A peek into my garden and a to do list

After the wind blew the protective fleece off the agapanthus I was tempted out into the garden to tie it back on.  And actually, when I got out there it wasn’t as bad as thought - I managed to time it between the rain and the hail, which helped!  Sunday was definitely a day with four seasons, but even so it was just a quick peek to check to see if the wind had caused any more damage. 

Thankfully the answer was not much, there were a couple of small tree branches down, one from the large tree at the back of our garden and the plastic trugs needed rounding up. It’s not clear if the branch was dipue to the wind or to squirrel damage.  That’s a real thing, sometimes they get a tasting for a type of tree and nibble of the bark weakening branches, which eventually die and then fall.  I’m hoping it is the wind, not the squirrels - I think it’s a bit early for them, so it could be ok.  When we’ve experuthis before it’s been expensive, mainly because the tree man has to come in and work on all three of the larger trees.

While I was out there it was clear there are a few jobs to do, ones we should be doing and I’m sure you’ll have similar jobs too, so far on my list there’s:

1. Pick up the leaves from the beds, there’s some by the hare but there’s also some further up the garden where one of the foxes split the black sacks.

2. Start thinning the forget-me-nots, ours are prolific and if we don’t thin some now I dread to think how many there’ll be next year.

The forget-me-nots are starting to come through - there’s a clump of them in front of the grape hyacinth, and marching over the edging into the grass. This spot clearly gets the sun, and no doubt that’s encouraged them to start their takeover bid.

See those leaves behind those lime green euphorbias? Yes they need to come up too - they’re the ones there courtesy of the foxes. It’s a dry spot so I suspect they thought about setting up home, or even a daytime snooze spot there, but thankfully thought better of it. We’re hearing the foxes screeching again in the garden at night, another thing for the list is:

3. Check/change the battery in the fox scarer.

I don’t want them settling in the garden, they make a dreadful mess and I want to be able to leave the doors open when the weather’s good confident that we won’t have unwanted visitors. I’ve a feeling that next door’s cat won’t be shy about coming in.

There’s plenty of yellow blooms appearing too, which you’ll know will please me. There’s the Kerria (above) that’s popped through from next door and is really getting established in a number of spots. It’s easy to see why it’s often called the pom-pom plant isn’t it?

Our forsythia tree is also in full bloom and we can see this blaze of yellow from the house. When it stops flowering though, then it’s time to give it a trim. I think we missed this one last year, so this one is definitely going on the list, and now I’ve got my new ladder, that will get an outing too.

4. Trim the forsythia tree when it finishes flowering.

And yes, here’s a peek into the greenhouse. Peek in is about all we can do at the moment as it’s rather full. The trugs have been rounded up and stored here to avoid recovering them from wherever the wind fancies. I didn’t get to do as much in the greenhouse last year as I hoped, but this year I’m hoping to put those plans into place, rearranging the inside to provide more growing space, moving some of the storage space to the small shed we brought back from the allotment (which should be going on the list, but I’m saving that one until it’s a bit warmer and we don’t mind spending more hours out there).

5. Fight my way into the greenhouse, sort it out and rearrange it to provide more growing space.

6. Tidy the hellebores when they’re past their best, and nurture new seedlings that I discover while doing this.

At the back of the garden the rhubarb in the pot is already doing well and looking, well, looking like rhubarb.  Though by rights, this should be a relatively light rhubarb year as the advice is to not cut the stems in the year after it’s been moved, which when they’re looking this good already, is a real shame.

7.  Collect the fallen branches for the green bin.

8. Trim the pyracantha which seems to have two antennae heading straight for the cherry tree.

9. Cut the ivy out of the cherry tree, which has taken hold again.

10. Sort out some seeds to sow!

I’m sure though there’s plenty more to add, but for now let’s keep it to ten. What’s on your gardening list right now?

Plant Life Girl: the print that called my name

* This item was gifted by Mode Prints

Artwork is a funny thing, isn’t it? We know it’s one of the ways we can add our personality to our homes, but often it’s a tricky thing to get right, because it’s such a personal thing.  Well, I think that if you’re doing it right it’s a personal thing, the right artwork should reflect your personality, you should like it and you should be proud to hang it on your wall, as if you’re like me it’s not something you’ll change that often. 

It can be tricky when you have different ideas and tastes on decor though.  My style is more modern, whereas MOH’s is on the traditional side, and so often we’ll end up With different ideas.  I’ve written before how MOH and I have found it hard to find artwork we both like and agree on, and how it involves finding a compromise on both sides, as well as some luck actually finding something we can both live with.  I mean, there’s no point having something on the wall that one of you really dislikes, is there?

But sometimes a print just speaks to you and you know it’s meant to be.  And that’s how it was for me with this Plant Life Girl Poster by Mode Prints. 

Yes, it’s yellow. Yes, it features a girl.  And yes, it has plants.

I think that’s a fairly good summary of me.

It’s also quirky, matches our decor, and I knew it would look perfect on our gallery wall in our craft-room-cum-study.

And yes, we’re still having that debate, not actively of course, but at times MOH tries to reclaim the room to work from home in, but then remembers it’s full of stuff (you know, books, craft items and such like) and ends up graciously retreating again.  As an aside, having a place for ourselves is something we’ve realised we need, and something we’re contemplating as an essential for our next house, whenever that might me.  I’m hoping that our list  won’t end up being so long we become one of those demanding and uncompromising couples you see on those property programmes…

It’s the type of print that I can’t help but look at.

