Wisteria, Wildflowers and Weeds

I went out for a few hours today. The wisteria at Shugborough Hall was calling and it didn't disappoint. We enjoyed our picnic of onion bhaji baguettes and savoured the midweek quiet of a National Trust property. The mansion wasn't open but we were very happy walking in the vast grounds. As well as wisteria there were bluebells, cow parsley, forget-me-nots, alliums, azaleas, late daffodils, tulips and green alkanet. 

To be honest, I had to look up the name of this plant. I thought it was a weed and many would agree but it looked stunning in the walled garden's borders amongst forget-me-nots and mountain cornflowers. 

Most of the grass at Shugborough was left unmown and just tidied up at the edges. The buttercups and dandelions looked beautiful in the long grass especially in the sunshine. Parts of my city's public spaces are being left unmown. I like these little steps towards rewilding. Do you like the naturalised look? When is a weed not a weed? 

A mini-break at Rowthorne Lodge, Derbyshire

Just a week ago we headed off on a mini-break to celebrate our wedding anniversary, the end of term, retiring from teaching and the fact that it's summer and with the easing of lockdown we're now allowed to go on holiday. I was as excited as Bridget Jones and the fact that we were the property's first occupants since March felt quite special. We chose to venture just an hour away to Derbyshire to a beautiful one bedroomed lodge in the grounds of Hardwick Hall which is owned by the National trust. It was a beautiful property. Let me show you around...

The clutter free and spotless interior was perfect for unwinding and the 2,500 acre estate gave us plenty of scope for exercise and exploring. For anyone who's not visited before, Hardwick Hall is an Elizabethan country house and was first built by Bess of Hardwick (see a statue of her below), a noblewoman and ambitious builder. The hall was eminently impressive  and it was such a shame that due to Covid we couldn't go inside and get to look out at the estate from the magnificent windows for which it's famous.

However, the gardens near the house were a source of pure joy for me. Such great planting involving gorgeous and unusual plants and artistically thought out colour schemes. These are just a few of the vistas that caught my eye. Boy, have I got so many planting ideas to try in my tiny garden and in our community garden. 

I've had trouble putting this post together as it's been so long since I blogged at length but really these photos are wasted sitting on my phone. Just a few more to go, I promise. 

Can you tell, we had a truly relaxing break. It wasn't perfect as we had quite mixed weather and a power failure on our last day which was time consuming to remedy but we had lots of time to enjoy reading, walking, eating simple but delicious food and a blessing... no wi fi to distract us. Just a few more photos and I think I'll have recorded enough memories of a wonderful four night break.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Take care, my friends xo

Tiny garden tour 2020

Hello there. I hope you're well and configuring your way around coronavirus. To be honest, I think my coping mechanisms are all over the place and my ability to cope changes hourly with my moods. Today I offer you an antidote, an escape, a little peep into another life - it's not a makeover perfect project just a space, a moment in history to be shared, a time when the hum of bees and the twitter of birds were more inspiring than social media, daily government briefings and the dos and don'ts of lockdown. At times lockdown has been exhausting, overwhelming and frustrating but just occasionally don't you think you're being gifted a wonderful opportunity to take stock, be authentic, still and slow down. Isn't this the way to live? Just add in your extras (mines's a takeaway soya caramel latte).

We did a 'makeover' of our tiny garden in 2014 - see it here. It's now a much more 'lived-in' space but it's giving us so much pleasure and purpose in these turbulent times. It provides us with invaluable outside space and a chance to be still, creative, nurturing and productive.

We all need escapism right now and probably will do for the foreseeable future. Whatever it takes: quiz nights, family zooming or the voyeurism of Marianne and Connell from 'Normal People' - a BBC Three series which I'm eeking out as long as I can.

I hope you enjoy my tiny garden tour and it gives you that feeling of being somewhere else.

Sending you my best wishes and love xo

Half-term Plans

I love this time of year when the leaves are at their most vibrant but I also feel a little bit sad that British Summer Time (BST) is about to end (reminder: clocks turn back next weekend). So, these last days of longer daylight hours are precious. I've decided I need a list and I need to be accountable. Here goes... a list of things that I'd like to achieve, as well as jobs that need to be done and I've also thrown in a few fun ideas too.

• Get going with a new community garden initiative that we're involved in, to revive a disused allotment site (more posts on this to follow). I've got 200 leaflets to distribute around our neighbourhood to publicise an open afternoon next weekend. We should be proud allotment owners soon.
• Visit our youngest son in Reading for the first time since we dropped him off. I can't wait to see him. We're taking Mum and also dropping in on my brother-in-law and partner who live in nearby Wokingham. I'm looking forward to some quality family time.
• Do some more painting in our hall; the walls are very marked, painted magnolia and are screaming out for some fresh white paint.
• Tidy our tiny garden, empty some summer pots and plant a few more bulbs (I've already planted some tete-a-tete bulbs).
• Hang some fairy lights in the kitchen for some winter hygge. 
• Resist the urge to have my haircut. I'm finding my pixie crop too expensive to maintain. 
• Finish reading Inside Vogue: My Diary of Vogue's 100th Year by Alexandra Shulman. I've really enjoyed this book so far.
• Visit Lyme Regis. We've got a two night stay in an airbnb.
• Read Persuasion - it's partly set in Lyme Regis.
• Choose, carve and light a pumpkin, then find a feel good film to watch for an early Halloween movie night.
• Get outside more: walk rather than drive; go for a short run; walk through the woods; listen to the sea; kick some leaves; sit on a bench with a beautiful view; watch squirrels scrabble about; do some digging in the garden; and throw some leaves into the air. 

Have a great week xo

RHS Chatsworth Flower Show in Photos

My favourite sights from RHS Chatsworth 2017 - love and peace Claire xo