In a Vase on Monday: Happy Birthday

It was my daughter’s birthday last week and I picked some asters and cotoneaster to pop in a jar for her.

The bees are going crazy for those asters but the birds are not eating the cotoneaster berries yet. There is a Mrs Blackbird tucking into some pyracantha berries just outside my kitchen window – so they must ripen earlier.

I used an old doodle book of the children’s to make the birthday card

The book had been filled and discarded so I took out the centre to reuse the neon pink cover

I could easily reuse the holes for sewing in a new centre.

With a bit of neon yellow embroidery thread. My daughter loves a bit of neon!

I came across something called ‘block writing’ on Instagram, so I had to have a go.

When my daughter was born, I was reading a beautiful book about Native American practices: Voices of Our Ancestors. by Dhyani Ywahoo.

A was born at 3.45am and when I got back to the ward, the light of dawn was beginning to glow in the sky. I looked out of the window, feeling so happy and relieved and grateful to have a healthy baby girl, and I saw one bright star, which I now realise must have been Venus.  I gave A a Native American name ‘Bright Morning Star’- a secret name – just between her and me.

For her birthday I gave her a rooted fig tree cutting that I bought in the market – hope it grows well and tucked a note in the card for her to go towards her lunchtime meal at The Station Kitchen, West Bay.

I am definitely going to try and take some cuttings from my fig tree next year.

My daughter lives just across the field from me, so I walked up quite early to give her the card.

This was the scene over the village as I walked back – autumn mist in the distance.

Joining in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday.

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In a Vase on Monday

Self-seeded Calendula and aster with ripe and ripening pears.

It is a challenge to catch the pears at the the right time to pick them before the wasps get to them. A good crop this year.

Joining Cathy and her joyful meme: In a Vase on Monday

I am completely replanting the bed behind the espalier pear trees. Everything has been taken out because the ground elder and marestail had taken over.

Looking from North to South

I dug it over, took everything out, and dug it over once a week for 4 weeks in the hope of getting every bit of weed root out. I saved all the bulbs and have replanted them in a completely random fashion and planted new and old irises

Looking from South to North

A rogue sunflower which grew in the pot I had the tiny fuschia (Jollies Nantes)  in.

I have also scattered seed from Nigella, calendula, cerinthe, aquilegia, foxglove and purple loosestrife.

It will be fun to see how this looks in Spring.

The daughter of a friend of mine is just starting her garden and liked my scattergun way of creating a border, so I have collected seed for her to try it out.

I found this You Tube clip

 

made some little seed packets out of a Gudren Sjoden catalogue

I loved making these, I like the way they are in the shape of little flower pots.

Joining in with Cee’s Flower of the Day

 

In a Flat Lay on Monday

I’m learning all sorts of new terms through Instagram hashtags. I had no idea that arranging things like this had a name – it is called ‘Flat Lay’ apparently. I have done this ever since I was a kid – I just love arranging things, now I have a proper grown-up name for it.

Joining in with Cathy for In a Vase on Monday.

October Birthday Blooms

It was my daughter’s birthday yesterday, so I picked what my garden had to offer. A rather strange mix of colours, but definitely autumnal.

They sit in a metal jug that has ‘Made in Yugoslavia’ printed on the base – a bit of European history as Yugoslavia no longer exists. What a complicated story that piece of the world has.

I have included leaves of Liquid Amber and the berries of this shrub

Can anyone tell me what it is? Cathy?

Joining Cathy’s garden party over on Rambling in the Garden which a such a wonderful celebration of flowers in bloom all over the world

I included Pheasant berries

Lusciousness!

And self-sown asters

which are a-buzz with flies and bees at this time of year

I’m hoping someone can identify this bee

Murtagh’s Meadow will know, I’m sure.

I’ve learnt from her website that many bees are identified by their bums! – so here it is..

The butterflies love it too

And at night I see little pale moths flitting around it. My front garden is a mess by my neighbour’s standards but it really is a wildlife haven and I love it.

I had to include one of my favourites, Schizostylis – has this got a prettier common name?

It’s fairy’s skirt of a flower deserves a better name. I love the twist of the bud

and the tint and pattern of the stalk carrying the waiting blooms.

Today she is dancing in to Cee’s Flower of the Day.

 

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