Spring and Sunhine

The weather is warming up and the birds are singing each morning and gathering material for their nests. I spent a long day in the Artful Garden starting to tidy it up. I am also busy restoring the artwork.

The snowdrops are beginning to fade.

Snowdrops in the orchard

The crocuses are now in flower. They always look their best when in a group.

Purple jewels with golden centres

The primroses are just coming into bloom.

Delicate primroses

The cardoon is starting to grow. I have decided what I am going to do with last years flower heads.

It is always amazing how high the cardoon grows in a year

Big Bird has new plumage.

Strut my stuff

The dragonflies are hanging from the apple tree.

Flying high

Baabaara has a new Arran outfit with matching headscarf.

Ewetiful

The Meeters and Greeters have had a makeover.

Hello there

Purple around Penrith for polio awareness day on 26 February.

Purple power

 A complete rainbow.

Several times we saw where the rainbow ended but there was no crock of gold

   

Cumbria in Bloom

Last Friday when the Cumbria in Bloom judges visited the Artful Garden it was starting to rain was windy and there was a grey sky. They had a short garden tour and thought that it was a fun garden with lots of things in it to make people smile.
I had made a sign but did not erect it until Friday morning in case it got rained on and damaged.

KO in Bloom, looking for sunshine 

Back view of the sign

I have devised some new miniature dragonflies. They are now resting on the runner bean canes along with a large dragonfly. Beside looking decorative I hope they act as bird scarers.

Boozie Floosie looking at the dragonfly

Miniature dragonfly

Unfortunately Boozy Floozie had been on a drinking binge the night before evidenced by the shot glasses she wore around her neck and there was a strong smell of alcohol in that corner of the garden despite her being surrounded by herbs.

Drunk and almost legless

Crazy Maisie was getting eye strain for squinting in the sun so she has acquired a modest pair of sunglasses.

Are the sunglasses Ray Ban?

The feverfew is dominating the garden near the path but it is lovely to brush against it as you walk past.

Miniature poached eggs

I have made an arrangement from the flowers and seed heads I dried last year. Nearly all the flowers retain their colour.

I dry the flowers by hanging them in bunches away from direct sunlight

I am continuing to pick blackcurrants, red currants and have had to put a net over the loganberries so that there are some left to pick. Despite not being ripe the blackbirds have discovered the red fruit.
I have picked 5.4 kilos of new potatoes from my grow bag. This variety in Kestrel and the potatoes loose their shape when boiled.

Kestrel potatoes have a red tinge

Medium and petite cauliflowers

This is a cabbage that I have grown.

The cabbage has a good heart

Again for my Sunday lunch I had all homegrown veg, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage.

Roast lamb homemade rosemary and mint sauce, potatoes, cauliflower and cabbage

I had a trip to Glasgow. There is a lovely clock in Central station.

Time to catch my train

The architecture and the station roof are quite amazing.

Lovely wooden paneling

The station roof a mass of metal

I stayed in the Hotel du Vin that had some beautiful stained glass windows. This is a superbly beautiful  boutique hotel made up of 6 townhouses.

Burrell windows

The windows are situated opposite the staircases

Dragonflies and Daffodils

All the spring flowers are now at their best in the garden with grape hyacinths, daffodils, cowslips and primroses all in flower. The tulips are on full bloom and I hope the weather stays fine so that they will last for a few weeks.

Stunning colours

                                             
The fruit bushes are now in leaf.

Gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes

The damson blossom is in flower  and I am keeping my fingers crossed that we do not get any frost until the blossom is set.

Dainty white petals

The horse chestnut leaf buds have burst open.

Ribbed leaves

The spirea bush looks like a shower of snowflakes.

Sprinkled snow

I have finished the Easter chicken and it is now displayed in Ravenbridge Stores shop window. I have started to make an Easter bunny which I hope to finish in the next few days.

Chick chick chick chick chicken

Chicken with baby chicks made by Kirkoswald school children

I have been busy restoring all the artwork in the gardens, cleaning canes and pottery, adding new ribbons and replacing missing wings and legs on the bumblebees.

 Blue bird

The dragonflies have had a makeover. Each year I develop the technique. The giant dragonflies are now floating from the trees.

Flying in the plum tree

Tropical dragonfly

Flying from the apple tree

These I used to scare the birds from the onoins as they bounce in the wind. 

Spot the dragonfly

Do you like my feathers?

I have also moved the pottery birds and houses in my home garden. 
The sunflowers I made this year.

Golden sunflower

Flower power

There are a lot of lambs in the fields ranging in size for new born to bouncy lambs. It is lovely to watch them gamble.  

Lambs and ewes have the same number on their sides so they can be matched up

Hot and Harvesting

The weather this week has been 29c most days so the garden and myself have been red hot.This suits some of the veg and flowers and I am watering every night as everything is getting very dry.

I have harvested the gooseberries and made gooseberry jam.

What a superb size and taste

Also the onions for which I had 2 plantings (as the first planting was not successful, are now thriving and looking very healthy.)

White onions, very tasty

The runner beans are now beginning to display their bright red flowers, hopefully the beans should soon be forming.

Scarlet flowers

The apples are beginning to swell on the old apple tree after the June drop when the tree sheds some of the forming fruit.

Apples growing steadily in the heat 

I had a trip to Maryport in West Cumbria. I found these orchids on a bank near to the sea edge.

Majestic orchids

This lovely old fishing boat would have some stories to tell.

Moored up and waiting 

At one time Maryport was a thriving town that transported coal by shipping.These old houses date back to this time.

A view of Maryport from the dock

These wonderful heavy horses can be seen at Cumbrian Heavy Horse Centre near Millom in the Lake District.

Gentle giants

In some fields there is the acid yellow flowers of oil seed rape.They stand out dramatically in the countryside.

 Acid Yellow 

The back border in the Artful Garden is now coming into full bloom.

Bonny red flax with a dark outline edge to the petals

Also the borders in my home garden are vibrant with colour.

Lovely colours

The beautiful annual is called Baby Blue Eyes, so appropriately named.

Baby Blue

The straw flowers are coming into bloom and I am picking them when they are in full flower to hang up to dry.

Pretty in pink

I love Calendula the colours are so vibrant.They self seed from year to year. I am going to dry some of the petals as a basis for pot pourri.

Orange Calendula

Yellow Calendula

The Mock Orange is in full bloom.

Called Mock Orange because of the perfume

The roses are all starting to flower but most of them do not like the hot weather.

Button white roses on the barn wall

Two new dragonflies have flown into the Artful Garden and are hanging from the apple tree.

Dragonflies with cheeky Bobby Barley not wishing to miss any photo opportunity