Wet and Wild

What a difference a week makes. We have had torrential rain and the temperature has dropped dramatically. I have not done much gardening this week instead I have been restoring and creating artwork.

I am continuing to harvest fruit. I am still picking strawberries and have now started to pick gooseberries.

It takes a long time to 'top and tail' but the effort is worth it

The thistles are now in flower.

Thistles come in many shapes and sizes

The roses in the Artful Garden have come into bloom.

Roses and pottery houses

The cardoon is massive.

I'm dooned

The gentle perfume of meadowsweet is in the hedgerows.

You can use meadowsweet in recipes. It is similar to elderflower

The farmers are sheering their sheep.

Herdwick sheep

These dandelion seed heads are wonderful.

Each seed head is like a tiny upturned umbrella

I have been busy making wreaths.

Alchemillia mollis and scabious

Alchemillia mollis and Sweet Williams

I have decoupaged some tin cans.

Cantastic

I bought a potting bench and have decorated it and a set of steps with plants in cans, tins, jelly moulds and plant pots.

With all the rain there is no need to water

Crazy Maisie has returned from the health farm.

Love the hair extensions

Looby Loo loves her new clothes.

Do you like my slippers?

Charlie Barley is feeling cool.

Charlie's added a bit of sparkle

A misty view.

Looking towards Busk

Reflections in the river Eden which we walk along each evening with our dog.

Mirror image

Sand martin nest holes. In the evening the birds dash and dart over the water.

The sandy bank

Leeds Lights

I still have a few things growing on the allotment that I can harvest, leeks, broccoli, kale and red cabbage. I have now removed the nets that were protecting them. 

Ready for harvesting

Although they have club root they are still growing

 I had a trip to Leeds. It was looking very festive.

A giant Christmas tree

Dior's Christmas display.

Don't look at the price tags

There are some lovely arcades in Leeds.

Victoria Arcade

The Lego man is very festive.

We're walking from the snow

This chicken is hoping to stay put for Christmas.

Cluck if in luck

My pottery houses stand out in the garden now that the plants have died back.

A study in blue

A dainty birdhouse

The dying red hot pokers look like shepherd's crooks.

All hooked up

The tiny viola's are resisting the frost.

Pretty faces

Mist hanging in the Eden Valley. 

Atmospheric 

Houses and Flowers

Another week of mixed weather wet windy and some sunshine. I am trying to prepare all my flower beds between the showers.

I have planted up one flower bed on the allotment but the ground was very wet.

I hope the plants will survive

I have cleared the rhubarb bed of couch and applied a liberal amount of muck.

Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb

The grape hyacinths are just coming into flower and will form a carpet of blue.

China blue

The redcurrant is also in bloom.

This plant has a very distinctive smell

This is one of my new pottery flower designs.

A red gerbera

I bought this flower planter from the Country Living show and have planted it up with tete a tete daffodils.

Dainty daffs

Pottery and flowers

My latest pottery house designs are bird houses.

A bluebird

Golden bird

Bonny bird

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