A flowery Friday . . .

Every week when Friday comes around, I have really good intentions of joining in with Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.  But then the day seems to come and go so quickly and before I know it, I've missed it again.  

 So here I am today - it's Friday, the sun is shining and our garden is blossoming with pretties . .  here's just five . . .

Isn't it just SOoooo pretty ?

I can't tell you how chuffed I am but alas, regular readers will remember that I'm not a gardener, so the fact that these beautiful flowers are alive & well & living happily in my garden is mostly due to the care and efforts of my kind gardening gurus - my lovely sis and my ever-so-patient friend Heather, who constantly roll their eyes at my lack of gardening enthusiasm,
but persevere regardless, in the hope that one day my fingers will turn green  ; - )

All I'm really entrusted with is the weeding and the watering . . . but that's a big part, right ? 

And a little while ago I told you about an outing to Hidcote to learn all about growing a cutting garden.  (Read about it here if you like)  We got to plant lots of seeds, and the abovementioned guru Heather cultivated and cared for mine in her greenhouse until it was time to plant.  And then she came over and planned and planted for me (I told you she was kind), and I'm happy to say my little cutting garden is growing well, with lots of little budlets about to blossom too.  

Happy dancing . . .

Thank you lovely sis & kind Heather, for making my garden grow.

Do pop over to Amy's linky party and see what everyone else is doing this Friday - happy weekend, lovelies . . . blossom where you're planted  : - )

'til next time,

xoxo

I am not a gardener . . .

There, I've said it.

Many of you may already have known it.

Over the years, family and friends have encouraged and cajoled, but still my fingers remain decidedly un-green.

 

But I love beautiful gardens, I ooh & aah over them and dream of borders and beds and perfectly manicured lawns.  But then my two bouncy most-adorable-pups-in-the-world run straight through my dream, chasing each other at high speed and digging mahoosive muddy holes as they go.

Sigh . . .

And I also love myriads of pretty flowers, and believe it or not we have a little "cut flower patch" in our back garden.  It's a result of one of my erstwhile brilliant ideas of what to do with the space when we were having the garden landscaped a few years ago.  In the interluding years it's been filled intermittently with beautiful Spring tulips, lovely daffs, pretty petunias. . . and annoying wild-growing weeds.

So, when a friend signed us both up for the "Cut Flowers Masterclass" at lovely Hidcote Manor Garden in the Cotswolds, I thought "yeh, that'll be fab".  And of course it was.  (Thank you, HH)

We spent the day with the Assistant Head Gardener, learning all about what there is to know when it comes to planting a cut flower garden, and did some bulb planting and seed sowing before we got to play with all the beautiful flowers grown at Hidcote and make up two pretty posies each to take home. 

Of course there was a yummy lunch followed by a wander around the gardens, in the mix too.

It was such a lovely day out, and just for those few hours I almost felt like a gardener.

Happy weekend all, 

ooh and a big welcome to my lovely new followers - do say hello if you have a moment too.

'til next time

xoxo

ps. in case you're wondering, or indeed concerned for the welfare of the bulbs and seeds I sowed:  fear not, they are safely ensconced in my friend's greenhouse for nurturing and safe-keeping until they can be safely planted in the ground  ; - )

We wove willow . . .

So, a week or so ago - just before our house filled up with weekending friends and things got really busy,  I spent a fun day doing a willow weaving workshop with my lovely Book Club gals.

Mostly our book club is about the book . . . and the natter . . . and the cake, but every now and then we like to do other things too.  Like dinner and the theatre, or the ballet, or in this case - learn to make some fab willow garden decs.

Enter my oh-so-creative-and-talented friend, Rachel.

Amongst other things, Rachel is a whizz with willow, so we booked her for the day and she arrived with absolutely everything in hand and set about teaching us the wonderful art of weaving willow.

First up was tea & cake (of course)  and then after some instruction and demonstration, we wove and carefully bent and giggled (oh, and I may or may not have stamped my feet a little when one of my petals just wouldn't stay put . . .) and chatted, and wove some more before stepping back and admiring our fun flowers . . .

Don't we look chuffed ? That's me & mine at the back, 2nd from left . . .

A yummy lunch followed before it was time to get stuck into our next project . . .

 . . . an obelisk ,  teepee ,  thingy-that-you-grow-climbing-flowers-up , call it what you may . . .

So once more we spread ourselves out on the kitchen floor and as lovely Rachel talked us through it we chatted away, revelling in the delight that comes from being creative on a Friday afternoon  : - )

 All too soon, it was time to pack up with even Sarah's adorable pup, Tiger "helping" . . . 

I have to admit I haven't had a chance to put my willow works of art into the garden yet,  but Heather is much more efficient and sent me a pic of hers in situ in her lovely garden.

'Twas truly a fabulous day - good friends, good food, great fun . . .

Have a happy new week, lovelies

'til next time,

xoxo

Merry Christmas wishes . . .

'Twas a crisp and sunny morning when my lovely friend, Heather & I enjoyed a little foray into the beautiful Cotswolds countryside, to spend the day at Hidcote Manor making our Christmas wreaths. 

