The Garden in the Clouds

I've just finished this book, and can honestly say it's one of the best books I've ever read; superbly written, hugely entertaining, poignant, hopeful, optimistic, completely mad. Wondderul. One of only 3 books that have actually made me laugh out loud.  Even if you're not actually interested in gardening, there is so much to be got from it - railway carriages and mountains, gates and beekeeping, human nature, joy and sorrow. Anything is possible. Read it.

What are sunday afternoons for...........

............. when it's too chilly for the garden?  Sitting in the kitchen, ignoring the washing up from this morning, eating toast and honey, reading your new gardening book, half a pint of cider and a snooze by theRayburn. Contentment :)

Pleasant way to spend an hour on a Friday afternoon

Get hold of your local paper, sit down with a big mug of good coffee and turn to the property pages :)  These days a lot of the properties are online, so you can peruse the insides of the houses, see the gardens, and cast a critical eye (lol) over their decor.  My local paper turned up this wee gem this afternoon - I tell you, if I had the money this would be mine, it's just lovely. Would have liked a few photos of the garden, but if the house is anything to go  by................. http://www.symondsandsampson.co.uk/residential/searchresults.aspx?display=details&pid=STU120138&fastfind=true

Interesting survey on craft

http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/about-us/press-room/view/2012/newsarticle-201202150943-4f3b7e450aff5?from=%2Fabout-us%2Fpress-room%2F

Update on the natural dyeing

I've completed four skeins so far, and am so pleased with the results; such soft and gentle colours. This pic shows them together - top left is black tea, top right is the Black Turtle beans, bottom left the nettle  a lovley soft pistachio green, hard to capture  on a photo), bottom right is the onion skin.

Bean dyeing

No, not a typo lol; this latest skein is dyed with Black Turtle beans, just bought in a supermarket. The resulting colour is an exquisite shade of duck egg blue, matching the Runner duck eggs in my egg bowl. It looks particularly stunning against the onion skin dyed skein I did last week: I think any project I decide to do with them will have the two colours in. There is a big pan of fresh nettles and wool on the go as I type , for the next instalment :)

Sunday afternoon in the garden

It was like midsummer in The Vale this afternoon, so I spent a few hours outisde; watered the greenhouses - things are really doing well, and there'll be much potting on needing to be done this coming week, some for my garden, some for selling at the gate. I just sat a lot too, soaking up the warmth and sunshine, listening to the birds and myriad bussing insects out and about their daily doings. Just coming into flower now are some of my absolute favourites, the aquilegias; I picked a few for the kitchen table, and there are a lot more to come of all hues,singles and doubles, darks and lights, dramatic and understaed - it's all there in the aquilegia family. Love them.