Raspberry canes ... the new arrivals!

The canes down in the bottom right corner where nothing seems to grow...touch wood!

My neighbour's mom is an avid gardener and she had promised to swipe some raspberry canes for me when she next visited her mom out in Ballater. So one stormy evening (it had to be) there was a buzz on the door and lo and behold, my neighbour was armed with a bunch of canes. Brilliant! so despite the pouring rain, I plonked them into the bottom right corner of the garden. A few weeks later, I'm glad to report that they have taken root and seems to be doing well. So, now the only thing left is to be vigilant and keep pesky birds away and we might just enjoy some homegrown jam and fruit tarts!

One of the cane decided to grow horizontally...there has to be one!!

Here comes the Tulips

The tulips have arrived, due to the abnormally hot week we had, the tulips sprouted in record time. These are the ones under my climbing rose, I thought they were deep red in colour but turns out they were yellow! haha!

Photo above was taken yesterday, this morning the weather turned and below is what happened! I hope the plants will survive the sudden chill.

Spring in my garden

At the end of last year there was a bit of a bulb buying frenzy and the bulbs were planted in every crook and cranny. Because there were so many, I'd forgotten what was where, when spring arrived recently, lovely surprises were popping up here and there. Above is a selection of the first few to arrive. What a pleasure it is to look forward to see what could be coming next. 

A year on ... in the garden

Almost a year ago, the flower beds were newly dug and the plants were in the ground before the weather changed, see 'finally all flower beds are dug'. Fingers were crossed during winter and came spring this year, I was happy to report that none of the plants were lost.

The beds have been busy with the crocuses leading the way declaring that spring had arrived. I plan to feature (should I have the energy and inclination) the various plants that have grazed my garden from Spring through to Autumm. So watch this space!

Elderflower cordial

Mid summer is nigh and it is time to get some of the garden successes into the blog before memory fades. Elderflower cordial is one of the anticipated ventures of this year. We have a rather large tree growing just outside our back garden and after some tentative sniffs at the flowers, we concluded it must indeed be Elderflower and so begins the adventure!

After eagerly waiting for the flowers to come to a full bloom, we picked our 20 heads for the cordial.

Duncan on bug duty - have to get all the creepy crawlies off first! Finally bug-free and clean



It was surprisingly easy to make, just like steeping tea but instead of just boiling water, use hot syrup and leave to infuse for 48 hours.

The flowers are left to steep with lemon wedges for some zing!


The taste test? After drinking it ourselves and still feeling fine, we then tested it on our neighbours during a weekend BBQ, the drink went down a treat and was the toast of the day!

The result - 2 bottles of refreshing cordial


Here's to waiting for next year's crop and maybe some Elderflower bubbly?

Holly napkins for Christmas

Embroidered holly napkins for Christmas lunch. One down, 5 more to go! These were budget plain napkins made to look a little special for lunch. This will be the first Christmas in our new house as well as Sarah's first Christmas so it's all out to deck the halls!

I tat I taw a puddytat...I did! I did!

Sarah's first halloween 2010.... I said I was not spending money on halloween costumes and my words came back and bit me as in Sarah's bumblebees play group required her to wear a costume. So I had no choice but to make her one. Since she is only 3 months, I felt it was not right to dress her as a witch or any ghoulish sort, it might influence her future character!! Haha! I decided on a cat and had a rummage in my wardrobe. I found this large track bottom which I used to wear when pregnant and had tossed aside because it was tissue-pappered in the washing machine and proceeded to cut it up! .... five days later, I was still sewing (forgot to take into account that I had a baby who needs constant attention and no free time!). Night before her bumblebee halloween party, it was completed...phew! And as you can see, there's my precious little puddy tat!