Hopeful Signs of Spring

Here in England's north west corner the sun greets us today from a clear blue sky. The birds are singing and busily building their nests and you can almost hear the flowers opening in order to turn their faces to the sun.

Around the garden the daffodils are putting in a later appearance than usual due to the prolonged snow that lasted throughout January.

Winter flowering heathers create cheerful purple carpets.

Camellias are a great substitute for roses which won't be here for another six or eight weeks.

The early azaleas have been in flower for a couple of weeks and will soon be joined by their many later flowering companions.

This hellebore is 'Winter Moonbeam' which we planted last March when it was very small and had just two blooms. Just look at it now. I can definitely recommend this variety.

Peering around the old crab apple tree I see daughter and hubby having an in depth discussion....time to investigate.

The wheel barrow is loaded with tools which means there is a 'man at work!'

This little project was started last summer. The gateway will lead through to the area where hubby chops logs and stores wood of all shapes and sizes
The inspiration came from a wonderful garden we visited last July. We both loved how the owners had used cut logs to create this wall and arch.

I fear ours won't look anything like this but we will hopefully have a loggy sort of wall and a gate that will screen the log chopping area....I'll keep you posted on progress.
Hoping you all had an enjoyable Easter.
Until next time
Eli.

Little Pots of Colour

I love having flowering plants on my kitchen window sill throughout the year. This is the grape hyacinth I showed you a couple of weeks ago and as you can see it's just beginning to fade. So I now need to consider what will take its place.

I recently found a really nice book on container gardening which contains some great ideas that are definitely going to get used for future window sill colour.

I love the idea of using odd cups and mugs for herbs. The cup could stand on a saucer if you decided to drill holes in the bottom (special 'glass/china' drill bit needed). If, like me, that presents too much hassle then just plonk the plant in the cup, fill with compost and give it small amounts of water daily.

Here's something else I have plenty of.....old plates! The blue and white teamed with snowy white looks so summery don't you think?

I'd never considered using vintage style tins. Drilling holes in these for drainage would be easy enough.

And here's a novel idea for a party..... Tiny flowering plants in tiny containers, gorgeously wrapped in pink paper (or fabric) and tied with a satin bow. Don't they look pretty on the glass plate as an alternative to cupcakes (not as yummy though).

And here's the book I used for the photos. It contains loads of creative ways for using every-day items as containers for plants and is full of pictures which are bound to tempt you to try some of them.
I'm off now to sort through my old cups and mugs.
Until next time,
Eli

Lovely lavender

Who couldn't love lavender. It sings of summer days.

This little scene was created by my daughter last July. Whenever I ask her what she'd like as a gift for her birthday her reply is always accompanied by a sweet image. She popped into her garden with this little dolly, sat her amongst the lavender flowers and 'snapped'.
And so, dreaming of summer days ahead I have spent the week thinking of the colour lavender and all my favourite flowers in shades of mauve and purple.

Sweet smelling lilac has to be my all time favourite.

With refreshments served in my purple pansy mug and something sweet to eat in shiny purple wrappers, I've been busy creating the pattern for a new little character to put in my Etsy shop. She is of course dressed in shades of lavender.

Her name is Lucy Lavender and she's a bit of a rascal as you can probably see from her cheeky smile. She comes with a little rabbit who is holding a tiny carrot. I hope the pair don't cause too much trouble round here!

Harebell fairies

Greetings friends. I've been busy stitching this week.

My little project was inspired by some pretty blue harebells that I found dancing in the summer breeze.

These delicate wild flowers found their way into our garden some time ago and seem to like it here as they pop up every year on the edge of the lawn. They always remind me of my childhood days and my endless search for fairies who are supposed to ring the tiny bells on warm summer evenings.

Sadly I've never seen (or heard) any evidence of little folk ringing the bells but content myself with this lovely picture of a harebell fairy painted by Cicely Mary Barker. It comes from her much loved book 'Flower Fairies of the Summer'.

Unfortunately our pretty patch of harebells was hit hard by rain on Sunday. These delicate blooms on slender stalks were no match for the torrential downpour that we had.

Happily when the sun came out the following day a few hardy bells looked ready to chime again.

With no fairies to be found in the harebell patch I decided to make a blue fairy baby and she's a real little character.

She is usually very well behaved and plays happily with her tiny brass bell.

But occasionally she gets into mischief.

Recently she dropped her bell onto this cup and was determined to retrieve it.

Eventually she reached her bell but then found she was stuck inside the cup!

I rescued her of course and now that she has been reunited with her little bell she seems quite content.

The rain has returned and the wet garden is not inviting so I will probably stay indoors and make another fairy or two.

Green shady places

After last week's colourful 'rosie post' I thought I'd take you to some of the shadier parts of our garden. Neglected corners where ferns and brambles thrive.

Let's follow this little path and see where it leads.

 

We could leave the garden by this little 'secret gate' in the hedge. But we won't, we'll head for the far corner of our patch.

This is my husband's domain. It's where weeds and hedge clippings that aren't suitable for composting are piled high ready for burning. As an ex-Boy Scout my husband really enjoys having bonfires (the bigger the better!) The large logs are from a larch tree he felled and I'm not sure if this arrangement is meant to be an artistic 'log-man sculpture', a chopping block or a seat. It probably serves as all three.

