Home grown and foraged

 

As usual there have been some successes and some disasters in the garden this year.

 

The runner beans got off to a poor start as the first lot were eaten by rabbits but we managed to get a second lot going and keep the bunnies off with an old fire guard.

 

 

 

The Dahlias have been good and are still providing flowers to bring inside as are the sweet peas.

 

 

 

Blackberries in the fields round us have been brilliant this year

 and I have already made two batches of jelly.

 

This time I was aiming for something for the grownups..
 

 

Blackberry vodka and sloe gin!

I have made sloe gin before but the blackberry vodka is a new one for me so I will let you know how it turns out. After a bit of reading on the internet, I have opted for the

 "alcohol and fruit only to start with"

method.

Supposedly this gets more flavour from the fruit before adding the sugar later on.

We'll see.
 

 

And if I pan out you can see this fab table made from a recycled pallet

 that all the produce is sitting on.

Child number two made it and it kept him busy for a whole afternoon.

I just love it!

If you haven't already,
 it is worth looking at recycled pallet furniture on the net as it is amazing I think.
Here's just some.

 

 

And finally, a little quilted table mat which I made for the top of a wooden box.

It stops all the mug marks and the other mat needs a wash.

Any excuse to make a quick and easy quilt!
 

A pair of Pot Holders

 

I have made another pot holder using the string quilt block tutorial mentioned here.

This time I quilted it with a spiral pattern.

  

 

While I was outside getting some photos I picked the first of the broad beans, a few sweet peas and found an egg.

 

I love summer!

Tulips in June

 

These beauties are flowering their little hearts out at the moment.

 

The garden is just bursting into life all over with new flowers opening each day.
 

I nearly pulled these 'last years' wallflowers out earlier in the year but decided to leave them dangling over the edge of the raised bed and I am so glad I did.
 The flowers are much better than last year and smell gorgeous.

Hardy geraniums are one of my favourites for filling in gaps and covering the ground so the weeds don't. They are so easy to look after with a couple of major haircuts each year being about all they require. I am hopeless on their different names and must get my book out!

 

The veins in the petals, and the stigma and stamens (a little biology revision going on in this house at the moment!!) are so detailed.

And finally, the first of our summer produce...hooray.

Some salad leaves and four lovely radishes!

In the past I have tried to grow radishes outside and failed miserably as they always seem to get nibbled by something or other.
 So this time I sewed them in an old plastic window box in the greenhouse and they are fab.
 I shall definitely use that method again.

Happy weekend.

 

Gloves and gardening

I had some leftover bits of yarn from the ripple blanket and wanted to make some fingerless gloves.

I tried a pattern where they were crocheted in the round but I couldn't get them to fit very well.

 Then I went back to the lovely Attic24 and looked at Lucy's idea of two simple rectangles and decided that was more my style.

And here they are..
 

Photos courtesy of the boy as I couldn't work out how else to do it!

 

We had a busy gardening weekend here..
 

 

Broad beans are in.
 

 

As are the potatoes.
 

 

Tomatoes and antirrhinum coming along.
 

 

Sweet peas nearly ready for outside.
 

 

Magnolia a bit weather beaten but still beautiful.

 

 

And a pot full of promise!

Some home grown veg and an Elf

 

 

It has been a difficult year for veg here in the south west of England and I don't think it's just me!

Lots of things were a complete flop but this weekend I picked the corn expecting it to be empty and was excited to find these lovely yellow gems.

 

 

And thanks to my father in law who took pity on my neglected greenhouse, we also have a late and plentifull crop of cherry toms too.

 

 

 

The book I spoke of was Crafting Springtime Gifts. I know it isn't springtime but the options of patterns looked better than in the christmas one and I loved the bunnies.

 I will be doing one of them soon, but this is the beginnings of an elf!

Cherry Blossom Cushion

The cushion is finished.

Not a great photo but I was dodging the torrential rain we have had on and off all day.

The reverse was a rather lovely pink shirt that matches the cherry blossom from our neighbour's tree.

 (I was hoping that it didn't fall off the fence into their garden at this point!).

Lucky that I got the potatoes in last weekend so they will be well watered.

(Old bed frame and sticks to keep the chickens from scrawping them up).

Broad beans in too and they are protected by the old chicken run.

We didn't like keeping the chickens in a confined space so decided the veg could go in instead!!