A secret world

For some time I've been looking for a bell that I can ring to call hubby in from the garden. We have rather a sprawling plot and finding him when needed often requires quite a hike around his various hiding places (bonfire, shed, garage etc). Anyway, last week I discovered this beauty which makes an ear piercing sound when rung and hubby is able to hear it wherever he is working around the garden. He's attached it on the pergola beside the study door so whatever the weather I'm able to ring it furiously without having to walk very far.

This morning he's been mowing this strip across the lawn.

We let the grass grow long here until July so that the wild orchids can flower and set seed. We discovered one solitary orchid about 15 years ago and now we have about sixty.

Long grass in the garden always makes me think of the poem by Robert Louis Stevenson entitled 'The Dumb Soldier'. Its about a little boy who places his tiny toy soldier in long grass and forgets about him. There the solder lies watching bees and beetles as the grass grows ever longer. Then one day the grass is cut and the boy finds his soldier again and wonders what adventures he will have had.

This tiny fellow belongs to my son and I couldn't resist using him as an illustration.

When reunited with is pals he couldn't wait to tell them of his adventures.

There are nine little soldiers in total and they live inside a painted wooden egg. Before climbing back into the egg the little adventurer took a final look at the big wide world.

I'm sure he will now keep everyone entertained inside the egg with his tales of 'life in the long grass'.

Until next time

Eli

Woolly memories

Thank you for your interesting comments on my last post. When Deborah at My Mom's Work mentioned how the smell of cherry wood brings back memories of her grandma's lovely home I was immediately transported back to my own granny's house. I used to love opening the door of her oak sideboard which had its own special aroma. Inside I knew I would find numerous knitting patterns to look at. The four dolls' clothes patterns below were part of her collection and date from the 1950s and 60s. Granny knitted endlessly and we often received surprise parcels containing all kinds of goodies, very often clothes for our dolls.

I was only very young when this sweet little Red Riding Hood doll arrived for me. She's a 15cm (6in) Roddy Doll. Her clothes are made from pure wool so inevitably moths have made a few holes in them over the years, but she brings back many happy memories of my childhood so I won't be making her a new outfit at the moment.

Meanwhile, our weather has taken a turn for the worse so the Flutterby Patch dollies are confined to the playroom once again. Fortunately Posy has taken charge and is making numerous trips to the wool shop to pick up yarn for my future knitting projects. The smaller dolls are taking turns to ride in the shopping cart and great fun is being had by all!

I hope the weekend weather will be kind to you in your part of the world.

Until next time

Eli

Cottage love

Raise your hand if you dream of living in a pretty cottage in the country! . . . . . I think I can see a great many hands being raised out there!

It seems many of us bloggers would love to spend our days happily pottering around in a cosy little country dwelling that has 'olde world' features and roses growing round the door.

So, how about this little place? There are roses growing round the door, and joy of joys, there are even hollyhocks peeping in through the windows. . . . . I definitely want it! Just imagine sitting outside in the warm sunshine preparing your home grown summer fruits and vegetables.

I wonder why so many of us dream of such a rural idyll? Could it be a kind of inherited memory that has been passed down through the generations?

Or perhaps we've been influenced by the picture books we had as children. I can well remember wishing I could live in a little house like the one below (from my 'Tufty the Rabbit' book)

It didn't end with books of course, there were lots of other cottagy influences in my life. This little weather house for example (note the roses round the door).

My mum bought this little cottage lamp for my son when he was 2 years old. The cosy red glow lighting up the family of tiny teddies inside successfully lulled him to sleep on many a dark night.

Images of thatched cottages surrounded by pretty flower gardens were extremely popular from late Victorian times right through to the 1950s. This 1930's needlework book has a typical example on the cover and inside there are many more.

 Below is a birthday card that my granny received in the 1950s

I bought this Cottage interiors book about 15 years ago when 'country furniture' was very popular in Britain. Antique tables, chairs, dressers and chests made from dark oak and dating back 300 years were widely sought after and prices rocketed.

At the time old cottages were being snapped up and renovated and dark oak furniture was a must have.

Here are some more pictures from the book. . . .

Oak beams were high on the list of 'wants' as they added character to the cottage and were ideal to festoon with sweet smelling hops and herbs. And of course an inglenook fireplace was another essential feature.

Old baskets were hung from hooks in low ceilinged kitchens and antique dressers groaned under the weight of vintage china.

