September 2024

September is always a time of change; the days are not so long and hot now as we move slowly into new terms, gentler golden sunshine, harvests and the return of the jacket potato! This photo is in a wild part of the garden, a hollyhock seed that arrived on the wind and grew to a giant specimen, flowering for weeks and weeks. The bumblebees have been visiting it happily every day; the low evening sun shining through the petals giving the remaining blooms an arresting fluorescence. There are once again skeins of geese calling as they fly overhead early and late each day, a sure sign of the changing season.

I continue to work on Christmas collections, to re-stock here and to send to galleries who sell my work. Autumn is not far off now, but these last glorious days of summer are so precious; the remaining flowers now showing off their charms with less competition.

August 2024

The sunshine came in the end and we have enjoyed it all the more after the dull and gloomy start to the summer. As we now grow fewer vegetables than we once did we let nature take over the places we are not cultivating; these areas are now abuzz with many varieties of bees and other pollinators. We still grow leeks each year as they are useful in so many ways for winter recipes and are easy to grow, standing ready to harvest right through to Spring. We never quite finish them and leave the last ones to flower the following summer, (as shown here) their giant globes of tiny white or pink florets held high on tall sturdy stems.

Again this year I began Christmas card-making in July, and will continue through the next few months to be well prepared for the gallery orders that are already coming in. With various family matters concerning the very young and the very old life can get quite busy at times, but somehow it all gets done, and my sewing time makes for a welcome little rest and a sit down!

I hope your August passes happily, whether it be action-packed funfair-filled days or quiet times sitting in the outdoors with a cuppa, the latter being my preferred option!

July 2024

July is the month for sweet peas! Last year I decided to save the seed pods remaining on the last of the sweet peas, drying them and packing them away safely in my seed tin. I had grown a wide mixture of named varieties, all scented, and wondered if they would have cross-pollinated to produce some pretty surprises. These are some of the ones grown from those seeds; the plants are stronger and bigger than the shop bought cultivars. An example of hybrid vigour maybe?

July is also the month I begin working on Christmas cards as a good number are needed to fulfil gallery and shop orders; stock is usually needed in September, so I have to start early!

There is a ‘Christmas’ tab on the Home Page here, so if you are an 'early bird' and don’t want to miss out on particular designs which may not be re-stocked, you might like to take a look!