Post Comment Love 20-22 May

Welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit and comment on some of the posts linked sharing some blog love. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’re here.

This week the much anticipated and forecast good weather arrived in South London, and it’s been lovely. On days it’s been so warm the air feels warm relatively early in the morning, which isn’t always the case. There’s been time for pottering around in the garden, a trip to the garden centre to get new plants and it’s my first full week not working. I’m still working out what my new routine might be, and this week it’s included planning for some time away at a family wedding.

A family wedding that should have taken place in 2020 but for reasons we all know very well about it didn’t. I am doing a reading as part of the service and I probably need to read it out loud at least a few more times yet. But it is quite apt that my photo this week is of cake, and chocolate cake as that’s included in the poem I’ll be reading. The cakes are actually how I marked stopping work, with my actual last day working remotely, MOH and I enjoyed a cake from a local bakery - how lucky are we to have these almost on our doorstep? Though thankfully, I quite often forget they’re there, which really is a good thing.

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My garden in April

This month the garden has really come back to life, and that’s meant there’s been plenty for us to do and to admire too. I’ve been raving about my tulips throughout the month, and thanking organised me for getting them sorted in the autumn. And because I’ve been raving about them so much - rightly because they’ve been brilliant - I’ll be sharing them in all their glory in a separate post. So it’s safe, this is a tulip-free zone.

While the predominant colour in our garden remains green, this month we’ve been through the full spectrum of colours from the blues, whites and pale pinks of the bluebells, to the yellow of the forsythia and kerria and the gorgeous reds and pinks of the hellebore, acer and more recently the weigela - which as you can see is just getting set to burst into flower.

The deepest red of the hellebore was also very welcome - we have dusky pink varieties at the back of our garden, which do a really good job of self-seeding and keeping themselves going (long may that continue). This one was one we brought back from my MIL’s garden, and so it was great to see it flourish and flower in its new spot, and for it to reward us with such beauty.

We continued to tackle jobs around the garden, with the greenhouse getting a light tidy to match that of the shed last month. And like the shed I’m sure it’ll fill up again real soon!

The berries on the fatsia were - and are still going strong - they’ve since darkened and reduced, no doubt the local bird population making good use of them. The zingy lime green euphorbias brought a welcome zing of colour, which was set off really well against the rusting black iron pot behind them.

Elsewhere in the garden, the yellow pom pom plant which has moved in from next door was full of blooms and at the back of the garden the cherry tree had its blossom on show too - that seemed early, but I’m not sure it is, it’s just that the weather hasn’t been where it would usually be up until now. There were some lovely days this month, but very little rain and most days were a tad overcast.

But nature is intent and consistent in doing its thing. I think every year I’m amazed by this and how nature just knows. The ferns too are fascinating to observe as they unfurl (though not in real time), and it’s especially good when my iPhone picks up the furriness of their stems.

MOH has spent many hours on his knees this month, chip, chip, chipping out the old grout before regrouting the patio and fixing the slab that wobbled a bit as you walked across it. It looks great and I know he’s pleased with it too - and it should last for a good few years yet.

We have watched our neighbour’s camellia bushes flower and fade, we know ours is always late to the party - but April is pretty late, especially considering it looks as if the four plants in adjacent gardens are very similar. One (not ours obviously) has the audacity to flower at Christmas some years, and yet here we are waiting for ours - but when it does, it’s definitely worth the wait.

Another of my favourites is our peonies, and while they flower they flop a lot and the ants take over. I was keen to avoid that this year, as once this happens I’m less keen on bringing them into the house, and so I had a plan. It seems that I’ve lost a plant over winter, which is a shame but the remaining two were doing well and were already quite tall. I thought I might have missed my chance, but decided to go ahead anyway. And so, my two remaining peonies are now in pots and staked, staked much earlier than before - and easier to achieve too thanks to the pots. I’ve been very lucky as they have both continued to grow with no obvious ill effects from moving at such a late stage, whether or not I get any flowers this year (and whether or not they’ll stay upright for longer) remains to be seen, but hopefully I’m in with a chance.

We’ve had one more new addition to our garden this month, and that’s this lovely acer. It’s another plant that MOH has brought back from his family home, and one that needed a bit of ‘surgery’ so that it would fit in the car along with everything else. This was trickier than it should have been as the majority of garden tools had already been moved or given away, but I found some old secateurs that were just about up to the job. I also had to put it into a temporary smaller pot for the journey, so while we were hopeful it would survive, we knew we were taking a chance.

It’s thrived. And I’m so happy. It lasted in its temporary pot for a short while, and then has moved to a much larger, more permanent pot. Strangely one that for the past year or so hasn’t really had much of a purpose - but now it does. The acer is sitting proudly on our patio, which means it gets some sun for part of the day, and it’s doing really well.

Phew. Nature really isn wonderful isn’t it?

Love this #97: The Card Boys

One of my highlights from this year’s Grand Designs Live show was The Card Boys who were in one of my favourite areas of the show - the Design Arcade. For a small space it’s crammed full of really interesting stuff, the stand we bought our new light from was also based here, but more of that another day - we expecting to take delivery of the light later on today.

But back to The Card Boys

It’s essentially a card subscription box - so depending on your views on boxes in general, it may or may not be for you. The longer version of what it is, is a small piece of art on every card which supports independent artists and illustrators, and provides something more unique than cards from most high street stores. On the back of each card there’s the artist’s biography with their web and instagram links - so it’s a great way to discover artists, and great for artists to get their work more visible.

Each box is seasonal and contains eight cards for £24 - so £3 a card, which is really good value, though that clearly depends on if you like the designs, and how many cards you use/send. You can skip a box, so as long as you make the arrangements in time you won’t be charged, and you can cancel at any time. It’s a new venture set up by Callum and Adam - the Card Boys - who are creatives who met at school in Brighton.

I’ll concede that I do have a bit of a thing for cards, and often buy cards in advance when I see a card that will work for someone, or even buy multiples just to have a supply ready to use when I need them. MOH knows me well and wasn’t surprised when I stopped to find out more, and even less surprised when I signed myself up.

Step into springtime

The spring box was on offer at the show - so it was even more attractive to me. I’ve shared each of the cards and artist’s images below. My absolute favourite card in this set is my final picture - the Thank You card by Hannah Grace, it’s even more stunning in person. I think that will be the card that I’ll struggle to part with, and if I do, the recipient should feel especially worthy!

I should say I like all of the designs, there’s only one, maybe two that I most likely wouldn’t have chosen but I’m not sharing which. I can recognise the work that’s gone into each design, and I am sure the appropriate occasion will present itself, I just don’t know what that is yet.

ARTIST: MICHAEL BARTLETT

ARTIST: GRACE CHILTON

ARTIST: EMMA TOBEY

ARTIST: EMILY LUSCOMBE-WATTS

ARTIST: REBECCA DIGGLE

ARTIST: EMILY LUSCOMBE-WATTS

ARTIST: GRACE CHILTON

ARTIST: HANNAH GRACE

I’ve already used one, and am looking forward to using some more - but probably not my favourite design! And, like any subscription box, the anticipation of what’s in the next box is high…