Tastes have changed quite a bit since then. We still have the dressers and china of course, but dark interiors have grown increasingly lighter and brighter. Brown furniture is often painted. I prefer the lighter look but also love old oak furniture that has a special glow achieved from centuries of waxing.

So I continue to dream of my perfect country cottage.

Would this be it perhaps? The garden is less colourful than my previous choice. The roses round the door have faded and the cabbages are ready for cutting.

These romantic flower-filled images of cottages and cottage dwellers were painted for wealthy town dwelling Victorians. In reality cottage life was very different to the images portrayed. Perhaps the one below would have been closer to the truth.

Many cottages were damp and badly in need of repair. Gardens were small and housed the outside toilet (a hole in the ground) which was next to the pig sty and an ever growing dung heap (many people kept a pig). Laundry was hung on the line to dry in all weathers or draped over any available surface. There was little or no space to grow flowers as a year round supply of vegetables was essential for feeding an ever growing family. Roofs leaked, chimneys smoked and vermin ran around inside the cottage.

We bloggers dream of our perfect cottage retreat (with all mod cons of course) and if we aren't lucky enough to live in one then we can give our homes a 'cottagy look'.

I'd love to tell you I lived in the perfect little country dwelling but I'm afraid I don't so I create little 'cottagy corners'. Our house has thick stone walls and leaded windows which helps with the illusion. My grandma's old chair dates back to the mid 1800s and is a nice place to sit with an early morning cuppa.

I love Victorian oil lamps and candlesticks. This glass lamp belonged to my husband's great grandfather. The chamberstick (a cottage essential) was bought from Ebay.

My old pine dresser is filled with a mish-mash of china, some vintage, some new. The cottage shaped teapot, sugar and cream were my mum's.The dresser has glass doors which I could remove but don't because I hate dusting!!

Here is another corner of 'treasures'. The oak table is early Victorian, the oil lamp is my grandma's and the ink well my great grandma's (she was an avid letter writer). The china Staffordshire figure was bought from an antiques sale (I love Staffordshire figures) and the tea cup and plate are vintage C1936. I hope you'll stay for a cup of tea and a slice of delicious fruit cake (the cake isn't vintage by the way, it was freshly made yesterday).

Until next time

Eli

Garden days at last

Greetings friends. It's been a while since I popped in to say "hello". I'd so looked forward to writing some sunny Maytime posts but the entire month of May was a complete wash-out with cold winds and endless rain, day, after day, after day.

However, June has been kind to us so far and we are all enjoying the sunshine at last.

With endless games of hide and seek around the flower beds there hasn't been much 'real' work going on.

The excuse has been that many of the garden implements are far too large for small people to use.

But thankfully Posy has been lending a hand with a few chores.  

And this afternoon Kate volunteered to take baby Daisy for a walk in her pram.

but Daisy had other ideas . . . . .

. . . . . . . and decided to climb out. . . . .

at which point several others climbed in and pleaded with Kate to push them round the garden.

But the pram was loaded to overflowing and, try as she might, poor Kate was unable to shift it.

Then, when Daisy climbed back in, Kate gave up completely.

She took her little duck for a walk instead as he presented less of a challenge! 

Kate's duck has reminded me to give you an update on the duck's nest we found in April under a clump of heather on our patio.


Mrs Duck laid 13 beautiful eggs at the end of April and we took great care not to disturb her. Four weeks later there should have been 13 baby ducklings but sadly that never happened. The eggs are still in the nest but Mrs Duck has disappeared. We are all very sad and disappointed.

And so ends a sunny June day here at Flutterby Patch. I hope your weekend weather is being kind to you wherever you are.

Until next time

Fairy gardens

You might remember the post I did some time ago about fairies in our garden. They are busy little people as you can see.

And here they are in the meadow making a daisy chain.

I thought of my garden fairies recently when I read a Milly Molly Mandy story about the time she and Billy Blunt made a miniature garden in a dish.

I well remember making these tiny gardens in saucers and dishes when I was young. Our village fete always held a competition for the best miniature garden and these tiny worlds fascinated me.

What a lovely surprise to find a post about a pretty garden made for two tiny pals in the US. Below you can see Honey and Tilda working in their garden. It was cleverly created in a barrel by Lydia and her Mom at Blueberry Cottage.

I'm not showing you more of this garden because I'd like you to pop over to Blueberry Cottage and take a look for yourself. Its amazing what can be achieved from a few pebbles, shells, moss and twigs plus plenty of imagination and magic. The pictures bring back memories of the days when we created tiny worlds in dishes for our village fete . . . . . happy days!