Hello!

My poor neglected blog! It's been sitting here in the background all summer patiently waiting for me to come and pay it some attention.

So where was I? Ah, yes, flowers. Plenty of them. The glorious summer that was 2013 gave me the cutting garden that I've always dreamed of.

I have had literally vaseful after vaseful of them for the last six months. I give them away by the bucketload and I can make an impromptu gift at the snip of my scissors.

I have done barely any crafting; no quilting or sewing at all, a little crochet in an attempt to get through the stash and last week as I felt the season had changed for sure, I cast on a pair of socks. All my time has been spent outdoors, and I have loved every minute of it.

Back in July, my allotment looked relatively tidy and was just starting to give me fruit and vegetables on a regular basis.

Then it went slightly mad. This is how it looked last week:

I could be working down there and be completely hidden from view. This weekend saw the start of the big tidy up, but let's talk about that another time.

When I wasn't outside in my own patch, I managed to grab a couple of weekends away camping and a trip to the Moreton Show, where I came away dreaming of livestock and wonderful different breeds of poultry. Ok, so maybe not this splendid chap!

Other days have been spent with friends and just generally catching up.

Now the nights are drawing in and I find myself craving the cosy side of crafting again. And that is a very good thing as I have been thrilled to work on an exciting project that will be revealed at the end of the week.

Oh, did I mention my dahlias? I'm in love.

Bejewelled...

The rain came with a vengeance late yesterday afternoon. It fell so hard it bounced. I hoped it would bounce right back into the earth and judging by the greenness this morning, I would say it certainly did.




Within minutes of it falling, the sun was back out giving the garden that bejewelled look that I so love to capture.





My Precious Love roses are out and are looking and smelling divine. I'm wondering why I've never thought to have roses in my garden before. Idiot.






The irises took a bit of a battering but I'm relieved to see they have recovered their regal poise this morning.






My sweet peas have now dried off and I have picked my first small posy.






Combined with some mint and peppermint in a tiny tin, their beauty is the best start to the day.

Watch this space...

Because it may not look much at the moment but I have very high hopes for it in the not so distant future.

I have spent the long months of winter planning my cut flower garden since my fantastic course day at Green and Gorgeous last September (was it really that long ago?)

The raised beds that were originally used for my disastrous attempt at growing my own, then became redundant and then were pecked free of weeds by the hens as part of Plan B to keep them off the rest of the garden.

To have blank canvases to play with was a dream. The seedlings were all sown in the greenhouse or on my conservatory windowsill in April.

I had lots of packets of seeds that I ordered from the notes I made on the course and then I topped them up with a fabulous selection from Higgledy Garden. Mr Higgledy does all the hard work in putting together collections and his blog is jam-packed with tips and ideas.

I love it when the first true leaves appear and the plant becomes recognisable, like these cosmos seedlings. I had so many leftover seedlings, I have planted up loads of pots around the deck with them which will save me lots of money on buying trays of summer bedding plants at the nursery. It's a win-win situation!

I'm hoping it won't be long before this big wooden tub is bursting its seams with flowers. There are cosmos and this amazing zinnia in there.

The cornflowers I sowed at Green and Gorgeous are just about to flower - I have been watching them like a hawk!

At last! My very first one! Hastily picked, along with some alkanet that has happily self-seeded in the garden ...

... and I have another jug full of flowers, freshly picked from my garden. The happiest of days.

I am hoping for a summer filled with blog posts like this one, filled with my own flowers.

Oh! And guess what? I got some more hens. My garden feels whole again.