We are surrounded on all sides by woodland. As you can see it is quite dense at this time of year but lovely in all seasons. We enjoy watching roe deer, badger, fox and rabbit in the wood but not in the garden as they can wreak havoc. Deer and rabbit eat anything and everything; badgers dig up the lawn looking for worms and the fox raids the dustbin....complete chaos! Most of the time we manage to keep them out thanks to a high fence.

Back to our garden and this is a safe refuge for small mammals and birds. What a perfect reason for not moving this tangle of fallen branches interlaced with brambles. I guess it could be home to a great many different creatures so we are happy to leave it undisturbed.

But who's this little fellow? He's certainly not one of the creatures I was expecting to see! I wonder where he's going with his bundle of feathers? Let's follow him.

I think he's disappeared up these old stone steps and is hiding in the shadows. We'll creep up very quietly and see if we can find him.

Ssh! Don't make a sound. He's sitting over there. I wonder what he's up to?

He seems to be busy stuffing his soft downy feathers into a cotton bag. I do believe he's making a pillow.

Oh dear! He must have spotted us. His little stone seat is empty and he's left one of his feathers behind. Did you see which way he went?

Perhaps we should leave him in his shady green home and head back into the warm sunlight where the flowers bloom. We'll return again later in the summer and see if the little fellow is anywhere to be seen.
This little hobbity fellow is the same size as my Midsummer fairies and measures just 4 -5 inches (10cm - 12cm)

Midsummer fairies

The sun might not be an enthusiastic visitor but it's midsummer and so time to look for fairies in the garden...

....sweeping their tiny pathways

....collecting freshly laid eggs

and gathering honey for tea.

And when their work is done you might see them having fun making daisy chains.

Inspiration from Japan

If you read my last post you might be wondering if I managed to finish the 'little something' I was knitting in clematis coloured wool. Well, yes I did and you'll find out just what it was if you continue reading! But first......

These little cuties come from Japan and are known as kokeshi dolls. The first kokeshis were made in the Tohoku region of Northern Japan in the 19th century. Crafted from turned wood they were just a basic head and body with hand painted decoration (you'll see some examples if you follow the link above). Today they are made in all sizes and colours but their shapes have remained fairly simple.

These cute little ladies always make me smile so I decided to try and knit a little kokeshi style character of my own. And here she is, welcoming visitors to her Japanese garden.

She stands just 6 ins (15cm) tall and is very demure don't you think? You will find knitting instructions at the end of this post.

She and I share a passion for Japanese gardens and we'd like to invite you to take a little stroll with us through the garden that we have put together using pictures from various books.

In we go through a little bamboo gate and up a crunchy gravel path beside a deliciously cool trickling waterfall. 

On towards a peaceful pool where cranes wade beside a little island topped by an ornate stone lantern.

Crossing the wooden bridge we can stop and watch the brightly coloured carp basking in the sunshine.

And finally we arrive at the pavilion. How about some tea, Japanese style?

Tea for two  

In springtime you'll be dazzled by the many coloured azaleas and rhododendrons.

Clematis scrambles

Wisteria dangles

and tall primulas sway in the breeze at the water's edge.

And just look at that pink cherry blossom admiring its own reflection. Who can blame it!

Thank you for taking the time to walk with us through our make believe Japanese garden. We hope you enjoyed your visit. Please call again soon.

Kokeshi doll pattern:
If you'd like to knit a little Japanese style doll like this it is an easy pattern to follow. The basic shape is a tube 54 rows long. I used DK yarn and knitted in stocking stitch.
Using 2.75 mm (US size 2) needles cast on 26 stitches. Knit 10 rows khaki, 5 magenta, 1 black, 11 magenta, 3 black, 6 magenta, 18 flesh colour. Finally knit 2 tog and take off remaining stitches onto a length of yarn ready for drawing up.

To form a tube gather the base of the doll and then stitch the back seam leaving the top open for stuffing. Using a suitable fibre fill, stuff the body firmly (but not so firmly that the stitches are stretched too much). Run a length of flesh coloured yarn through the stitches at the point where the face meets the dress and draw up to form the neck. Secure tightly. Stuff the remaining head then draw up the top and fasten securely. You now have your basic tube (with a neck).
The sleeves - Cast on 12 stitches in khaki, change to magenta and knit 14 rows. DON'T FORGET as you knit these rows you need to shape the bottom edge of each sleeve so decrease one stitch at the end of alternate rows (6 times). Cast off remaining 6 stitches. Knit a second sleeve making sure the shaping is on the opposite edge.
The arms and hands (both identical) - Cast on 5 stitches. Knit 8 rows. Knit 2 tog across the final row and take stitches off onto yarn. Draw up to form the bottom, finger end. Stitch arm/hands flat to the body (tuck edges in a little bit before stitching down to make the arms look more real). Position the sleeves over the arms leaving just the hands protruding.Tuck the sleeve edges under and stitch down.
To give the impression of a wrap-over dress use black stitches around the neck (see photo). I've used lazy daisy stitch for flower decoration round the hem.
The hair is done with long stitches of black yarn which completely cover the flesh coloured head beneath. I popped a little black top-knot on and held it with yarn to match the flowers.
You might prefer to use sewing thread for the features as it is much finer than yarn and will give better results (I used two strands together). The eyes are a single straight stitches in black and the mouth 'v' shaped straight stitches in red. Blushing cheeks are achieved with red pencil crayon.... You now have your own little kokeshi doll and all she needs is her own Japanese style garden!