Fun and Fruit

On Wednesday year 6 children from Kirkoswald school visited the Artful Garden. They enjoyed learning about how the garden had developed and meeting all the scarecrows and other characters in the garden. They explored all corners of the garden and enjoyed fruit from the trees and bushes. They are going to do an assembly to the rest of the school of the photos they took of the garden.

Last Friday I visited St Augustine's church at Alston. They have a beautiful set of organ pipes.

Beautifully painted

A  lot of the properties in Alston are very old. This an interesting view of the houses that back onto the churchyard.

Look at the size and position of the windows

Lovely stone carving found at the church.

Simplistic daisy pattern

I visited Killhope mine at Nenthead and saw these lovely horse sculptures.

The horses are made from metal drums

On the way back towards Garrigill there were various 'beehive' structures along the lane.

I think these structures are linked to Killhope lead mine

At Brimham Rocks in Nidderdale north Yorkshire are some unusual rock formations.

Pleated rocks

A stack of rock pancakes

It is the season of mists and last night there was mist over the river Eden  and low cloud over the Pennines. The mist floats and moves and disappears very quickly.

Atmospheric cloud and mist

These are my homegrown silverskin onions that I am pickling. I have also made my last batch of Blasto Hot Chilli and Tomato Relish. I am still picking lots of raspberries so I have made some raspberry jam.

Tiny white onions soaked in brine before putting in vinegar

I have discovered some ripe grapes on my grape vines. There are several small bunches of green and black grapes.

Chateau Artful Garden

Not enough to make a small bottle of wine

The asters in the garden are looking very pretty.

Cheery little flower heads that brighten the flower borders

These asters have longer petals

The wildflowers in the Artful Garden continue to bloom.

The cornflowers are still blooming

Showtime

Last Thursday I visited the Westmorland Show. I visited the Learning for Life tent and found some amazing vegetable creations, the inventiveness of children.

Mr Squash.

Cool as butter

Sidney Snail and Harry Hedgehog.

I like Sidney's French beret and you would not want to cuddle Harry

Charles the Crocodile.

Never smile like a crocodile

Some people will go to any length.

What whoppers

This is a prize winning Aberdeen Angus bull.

A bull feeling bullish

A clog maker was demonstrating his skill.

The sole of the clog is in the front of the photograph

There was a log sawing competition.

See saw

A cut above the rest

Kirkoswald was awarded Runner up in the Cumbria in Bloom competition.
Looby Loo decided to sit in Ravenbridge Stores shop window to draw attention to the village success.

Hi fans

The Bottle Boys also thought that they should be represented and they had new haircuts and moustaches trimmed to celebrate the event. You will need to visit the shop to see them. The flowers and bees add to the festive atmosphere.

Bees, houses and flowers

The berries on the trees are beginning to ripen. Bright red rowan berries.

Glowing red berries

Rich ripe rose hips.

Juicy rose hips

The  sunflowers are decorating the edge of the  Artful Garden.

Sun seekers

I saw this hydrangea in the Station Garden.

A beautiful combination of colours and shapes

You can see patterns in many things if you look carefully.

A marbled pattern in the algae

Nothing could be more contemplative than to drive along the country lane on a misty morning and see sheep being moved along the road into a new pasture. A typical rural activity enhanced by the mist and tranquility of the location.

Pastoral charm

Cornwall and Cobwebs

Autumn is approaching. We are starting to get cool misty mornings that turn into lovely sunny days. The beauty about this weather is that the cobwebs are so spectacular as they capture the dewdrops. There are often strands of cobwebs covering long distances.

All my pottery houses are attracting the spiders

Round and round and round

A wheel of perfection

So intricate

There are still butterflies about and I have seen a lot of peacock butterflies in the garden.

 A  peacock butterfly on a perennial wallflower that has flowered all summer

Sometimes it is good to pause and look carefully at a flower to see it's structure. This yellow daisy has layered ridged petals.

Pointed petals and the stamens have yellow tops and brown stalks

The white cosmos is still in full flower.

Fluted petals and yellow stud centres

Zinnias come in some striking colours.

Look at the layering of the petals

Look how the stamens twist

On holiday in Cornwall we had a meal in the Old Ferryboat Inn.

Situated near the house where Daphne Du Maurier used to live

Look at the ferryboat open to the elements 

We walked along the coast from Polruan to Polperro and saw some woody nightshade on the way.

Woody nightshade is very poisonous

The rock formations on the Cornish coastline are dramatic.

Look at the rock strata

This head was on a house wall in St Agnes.
.

Get a head get a house

A stained glass window in St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.

Beautifully painted

Daisy Chain who lives in my home garden has just acquired a new outfit. I think the feather boa may be a tad too large.

Swamped by feathers

I love the name of this street.

It makes you want to dance

Plums and Pleasure

I was delighted to be invited to have my blog linked to the RHS Community Gardening/Bloom Facebook page. Everyone is welcome to look at the garden over the garden wall. It is a private garden and I am the gardener and artist but not the owner of the garden.  

https://www.facebook.com/rhscommunitygardening

I have a great love of gardening and enjoy using my imagination to decorate the garden with artwork in the form of scarecrows, bees butterflies and many other characters that appear on my blog. I use nature and the countryside for inspiration and I am also always on the look out for humour in its many guises.

On Sunday I walked along the old railway line at Keswick in the Lake District. Greta bridge won an award as the best concrete structure of the century. The view under the arches of the bridge is attractive.

Holiday cottages along the river Greta

This shaggy inkcap fungus was along the path.

I was told by a passerby that they live up to their name

I understand that they smell at night

The trees are loaded with rosy red hawthorn berries, perfect for the birds in winter.

A bounty of hawthorn berries

This week there have been some very warm and sunny days which has allowed me to catch up on all the weeding in the Artful Garden. This is one of the best times of the year as you can dine on plums and raspberries as you garden. I am still picking runner beans.

The Autumn raspberries are ripening fast

Can you see Jack?

The damson and Victoria plums are almost ripe. The branches of the Victoria plum are so heavy with fruit that I have had to prop them up.

Plentiful plums

A delicious Victoria plum

I have used homegrown chili peppers, tomatoes and onions to make Hot Tomato Relish. All my family love this and you can also make it with green tomatoes.
      

Red chilies in the greenhouse

.

Gardeners Delight, a bountiful crop and they taste so sweet and smell superb

Onions drying in the greenhouse. Now ready to hang up in old tights to store for the winter

A family favourite

Potatoes come in novelty shapes.

Can you see a face with a lopsided smile?

I have remodelled the daisy flowers to make them waterproof.

Daisies and a homemade windmill

Also I have had to redesign the sunflowers who greet people who walk up the road.

Giant sunflowers 

Lotta Bottle has been complaining about having new gloves. She always wants to be the centre of attention and so she thought serving cups of tea to the male visitors would get her noticed. She forgot about the washing up.

Can you see the teapot and poor Chumsie Bunny is being pushed out of the photo?

I have seen two vans where the back doors of the van is decorated. So much more interesting than a boring plain door.

What a brilliant idea

Move over please

How about a ride in Claude?  

Lobster without chips

Check out the number plate