May 2025

The sunshine of this year’s Mayday brings out the colour of every petal and leaf giving the garden a brilliance not seen for many months! Spring has put on her best and brightest show for us this year, which along with the chorus of birdsong, certainly gladdens the heart. This picture is of the quince tree which we planted over 25 years ago. Its blossom is my favourite of all, from the tiny deep pink buds to the fully opened delicate floaty blooms, which this year are more numerous than ever. I am hopeful of a good harvest of quinces for jelly-making this year; some years there may be just one or two!

April 2025

This morning I went round the garden early and picked a few flowers for the breakfast table. My favourite here is the Blackthorn blossom, a froth of tiny white flowers borne on thin black spiny twigs. The pot is made from a creamy clay, and was dug up here many years ago; I often wonder who it belonged to before it became mine.

So far this month I have completed two birth samplers and am now working on a collection of fifty embroidered posies to be mounted on the front of wedding invitations. It is lovely to be a little part of these happy times in others’ lives.

As a gardener as well as an embroiderer, as ever at this time of year I am very busy sewing and sowing; lots of hand cream at the ready!

March 2025

This morning the sky is so clear and bright, lighting up the sparkling frost on grass and path. The brilliance of the morning is all the more uplifting, coming as it does after so many dull days. I shall take the opportunity to photograph new work in natural light, as I listen to the rooks’ noisy chatter above me as they gather together in the tall churchyard trees. No nests yet, but it won’t be long! Also to be heard this morning are the robins; several pairs are guarding their mates and their territories, their tuneful singing adding to the joy of the morning. Spring is here with the arrival of March!