Zippered pouches

Work has been a little crazy recently and I've lost my mojo for cooking/baking and the garden in not quite ready for working in so I turned to sewing as my destress option. Over winter when kept indoors, I got quite hooked on watching uTube videos of people making little sewing projects. Now it's my turn! I was out in the shops (refer to top WORK BAD+BAKING NO NO =SHOPPING THERAPHY) and saw these sweet looking fat quarters. They were of complimenting shades of pastels, so out comes the sewing machine and some frustrated rummaging around to find the zipper foot, a lot of snip snip snip plus my usual finger in the air measuring... I was set to get machining! I really missed the soothing hum drum of the sewing machine, why have I waited so long...oh oh, I think I've caught the sewing bug!

Lined, zippered and adorned with dangly beads

After completing the first, I had to make another so see what it looked like in another colour then it became an obsession...suddenly there were 3!

Lucky for me I had some girlfriends who had birthdays coming up, so birthday presents sorted! Then I wanted one for myself! So more measuring, snipping and sewing....soon it might be time to lock the machine away else my garden will be barren and my family will be living on takeaways!

Making the pleats

 

 

Securing the pleats

Zipper time!

Shaping the corners

One for me..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I had to make one without boxed corners!

 

On your marks, get set, go!

The first of the flowers have appeared without my noticing since I have a tendency to stay indoors out of the cold. Featured above is the Hellebore or also known as the Christmas Rose as it tends to flower at the end of winter...which by the way is way way after Christmas! This plant have lovely big flowers which have thick petals and reminds me of plants you get at home, I do wonder if they are indeed the same!

As for the others, the bulbs like crocuses, snow drops have also flowered without my constant hovering and peering. The later ones like tulips have also emerged from the ground and seem to be growing well.

Crocuses

Primrose

The purple one ... Of course there has to be one which I don't know the name of!

This year, my experiment is with the layer pot, this is an attempt to get flowers blooming for longer using various bulbs that flower at different times. The bulbs are planted in layers in the same pot, resulting in the plants flowering one after another. So far I have seen different types of shoots coming up, as to whether they are all going to bloom at the same time or at different times as is the intention, remains to be seen! Fingers crossed, at least for now I know that the cheap bulbs that I bought are actually growing and are not duds as previous cheap buys have been. I for one am excited and wish you all happy gardening for 2014!

 

 

Clematis

This is my new baby, it's been on my wanted list for a long time (the wanted list is endless if I'm honest!). I've accepted the fact that my climbing rose with the peachy coloured flowers is never going to be free of the rust problem so it has to be taken out. In its place I've chosen to put in the clematis with its large blooms, hopefully flowering from July to September. Since the all knowing internet has said that autumn is a good time to plant clematis, I hope the one I've bought will take to its new home.

Still in its pot, awaiting its new home to be vacated!

 

 

The autumn blooms

Autumn's arrived and with it brings the last shows of the garden. The drop in temperature brings a slow down in the plants but the autumn blooms have started their show. Of these, is my favourite plant of all, the Japanese anemone, with it's pretty medium sized flowers. The heather has started to bloom again and some of the summer ones are still going. The Echinacea is one of the new plants I put in this year, it's now producing lovely bright pink flowers which lasts for a long time. In bloom is also the crocosmia, this is a kind of an inherited plant, my neighbour has loads of these planted against our shared fence and some of the plants decided to cross over into my garden, a bit like the great escape!! But I love the sight of the fiery orange flowers so they have been allowed to stay and make a home on my side.

Close up Japanese Anemone

Japanese Anemone

Echinacea

Yellow flowers that came free with a magazine

Crocosmia

 

Year 3 of the garden

This is the 3rd year I've worked on the garden. When I first started a friend told me that it will take at least 3 years before I get to the point where I can see the fruits of my labours and not to be discouraged. How right he is, it's been hard graft but yes, I've now reached the point where I can see a bit of the cottage garden feel that I was aiming for. I have to say all the hard work is really worth it when I get to sit on the bench and just enjoy the garden with a cup of coffee, taking in the peace it offers from the busy everyday life that tends to get in the way.

The corner bed

The dreaded wind swept corner where most things I plant seem to die, is finally sorted and is now a much loved area of the garden.

I've also added a new bed on the other side of the garden that has taken on really well. It has given me the space to try out some new plants.

For those who know my family, you'd have thought that this interest in the garden might have come from my grandfather who grew lots of plants, particularly bougainvilleas dotted all around the house. I remember going round with him with his homemade watering cans made from recycled milk tins with holes punched into them to create a sprinkle effect.

The truth is, it's my grandmother who awed me with her little garden, hidden at the side of the house where the kitchen window looks out on. It's a tiny little space where she planted sugar canes, pandan (screw pine) and there were also a small variety of little plants planted in all manner of recycled containers like old metal basins etc. I still remember clearly the day when she took a knife and chopped off a sugarcane, cut it into two and gave me a 'stick' to eat. That was the moment when I took real notice of her little garden full of wonder and that was when a seed was planted in me to one day own a garden and look after it as she has done hers.

The new bed

 

The first courgette .. harvested

Without my noticing the courgettes are growing in size and one at the bottom has grown large enough to eat. I think if I left it, it would have grown bigger but as it was at the bottom and touching the ground, it would probably have started to rot. So the one courgette was kept company with some other vegetables from the fridge and made into a delicious soup for dinner. Will definitely be planting more next year.

More coming...

Size compared to my hand

Made into tasty soup with other veg

 

 

 

Of bees and butterflies

In recent years, there's been concern that the bees are dying in the UK. Since we've moved in, we do see some bees during the summer season but not in large numbers. This year, coincidently when I decided to sort out my garden scheme and get more flowers in, we have had quite a large number of bees turn up. I'm just happy to see them and if my growing more flowers helps them keep up their population up then I'm glad to have helped.

As for the butterflies, I get quite a lot of cabbage white, though pretty, they are not welcomed as their eggs turn into caterpillars of the variety partial to broccoli and cabbages both of which I grow. Since these veges are meant for consumption, I was not going to spray any insecticide on them and have to resort to squishing the eggs sacs and even caterpillars by hand...not a pleasant feeling! This year however, I've not seen any cabbage white (maybe because I've not grown any cabbages) but instead got another variety of butterflies which looked real pretty and best of all they only like my inedible plants and therefore they too are more than welcome to enjoy my garden.

 

 

 

 

 

How many bees and butterflies can you see here?