a beautiful garden-inspired hat that seems as much grown as it is made
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All articles filed in gardens
Mairi’s labyrinth
an act of resourcefulness, determination and creativity
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weed watching
There’s been a fine spell of weather in our part of Scotland, and we’ve been doing quite a bit of work in the garden over the past few days. It is wonderful to see things sprouting and growing – especially the resilient blooms of flowers and plants in whose cultivation I’ve had no hand. I…
Read Morepotential
These are my wonderful new raised beds. Soon they will be filled with a muthaload of topsoil and compost, and shortly afterwards will be home to my vegetables. The layout and space means that I and my wonky leg will have no problem getting around and managing the beds, and I took this photograph from…
Read MoreThe longest day
It is a beautiful time of year, and here in the West of Scotland we have been enjoying some incredible weather. Most days you will find me here . . . . . . knitting away on my current YOKE, looking at this . . . . . . and occasionally these . . .…
Read MorePottering
Tom is away, working in Ireland at the moment. I really miss him, but I am distracting myself by working very hard on my YOKES, and am enjoying pottering in the garden in my spare moments. I cannot use a spade (I have tried, and I just fall over), and we knew there was going…
Read Moregarden days
One of the saddest things I had to do in the months following my stroke was to give up our Edinburgh allotment. I simply did not have the strength and energy to maintain a garden, and since then I have rather missed growing things. Our new home has lots of outdoor space, and happily I…
Read Moreconfectionery
A post for those of you who have been wondering about the earlier appearance of the Himalayan poppy. On our drives through Argyll to catch the Islay ferry, I am often struck by the displays of azaleas and rhododendrons in the front gardens between Inveraray and Lochgilphead. These, in lurid 1970s shades of pink and…
Read Moremead mountain x2
A White Christmas! And time, once again, to ascend mead mountain. Does doing this more than once make it a ritual or tradition? Whatever it is, the excitement of uncovering a bottle of home-brewed mead, buried at the top of a mountain, really never goes away. This bottle had a full twelve months to mature…
Read Moreon show
Today I visited the Edinburgh and District Allotments and Garden Associations Show. I found out about the show too late to enter (not that anything I’ve grown would have won any prizes, mind, but I do have hopes next year for the “any knitted item” category). I really enjoyed myself — it was great to…
Read MoreGQT *
Sarah (possessor of much gardening wisdom) popped round for lunch today. The weather was just right for pottering about down the allotment, and I took the camera along so you can see how things are progressing. The tomatoes and courgettes are ripening nicely, and at least some of the beans survived the Evil Slug Attack…
Read Moreploughshares
It has been an insanely busy week! On top of the usual examining mountain that one must climb at this time of year, there has also been a whole lot of administrative gubbins that I’ve had to sort out quicksmart, as for the next couple of weeks my time is going to be taken up…
Read Morethe gardens at ardfin
Would you like to come for a short walk on Jura? Leave your money in the honesty box by the tree, and follow the path to Jura House garden. With its mix of Scottish wild flowers and victorian woodland planting, the surrounding landscape looks like a fairy glade. Then you open a door in the…
Read Moregreen. and white. and pink. and blue
If you are wondering why I’ve not mentioned our allotment, this is because I was hoping that ‘the situation’ that has unfolded around the allotment would have resolved itself by now. This is ‘the situation’: basically the allotment man at the council managed to double book our plot, and it was assigned to someone else.…
Read Morehappy birthday, Doris
Doris is one year old tomorrow. She has really made my day. Thankyou, Doris, for providing these lovely, sunny pictures which will illustrate the imminent owlet pattern. And hearty thanks, too, to Abi and Alby who were kind enough to pop out and meet me this lunchtime. These photographs were taken in the small pavilion…
Read Morebelle’s summer quilt
The quilt is finished! To recap: The quilt-top is made out of twelve of Belle’s stripey t-shirts, cut up and pieced together; I used an old blue sheet for the quilt back and one layer of light cotton batting. I tried various methods of hand-quilting the top, but didn’t like the way the stitches interfered…
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KDD & Co 