spain 2 ... gardening

we set out to buy a lemon tree and were distracted by the dahlias and the giant cacti at the garden shop. We have a cactus in the garden which very occasionally flowers in the dark to attract the moths and night insects - quite spooky but very beautiful.

diamond planter

I found this fashionably faceted white planter in a local secondhand shop, here it is on our balcony containing a fab hole-free hosta (the snails haven't found a way up there yet). The planter was originally from Habitat, first brought out a few years ago in the '90s which just shows how on trend Habitat was, I really miss it from our high streets. The planter is on sale on the Habitat Website but seems to be out of stock.

p.s. I seem to be over-using the phrase 'on trend' it's really annoying! my excuse is having a daughter in the PR biz where being on trend is all important!

weeds

this flower is amazing!

It was all about wild flowers at last weeks Chelsea Flower Show, weeds to you and me which makes our garden bang on trend with not a great deal of effort. I would say that I am very much an accidental gardener and our little square is rampaging with comfrey, herb robert, fennel, mint, oxeye daises, figwort, foxgloves and iris, most found there own way here and spread themselves around at the expense of any new plants I introduce so I don't bother anymore. Our allotment is less successful, I have to say we are rather half hearted vegetable growers and we were shamed into giving half the plot back this year and so with less space to tame we have no excuse. However, at the moment it's a rather nice place to drink tea from a flask, eat cake and grow tasty snacks for the local wild life, must try harder..

rushing the seasons

I have to keep pinching my self to remind me that it is not summer yet, it is only MARCH!

lounging

After a weekend of weirdly warm February weather I am dreaming of lounging in the garden. And here's the chair to do it in - Hogsten in retro woven plastic from Ikea - it's the one for me... and this is the fabric for the cushion, Toccata designed in the '50s by Robert Tierney for David Whitehead, trendy triangles a go-go!

that didn't last long

amazing! the sun came out and melted the snow, our local fox is enjoying a sunbathe

flower show

Oh how we love our gardening and the British weather! At last we have had proper rain here in London which is all good for the garden and our sadly neglected allotment. Our skinny sixties house has various ledges and flat bits, one of which is the balcony and I have to say it is looking pretty spot-on at the moment. I am awarding myself a gold medal in the tiny urban balcony category (sponsored by Ikea!)

handy book

My sister gave me this little Penguin book on my birthday, full of handy advice to make me feel guilty. My allottment is looking very neglected at the moment, I still have giant courgettes and I have not been diligently filling up cold frames with seedlings like this lady. So I am unlikely to get 2' 6"(!) carrots next year. I do have a bumper crop of quinces again so I might make some membrillo, although last year it involved about five hours of stirring so maybe it will be jelly this time.

aren't flowers brilliant?

I have a temporary problem with my camera so no pictures of open studios yet. But here are some I took earlier! Spring in my garden - new buds on my quince tree all curled up ready to burst, raindrops (lots of these at the moment) and amazing velvety tulips. 

sunny day

The sun's out in my small back garden - a great day for drying, so I'm printing today. Cushion covers and aprons for a wholesale order. All available in my shop.