April 2011

Good to have you visit with me again in The Garden.

I think we will sit in the conservatory this morning the sun is just streaming in, it is so wonderful to feel the warmth after such a cold winter. I have the kettle on and some little iced biscuits, but remember we must not over indulge , me especially as I have not been working in the garden so much, just sitting in doors munching.

Well, Spring is here at last and it does seem to be in a hurry this year, the crab apple is already in bud and also the fruit trees.

Here is a photo of the willow catkins, or lambs tails as my mother used to call them, she was a country woman and knew every wild flower by their old country names, she loved all nature and her garden, and was my inspiration from an early age.

I had my own little piece of garden and the plants there were in my charge, if I forgot to water them and they died mother would say you have to be responsible, give them a little care and you will be rewarded with so much beauty, and as I look around the garden today the beauty just takes my breath away.

I checked out the herbs after the winter and just look at this monster, it’s the parsley how great is this.

Also I think that this flower is really confused, it is of course an antirrhinum, when I emptied the summer bedding from the tubs, some were still fine so I planted them in the garden, and as you can see have been well rewarded.

Also, some silver foliage plants, which I cannot remember the name of and of course have lost the label, they seem to think that it is already summer.

The bluebells are coming through in the wood, not long now before they flower, they have to hurry before the trees get their leaves.

At the moment you can get into the bog, it does not look half as mysterious as it does in the summer, you can even see the stream. My better half and I have one or two projects this summer, well I have the ideas and he makes them work , how lucky am I. So watch this space.

Oh you have to leave, well thank you again for coming, be safe until your next visit with me in The Garden.

Your green fingered friend,

Tina

Published in Creative Crafting April 2011

February 2011

I hope that you all had a great Christmas and New Year. The white stuff that came down was very seasonal. if a little cold. Now, it’s nice and warm in here, the kettle is on for a good warm cup of tea. Maybe today a nice shortbread biscuit, but remember we must not over indulge.

I am so pleased that you took the time to come and join me again in The Garden. It is a little grey and wet today and the Garden is still enjoying its winter sleep, so there is not much going on yet so I thought you may all like a little Sunshine. I would love to share with you a trip which my

better half and I took in October to a most wonderful and unusual garden. The Magnolia Plantation and Gardens are just outside Charleston in South Carolina U.S.A.

In the past it was an old rice plantation, but the rice fields have long since been claimed by the natural plants. The main bushes were Camellias , they were smaller flowers than the ones we have in the garden and of course were flowering at a different time of year, but they were such delicate blossoms.

The house was beautiful but not as I expected, as thinking plantation I expected to see something of the style of Tara from Gone with the Wind. But not so, although it did have its own beauty. As it says on the plaque there have been three houses on the site over the years. The first house 1680-1811 burned down, the second 1811-1805 was burned down by General Sherman’s troops, and the third house has been altered in 4 phases to make it as it is today.

We then toured what was my very favourite part which was the Swamp Gardens. There was much more water of course than our bog but I checked to see if my better half was making notes for the future. It would be just great to have something like this, if on a smaller, drier scale. However there were some residents which I would not welcome in the bog, no thanks!

Here is a beautiful photo of the bridge over the lake. the Spanish moss is just wonderful like silver cobwebs, we were told that it does not harm the trees at all, they live in perfect harmony.

Another special feature is the large river that runs through the property. This was used in days gone by to take the rice by paddle steamer into Charleston. You can see from the photo just how tranquil it looks on such a beautiful day.

What about this gazebo? I did draw the attention of my better half to this, maybe he could knock one up for me in his spare time, not that he manages to get much as I always have the projects lined up.

I have not written so much this time. More photos are better than my ramblings and there will be so much next time as Spring will really be with us and lots should be happening in The Garden.

Now, I will clear away the empty cups and send you out again into the dull wet weather, but I hope you will take with you a little sunshine from the photos of Magnolia Plantation.

I am looking forward to visiting with you all again in the next issue, and sharing with you the

awakening of Spring in The Garden.

Your green fingered friend,

Tina

Published in Creative Crafting February 2011

December 2011

Well it’s so good to meet with you all again. Thank you for taking the time as I know you are all very busy preparing for Christmas.

Sit down, well just anywhere, oh that’s great yes just squeeze over a tad, wonderful.

The kettle is singing, and I have some lovely cake, well just a little slice, remember we must not over indulge, well not until Christmas anyway.

The garden is dressed for Christmas with the sparkling red berries of the holly, and the ivy trailing with glossy green leaves and deep black berries. The trees just look wonderful after the rain, shinning with all the rain drops, we could never decorate a tree so perfectly.

Here are some photos of the last roses to bloom, it has been very good year for them.

Most of the bedding plants have been removed from the pots, but some are still blooming and I do not have the heart to throw them on the compost heap, so am still enjoying them.

The empty pots are all planted with the spring bulbs, and wallflowers, don’t you just adore their scent, and tucked up warm under the fallen leaves just waiting for spring.

As this is after all a crafting magazine, and I am just an interloper I thought that maybe I should share with you some of my Christmas present ideas. Now do remember as I said I am a gardener not a crafter, bear with me please.

