This March...

I ended last month’s post on needing to sort myself out a wedding outfit, thankfully that turned out to be a relatively easy task in the end. I saw a dress online that I loved and ordered it, but when it arrived it was lovely, but just wasn’t right - a tad too flouncy for me, and I knew that I’d be fiddling with it more than I ought to be. It was the type of dress that was all chiffon and floaty, but it wore me rather than me wearing it if you know what I mean, so it went straight back.

So I took myself into Newark and wandered into the posh dress shop and well basically stood there looking overwhelmed which was absolutely the clue the ladies in the shop needed to jump into action. I tried on many dresses and left with one of the first ones I tried on.

I have a hat (well on a headband), a jacket or a silver cardy, one or other or both depending on the weather - it is in Wales in early April, so you never know. I have a couple of options on shoes - as you’d expect, and have also purchased a lovely green bag, and a pashmina too. So I’m all set.

Well apart from the food shop - we have three nights in an AirBnB with my parents and my brother and his wife. But that should be easy enough, shouldn’t it?

At times it’s felt like spring has arrived - and we’ve had lunch outside at one of our favourite cafes - and yet at other times it feels like winter is well and truly back. But there is hope of more blue skies to come, as the garden is also starting to wake up.

There’s been a couple of torrential downpours, almost storm-like conditions and way more than ‘April showers’ and we woke one morning to further issues with our heat pump, with it tripping the RCD which wasn’t great. Thankfully this was easy to resolve and shouldn’t happen again.

One of our old - and the most used of the two - sofas has been collected, which leaves one to get rid of which I’m hoping we’ll be able to give to someone who needs a sofa - but that won’t happen until I’ve sorted that out obviously.

We also have a brand new road through most of the village, and right outside our front door. It meant two overnights of work but it’s worth it. We no longer have pot holes and it’s much quieter with the traffic too. Though it followed a week of overnight closures on the nearby A46 which meant increased traffic for those nights, so it’s been a long slog of interrupted sleep. But with the roadworks cleared on the A46 there’s definitely less traffic passing through the village - there’s still some speeders, and these are much more noticeable with less traffic so there’ll still be ongoing speed watch sessions I’m sure.

MOH flexed his cooking urge making slow cooked lamb shank and artichoke ragu from the Padella cook book which he received at Christmas. It tasted fabulous and while the original plan was to also make the pasta, that was shelved for another day, which is fine as I’ve got two more meals-worth in the freezer ready to go.

We’ve been out and about a fair bit this month too, even heading to Nottingham twice in a few days once to watch some Super League Netball games, and the other for Alex James’ Britpop Classical. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in and around the netball community, and even then in a totally different area, but it was great to see a friend umpiring one of the games.

We’ve been enjoying listening to Alex James’ Sunday evening show on Virgin Radio and it was great to see the Britpop Classics in person, as well as having a good old 90s singalong and bop around to the songs.

It’s been a busy month for making too. I’ve set out my quilt plans and non-quilt plans for the year and it’s helpful to have a plan. Last year my sewing was dominated by the one a month charity quilts (aka my ‘stretch’ project) so it’s good to have time to explore other things.

And I have. Already I’ve explored some miniature makes and taught myself how to use the Flying Geese rulers I’ve had for a while, and which will be a game changer for my Teal Flying Geese quilt. I’ve even finished my most recent hand embroidery project which I already love - and it’s so my colours.

I was also pleased when my skein from Vicki Brown’s 100Skeins project arrived this month in ‘my colours’ - I have no plans for this at the moment, but it’s a project that I love and I love to support. Each year Vicki dyes 100 skeins which are all different and does this with the support from backers who pledge to buy at least a skein. Times are tough right now, especially for small businesses and so I was really pleased to see this initiative continue, and it’s even better when she sends a skein that matches your preferences so well.

So that was a busy March, April is already looking just as busy but with the lighter evenings I’m here for it.

Unearthing great gardening gear

* I was invited to the Garden Press Event, a one day show which connects garden product suppliers with garden media, therefore I’m marking this post as 'Ad’ though as usual my views and opinions are very much my own.

I always find this single day show a great event, and a good one to catch up with contacts and suppliers and to see what’s new and coming to garden centres near us this year. This year was no different though it was slightly surreal to arrive to hear the actor who played Carson in Downton Abbey pulling raffle winners, though on a par to having Jekka McVicar join where I was sitting last year to eat lunch.

