Post Comment Love 10 - 12 May

Hello there, and welcome back 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, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed from the linky, and if older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

We’ve had some great weather this week, and I couldn’t let the opportunity pass without sharing that - it’s been lovely to get out in the garden, and sit out in the garden too. It’s so different to the weather we’ve had recently, that it feels as if someone’s flipped a switch straight to summer.

I started a new gym class this week, ominously named Body Blast - I survived! It was a new class too, and fortunately - or unfortunately, it goes both ways to be honest, I was the only one to turn up. So I got a personal training session, which was great, but there was nowhere to hide!

Enjoy your week, and spare a thought for my abs (which I’ve rediscovered this week!)

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The Fontana Garden

* I was invited to the press preview for and provided with a pair of tickets to Gardeners’ World Live so I’m marking posts from the show as 'Ad’ - as usual my views and opinions are very much my own. Be sure to check out all of my posts from the show.

This garden is pretty special, and for a number of reasons. Firstly it’s incredibly striking - though I think the blue skies and warm temperatures helped, but also because it was sponsored by 92 year old Derek Bishop whose lifetime ambition has been to be park of a show garden, but mostly because after the show this garden will live on and was gifted to Cornwall Hospice Care. It was designed by Kim Parish with that in mind, and I’m sure it will be a fantastic space for patients, their families and the hospice staff.

The garden uses clever design to incorporate seating and dining areas, making use of the shaded area beneath its main focus, as well as a water feature which I’m sure will be calming both while it was at the show and in its future location. The planting features alliums heavily, along with tree ferns - there’s something about how they sway in the breeze that’s also calming isn’t there.

It’s funny though looking at these pictures a year on and the structures are not that dissimilar to our new garden - well, except that our garden structures are the garage and trellis around the heat pump, but the ribbed cladding and dark colour is similar-ish!

We clearly don’t have the planting, but again this post is a good reminder to be bold and to use plants we love - that’ll be ferns and alliums on my plant wish list then!

The Fontana Garden is a gorgeous garden though isn’t it?

* With thanks to Gardeners’ World for inviting me to Gardeners’ World Live, it was as fabulous as ever!

The sputnik in the loos at the Nevile Arms

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a post in the Loo Series, and as you’d expect often I don’t know when I’ll find a loo worthy of sharing. So when it happens, who knows, but here I am sharing a loo from after our circular walk from Kinoulton to Hickling.

At first I didn’t notice what you’ll come to see dominates my pictures, but once I’d spotted the light fitting I was mesmerised. I mean it’s a great light fitting, and it totally gives the small space (they’re mostly a small space aren’t they?!) it’s character.

I told you it was a great light fitting, didn’t I?

The rest of the decor was pretty classic and smart, but the sputnik light fitting added the character. Though while it caught my attention, it wasn’t the only design feature.

Both the cherry blossom-like garland around the mirror and the floor tiles would usually have captured all the attention - and the floor tiles especially are just fab (shame I don’t need any new tile inspiration for my new house!). But the three together - garland, tiles and light - made a small space pretty special.

Here’s to the renewed energy to this series of this posts, who knows when I’ll share one next!