Inspiration - Gustav Klimt

Apple Tree 1912


Hopefully my apple tree will be laden with fruit just like this in years to come!

Beech Trees 1903


I can almost hear the crunch of leaves beneath my feet. (The trees look like Silver Birch to me though).

Pine Forest 1902

Garden Path with Hens 1916


Isn't this beautiful? I love the hens on the path and the cottage garden plants especially the towering Hollyhocks. Wouldn't this make a lovely embroidery?

Lady with a Fan


The colours in this painting are so bright and cheerful. They remind me of Kaffe Fassett's paintings of oriental pots (below).

Kaffe Fassett - Ginger Jar Series Yellow Still Life

A Morning by the Pond


So still and peaceful.

Attersea


Lovely muted colours. I can almost hear the waves lapping on the shore.

Orchard


Just imagine relaxing under the shade of these trees with the distant sound of birds tweeting and bees buzzing. Bliss. 

Thrifty Finds

It's official. 
I'm addicted. 
I try to walk past but I just can't stop myself from walking in.
I just never know what might be waiting for me.
 Of course I'm talking about.......charity shops. 
I think rummaging is in my blood. 
Obviously I blame my Mum & Dad. 
All those early morning visits to Petticoat Lane Antiques Market on Sundays when we were kids. 
My brother tagged along for the lure of hot sarsaparilla when we finished. 
I'm sure my hubby & son despair when I enthuse about my latest finds. 
Luckily my daughters understand. 
They both know how to spot a treasure. 
DNA passed on from nanny & grandad no doubt! 
Anyway, enough time-wasting........ let me share a few of my latest gems!

Buttons & Pink Binding

Vintage Embroidered Linen

How pretty is this?

The cross stitch is so diminutive

A thrifty neck scarf by Next. The design is so pretty. It reminds me of far away places. 

A clear glass vintage dish (about 5" high).

Ideal for bonbons or pretty trinkets

A set of seven vintage (1950's) Alfred Meakin 'Sunflower' side plates

One of the plates has the sunflower motif on the back

I don't want to be cured! 

Let's get Buzzing - Bumblebee & other Insect Friendly Plants

I've been looking up plants for my allotment and garden to help attract more bumblebees and other insects. 

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has a good list of both garden and wild flowers that will bloom throughout the year.

http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/gardening_for_bumblebees.htm

Flowers for bumblebees
March - April
Apple Bluebell Broom Bugle Cherry	Erica carnea (heather) Flowering Currant Lungwort (Pulmonaria) Pear Plum	Pussy Willow Red dead-nettle Rosemary White dead-nettle
May - June
Alliums Aquilegia Birds-foot trefoil Bugle Bush vetch Campanula Ceanothus Chives Comfrey Cotoneaster Escallonia	Everlasting Pea Everlasting wallflower Foxglove Geranium Honeysuckle Kidney Vetch Laburnum Lupin Monkshood Poppies Raspberries	Red Campion Roses (singles) Sage Salvia Thyme Tufted vetch Meadow Cranesbill White Clover Wisteria Woundwort
July - September
Black horehound Borage Bramble Cardoon Catmint Cornflower Delphinium Heathers Hollyhock Hyssop Knapweed	Lavender Lesser burdock Marjoram Mellilot Mint Penstemon Phacelia Polemonium Purple loosestrife Red bartsia Red clover	Rock-rose Sainfoin Scabious Sea Holly Snapdragons St. Johns Wort Sunflower Teasel Thistles Viper’s bugloss

I found a list of bee friendly plants that includes annuals, perennials, fruit & veg, herbs, shrubs & trees at

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants

Annuals Asters Calliopsis Clover Marigolds Poppies Sunflowers Zinnias

Perennials Buttercups Clematis Cosmos Crocuses Dahlias Echinacea English Ivy Foxglove Geraniums Germander Globe Thistle Hollyhocks Hyacinth Rock Cress Roses Sedum Snowdrops Squills Tansy Yellow Hyssop