But anyway, here’s some of the things that caught my eye this year:

HOZELOCK - WITH AN IMPRESSIVE METAL ‘TWIDDLY BIT’

I thought Hozelock’s development of adding a metal ‘twiddly bit’ or more boringly the function selector to a multi-function spray head was a great idea. It’s the bit that gets the most use, and I know it’s the bit that we most often replace through wear.

I was also intrigued by Pro-Grow’s Rockdust. Not only is it a great name, it’s descriptive too as the product does actually look like rock dust.

PRO-GROW’S ROCKDUST LOOKING LIKE ROCK DUST

It’s not just about the new products though, there’s plenty of inspiration on show from the sector’s big names - and on a dull February day it’s great to wander among such gardening displays, and be inside at the same time!

I saw plenty for my own garden too, and these Hex smokeless fire pits are top of my list. I love a firepit - they’re great to sit around, but I’m not so keen on the smell of smoke, or constantly having to move to avoid being in the direct line of said smoke, which always seems to follow me! We have a firepit but it’s larger than we need, so we were looking for something smaller.

I like these as they take real wood, rather than gel which we’ve seen before, and are small enough to be able to fit into a relaxed seating area. The only downside of these for me is that the patterned tops aren’t available in each colour. I preferred the design of the black top, but probably wouldn’t opt for that colourway. I’m not losing too much sleep over that at the moment though, as I think I’ve more to do before I get to firepit stage, but they are lovely and on my wish list.

HEX - SMOKELESS FIRE PITS BY POLLEN

DOBBIES FREE STANDING GARDEN LIGHT

This standalone solar standard exterior light on the Dobbies stand is also on my list. I like the idea of having an outdoor lamp, though of course it’d need to be pretty robust to withstand the wind on our patio, though with more planting we might be able to tame that a bit, or I’m hoping so anyway.

I also fell in love with the dinnerplate Dahlias and was promptly reminded to add dahlias to my ‘to plant’ list. Our nearest Dobbies is most probably Chesterfield or Derby, and we haven’t made it to a store yet, but in the hunt for that light that may just happen, and I may also just happen to wander past these at the same time.

DOBBIES DAHLIA COLLECTIONS

The final thing that caught my eye as I wandered around this show was this vintage inspired metal seed chest. It looks great, is lockable and you can store it in a greenhouse or shed as it’ll keep your seeds safe from pests too. The compartments are seed packet sized and the month dividers are a whole lot more professional looking than my ‘old CDs with the month written’ on versions (though mine can also be repurposed as bird scarers if needed!)

A METAL SEED STORAGE BOX BY CROCUS

I’ve a feeling that once I get my new greenhouse in place I’ll be hitting the Crocus website for some of their storage ideas, as well as the seed trunk above they’ve also got a compartmentalised wire bench top storage unit which looks right up my vintage inspired street.

Trying out Monty Miracle at home

One of the products I’d read about before the show was the Monty Miracle Outdoor Cleaner which launched in this smaller size, which covers up to 4 square metres, at the show. I was keen to learn more as the blurb said it could be used on any outdoor surface, including the coloured Indian sandstone which we have (which is the same as we laid in our London house and were keen to avoid in our new house, but never mind!) and which needed some attention after winter.

MONTY MIRACLE COMPLETE OUTDOOR CLEANER

MOH cares for our patio and it’s a never ending job. This winter seems to have been especially bad for leaving black marks and for generally making the slabs look neglected, despite them being cleaned regularly (though obviously not over winter). Jet washing is a balance as it can be harsh on the surfaces, and so he too was keen to see if this lived up to the promises of being fast and effective. It’s claims are to be eco-conscious, and child and pet safe after rinsing, I think that’s the paving slabs not the child and pets to be clear.

As with trying any new product it’s always worth trying it out in a discrete area - luckily one of the corners of the path around our house is just that, and also pretty filthy. It’s also on MOH’s route out with his bike and he’s been saying how slippy it’s getting so it was worth a try. The instructions say to water any plant life before and after application, but as our test spot was next to the last remaining lavender that needed cutting, having missed out at the end of summer last year, it was a good prompt for me to give that a trim too.

OUR PAVING - A TEST SPOT: BEFORE

OUR PAVING - A TEST SPOT: AFTER

As you can see from the before and after photos above, there’s a marked difference in the three slabs that he used as his test area (which was larger than I was expecting it to be). His verdict is that it cleans well, but does still need some brushing (or agitating as it says in the instructions) but that it’s good to see the results so quickly. Now he’s working out just how much he needs for the rest of the slabs we have and if that bottle will do it, or not. I’m pretty sure it won’t be enough so I’ll be ordering a 2litre container later!

