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

Hay Meadows and Harvesting

Last Saturday I went to Ravenstonedale near Kirkby Stephen. In the village stream there were masses of golden water buttercups, a delight too see. The leaf of the water buttercup is like a folded heart.

Glorious gold

Pleated hearts

The hay meadows I had come to see were at Kilnmire Farm on the outskirts of the village. They were available to view as part of the Farming Landscapes project. The meadow is cut mid July and is fed to the farm animals.

How many flowers and grasses can you see, you need to look closely

The dominant flowers appeared to be buttercups and red clover and as you looked they appeared though a haze created by the grasses.

A lovely contrast of colour

There are about 24 different types of grasses in the meadows

 
You needed to get down to the height of the meadow to appreciate the intricate number of flowers growing.

It was a rare delight to walk through the meadow

There was ragged robin.

Lovely spiky ragged robin

Tiny little eyebright.

Tiny white eyebright twinkling through the vegetation

Beautiful smooth Hawk's Beard. I love the stumpy serrated petals.

Look at the radiating petal formation

Sphagnum moss.

Used for flower arranging and Bear Grylls says you can squeeze it to get moisture from it. ( I think it needs to rain first)

A field barn on the edge of the meadow.

Limestone barn

Wild flowers always seem to compliment each other.

Delightful

Back in home I have been harvesting the first of my new potatoes that I have grown in a grow bag. The variety is Epicure and they taste delicious and retain their shape when boiled.

So tasty you could eat them like sweets

For my Sunday lunch all the vegetable were home grown.

Green cabbage, carrots, potatoes and spinach

I have started to pick the red and blackcurrants as they are just beginning to ripen.

Fiddly to pick but taste delicious

I have grown several varieties of nasturtium. They range in colour from dark red, oranges and milkmaid which is a creamy yellow.

I use the seeds as capers in my pickles

A marbled nasturtium

We have had some hot sunny days and whilst cloud gazing I saw a hole in the cloud. This reminded me of Spike Milligan's poem:
'There is a hole in the sky where the rain gets in, the hole in small that's why rain is thin.'

Holes of various sizes

My husband was given a present of a hot air balloon flight. Seeing the deflated balloon in a trailer and then seeing it inflate was fascinating.

The balloon basket containing the balloon

Unravelling the balloon

A giant chocolate orange 

Ready to launch

The judging is today for Cumbria in Bloom so I will be in the Artful Garden this morning. I have made some more artwork to celebrate the event which will be on next week's blog. 

Roses are Blooming

Another week of hot weather until Wednesday when we had our first rain for several weeks. This should really encourage the plants to grow as the soil has got very dry.

The countryside in Cumbria is very beautiful. This is the view looking towards Garrigill near Alston.

Moors have their own beauty

Hills and valleys

Can you see the track over the moor?

In St Augustine's church in Alston is a clock brought from Dilston Hall the home of the Earl of Derwentwater as a gift to the Greenwich Hospital in 1767. The clock originates from the 16 century and it only has one hand.

Amazing and it keeps accurate time

The mock orange is heavily laden with blossom and has a lovely perfume.

A shower of flowers

The roses are at their peak and there are some stunning colours.

Apricot and pink

Pure white

Buttercup yellow, cream and pink hues

Can you see the bumble bee?

The clematis are also coming into bloom.

This clematis is at the entrance to the Artful Garden

On the wall on the opposite side of the entrance

Large blooms for a small plant

Harvesting has now begun. This is the first full sized carrot I have picked from my grow bag.

Taste is all

I have made some strawberry jam from bought strawberries as I dismantled the former strawberry bed to make room for the runner beans.

Yummy jam

The elderflower is all in bloom. I have made several batches of elderflower cordial. I have tried different recipes and this is the one I prefer.

Delicate elderflower cordial

Elderflower cordial

Gather about 20 fresh white elderflower heads on a sunny morning when they are at their best. This is not an exact science as the size of the flower heads vary. Shake the flower heads to remove any bugs. Pull the flower blooms off the stems and put in a bowl. The more of the stems you can discard the better.

1 litre of boiling water
2 lemons zest and juice
6oz granulated sugar

Pour the boiling water into a bowl add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest and juice and the flower heads.

Cover the bowl and leave to stand 1 - 2 days stirring morning and night.

Strain the cordial through muslin and decant into sterilised bottles.

Dilute to taste.


The Bottle Boys are not happy.Their recent tanning experience was not positive and now their hair extensions have gone astray. Some still have a few bald gaps which are not flattering. until they get some hair restorer they are keeping a low profile.

Anyone got a bottle of hair restorer or know Wayne Rooney's hairdresser?