Nottinghamshire's tropical garden

Yes, you read that right. A while back I spotted Honeytrees tropical garden in a local Facebook group, and my interest was piqued. It’s close to us, a little over ten miles away and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine anything quite so lush, or tropical so close by. I also spotted that they planned to open every weekend in August as part of the National Garden Scheme. As MOH has long had a hankering for including a banana tree in the plans for our garden it made sense to go along - we managed to get there on the last day of August, and their last day of opening for the year - phew.

It was amazing. Packed full of plants, and then some more on top of that.

And on this chilly December day I thought I could do with a burst of tropical colour. What I didn’t really expect to see though was some roses, but I did.

The garden was packed full of plants and structures including a viewing platform - and while it was a relatively large plot it wasn’t overly huge. It just goes to show that you really can transform spaces with some thought, and a lot of passion.

For MOH it’s the colour of the cannas, and the scale of the banana plants that appeal to him. For me it’s the multicoloured foliage and less than usual shapes.

And as we went around the garden, each turn wowed us more. I’m not about to turn my plot into a tropical garden - I’ve seen how much work goes into this garden - but I would like to incorporate some of the plants we saw when we visited.

Maybe not a monkey tree though…

With so many tropical plants and not so tropical winters, many of the plants needed to be sheltered at this time of year. There were a lot of pots, but also a lot of plants already in hot houses, which were already pretty hot back in August.

The work I mentioned before included lots of propagation, and I mean lots!

Some of the plants were for sale, and we were sorely tempted. But in the end we left empty handed but with a bit more knowledge about caring for the plants, and knowing that we’d be back again to visit and at some point likely to be ready to make a purchase too, but not until we’ve got somewhere to overwinter it properly to give it the best chance of surviving, and that could be a little while yet - no doubt much to MOH’s frustration.

Additions and acquisitions to my craft room this November

I knew when I started this series that some months would be heavier than others, especially when visits to craft shows and stash sales happen in the same months - like this month.

I’ve learnt though that it’s good to go to the bigger craft fairs with an idea of what you want, otherwise there appears to be no limit to what you might end up with. For the Harrogate Knit & Stitch Show I had ‘some modern Christmas-type fabric’ on the list in my head, and I left with six Moda fat quarters, so that was good.

MODA CHRISTMASSY FAT QUARTERS FOR £24

I’m finding that I’m often drawn to Moda fabrics too, so it seems that my subconscious knows what it likes - look out for one of the quilts I have planned for next year (sorry, that was a complete teaser that I won’t share more about just yet!). And while having a list is good, I did end up leaving with more than these - well, it was a craft show after all, and there was so much loveliness there - including some gallery areas which were amazing, and I’ll share more from those in the next few weeks.

At the show I was keen to learn more about the Cone Exchange, based in Harrogate. It’s the flagship community project of Bettys & Taylors Group who repurpose waste materials from businesses, alongside donations from the local community raising funds for local good causes and creating a sense of community and new skills for all those involved along the way.

At the show they were selling, rather too cheaply for my liking, some fabric sample books. Even worse for me it was a buy two get one free kind of deal, so for £4 I couldn’t refuse three, thankfully relatively small, fabric sample books. They even gave me one of those sturdy canvas totes to carry them in, and when I was umming and ahhing about the weight (but still having my hands on the three I was interested in just in case anyone else nabbed them) they told me about the bag creche. I knew I was done for, but at £4 I couldn’t refuse. I have already made use of them though, so I’m glad I got them.

I also found out more about their shop, so I’ve a feeling that at some point next year I’ll be making a visit there - though going in the car is likely to be even more dangerous I’m sure. But perhaps I’ll wait til the weather warms up a bit.

ONE OF THREE FABRIC SAMPLE BOOKS

ANOTHER ONE OF THE FABRIC SAMPLE BOOKS

I went to the show with some friends from my sewing group, and one spotted that there was an embroidery section in another hall, and I’m so glad she did as that too was amazing. There were some recent graduates showcasing their work, more galleries and plenty of inspiration packs encouraging you to do whatever you wanted with them. I fell in love with the colours in the pack below, and especially was rather taken with the tassel-ly type thread on the white card at the bottom of the picture. Chatting to the people on the stall I asked how I could use it, and was quite promptly told ‘however you want!’

