2017 in garden visits

After looking back at my own garden and the allotment over the last year I thought it'd be nice to look back at the gardens I've visited, or more precisely the ones I've already shared with you.  Unbelievably - actually it's not that unbelievable - I've still some to share, so look out those as they appear.

I'd forgotten that last January we went on the hunt for snowdrops on the Blickling Estate, we found them, but I also snapped one of my favourite shots of the year - and now I'm wondering why I didn't include it in an earlier review post. The hydrangeas are against the wall of the orangery but it has a sort of ethereal quality to it, I think.

JANUARY: AT THE BLICKLING ESTATE 

We did find the snowdrops, but we also found a fantastic kitchen garden project which I'm hoping to catch up with again this year, on one of our trips to Norfolk - it'll be great to compare the progress they've made.

AND I'D QUITE LIKE A GREENHOUSE LIKE THIS TOO...

In March we stopped of at Mottisfont in Hampshire and I had a very good nose around the Potting Shed. I was all for closing the door and getting comfy in there, but MOH was less keen on that and I'm sure that really wouldn't have been the done thing.

MARCH: ONE OF THE PRETTIEST POTTING SHEDS I'VE SEEN

We'd spent a week in a beautiful cottage in Dorset and had taken the opportunity to revisit Kingston Lacy and take a walk through the camellias, which at times looked more like confetti. 

MARCH: CHECKING OUT THE CAMELLIAS AT KINGSTON LACY

A couple months later, after a lovely dinner, we took a wander (or more like a waddle) around the kitchen garden at Gravetye Manor. We're planning to go back again this year, and were hoping to go in the winter months - to sample a different menu of food, but it's currently being refurbished (the hotel, not the kitchen garden!)

MAY: ENTERING THE KITCHEN GARDEN AT GRAVETYE MANOR

We'd already visited Grand Designs Live at Excel and while these technically aren't gardens, they are garden sheds so I think it's fine to include them.  I'm sharing one of my favourite shed interiors, a sewing room and while I love my greenhouse for pottering, I'd also love a space like this.

IT REALLY IS A SHED...

2017 was also the year that I managed to visit behind the ornate gate in Greenwich Park, and it was spectacular. It's known as the Queen's Orchard, and if you go to Greenwich Park and it's open, be sure to visit, you won't be disappointed.

JULY: A CALM SPOT IN THE QUEEN'S ORCHARD IN GREENWICH PARK

In August we had a few days away in Suffolk, and the opportunity to visit new gardens like the knot garden at the privately owned Helmingham Hall, another place I'd recommend visiting. While the National Trust and RHS gardens are fantastic, these independent gardens really do have a unique feel to them.

AUGUST: A KNOT GARDEN IN SUFFOLK

I've shared pictures recently of the gabion wall at RHS Hyde Hall - and it was fantastic - but equally so were the delicate astrantias in the Robinson Garden there. These plants remain on my plant wish list, and if I did more than just wish about them I might actually get myself growing some this year!

JULY AND A VISIT TO RHS HYDE HALL IN ESSEX

And because I can, the last picture and post I'm sharing is one from Dad's garden. His roses were great this year and my conversion to roses is continuing, enjoy!

So just a quick tour of (some of) the gardens I've visited, I'm sure there's more. One thing's for sure though, there's plenty more to come this year.  I'm hoping to get to some new-to-me gardens too, where would you recommend?

Adding flexibility - and stools - to our dining table

You'll remember in our search for our dining table and chairs MOH was keen to have a bench seat as part of our purchase. That didn't quite happen, but his reason behind it - apart from liking the look - was flexibility. And he had a point, but we opted for six chairs to go with our white glass table in a mix of colours - and we forewent the flexiblity. 

Until recently that is, when Cult Furniture offered me two of their Grey Hatton Wooden Low Stools to give us that extra flexibility, in a most stylish way. I chose the Dark Grey finish, as these will work with our decor throughout the house, not just our downstairs - as while they're not in dining use, they'll be used in our conservatory and my craft room.

