My top 10 posts of 2022

I’m back with one of my start of year traditions, which appeals to the nerd in me. Each year I like to look at the posts from the past year which have been the most popular and those that have been around a while longer that continue to bring in the views. I’m not sure there’s any scientific reasons as to why some of the posts swap around on that second list, but it’s always good to know that people are reading some of the stuff I put out there!

So let’s start with my most popular posts from 2022:

1 A new, bigger rug - eventually

Remember our year started off with a new rug, and a disagreement? Thankfully the newer, bigger rug solved that and we're still really happy with our new, bigger rug!

2 How tall is a Liver Bird?

Well seeing as though I asked, it would be rude not to tell you - it’s 18 foot - with a wingspan of 24 foot. To put that into perspective a double decker bus is 14 ft 4” - so quite big, is a good answer. This post shares views and facts from our visit to the top of the building in Liverpool, getting much closer to Bella and Bertie.

3 In the Orangery at Belton House

This year there’s an influx of posts from our trips to Lincolnshire and surrounding areas, which is not surprising really as it’s where we’ve been looking at houses. So it made sense to check out the area while we were there, and this Orangery at Belton House is likely to become an easy and early favourite of ours, hopefully when it’s much closer.

4 Interiors inspiration at Margo & Plum

The Engine Yard at Belvoir Castle was already a favourite place to stop and mooch around, and the interiors shop there is full of inspiration. So much so that MOH bought me the aqua bird decorated vase for my birthday on a whim. When I say a whim, it wasn’t quite so - it took him ages to remember the name of the shop, and then search out the vase. And I thought he’d bought it because he was an avid reader here…

5 Vibrant interiors at Belton House

Another one from Belton House, this time inside which was full of colour and peculiarly hidden (or not so hidden) greyhounds - there was even one on the weather vane.

6 Heat, feet and my happy place

In this post I’m musing about the way above average temperatures we experienced here this summer, and the trouble that had started with one of my toes - which is still not right, but not infected and not really giving the medics any clues, so we watch and wait. Thankfully though this post is accompanied by photos from the flower garden in Greenwich Park, definitely a happy place of mine.

7 A mindful afternoon twiddling

With more time on my hands this year I’ve been trying out some new crafts. Quilling, which isn’t as easy as it looks, was incredibly mindful, and for an afternoon twiddling paper this is what I had to show for it! It’s something I want to do again, but so far it’s not happened, but when I have a bit more space and my craft supplies are more ordered I hope to spend more time twiddling, and to have something more to show for my efforts.

8 The kitchens at Belvoir Castle

Belvoir (pronounced Beaver) Castle is another fascinating place in Leicestershire, and there’s a lot to see. Less so on the garden front, as you’d expect from its position on top of a hill, but there were some which I’m not sure I’ve shared here yet. While the formal rooms full of finery and treasures are fantastic, somehow the behind the scenes rooms that hold as much interest for me - and these old tins in the Housekeeper’s room where a real treat, pop over and take a look at the kitchens too.

9 Leaving flowers and a crocheted throw

So this year has been a transitional year for me, and at times it’s very much felt that. Back in May I stopped working full time after almost 40 years working at only three companies all that time. I left feeling fantastically spoiled by my colleagues, and with arms full of flowers and gifts. I was struck though by this vase of flowers and how similar the colours were to my most recent crocheted throw.

10 Where do you find peace?

This was the thought provoking question that greeted us as we started a walk around the Lake at Stourhead. Our visit was full of autumn colours too and even on a wet day, I’m sure that the surroundings help many people answer the question posed.

Again, a great choice made by many of you - and the posts here really do seem to have summed up my year, which is another reason for doing this, there’s clearly something in it!

So onto the second list

This list is posts created at any time but viewed in 2022, the year in brackets is the year it was originally posted - and it’s often very similar to the previous year. For whatever reason these posts continue to attract views, and it’s good to see some of the old favourites remaining on the list.

1. Filling our gabion baskets (2017)

2. My IKEA hack: HOL storage table to laundry basket (2015)

3. Let's talk Edwardian house decoration (2017)

4. Post Comment Love (2016)

5. About Me (2014)

6. Sean Murray's Great Chelsea Garden Challenge (2017)

7. Softening our gabion seating area with plants (2017)

8. 52 Cookbooks #36: Beef in easy tomato sauce (2014)

9. Three of the six show gardens at the Ideal Home Show (2016)

10. Fabulous outdoor planters (and more) from Cox & Cox (2016)

So, tradition completed for another year!