A MELEE OF EMBROIDERY THREADS FOR £6

I didn’t know how I’d use them, but as things do something has already turned up so now I have a plan - not an immediate plan, but a plan nonetheless. It was my first time at the Harrogate Knit & Stitch Show and it was a good show - I’ve a feeling this could be a regular November outing, though next year I’d welcome a bit more warmth and less threats of snow if you could manage it Harrogate!

I didn’t employ the ‘have a list’ approach at the Living Threads Sewing Room Sort Out sale earlier in the month, but then you never really know what you’re going to discover at these kind of sales. I was pleasantly surprised both by what I found and for managing to spend just under twenty pounds, plus a cup of tea and cake.

GREEN & ORANGE COTTONS AND COLOURED WIRE SPOOLS

LACE AND HAND DYED TRIMS

A DUSKY ‘INSPIRATION’ PACK

SOME SENSIBLE PLAINS

MORE SILKS - BRIGHTLY COLOURED AND A GREEN THAT MATCHES NICELY

I’ve no immediate plans for these items, but that’s ok and I think I’ll know when I know - and as the lady next to me who bought the other pack of coloured wire spools, when you need it you’ll have it. Exactly.

My craft room has a new look to it this month too, as once my long awaited shelves in the cupboard were up it was all gloves off for a huge rearrangement, bringing things I use the most often closer to hand and retiring some things I thought I’d use but haven’t yet. I even think that some of them may end up for sale as I’m not sure I’ll ever use them, but for now they’re stored in the large chest.

VINTAGE FABRICS FROM SNEINTON MARKETS FOR £9

On a trip to Nottingham I had another major find, and one that is likely to get more regular visits. In the Sneinton Market area, as well as the fabric shop I planned to visit, I also discovered the vintage fabrics above in the curios shop next door. Once again at a price I couldn’t resist - these fabrics, which have now all been washed and ironed, cost me £9, or £3 a bundle - and they’re gorgeous. There’s designs and colours in there I might not have chosen myself, but I think I will find plenty of uses for these - it’s another watch this space tease!

The appley green cord was from the fabric shop I wanted to look around, and was a compromise purchase as the cord I really liked came in at £27 for three metres - gulp! Even the girl in the shop had to check the price, and as it’s just for the drawstring of a picnic rug bag it wasn’t going to happen, however nice it was. I wanted to check out the fabric shop before they move to online only at the end of the year, but I was even more pleased to discover the curios shop and the vintage fabric next door.

BERNINA ADJUSTABLE GUIDE AND GREEN CORD FROM SNEINTON MARKET FOR £9

While I’m waiting for my Bernina Invisible Zipper foot to arrive (sigh) I decided to order the Bernina Adjustable Guide (from a different supplier) with the plan of getting to know that before the zipper foot gets here. I want to sew straighter lines in my quilting, and while they have got better with practice, at times they can still wander and so I think I need some more help. I plan to straight line quilt my Essex Linen Kisses picnic rug and I think the lines need to be sharper than my lines currently are. My plan is to test the guide out on my next charity quilt which is currently underway, before getting on with quilting the picnic rug, and then making myself a draw string bag to keep it in.

In repurposing news, I’ve acquired two shirts from MOH after a wardrobe change over and a bundle of potentially stranger things to weave with, including some lemon and orange ‘nets’, some old headphones and various cords from clothes tags and from those bundles of vintage fabrics above. I’ve also kept the latest Inntravel brochure, and not because there’s a holiday or two in there that’s tempting me, but because it’s really good quality paper and I’m wondering if I can use it for a future English Paper Piecing (EPP) patchwork project!

The final addition is a bit of a treat, and a bit of an unknown - a quilter’s advent calendar.

QUILTERS ADVENT CALENDAR FROM MORRIS WORKS

I do like a craft based advent calendar, but like most things they’re not cheap. Last year I opted for the Aurifil calendar and it was a good introduction to their threads, but I didn’t want to have that again. In previous years I’ve had Vicki Brown’s yarn advent and have been really pleased with its contents, and the throws that I’ve made with them.

It’s clearly early days for this year’s advent calendar but (so far) I’m impressed with its presentation and explanatory note. I’ll be spending this month opening the packages - hopefully knowing what they’re for, and will likely share more in a future update.

So that’s another month in my craft room, check out my previous updates for earlier additions, and remember to let me know below what you’ve added to your craft supplies this month.

This November...

