July 2023

As the 2022 film title says: Everything everywhere all at once! That is how it feels here just now, as every time I set foot in the garden I see another job (or ten) to attended to; the fullness and exuberance of all the flowers and vegetables in the July garden never cease to amaze me. I am making pesto this year for the first time as the basil has grown so large and leafy it seems a pity not to save some for future eating. Weather still very mixed up here on the east coast with cool days of cloud and wind followed the next week by brilliant sunshine and intense heat; a variety of clothes kept handy for what the forecasters term ‘changeable’ weather!

As usual in July I am preparing framed works for an art exhibition in the nearby village of Grainthorpe over the Bank Holiday weekend. It is a lovely festival, do come along if you are in the area. www.grainthorpeartsfestival.co.uk

July is also the month I begin to design and stitch for Christmas!

June 2023

It is so wonderful to see the flowers appearing everywhere! We have a rather untidy rambling Cottage Garden here which is the inspiration for much of my work. It is home to many different birds and bees, with wild places full of cow parsley and buttercups, the borders packed with traditional perennials and annuals, and lots of weeds! We do have some tidy places; the vegetable garden with its raised beds of strawberries, courgettes, leeks and squashes etc., is more or less under control!

My husband’s father used to breed irises and knew Cedric Morris the artist and plantsman who set up an art school at Benton End in Suffolk. Cedric was a fellow iris breeder and my husband grows some of Cedric’s beautiful old varieties, remembering his visits as a boy, with his father, to Benton End many years ago. Cedric named two of his irises after his cats, ‘Benton Menace’ and ‘Benton Baggage’! Interesting to see a Chelsea garden this year featuring Cedric Morris Irises.

Photo of some of ours flowering here now, not all Morris.

May 2023

The blossom has taken a while to open here this year as the cold weather held it back, but at last the apple, pear, cherry and quince are out, each in their own colour and form. Stiff sea breezes up here on the east coast marshes bring showers of petals down, but I am happy to say that there are many bees, of all kinds, busily at work even on dull days. As Shakespeare wrote ‘Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May’.

You may notice that I am gradually introducing a few slightly larger cards, which are labelled as such; the price structure is a little different for these due to the adjustments needed to post them, given the size/thickness restrictions and price increases introduced by Royal Mail in April. (All the card prices include 1st class postage). I am making them available as singles, duos, trios and the popular six card selections. The unit price of each card reduces the more cards there are in the bundle.

The birds I have fed throughout the winter are now nesting around our cottage garden once more, including several new visitors. A Reed Bunting, previously unknown to me despite being classed ‘common’ and a charming pair of Pied Wagtails bob around the pond most days. These little creatures always lift my spirits with their fluttering wings and joyful songs!