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

Sunny Side Up

This summer.... 

I'm sure we'll remember this summer for years to come. I mean, we don't often get summers like this in the UK, do we? I think it helps to have some photos as a record. I still have snow scenes on my phone from March and they're a little reality check. So how are you? Life is full on here. Both boys are back home on summer breaks, from uni and teaching in China. A full house, that's a nice feeling. Mum's been quite ill recently; she's declined since my last blog post although I've been concerned about her for the last year. Anyway, I'm adjusting to the new normal we're now facing and the difficulties of caring for a loved one with mental illness. These photos show some simple pleasures and highlights of the summer so far. I hope you like them.

• Leamington Spa at the beginning of May
• Fresh juicy blueberries (on a cake)
• Growing seeds in our tiny garden 
• Tin Man - best read of the year so far - and the start of my sunflower obsession
• Bearded Theory festival, so pretty at night (it was hot)
• My cutting flower plot at the community garden
• Sweet pea wigwam at the community garden
• A pastel themed pallet planter
• A solstice gathering at the community garden
• Dreamy dahlias
• Renewing our National Trust membership 
• Growing purple radishes (hot, hot, hot)
• Eating outside in the garden
• Berries on porridge