It's back on the wall. Finally.

It’s been one of those things that we’ve been meaning to do. One that wouldn’t take long, but also one that never quite made it to the top of the list, until now. But first let me share how they got on the list…

They had been on the wall since 2016, and looking back at the photos from then, it’s clear that over the years they’ve attracted more and more stuff, both in the cubby holes and on top. So it’s really no surprise that one summer’s afternoon, while I was unsuspectingly on a Teams call, it fell off the wall causing one almighty bang.

A crash so loud that my colleagues also heard and could see that the noise was troubling me, especially as I was home alone. So I left the meeting to take a look, and I quickly discovered that it was these which had jumped off the wall, so was able to rejoin the call and reassure my colleagues too. Phew.

The fall had caused some damage to the shelves, as well as shedding its contents across the room. My plan had been to make these repairs before rehanging the shelves, as the fixings still looked to be secure - and in fact they haven’t needed anything more than a quick once over to double check.

But the repairs didn’t happen (but still will one day!) and finally we got fed up of walking around it and moving it around. So back up it went. Along with a resolution not to overload it again.

And as it goes, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

A lot of the other stuff it held has since found other homes, and so there was less to weigh it down and off the wall, but it’s handy to get these pieces off the bookshelves and small table. It’s a space that has become a great afternoon spot for a bit of crafting or an afternoon cup of tea.

It’s currently my favourite spot for sewing together my Vintage Sweetheart crochet throw. That has 143 squares and most of those still need attaching to each other, so it could take a while - to keep up my momentum, I’m sharing progress over on my Instagram stories so do pop over there to see how I’m getting on.

The repairs are still on the list, but thankfully most of the damage doesn’t show. I’ve a feeling that when we move (no details yet) that a repaint will be on the cards, so we’ll be able to tackle both jobs at the same time. That’s my revised plan anyway.

And thankfully, I have a box of bits that should help with those repairs. They’re staying close to the shelves in one of the cubby holes, so finding them again doesn’t become a separate job!

My garden in November

Amazingly there’s still plenty of colour in our garden - some of that is winter colour, but more unusually some of that is from summer plants which continue to flower in the mild weather. It’s good to see the more wintery plants start to shine though, and the bright orange of the flowers on the berberis are always a favourite.

The potted acer, which has grown so well this year, kept its leaves for most of the month. I was glad to get a picture of it when I did, as wouldn’t you know it but the very next day the leaves had completely gone. Not one remained!

The weeds are still there though. And the forget-me-nots. And I’ve weeded, more than once. So these exact ones are most likely not there, and there might have been a temporary reprieve, but as weeds do - some are back. As I said last month, they seem to have been given a burst of life by this summer’s drought. Our hosepipe ban has been lifted, but obviously it’s been too wet to need to water the garden…

The fatsia is another of the plants which shines in winter - these ‘flowers’ are always stunning and are definitely worth having a plant in your garden for.

At the back of the garden on sunny days the pear tree and its yellow leaves have been catching the sun and providing almost a ‘burning’ focal point. That is until the leaves dropped, and all of a sudden that view was bare. One morning over breakfast MOH noticed and wondered why it looked so different all of a sudden. That old thing where things are familiar, until they change and you can’t work out why.

The winter bedding planted up last month is continuing to do well, though the cyclamens are doing much better than the violas which seem to be having a bit of a flowering break. Hopefully they’ll be back - they’re not as bold as the cyclamen though, so perhaps they’re just doing their thing in a more subtle way. Though it’s not really a season for subtlety when mostly the garden is viewed from indoors.

One thing that we’re seeing first hand how it develops is this rosebud which has the tenacity to bud and bloom in November, and to be followed by another bud too. The plants are confused by the weather clearly, even in this pretty sheltered and sunless (at this time of the year) spot.

While out weeding one afternoon I spotted these young nasturtium leaves, which have self seeded themselves here. We had none all summer, but come November there they are. I’m not sure if they’ll last or even get to flowering, especially now we’re having a bit of a cold snap, but we’ll see.

And yes, that is my summer bedding. Still going strong and putting on quite a show to rival the winter bedding. Crazy times.

And finally before I end this post, an update on the trees we had pollarded in the summer. They’re still in leaf where usually they would have completely shed their leaves by now. We’re not really complaining as once the leaves come down, they need to be picked up again and dealt with - but this is highly unusual behaviour for the end of November. It’ll be interesting to see what they do over the next few months, but until then let me know if you’ve also noticed unseasonal behaviour in your gardens.