Fruits & Veggies Blackberries Cantaloupe Cucumbers Gourds Fruit Trees Peppers Pumpkins Raspberries Squash Strawberries Watermelons Wild Garlic

Herbs Bee Balm Borage Catnip Coriander/Cilantro Fennel Lavender Mints Rosemary Sage Thyme

Shrubs Blueberry Butterfly Bush Button Bush Honeysuckle Indigo Privet

Trees Alder American Holly Basswood Black Gum Black Locust Buckeyes Catalpa Eastern Redbud Golden Rain Hawthorns Hazels Linden Magnolia Maples Mountain Ash Poplar Sycamore Tulip Willows

 Read more at: http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants#ixzz1nDv7Xpbm

The Sussex Wildlife Trust has a list of seasonal nectar plants for attracting butterflies & moths at

http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/page00007.htm

• Spring. Aubretia, bluebell, bugle, celandine, crocus, cuckooflower, daisy, forget-me-not, grape hyacinth, heather, hedge mustard, honesty, hyssop, primrose, pussy willow, red deadnettle, violet, yellow alyssum, yellow archangel.
• Summer. Many flowers, especially, bramble, Buddleia (butterfly bush), candytuft, dandelion, floss flower, golden rod, heliotrope, hemp agrimony, knapweed, lavender, marigolds, marjoram, mint, nasturtiums, oxeye daisy, purple loosestrife, scabious, sweet rocket, sweet william, teasel, thyme, toadflax, valerian and yarrow.
• Autumn. Black-eyed Susan, Buddleia (deadhead to prolong season), hebe, heliotrope, ice plant (but not ‘autumn joy’ or ‘brilliant’), ivy, michaelmas daisy, scabious, tobacco plant and yarrow.

Plants to attract Bees 

http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/uploads/sound%20of%20the%20summer.pdf

Fact sheet to download on Solitary Bees including when & where to site solitary bee homes

http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/uploads/solitary%20bees.pdf

Fact sheet to download on Bumblebees

http://www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/uploads/bumblebees_0.pdf

My Mini Orchard

Well four fruit trees which is a start!

I eventually had the right weather & soil conditions & the time to plant my fruit trees at the allotment on Friday. Having gone from not being able to dig a fork into the soil a few weeks ago because it was frozen solid I was worried that they might dry out because it was so warm! I planted them in a row at one end of my plot.

 I have one each of Braeburn Apple, Victoria Plum, Morella Cherry & Conference Pear.

I dug in plastic pots by each root system. This saves water by directing it straight to the roots and reducing evaporation. I use this system for other plants too (tomatoes, courgettes, peppers). Sometimes the foxes dig them up and play with them but hey ho.

Next to the trees are 2 rows of Japanese Onions which were planted in the Autumn. Once these have matured I hope to prettify this area with insect friendly plants and bark/wood chippings which we are lucky enough to have delivered free of charge to the site.

Broad Bean seedlings 'Aquadulce' (over wintering type)

 After weeding I was able to plant my Broad Beans which I started at home in modules. These could have gone straight in the ground in early November  but I run out of space & time. Sometimes the seed also gets eaten by mice so starting them in modules helps prevent this.

 Although the seedlings had been hardened off I covered them in fleece to protect against frost and birds who like to eat the young shoots.

Under the green netting to the left of the picture I have Curly Kale.

I discovered that there is a bee keeper on the allotment so next time I am down I'm planning to have a look at the hives. I've been told that the honey tastes of lavender as there are bushes nearby. 

The blue tits visited the bird feeders throughout the day and although I didn't see my woodpecker I heard it in the distance a couple of times. I've upturned a metal bin lid to provide the birds with water and maybe in the future I might build a little wildlife pond.

Tete a Tete daffodils - small & perfectly formed - my favourite.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend and that the sun continues to shine.

