move it with me to my new garden, where I hope it may flourish and be happier.     http://www.snapecottagegarden.co.uk/snowdrops.htm