Chelsea Flower Show

I'm tempted to start off by saying I can't believe it is Chelsea Flower Show time again, but of course another year has flown by. Tony's a very long suffering husband as I like to tune in each evening to enjoy the delights of the gardens with Alan and the team. When I was at college I went to the show each year and it was amazing, very busy even though it was members day. Now I enjoy watching the show on TV, but I do miss the experience of being there. I love looking for ideas for our little garden which has evolved over the years. We moved in 2000 and inherited a garden paved from wall to wall with crazy paving. I attacked the edges and softened it with plants, but we weren't really happy with it. So in 2003 I designed the garden and we employed a local landscaper to do the hard landscaping. I then laid the lawn and planted up the flowerbeds. Finally six years later the garden looks lovely.

We have learnt lessons along the way about what will and won't grow in our little garden. It has sandy soil which is lovely to work with, but you must remember to pour in lots of mulch/ peat free compost. My parents garden always had thick London clay that was too wet for working in the winter and too dry and hard in the summer. Our garden catches the early morning sun, but by lunchtime/early afternoon in the summer the sun has disappeared behind the house on the right so it is quite shady. During the winter, sun hardly touches the garden at all. So it is more like a woodland garden without the trees. Happy gardening Jane x

Crafty Mojo Has Returned

I'm so pleased that my crafting mojo has come back, as I was beginning to wonder when I would feeling like picking up the needles again. This time though it is the cross stitch needle that appealed so I returned to an old friend - my poppy picture. It is a beautiful pattern from Cross stitcher Magazine issue 204. Yesterday Em and I went to Horsham and discovered that the English festival was on in the Carfax (square) there was a food fair and morris dancing. Lots of local groups from Sussex and 1 group from Surrey came to dance, some were all male groups others were all female and there were a group of scottish dancers, they were all very good. I didn't have my camera with me so these shots are taken with my mobile phone, 3.2mp. Tony has gone to Dubai on a business trip, and I'm missing him very much. He will be back at the end of the week. I hope you have a good week. Jane x