Seeds, Rockdust and a crocheted keyring

I wasn’t expecting to leave the show with a crocheted vegetable that’s for sure, but I love my little mustard squash from FRÿD which is an app which aims to be the ultimate vegetable growing app. It’ll help you create tailored planting plans and get reminders when to sow, plant and harvest so could be invaluable for both new and seasoned growers.

I’ve a couple of packets of seeds from the show including some Dill from the new Gourmet Gardener range at Blue Diamond Garden Centres. Each pack of seeds unlocks a recipe online, for Dill it’s a Creamy Dill and Cucumber salad, the intro for this is printed on the inside of the seed packet, which while it makes sense from an eco-friendly point of view, it does mean to see it properly you need to dismantle the seed packet, which isn’t ideal.

SEEDS FROM THE GOURMET GARDENER, TAILORED PLANTING PLANS WITH HELP FROM FRŸD AND THEIR CROCHETED KEYRING, HERITAGE ‘LETTUCE EMERALD’ SEEDS FROM GARDEN ORGANIC AND MY ROCKDUST SAMPLE

The other pack of seeds I’m keen to try is the heritage seeds of ‘lettuce emerald’ by Garden Organic. It seems that I’ll be in good company as a parcel of seeds from the Garden Organic National Collection of Heritage Vegetables are also being grown at Highgrove. King Charles III has had a long association with them, expressing recently how important the work of the Heritage Seed Library is. He became patron of the organisation which later became Garden Organic some 45 years ago, when it was rescuing heritage vegetables because at the time all the old varieties were being thrown away and weren’t considered worthwhile, which to me today sounds a peculiar approach and it also goes to show that there were people, including the King, who were ahead of their time in areas such as these.

And then there’s the rockdust, which as you’ve seen above looks like dust from rock!

It’s purpose to remineralise our gardens and boost soil healthy ‘by adding macro and micro-nutrients that work with soil and compost biology’. It’s made from freshly crushed ancient volcanic rock which is a by-produce of UK quarrying, so it’s a waste product that’s actually good for our gardens.

With a new build garden I’m yet to really discover what state my soil is in, though I suspect it won’t be the most nutritious, but of course I could be wrong. But even so, the soil that’s currently covered in grass (and weeds) is likely to be an entirely different matter to the already existing beds, and I suspect that’s where my garden will get the most benefit. I only have a small sample, so how I use it will be limited but I’m keen to see how it affects my growing, and I’m hoping that it will do wonders as other gardeners have testified when they’ve used it in compost and top-dressing pots, with worms also loving it. It’s a case of watch this space, even if that’s a small space!

I love going along to this event as it covers the breadth of the gardening industry and it’s great to get insights into what’s coming into the garden centres we love to visit, but also to see the thinking and hear about the research and development for the products in the early stages of their journey to market. Plus the inspiration for my own garden and the opportunity to try some products I might not see any other way, and it becomes one of those rare inspirational and educational days I don’t want to miss.

Haberdashery of every shape, size and colour at MacCulloch & Wallis

I do like a mooch around a good shop when I’m in London, and this trip was no different. After a day in Islington I headed to a haberdashery extraordinaire just off Oxford Street. Now why I’ve just discovered this is a mystery to me, though it’s probably a good thing that I hadn’t found this shop while I actually lived in London!.

Yes, not that far away from Oxford Circus tube I found myself standing outside MacCulloch & Wallis admiring their window displays, and having an internal smile of how they’d displayed balls of wool on models of sheep.

There was every kind of haberdashery item you could possibly wish for, plus wool, plus fabric and with a lot of vintage charm.

I couldn’t help but think wouldn’t it be lovely though to have a similar unit for my own craft supplies, though the wooden storage unit above also reminded me of a school uniform supply shop, just me?

Throughout the two levels of the shop there was a rainbow of colour.

At the very back of the shop on the ground floor I found the cutting table, and even that was a cutting table with a difference as the centre was filled with buttons.

Thankfully though, buttons weren’t in short supply - just look at the range available. And to think I thought the selection in Liberty was extensive when I visited last year!

I was tempted by some of the Tailor’s Chalk, but I resisted - I have some, though not as beautiful as this, and well, there’s only so much of it you can use isn’t there?

In the basement, alongside the tempting Tailor’s Chalk were rows and rows of needles, cards of every type of fastening you could ever want.

And miles of zips.

With cotton and ric rac in an array of colours.

In fact the choice was vast, almost overwhelming - this is definitely a shop you need to go to with a plan. A browse is good, but just wow - it’d be even better with a plan!