Thursday 6 June 2013

Hedgerow flowers, a blue quilt and nature in all its gory


A few flowers from the hedgerow, as suggested by Lou at Little Green Shed.  I found these at the allotment - ivy, buttercups, self-seeded aquilegia and my favourite hawthorn.  The best things in life are indeed free.

I took advantage of the warmer weather to wash the littlest boy's quilt yesterday.  It is a pattern he chose himself, and it came in kit form.  To be honest the kit wasn't great, and I had to buy extra fabric as some of the pieces supplied weren't the right colour or were too floral.  But the end result was okay, and he was happy as a clam, so all was well.


So nice to get this on the line drying in the sun.   I've also been scurrying around the garden and the allotment, weeding and planting and being busy.  Radishes are almost ready.  I love them, especially the first crisp, juicy ones at the start of the season.  They are the first thing I ever remember growing as a child.  So quick, so easy, and a necessity in a summer salad.



If I ever had time to sit down in the garden, this is where I would sit.  These are the pots that have (so far) avoided being smashed by flying footballs.  Next to the bench is a little bright pink rose which is nearly out.  Then there's a big pot of herbs, with some golden oregano which always has a vibrant acid green colour and some figs, which are my all-time favourites.  I love everything about figs and I always get excited when I find a fig tree somewhere.  There used to be one in the centre of Bristol, and I always looked at it on my way to work.  I wondered who planted it and when.  And I was so upset when it was ripped out in the name of "improvements".   Along the front there is a little white camellia (next to the bench), a hosta, some marjoram and an olive.   On either side there are also blueberries, and I love watching the bees on them at this time of year. 

The boys prefer their nature slightly more in the raw.  A short conversation I overheard this morning went something like this.

Biggest boy:  "There's a dead snail in the pond and there are tadpoles eating it!"

Middle boy:  "Cool."

Boys.  It reminds me of the bit at the zoo where the river otters are.  They are fed with dead chicks and rats and fish with their heads on.  The rocks in their enclosure are often strewn with ripped off limbs and entrails.  And all along the fence is a row of small boys with their noses pressed in excitement to the plexi glass window.  It's wonderful indeed.

I think we need another flower after that. 



Up on the hill the field has changed colour from green to gold.  Summer is here, and it is all wonderful.  Even the gory bits.

26 comments:

  1. Gorgeous quilt, lovely flowers, yummy radishes, disgusting boys!! (my grandsons made similar comments near our pond the other day!) x

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  2. I love a vase of wild flowers - shame they don't last a bit longer. I admire your patience in completing a quilt that large with such tiny squares - I think I would have gone boss-eyed by the time I had finished it. Summer is definitely most welcome.

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  3. this post made me chuckle :) it sounds like you have a lovely garden. mighty impressed by the quilt too! x

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  4. Terrific pictures. Well boys will be boys...! Flighty xx

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  5. I could never have made the quilt. patience and skill respect to you. lovely flowers, katie x

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  6. Hi CJ fantastic photos you have a lovely blog - your comments about boys made me giggle - got two teenage ones!! Eilidh :-)

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  7. Ha ha, your boys made me chuckle. What a beautiful quilt, you must be blessed with patience to sew all those tiny squares together. I love your collection of pots, I think plant filled containers really add so much to a garden.

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    1. Thank you Jo. I always have lots of pots, partly because we inherited quite a large bare patio area. I agree, they do add something.

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  8. That quilt really is gorgeous CJ.

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  9. Love the quilt, and yes it is all wonderful. (Although my superstitious mother would have a fit about the hawthorn in the house ... it's supposed to foretell a death when it's brought indoors apparently!)

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    1. Yikes! It's gone now. Off to check on the hamster, haven't seen him all day...

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  10. That quilt is gorgeous. I've been contemplating on making another one and any kind of inspiration is always a good start.

    Nina x

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  11. What a beautiful quilt! I like it very much, those blue tones are lovely. Your hedgerow posy is so fresh and pretty. x

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    1. Thanks Gillian, and thanks for your visits.

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  12. oh stop it !! fresh flowers on a piano (my fingers are dying to reach out and play that thing), country scenery, those lovely pots in your garden, and that quilt !! what a lovely set of pictures !!
    http://myfroley.blogspot.com

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  13. I love the quilt. Even better that you added your own touch to the kit.

    The colours and fabrics in boys quilts are a tricky thing to get right!

    rachel x

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    1. Thanks. It is quite hard to make boy things. I have no use for pink or flowers at all, but they are everywhere. We need more cogs and machine parts and insects I think.

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