By Helen

July in an English city garden…

What a difference a week makes?  The sun has finally come out, and with last week’s rain the garden has really taken off.  It has been a long, long, while since I blogged about my garden, that I thought I’d share it with you today.  We still have the on-going issue with the neighbourhood cats, but it is getting better, a lot better, the garden is still full of Si’s CDs on sticks which work brilliantly!  Before we go on, I should explain, that when I say garden – technically it is a yard.  I live in a city terrace, so the yards were originally, functional: that hasn’t stopped us treating the yard as a garden. 

Looking out of our bedroom window, the view isn’t bad.  I love how the plants are taking over and the wall between us and next-door is beginning to blur…

Sweet Woodruff: one of my favourite plants. It grows everywhere, especially in shade, and has the prettiest star shaped flower…

Pots and posts full of flowers…

One of my pots is my herb-garden, perfect for picking of adding to summer suppers…

Bursts of colour everywhere…

Buds waiting to burst into flower…

Looking back towards the house, I am very very proud of my small space…

June’s crochet flower…

With all the wet weather we have had (and still seem to be having: it’s just thundered – should I be blogging during a storm?) lately the only flower, in my tubs and pots, that have bravely showed their colours are the fuchsias.   Fuchsias look so bright and cheerful, in amongst all the greenery, which is flourishing.  Their petals are like little pockets of hope that one day, this summer, the rest of the garden might look as colourful…

Fuchsias were the natural choice to be June’s crochet flower.  The first fuchsia, I crocheted solo.  No pattern for back-up, just working my hook, crocheting and hoping.  I don’t think that results were too bad…

I then turned to the very talented Lesley Stanfield’s book 100 flowers to knit and crochet.  The pattern for crocheting fuchsias is in the advance designs section at the back of the book.  Me crocheting from an advance design – I struggle with the basic patterns, seeing them more as guidelines than absolutes.  I was strict, I followed the crochet pattern, to the stitch.  I don’t think it turned out too bad either…

I think the one I crocheted to my own design can hold its petals high next to the one crocheted from Lesley’s book…

Do you like the crochet hooks, that I used as stems?  I think a combo, of both patterns would be the best way forward:  crocheting Lesley’s inner bell, my outer petals and definitely the bead for the stamens.  Think I know what I’ll be doing later…

having a wonderful time...

Sorry that I haven't blogged this week: we have been away, having a wonderful time.  Here is a little clue as to where we went...

Yep, that's right we have been with the soft sweet showers of April to Canterbury.  I decided to be wholly cliche about the holiday and read the Canterbury Tales, something that I have never done until now.  I have to confess that I am reading a modern translation and in prose, but still, I think that Chaucer would approve.  So far, I am enjoying the tales.

Canterbury is a beautiful city full of amazing architecture...

Gorgeous gardens...

Fabulos tearooms...

Tiny Tim's was sooo good we ate there twice in two days!  We brought back a stunning little tealight holder...

The perfect souviner made by the talented people at Canterbury Pottery. 

All in all a wonderful mini-break...

out in the garden…

We’ve done it.  For the first time this year, we have spent a delightful few hours out in the garden.  My goodness, did it need our attention.  I am soooo embarrassed about the state it what in, after a Winter of neglect, I can’t quite bring myself to share an image of it.  You will just have to take my word for it.  The neglect issue was compounded by the fact that the local moggies saw our garden as their bathroom of choice.  Now I LOVE moggies, really I do, but I did rather feel that I was going to war.  Helen v’s moggies.

The first battle was in my herb garden.  The herbs had lost to the snow, frost, ice and moggies so everything came out…

Si came up with the idea of creating a low rockery.  He was thinking that; stone meant less soil for moggy digging, it gave structure to the bed and gave us channels to plant in.  You know what he was right...

He then set about creating these mushroom like things, out of wood and old cds…

Perfect!  They stop the moggies from digging and will eventually be replaced by plants once the warmer weather truly arrives.  For now they are doing their job: plus they do look quite funky…

 

 Helen 1 Moggies 0

Note:

If any neighbours are reading this: please know I do love all moggies and they are all very welcome to visit the garden anytime they wish.  I just want to enjoy it as well as them ;-)

flower of the month...

Welcome to my brand new blog category: flower of the month.  Reading back through my previous posts, I realised just how neglected my garden category had become.  This is partly seasonal, I have to confess that my garden it looking somewhat sorry for itself: due to Winter neglect on my part.  This will be rectified as the world turns toward Spring. 

I decided that each month, in my blog, there will be a flower of the month: something seasonal which will inspire my crochet.  Here’s January’s…

The Snowdrop is one of the first flowers to bravely show itself from the cold Winter soil and remind us that Spring is on its way…

After taking the images of the Snowdrops in a local church yard: I looked to magazines and books for further inspiration…

I gathered together white and green yarns in various textures…

I settled down with my crochet hook in hand ready to put my inspiration into reality.  The aim is not to reproduce the Snowdrop.  This would be an impossible task with endless frustrations (especially as Mother Nature does it so well): but to make something, which might make someone say that looks like a Snowdrop.

You will have to wait until next time, to see how this one turns out, I have to go and figure out what I am going to do next..!

remember, remember...

The world turns to November, it is time to put the garden to bed. The jasmine has been cut within an inch of it's life, the pots have been emptied and the decaying summer plants are returning to the Earth.  Some planets are coming into their element.

One of my very favourite things is to open the curtains and see the cheerfulness of brightly coloured cyclamens early on a morning...

I love the way they are all twisted until they are ready to show themselves to the world...

The garden this time of year always looks better having winter-flowering pansies...

Now that November is here, I feel justified in getting on with my Christmas crochet projects: I can't wait any-longer...

colours for inspiration...

Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?  The cold crisp days, the sun which still gives warmth, the bright blue sky and the colours Mother Nature gives us.

Last weekend my friend and I decided to visit Thorp Perrow, so that we could look at the beautiful colours and so her little girl could see the birds and animals.

Here is a hint of what we saw...

So next time you are putting yarn together for a new crochet project, don't work too hard.  Look around you: Mother Nature has done all the hard work for us!

 

hello October...

October!  How did that happen?  I don't feel like I am done with September, yet I find myself turning the calendar.  Still the beautiful sun-shine does help.  Who would have thought on the first weekend of October we would be sat out in the garden having afternoon tea...

 
I made some of my very favourite oaty, chewy biscuits and settled down with a cup of tea and hook in hand ready to complete , yes complete, some of those unfinished crochet projects that I need to get done.  Aim by the end of today is...

• finish the house gift for my friend before she moves into said home
• join together as many hexagons of my blanket as possible
• may be start, or think about starting, some of the other projects I had in mind...

Here's to crochet, to sun-shine and to October...

Happy crocheting

a wet rainy day...

Can someone just remind me: it is August?  It is still summer?  So why is it sooooooooo wet and horrid outside? 

Here's something to make your heart sing, and remind you of those long hazy days that we should be having right-about now!

 

I love the colour combinations that nature gives us.  So very vibrant.  Perfect inspriation for choosing the colours of yarn to crochet with.

Back to crocheting my blanket.  Looks like I might be needing it sooner than I was anticipating!

a great garden to visit for inspiration...

The other day I paid a visit to the Breezy Knees Garden. 

The garden is amazing: well worth a visit.  It is full of different areas to explore and lots in inspiration for creating crochet flowers and colour combinations.

A beautiful rose...

The long borders...

 

What every gardener should have in their garden...

 
The photographs don't do the garden justice. 

Go along and visit the garden, before the rain spoils all the lovely flowers...