Sew and So

Last Saturday I went to the Tatton Park RHS Flower Show. There is a wonderful selection of plants, vegetables and all things relating to gardening. Here are some of the highlights.

Roald Dahl would have been 100 this year.  I loved this tribute.

Gobblefunk Exundly

Look how you can display vegetables.

How many different types can you see?

A floral explosion.

Wow

These are made from driftwood.

Oh deer

Horsing around

This cactus was fascinating. You would be convinced it was a stone if it wasn't for the flower.

Cactus come in many strange shapes with diverse decorations 

Crocheted hollyhocks.

Wooly hollyhocks

This fish sculpture moved in the breeze like a real shoal of fish.

This was very clever

Rosebay willowherb is growing in the verges.

Purple power

The delicate purple heads of wild scabious shake in the breeze.

Purple pom poms

Many of the sheep have now been shorn. They always look very pristine and white.

Feeling sheepish

We are now almost self sufficient with fruit and vegetables.

Homegrown kale and french beans

Look at the detailed architecture of this bank in Alston.

A lovely building

I have been playing around decoration some spoons and forks.

I am entering these pictures in the Alston Art show. I have been working on them all week. 

Rural Rascal

Blooms and Bees

Floral Fantasy

Happy Gardener

Exotica Tropica

Heat and Harvest

On Tuesday the temperature rose to 30C, too hot to do anything. It was over 20C from 7am in the morning when I had breakfast outside.

I have been catching up on weeding and also harvesting.

I should have weeded the herb beds when the weeds were small they are now entangled in the flowers.

Comfrey and chamomile

Dill and Calendula

I have started to harvest the garlic and the celery.

I have been told if you store celery in tinfoil it will keep it fresh

The cabbages are filling out at a steady pace and they make good coleslaw.

A large brute

The pumpkins have started to appear and have sent out long tendrils.

Give me sun and rain

The ornamental gourds are starting to grow.

Variegated

These are looking quite knobbly

The herbaceous border on the allotment is filling out with blooms.

Bonny colours

On a visit to Callendar there had been some wool bombing.

Wild child

Minion

A wooly thinker

I could tell you a yarn or two

Look at this strange fungus.

The frog

The crab

A beautiful mackerel sky.

Stunning

Fruit and Flowers

Another week of rain and sun so I have been busy weeding and also harvesting my fruit.
The redcurrants are now ripe though I have only a small harvest. We pruned the blackcurrants and gooseberry too severely so we do not have a big crop this year.

Red jewels

The runner beans are looking healthy and are coming into bloom.

Soon I will be making runner bean pickle

Poppies always look so fragile.

Pink perfection

Classic red

I love feverfew and the sunshine has brought it all into flower.

Tiny pincushions

My onions and garlic will soon be ready to harvest.

That's shallot

This penstemon is a lovely shade.

The flower is similar to a foxglove

The farmers are busy making hay.

Make hay whilst the sun shines

I had a trip to Bowlees in Teesdale. On route to Gibbon's Cave.

Lovely woodland with wild orchids

This is Gibson's Cave where a fugitive lived.

He had an outdoor shower

Low Force is very close by.

Low Force is 2 miles down river from High Force

Look at this old letterbox.

Letters only

The Bottle Boys and Bottle Babes do not know what to make of this old window.

A window without a view

I have added this paper mache butterfly to the Artful Garden.

Flutter by

Two views of my allotment.

Potatoes and herbs

Looking across the allotment towards the sweetcorn