Post Comment Love 5-7 October

Hello there and welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - if you were here last week, it was great to see you. If you’re new here this week then you’re very welcome. Both Morgan and I are pleased you’ve joined us and we’re sure you’re going to find some great posts to read again this week.

This week I think I’ve survived on tea, and actually I’m fine with that. It really does cover all occasions doesn’t it. Thirsty, drink tea. Need to ponder, drink tea. Not sure what to do next, drink tea. Catch up with friends, drink tea (and then drink something stronger, obviously). Chill out, drink tea. Recover, drink tea.

It’s a good reminder to pack some in our suitcase. And yes, I will. We’re going self-catering, and while I’m happy to buy most things when we arrive, perhaps not tea. We didn’t take tea to Yorkshire, but since we’ve been back we’ve only bought the Yorkshire sort. That’s probably one of our most unusual holiday legacies though.

And so with all this talk of tea, it’s only fitting that my picture is of tea too. And my tea-tiere (like a cafetiere, but for tea, and yes that might not be a real word!)

And sorry, if all this talk of tea has made you thirsty. I’ll have one too when you put the kettle on!

Blogger Showcase: Emma from Bee Money Savvy

Morgan is hosting Emma’s full set of answers this week, so do pop over there and find out more about this week’s Blogger Showcase. But before you go, let me tell you a snippet about Emma, who is, I think, the first to specify which type of tea - green, for what you’ll know is my favourite questions.

And one more, as Emma says she wouldn’t be a great money blogger if she didn’t have some kind of money-driven goal, and no prizes for guessing her favourite topic to blog about. But that’s it for me, take a look and find out more, and if you get a chance connect with Emma on her social channels: Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Pinterest.

If you’d like to be featured in a future Blogger Showcase, then please answer the questions and get in touch with Morgan or I and we can agree a date.

An InLinkz Link-up

Up the ladder, without a wobble

This is one of those lustful garden posts that I make no apology for. Since we saw the Henchman ladders at the home shows a year or two ago they’ve been on my wish list. But no longer, as we finally took the plunge and bought a six foot tripod ladder with three adjustable legs, and I was probably a little bit too excited about it.

I’m a bit wobbly up ladders you see. But when I nominated MOH to try one out at Grand Designs earlier this year, he was impressed too. So when our existing stepladder became even more wobbly than before (and without any extra help too I’ll add) there was only one choice for us both.

The decision really was, what size and how many adjustable legs.

And in case you’re wondering, we went for 6ft and 3 adjustable legs.

As you can see that gives us quite a bit of flexibility. We probably could have gone for a larger size, but we wanted to make sure it went in the shed. But the three adjustable legs are great. Our garden isn’t flat or level, not many are in reality are they, and with the slate beds around the grass this will come in really handy.

What we should have bought at the same time is the rubber feet, not because we need them for the garden but because we both think this is going to be a useful purchase and it’s more than likely that we’ll use it indoors too.

The lowest step is a way off the ground but it’s do-able, even for me, and the extra stability and confidence in the stability are worth it. It’s really light too so is easy for me to move from one end of the garden to the other. I used it at the weekend to tame the out of control chilean potato plant which was growing at least three foot above the top of the fence.

And for a change MOH didn’t have to stay close by while I was up the ladder (I really am that wobbly up a ladder), the only trouble is it’s much easier to cut more down and clearing it all up back on ground level really isn’t much fun at all.

At some point I’m sure I’ll let MOH use our new purchase, but perhaps not just yet.

Embroidered minds and pretty tiles

This was one of the first Artisan gardens that I saw at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show and while it was stunning, and set the tone for the day, my overriding thought then and at the time was, how is she going to sit there for so long. Although on the plus side, at least she’s got a job where she can sit and read all day, but then again it was warm, and that dressed didn’t look the coolest.

I know that’s not what this garden is about, but that’s where my practical mind went. With that sorted, I could address the garden and its purpose, which was to raise the awareness of Epilepsy. And the more I saw, the more I learnt.

The garden is a collaboration between the arts and science to explore the effects of epilepsy, a neurological disorder that affected the eldest daughter of William Morris, and to raise awareness of how it remains a challenge today.

Now you can see where the tiles fit in can’t you?

The garden divides into three planting spaces representing the mind before, during and after an epileptic seizure, which each area having a different texture and atmosphere.

The teasels are one of the plants that represent the seizure, but even so it’s been a while since I’ve seen these in a garden. A family friend used to have a large bush in her garden in Carlisle and she would pick them, and dry them and decorate them as hedgehogs, and they really were quite cute. I’m sure, if I remember rightly, that clothes and spectacles were made for them too.

There’s two key plants in this garden too - valerian and artemisia, both calming to look at, because they’re used in the treatment of epilepsy. They’re in the pre-seizure area of the garden which is dominated by white flowers, whereas the post-seizure planting above, is full of colour and indicates the heightening of the senses which can follow.

It is a fascinating garden on many levels, but it’s also one I’d be happy to sit in with a good book too - what about you?