Post Comment Love 21-23 October

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 some of the posts linked and share some of that 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.

I hope you’re keeping well and enjoying the autumn weather as much as you can, when you can. We’ve had a couple of glorious autumn days here followed by a couple of very changeable ones. We’ve also had our covid booster jab (our fourth) and our flu jabs and were lucky that they coincided with one of the better days, meaning our walk into Greenwich was much more pleasant. And it’s looking like we’re both ok with the jabs too, a bit of a sore arm but that’s about it.

I was rather taken with this vintage style poster that was on display in the very traditional chemist where we received our Covid jabs. It’s old, but perhaps not quite as old as you first think - in the bottom left corner it has a date of 09/09, making it just 13 years old, which in itself is pretty impressive. But not quite vintage - cute though, and an important message.

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My garden in September

In summary, this month our garden is confused. It’s recovering from the summer’s drought slowly, a few downpours have helped with that. The autumn crocuses, the colchiums are out and looking superbly vibrant, but I know they won’t last long. The gentle pale pink cyclamens have started to flower and I know they’ll keep going for many months yet. Over the years we’ve been here they’ve multiplied so much and those few initial corms (fifty or so) was definitely worth it.

The number of spiders seems earlier this year, and I’m pretty ambivalent to them to be honest - slugs are my nemesis. I love the intricacy of their webs (outside, not inside!) and it was a delight to discover this dew-jewelled web, looking quite similar to the London Eye (if you use your imagination!). It stayed for quite a while, and I have to admit that I forgot to tell our decorators and I think he fought his way through them, oops.

And of course with those downpours came growth. And with growth came pruning! The jasmine throughout the garden has suddenly gone rampant, and an unexpected and unplanned pruning session filled many garden trugs and one green bin. But it looked so much better for it afterwards. The sedums have already started to turn their autumn pink, which seems early, but I think the heat will help deepen the colour, so I’m sure we’re in for a treat.

But the big news this month is that our grass is returning. Look at those green tufts showing just how resilient grass can be. I doubted it, that’s for sure.

Elsewhere in the garden the ferns are also recovering, over the summer months they had completely died back so it was good to see their green fronds return. The Mexican fleabane is also flowering, earlier in the year I’d planned to divide it but in the end left it as an established plant, and that seems to have paid off. The other thing that’s got it’s growing legs back is next door’s vine. It’s already a metre and a half into our garden and is making its way to the top of my ‘chop’ list.

The yellow bedding plants have also picked up and have started to flower again bringing a pop of colour to the patio. Clearly they know that winter bedding is just around the corner and are trying to persuade me otherwise!

The Annabelle hydrangeas, which turned an almost green over the summer, are back to cream again which is good to see. The large heads are full of smaller intricate flowers and have been a great addition to our garden. This is the first year that they’ve flowered so well, and so it will be good to see how they progress.

So September has been a month of rejuvenation, a different September to usual but one that’s been so good to see.

Sculpture and texture at the Soap Yard

There’s nothing better than a sunny, lazy Sunday and our trip to Parrillan in the newly opened Borough Yards will take quite a bit to beat. Not only was there great food and a relaxing space, but there was also a visit to the nearby Neal’s Yard Dairy, a great unexpected sculpture and of course, time to check out the loos.

It wasn’t until we were through the bricked arch that I turned round and spotted the painted sign to the Soap Yard - the brickwork, and the neon signs pulled me towards them, but I soon backtracked to admire this too. Both are from different times, but both are equally design classics aren’t they?

Once through the arch and after taking a photo of almost every brick, I noticed the globe sculpture titled The World Reimagined - Stolen Legacy: The Rebirth of a Nation, which is by Alison Turner. It’s one of 103 unique globes across the UK which explore the history, legacy and future of the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.

Alison Turner is a mosaic artist who uses recycled vintage bone china, broken and discarded pottery, glass, ceramic tile and porcelain ornaments to create unique artwork. Her globe at Borough Yards was fantastic, and it’s the sort of piece that not only has deep meaning, but one that every time you look at it you’ll spot something different, and be enchanted again.

The World Reimagined - Stolen Legacy: The Rebirth of a Nation – Artist: Alison Turner

We were early for our lunch reservation so took some time to wander around the space admiring yet more brickwork, and the structures they formed. I couldn’t help but notice and admire the curved reception desk at Parrillan which I’m sure was chosen to echo its surroundings.

It soon became clear though, that texture had been given a lot of thought. Even the lemon meringue pie - which was as tasty as it looks - adopted the brief.

And in the loos it was once again evident, with the panelled metal sheet on the ceiling, the smooth sink surrounds and the curves and symmetry of the mirrors and wall lights, demonstrating again that you can be adventurous with texture in a relatively small space.

Back outside we moved from our table to a less formal space to end our meal. There were a few discoveries there, not least the heated seat pads (not pictured). Who knew, what an invention though sadly we had no need for them on our visit, but definitely something to try on a future, slightly chillier visit!

The modern wooden bench also caught my eye for its simple elegance, and the texture it too brought to the space. Alongside it the planting introduced more, the needles of the pine and the underplanting of soft mossy mounds. That’s how you do texture.

But also, succulents and small frothy ferns. What a combination.