Although they work well without the table extended, and give a similar feel a bench would have done. I think they give more flexibility than a bench, as when the table is extended it makes sense to have the stools at either end of the table, like this:

It also means that dining for eight has become a much more stylish option. 

I like clean simple lines and these have that, and match well with our existing chairs. They're the same height too at 45cm, so no one will need to feel like they're on the "make do" seating option - in fact these are as far from "make do" as I think you can get!  They're very tactile, made of rubberwood and also come in a black and walnut finish, and if you're after a higher stool, there's also a 72cm option.

The curved seat also means they're comfortable - surprisingly so - but that's just what you want isn't it? 

Give me some cook books, a notebook, a to do list and washi tape and I'd be happy to sit here and plan away.  I'm glad they're comfortable as one will have a longer-term home in my craft room (or the study, as MOH is still insisting on making a part-claim) which means when it's not being used, it'll fit nicely under the desk making the most of the space available. 

Once I've got that craft-room-cum-study slightly more presentable I'll show you how it works up there too.  But that's for another day.

I'm really pleased with these stools, and the flexibility they'll give us and I've been impressed with Cult Furniture too.  One of the stools I received was damaged in transit and often you can tell a lot about a company by their customer service. I sent photos of the damaged box and stool and a replacement was quickly sent, but this time using a different carrier - and with better results.  I don't think you can ask for more than that.

What do you think?  And how do you cope with additional people for dinner?

* This is a collaborative post, and I received these stools for the purposes of this review, however all views and opinions are my own.

A folklore living room at the Ideal Home Show at Christmas

This room set is inspired by storytelling from days gone by and for me, that's easy to see. It's a room that draws on the traditional reds and greens of Christmas but with a modern slant. It combines rustic with style and screams Christmas doesn't it?  I think there's also a touch of Scandi-style for good measure too.

There are elements of this room I love, the neutral background which looks grey in my pictures is a paint colour called Celestial Blue and provides the perfect backdrop for the bright berry red sofa.

The black framed coffee table and open shelf unit were also favourites, which will no doubt shock MOH as I won't let him have a coffee table in our current living room. I don't dispute how useful the right coffee table would be, but I'm not budging on the fact that it will turn our space into an obstacle course. 

The frame of the table is simple isn't it, and it reminded me that I still need to buy some square metal tubing to repair our gazebo which suffered from pooling rain damage in the summer.  Another one for the to do list. 

I also like how the simple framed table is decorated with eucalyptus and pine.  Pine I've used to decorate our house before, but not eucalyptus and it's something that's on my list for this year.  It also reminded me I still need to buy some square metal tubing to repair our gazebo which suffered from pooling rain damage in the summer.  Another one for the to do list - and funny how you get those reminders when you least expect them isn't it?

We have a teak open shelf unit - well less open than this one - and if I'm honest when I looked at this one I was full of admiration and envy all at the same time.  The plan was for ours to look equally as stylish, but in reality it rarely is and often becomes a home for bills, important stuff and all manner of things.  Luckily we have some doors on ours so a quick tidy (aka shoving things behind the doors) can make it feel super stylish pretty quickly again. Unless you really are a no clutter kind of person I'd always recommend getting some closed space on an open unit, if you can!

No living room room set for Christmas would be complete without a tree would it? Infact I suspect many of us feel the same about our own living rooms. This year I'm contemplating having the tree in our conservatory as with six adults in our house I think the large tree may just prove one thing too many. The challenge will be of course to make our living space equally as festive without the tree, I have a plan starting to form and we'll see if I can pull it off.

The final element of this room I loved was these tiles. The pattern, their texture and how they're used on the floor and the wall to create a practical zone around the log burner.  They're ceramic but are called pressed pantina steel tiles and have that aged look that works so well here, the copper edging really does add the finishing touch.

So what do you think? Is the festive folklore style room for you?