I didn’t think there was much to say about November, but it turns out I was wrong. We finally put the garden to bed ahead of the cold snap that was forecast, and which duly arrived, but it felt odd as the week beforehand was almost tropical, or tropical for this time of year anyway.

In the kitchen

I picked my peppers and hoped they’d ripen more indoors, and that’s pretty much the case - they got to a lovely autumnal orange (and more orange than below) before heading for one of our dinners.

I did make some jewel coloured chilli jelly, but as yet I haven’t made the second batch I hoped to - all is not lost though as while my crab apples are finished, the recipe can also use Bramleys and I picked some of those up in the village shop. The limiting factor has been a lack of jars, but it’s amazing how quickly they can accumulate when you put your mind to it!

We’re continuing our Reformer Pilates journey, and with some progress already I’m sure. MOH was asked how he was getting on and likened himself to ‘an elephant on roller skates’ which made me laugh, but it’s something I also totally relate to! Our last session was a hard one and learning some very technical and traditional moves, thankfully our instructor knows more about our bodies now and was there to catch me as I toppled forward at one point, for which I’m very grateful.

Stir up Sunday has been successfully completed, even though ours mostly took place on the Saturday. We’ve now got a stock of three various sized Christmas puddings lovingly made by MOH. Christmas puddings have become his thing and are much requested on family visits each year, and this year was no different. Our main job with them now is to regularly feed them with brandy until a week or so before the big day.

Crafting, radio and game

The start of the month saw me heading off to a new village hall for the Living Threads ‘sewing room sort out sale’ and I left with a bag full of inspiration and plenty of ideas. On the way home I checked out a new to me farm shop - Harkers Farm Shop if you’re local, and it’s definitely one I’m adding to my regular visits list. For a relatively small shop it was jam packed full of goodies from farm fresh vegetables, local meats and pies and plenty more besides. Definitely a new farm shop unlocked for me.

I’ve been in a bit of a quandary about what to sew lately, and so having not sorted anything out to take to my evening sewing group I grabbed some embroidery that I’d been toying with for a while. It’s been on trips with me but hasn’t actually made it out of its pouch and started on, but that’s changed.

In fact since I’ve been forced to slow down a bit after catching a stinker of a cold in the second half of the month, I’ve finished the second part of the embroidery. The paler section at the top I completed while we were visiting Gargano’s Peninsular last year, so it was long overdue. I’ve also worked out how I’m going to use this - yes, another pouch - but there’s more to do, and embroider, yet.

I even got around to doing some more Indian Block Printing, and it wasn’t as much of a faff to set-up or clear down as I envisaged, so that was good and I can see that I’ll be doing this more regularly. I just need to remember not to go overboard on the printing side as that leaves me with a pile of embroidering, which vies for time along with everything else.

Our favourite restaurant in Newark held their annual game night, and it was delicious. Of course it was on the same day that I was going to Harrogate for the Knit & Stitch Show with sewing group friends, so it made for a busy day, but both were well worth it and very enjoyable.

We even managed a port tasting earlier in the month too discovering some more favourites, and potentially even a Christmas present or two - but what’s even better is, we had a great night out and managed to time it so we could get the bus home. Writing that though, makes me feel old!

And we finished the month with the restoration of one of our Saturday morning habits of listening to Huey Morgan’s show on 6 Music in a little bit more style than we have been. For a while now we’ve only been able to listen to it on Alexa, and that’s meant it’s been on in the background, but now with the addition of a clever streamer box that’s changed and we can listen to it actually in the room. Sometimes it’s the small things isn’t it? And no, I don’t know why it’s taken us so long either, but there you go…

Markets and discoveries

I’ve not ventured too far from home this month, but there has been a visit to Nottingham and another to Harrogate for the Knit & Stitch show. I’ll share more from the show another day, but Harrogate is very much on my visit list - it looks a beautiful place and full of independent shops and more. Though I might be swayed by one of the coffee station venues at the craft show, which was in the beautifully restored Harrogate Theatre - very grand!

In Nottingham I finally ticked off a visit to Sneinton Markets, and it won’t be my last. As well as the craft shop I planned to visit we also discovered a great independent bakery, a curios shop where I stumbled across a stack of vintage fabric for £9, a restaurant I want to try and an Asian Grocery shop. And that was on a Thursday when the area was relatively quiet, I’m sure on Fridays and Saturdays it’s buzzing, I’m already planning when I can go back!

If you want to read my ramblings from previous monthly updates then please check out my ‘This is’ series.