Rhubarb & Mint Jam

I was talking to my neighbour a few days ago about having used up all my home-made apple & raspberry jam from the summer and yesterday she gifted me a jar of her home-made rhubarb & mint jam. My neighbour also has an allotment and make lots of jams and chutneys. I had some on toast this morning for my breakfast in the garden (the sun was shining although it was still a bit chilly) and it was yummy. I will share the recipe with you when I have it. The jam wasn't too sweet which is how I like it. I must admit I couldn't actually taste the mint but maybe it is added to counter the sharpness of the rhubarb.

Recipe:http://www.stitchandbake.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/rhubarb-mint-jam-recipe.html

Cobalt Blue

Aren't the colour of these candlesticks amazing? They're about 8" tall and are made from moulded glass. I can't believe I nearly missed them in the window of the charity shop. I don't think they have any age but I love them all the same.

Hundertwasser 1928-2000

I had a sneak in my 11 year old son's art book a few days ago and saw that he had been studying an Austrian artist/architect called Hundertwasser. Now my son lives for football & his computer and doesn't consider himself creative (unlike my two artistic girls) but even though I am his Mum, I was impressed with his work.
I decided to look up the artist on google and these were some of the images I particularly liked.

This seems quite apt for southeast England at the moment as we are facing drought conditions (probably not good news for my allotment and garden). They'll be asking us to share baths again before long!

'Arche Noah'

'Isle of the Lost Wishes'
I'm not sure what the story is behind this painting. I find the colours and image very pleasing to look at but at the same time it feels quite sad. Maybe there's a hidden message....I'll have to investigate further.

'Hommage a Van Gogh'
I recently published a post on Van Gogh so this image of sunflowers caught my eye.

'KunstHausWien'
I love the way the artist has created a greener and brighter environment from the previously grey, drab buildings.

A sneak preview of my son's work inspired by Hundertwasser - don't tell him I've published his work!

I'll have him making a patchwork quilt before too long.....

My Allotment - Before & After

I took on an overgrown allotment (half plot) in May of last year and gradually began clearing and planting. Despite the mess I was lucky enough to inherit a shed and a lovely old plum tree.

This is a slow worm which I disturbed when I lifted an old carpet. I saw quite a few of these in the early summer. They particularly like compost heaps which provide warmth and food during the colder months and start to emerge in March. They're often mistaken for snakes but are in fact reptiles (legless lizards) and have protected status in Britain. They're great for the allotment as they eat slugs and snails.

 I also inherited a wasps nest in my compost heap so was careful not to disturb it in case they decided to attack me! In all the years I've gardened I've never been stung by a bee or wasp. It just seems to be the mosquitoes that take a fancy to me - even in the winter I still get bitten. I also found a pair of slow worms under the incinerator bin which, lucky for them, hadn't been used.

 My lovely old plum tree which provides me with shade to drink my tea and contemplate all the jobs I still need to do. Beats being at home doing housework....probably explains why my house is such a mess!

 Gradually clearing the weeds - looks like I've planted potatoes, tomatoes & onions in the distance.

 The french beans are in and beginning to climb. 

 What a difference a few months make. Things are starting to look very lush and productive.

 My first plums beginning to ripen.

 Pumpkin

 My grapevine. The grapes tasted quite nice once they had ripened but I need to thin the bunches out this year to get larger fruit and learn how to prune it.

 First of my potatoes. Although they went in a little late they produced a lovely crop.

 This is the half plot next to mine which I took over at the end of the summer. At one point the weeds were 3-4 feet high! I've inherited another shed, some lovely raised beds, rhubarb & a few raspberry canes so I'm not complaining.

 Nothing like the smell and taste of freshly picked, home-grown carrots!

 I absolutely adore beetroot and you really can't match the taste of home-grown.

 Sorting and drying runner bean seed for this years crop.

Well the start of another gardening year beckons. 

Watch this space.