Sunshine!

There are little pockets of time when the world stops spinning quite so fast and one steps into some kind of heaven – lunch with old school friends in a beautiful peaceful haven of a garden gave me just such a blissful time on Saturday .

Everything about those few hours seemed to be in a bubble of delight, and now I so wish I had taken lots more pictures of Anna’s garden: the pond surrounded by irises, the Himalayan Musk climbing roses that scrambled up through the trees, 40feet and more, the brassicas which looked worthy of a Chelsea garden, poppies and foxgloves all in whites and pinks and some trying to be peonies.

The lunch was delicious. I was introduced to flat Spanish peaches, which I have never seen before, they are quite small and so sweet.

We had them with raspberries and strawberry and champagne creme fraiche mmm!mmm!

and the paper napkins…… My friends do not blog, or read blogs or spend much time on the computer, so they were bemused as to why I might want to photograph a napkin!

Love those colours together!

And the cute mug of tea after lunch..

But you dear readers understand, don’t you!

Inspiration for doodles, colour combos, journaling etc etc….. I might print the pic of the napkin and use it in a photo album spread some how

And I bet the knitters and crocheters also understand why sitting in a gorgeous garden, chatting with old friends after a delicious lunch in the sunshine with a cuppa and crocheting is just about as near heaven as one can get!

Anna has also grown a magnificent Rambling Rector rose, tumbling through a tree near her front door, the scent was an extraordinary mix of spicy scents – was it Campari, with cloves and cinnamon.. the smell reminded me of something and I just couldn’t place it. I was so intrigued by it and Anna gave me a bunch to take home

which I put in a wine glass with ladies mantle and feverfew. I snipped a few of the older blooms off, but couldn’t throw them away, so they float in a little bowl found in a charity shop and they sit on my bedroom windowsill, catching the light and letting the magic of the day stay with me a while longer.

Thank you to Anna and Jane for such a special afternoon.

Here’s to us all finding a pocket of heaven in our world!

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First cut of the year

Yesterday was a perfect gardening day – no wind, no sun, just pleasant warm weather – the first time for months and months I was happy to garden all day – and I cut the grass for the first time – that must be a record – 21st May!!!

It put me in a pleasantly nostalgic mood, fondly remembering the garden I left in 2005. I had a large orchard and was able to mow a huge 7 circuit grass spiral

It was just wonderful to see the grasses grow and change throughout the seasons. I walked the spiral each morning for about 2 years.  Children nearly always ran into the centre and out again, shrieking with joy.

Andy Goldsworthy (one of my favourite artists) says the best way to observe change is to stay in the same place; and watching the grasses grow, in the spiral, and flower and go to seed and notice what bugs and beetles, birds and butterflies were attracted to the grasses at each stage, was a brilliant way to understand what he means.

Early morning dew:

January

Mid-summer party

I had a wonderful 10 years in West Dorset and it is the garden and the grass spiral I miss the most.

So when i moved to where I am now I mowed a spiral

It could be seen on Google Earth!

And on what seemed like the only warm day of that summer (2oo8), after the paddling pool was put away:

I could not resist a play myself

  Goodnight!