When I visit any garden centre I always make for the reduced plant section, almost all of these poor things need is a little TLC and mostly just some water, but be warned some really are dead so check them well.

As soon as you get the plant home stand it in a container of water, in the shade until the soil is moist.

Some, as the one on my photo are made up of a number of small individual plants which makes them easy to divide, if you try to divide one big root sometimes it works, but I prefer the easy way.

As you can see from the photos it is very easy, just pot up the small plants with some compost, top with a little gravel and stand in a container of water again until the compost is moist, remove and that’s it, but do not forget to keep an eye on them as with all plants keep them moist but not wet.

The Basil; I bought it from the supermarket, in a bag, to use for cooking; if you put it in a small pot as you would flowers, keep the water topped up in a cool place it will make roots in a couple of weeks, but keep an eye on it as some may rot.

When the roots are formed just pot up in compost, top with a little gravel, then it can be displayed in any container you wish.

I just used a coffee cup I had in the cupboard.

The other two ideas are even easier, the little teapot was picked up from a boot sale and the cup and saucer was left from a set, yes the other one had an accident. Any plant can be used for these provided of course they are in a very small pot.

Just put the small pot into the teapot or the cup, finish with a little gravel and your done. Also the plants can be changed so easily in just a minute.

The herbs in the mugs are easy too, just a little compost and top with gravel. These however are not so easy to change the plants and the watering also has to be watched more as there is no drainage in the mugs.

Well those are some of my present ideas, I have packaged them for Christmas, and yes I know my package ideas are rubbish so I will not dwell on those, but I can just imagine what some of you could come up with in the way of packaging.

I hope these ideas are of interest to you, I just hope that I get the photos in the right order, but then again my dear friend The Crystal Lady bless her will sort them out, what would I do without her.

Well the rain is still coming down gently outside , we have finished our tea and our slice of cake, yes just the one, so I will say goodbye to you all, have a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to meeting with you all again in the New Year.

Your green fingered friend,

Tina

Published in Creative Crafting December 2010

October 2010

You have picked a beautiful day today to visit The Garden.

Shall we go and sit under the pergola, the sweet peas have almost reached the top and the smell is wonderful. The sun is filtering through, just the perfect place to relax. I have made the tea so sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I will fetch the biscuits, they are special, my friend and neighbour brought them back from holiday for me and they really are very habit forming, but remember we must not over indulge.

First of all, the magazine will be one year old with this issue. My how time flies when you are having fun. I would like to thank our two very hard working lady editors as without them there would never have been a magazine, and all of the talented crafters who have taken time to share their wonderful ideas with us.

You may remember last time we visited together, I shared with you all a photo of a very sporty

caterpillar which I found in The Garden. Well, it was The Mullein Shargacucullia Verbasci, my goodness what a mouthful, and I would like to thank you Michelle (from Socklings) for taking the time to research this for us, it is very much appreciated.

Well, there is no stopping me now! Here is not one, but two photos which fit in rather well as it will soon be Halloween. They may well be toadstools I am not sure, perhaps someone could enlighten me. One of them has a piece bitten out but I guess that will remain a mystery, who knows what creatures abound in the wood.

We have had a wonderful summer in The Garden, it was a little dry and I had to do a little more watering, but we got to sit and enjoy the beauty of the hot sun on the patio with the bright summer bedding and the cool shade under the trees with the soft greens and pastel colours of the woodland plants.

It has also proved a bountiful harvest, if I try to show you photos of everything The Garden has produced there would be no room for my writing, well yes it may be a better idea, I do go on a bit sometimes.

The apples and pears and crab apple trees are full, as you see they do their own thing in the borders and seem to enjoy the companionship of the other plants. The mulberry too is full of fruit it is a beautiful old tree, how old I do not know as it was here when we arrived. The leaves are such a lovely shape, it is just so graceful. I do not get to all of the mulberries as Mr Blackbird can reach them better than I can, but I do not mind as he has produced two families this year so I think he deserves them.

Some of the raspberries have already produced this year but the autumn ones will be ripe soon, the grapes also have really done well. On the patio we had tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers,

peppers and lots of salad greens. Although we have a large garden salad crops do not do well, because of the slugs and snails. Well, I know they have to live somewhere so I leave them to it

and grow my salad crops in pots on the patio. That also is their hunting ground but I put used coffee grounds around the soil in the pot and around the base on the patio. It does work, maybe they object to it under their feet, I do not know, coffee grounds for the patio I can

manage but for the main garden no thanks.

The wild plants are producing their berries, the Hawthorn, the wild rose, and of course the blackberry, I do love blackberry and apple pie don’t you? Another fascinating plant to me is the wild hop, with those delicate green flowers it just clambers over everything, and then turns to a rich russet brown which is the real colour of the Autumn.

Well we have finished our tea, and left some of the biscuits, we have been good, so I will thank you again for your time and look forward to your next visit with me in The Garden.

Your green fingered friend,

Tina

Published in Creative Crafting Magazine October 2010