 And oh what fun we had  : - )

 Our day started with a warm greeting from the volunteers at Hidcote and a yummy steamy mug of hot chocolate, before we headed into what is affectionately called The KGB.  Nope, nothing at all to do with Cold War espionage, but just simply the Kitchen Garden Barn. 

 The barn boasts a cosy woodburning stove which definitely helped to take the chill off morning (and the concrete floor), so after we'd warmed ourselves, we set to work selecting our foliage and creating our wreaths.  What a joy to have the pick of all the lovely fresh greenery from the beautiful Hidcote gardens.

 Heather decided on a hanging wreath for the front door of her sweet cottage and I made a centrepiece for our Christmas table.

 Our mission complete, we retreated to the cafe for a light lunch then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the pretty gardens.  

It really is so beautiful, and we're already planning a return visit in the Spring.  Thanks lovely Heather for organizing such a fab day out - already looking forward to April  : - )

* * * 

 

Only 3 more sleeps now 'til Santa comes a' calling . . . The halls are decked, the pantry is stocked, and the gifts are almost wrapped.  

So from me, the Hubby, and the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world, here's wishing you & yours a very merry & happy Christmas, 

 filled with an abundance of love, laughter & blessings. 

with love & hugs,

Gilly

xoxo

It's tea time . . .

 

Blue skies & bright warm sunshine,

lovely friends,

delicious little sandwiches,

an array of yummy scrummy cream scones,  gooey profiteroles
& 

homemade elderflower cordial,

and an impromptu crochet workshop,

in a beautiful garden.

Can you think of a lovelier way to spend a day ?

 Oh, and there were chickens . . .

Linking up today with Chantille Fleur for Tea Party Tuesday.

'til next time,

xoxo

What's hookin' ?

The sun has returned and it's a beautiful day here in the Midlands. So after a lovely long walk in the woods with the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world, I took my morning cuppa, my book and my current hooky project, outdoors.  It's a mild, autumnal temp but on the deck where I'm sheltered from the wind it's just perfect - and so lovely to see the sun again after being battered with rain for the past few days.  I'm really not ready for summer to leave us quite yet . . .

So, do you want to see what I've been crocheting lately ?
Well I'm going to show you anyway  ; - )

Meet Emma, the Bunny -  I think she & I are kindred souls . . .

can you spot the little bumble bee too?

 " Emma is an extremely lovable bunny whose aura is kept in balance by regular dates with her yoga mat.  She's a very house-proud mummy rabbit and her warren is her sanctuary.   Although often reluctant to tie up her ears and get on with the housework, she does a very fine job once she sets her mind to it.  Her creative talents have long slept dormant while other people have become a priority, but it looks as if that might be about to change.  Once there's a vase of fresh flowers and a pot of Earl Grey tea brewing on the side, it's time for Emma to get out her needles and create. " **

. . .  and Seamus the Alpaca . . .

" Seamus fancies himself as an actor. The only major downside of boasting a face that's good enough to pull off any type of hat is that you are continually fighting a battle with the unruly hair that sits beneath it.  Seamus has been the lead in his village's Amateur Dramatic Society for the last 25 years, and that has only accelerated the growth of his larger-than-life character.  No one can deny the power and depth of his singing voice;  every day it can be heard bellowing from the open windows of his thatched cottage in accompaniment to the dawn chorus. "  **

Emma & Seamus - the best of pals already

And on the reading front,  I'm half-way through my Book Club selection for this month:  Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, but I do keep getting distracted by a little pile of sewing & crafty mags sitting patiently on my bedside table.

Linking up today with Ginny's weekly Wednesday Yarn Along  - do pop over and have a wee peek.  You may even like to join in ?

'til next time,

xoxo

**credit: patterns & text from the oh-so-adorable book:  Edward's Menagerie by Kerry Lord.

A very British invasion . . .

You may recall that a wee while ago, the Hubby commissioned me to sew 150 little bags in some fab Brit fabrics (read about it here if you'd like).

  So whilst these would all contain a mechanical puzzle gift for his fellow metagrobologists attending the IPP in London this year, I thought I'd make something for the girls too and set about sewing a whole bunch of zippy make-up bags as a little reminder of their trip to sunny ol' England.

all cut out & ready to sew. . .

Don't you just love these sweet fabrics?

And we girls had a great time . . .  

 a river cruise & a yummy lunch in Stratford upon Avon,

a trip on the Severn Valley Railway from Kidderminster to beautiful Bridgnorth,

 a lovely wander around London, taking in the sights and the shops,

 and a visit to the beautiful Kew Gardens,

complete with a spot of yarn bombing . . .

We also managed to squeeze in some fun crafty things too - some beading, some needle-felting, and a wee bit of crochet . . . but that's a whole other blog post  : - )

Now our friends have all returned to their little corners of the world, but I hope, with lovely memories of their English summer of '14.

"Haste ye back . . ."

'til next time,
xoxo