Ordinary but special

It's a well-known shrub this winter jasmine, but I love to see it growing against our trellis...it's right next to the garage so I see it every time I walk outside.  You can only admire something that flowers at this time of year.

Hope to start posting more, after such a long break...call it an end of year resolution!

Christmas Door Ring

You need some florists' wire and a wire ring (from the garden centre). Collect some moss from your garden, or buy some also from the garden centre. Use greenery and holly, preferably with berries. Use some ting-ting and ribbon for decoration. Collect some pine cones, and if you like, spray them with gold paint. Working in a clockwise direction, wire in the moss. Cover this with the greenery, again working in a clockwise direction and wiring in to secure. Add pieces of holly and wire in some pine cones. Finish by adding a loop of wire or ribbon to hang, some ting-ting and a ribbon bow at the bottom. Easy and homemade!

Harvest

Margaret and I have been remiss lately - but we are back. One of the things we have been busily involved in was (and still is) harvest - both at home and also helping with decorating the church. Harvest in the countryside is full of colour, bounty and

- hopefully - gratitude for what we have.

Flower Festival

In addition to well-dressings, another local summer tradition is the flower festival. This is a great opportunity to get creative. One of my favourites, this year, was in nearby Flash (some say the highest village in England). Their theme was: "Books" - a clue, perhaps as to why I liked it.
Meerbrook's theme this year was: "Saints."
Our only problem was the weather. On the Sunday, it rained hard, having an impact on visitor numbers. It

was beautiful, though

Well-Dressing

It is so long since Margaret and I have done any blogging. OK, back now. Earlier in the summer we had a trip to Tideswell, in Derbyshire. There we found some excellent examples of the wonderful tradition (not to mention skill) of Well-Dressing. This is just such intricate and painstaking work -those who are involved deserve credit.

Hanging Baskets

There is still time to make a hanging basket. Indeed, in this part of Britain, you wouldn't be wise to put a basket out before June. Line a wire basket with sphagnum moss. I put an opened out cellophane bag (say a freezer bag) over the moss. Make some holes in the bag. Almost fill the basket with compost. Now comes the fun bit...add your own choice of plants. I usually choose plants such as geranium, bacopa, surfinia and verbena. We'll have another look at it when there is some colour to show you.

Growing some ourselves

Foxgloves have seeded everywhere in the garden, but I still like them so most are allowed to stay. It's just a shame that the majority are plain old pink.

Now Les has built some staging I can lift the planter of tumbler tomatoes off the ground...I think there's two red ones and a yellow. Can't wait till we're picking these.

The salad leaves recovered since Milly decided to scramble in them...so we do have just a little bit of pick your own.