It’s one that makes me smile and is a beautiful illustration that provokes your imagination.  I mean, is that one of those traditional souwesters that the girl is wearing, and given the weather this weekend that would be entirely sensible.  And why is she hiding behind the plant?  There’s so many stories and interpretations that each of us could have, and I’m sure that if pressed, each of us would come up with something different. 

To me that’s the beauty of good artwork, we can interpret it ourselves, and as our mood sees fit, and it means something to each of us.

It’s entirely coincidental that this weekend, when I took these photos, was the first weekend I’ve had daffodils in the house.  But a happy coincidence, and once I’d spotted how good they looked together, they were always going to appear side by side in this post. 

The art and stationery at Mode Prints has a simplicity about it that I’m sure will prove popular.  They’re London based but ship internationally; formed in 2017 their collections feature botanical prints, children’s decor, greeting cards and stationery as well as personalised gifts and homeware.

A look at their website quickly confirms what I already suspected, that they

“love Scandinavian and nordic styles and are passionate about design”

If you’re after some beautiful and modern artwork then do take a look at their website, I think you’ll be pleased with what you discover.

The prints come in a range of sizes, and are available framed or undreamed. My print is the A4 size, framed in black. It’s worth noting that the print is A4, the frame larger.  

While, this print was always destined for our gallery wall I was keen to get it on the wall and start the admiration.  So for the past week or so, it’s been the first thing we see as we head up our stairs.

If you’re keen on creating a gallery wall of your own, but aren’t sure where to start I’ve seen that Mode Prints have a section on their site dedicated to Gallery Walls, where you can buy sets of prints that complement each other.

I also realised that where I’ve had it hanging is a particularly hard space to photograph, as it has little natural light and when it does the metalwork of the stairs reflect in the picture. 

So to show this off at its best, and to do it justice, some staging was needed and the conservatory made the ideal spot as that has similar colours as the decor in the room at the top of our house, which as you can see has a space just ready and waiting for a new picture. 

MOH wasn’t consulted about this piece, and while it’s not his usual style, he agrees it’s a perfect addition to our space.  The wall is one of our sloping walls, so we’ll need to add fixings to the frame to secure the picture both top and bottom.  And yes, why wouldn’t we have a gallery wall on a sloping wall, it looks great and adds interest and momentoes to the room, although I’ll admit MOH took some persuading to start with too.

And it’s just perfect as I thought it would be, what do you think?

* This print was gifted by Mode Prints for the purposes of this review, however all views and opinions are my own.

Reflecting on my week #75

The good news is the hat I bought in Norfolk is exactly the same colour as the outfit I had in mind. Both are a deep coral-ly red, though the outfit also has white spots on, so i won’t look like an oversized tangerine or similar. The less good news is that it’s a little tight, so I need to do something about that. Thankfully though I think that’s doable, with eating a little less and being a little more active.

And so to put my money where my mouth is, this weekend I dug out my exercise gear and a DVD. I’ve even tried them both out for size - and survived - and have come up with a cunning plan to enable me to avoid prancing around the living room, instead prancing around the spare bedroom which I think has a little more privacy, and is definitely less likely to have a double decker bus full of people watching!

It has been quite a while since these have had any use, I’m sorry to say and while I walk to work, I’ve not been doing much else. Which is bad. But I’m hoping that will all change, so by being more active and eating more carefully - by which I mean eating less, as recently I tracked what I ate in a day and it’s true, doing this is quite enlightening, and for all the wrong reasons.

I don’t believe there is any wrong food, but clearly some foods are more filling and less calorific than others, and so it’s these that we’ll be aiming to eat more of. MOH, of course, is none the wiser about this upcoming change, but he’s an easy going sort so I’m sure he’ll cope. Remember when we tried the 5:2 diet and on fast days his lunch was a tuna melt? That’s when I discovered he doesn’t do calorie counting, and to be fair neither do I. We’re much better at taking our lunch to work lately, and that will help as I find when I’m busy and haven’t planned food I leave it to the last minute and then grab whatever’s available.

The plan is to do thirty minutes of aerobics exercise a day for six weeks. Thankfully the eldest niece’s wedding is in eight weeks, so that should be doable and the rewards (as well as having a less snug outfit) will be a new pair of shoes and a matching handbag.

Along with all the weather this weekend, I’ve had a weekend of catching up and domesticity. Despite what I’ve written above there’s also been a plum crumble and some tasty food. Eating healthily doesn’t mean we need to eat dull food, does it? I know for me, it will mean less bread (which is a shame), less potatoes (which I can cope more easily with) and much more vegetables (which is fine, as long as I remember to buy them!), and it means planning ahead. I’ve a freezer full of food, and plenty in the store cupboard so it shouldn’t be that hard.

Like many people around the country I’ve been following the chaos in Parliament, I’m not going to comment any more on that, but it seems that it’s evident that the media are keen to have us believing we should be stockpiling in case it is ‘no deal’ - MOH and I had one of those what if conversations about what we should stockpile, and as a result now have plans to go to Majestic during the week. Priorities, right?

I’ve a couple of posts coming up this week that I’m really quite pleased with, and for different reasons. The first is later today and I’m sharing a stunning, new print, which I think is very me. The second will be on here tomorrow, and it’s one that had MOH asking if I was well, and while it’s one that’s a little embarrassing, it’s also quite rewarding - I’ll not share any more now, you’ll have to come back tomorrow to find out what I mean…