Gnarled hands, cracked thumbs and a crinkly smile reveal how much of my life I have spent tilling the soil. Toiling in all weathers, digging, weeding and planting might sound arduous, but for those of us who love gardening it is a short cut to serenity and bliss. It starts as I pull on my wellington … Continue reading
Friends and neighbours fear that I am being held hostage or have been kidnapped! No one has seen or heard from me for months. But the truckloads of wood, sand, cement, picket fencing and old Victorian ridge tiles piling up in my drive all tell another story and the real reason for my absence; I … Continue reading
Happiest when I am about to tackle a new challenge and happier still if the job involves flowers, I set off into the frozen wastes of the Cottage Garden to see what I can pick. This wasteland of dried stems with the odd pernicious and very hardy weed is hardly an oasis of verdant growth … Continue reading
“It’s a pop-up cake club on Dartmoor and the sweetest place to be” I used to own and run a restaurant and inn. So I know a bit about how to make a place look nice and how to make people feel welcome. I can cook, write a menu, lay a table, clear it and … Continue reading
Swept up and cast aside by the sparkle of Christmas and washed away by months of rain I slither and slide down the slippery path of the New Year into my waterlogged garden. Seeing all my sad and sodden potted Primulas and Cowslips, I gather them up lovingly and head for the greenhouse. Surely these … Continue reading
My pre-breakfast morning walk is a push for power; for a fast-paced, heart-pumping, energizing surge where battling against the wind and weather helps me to reclaim some of the adrenalin driven lifestyle I once had. Yes, I rise when the bats are still following their flight paths home to roost and with a torch strapped … Continue reading
Well…it’s a roadside stall really. Just a little wonky table and some shelves painted the colour of a blackbird’s egg. But when the Sweet Peas and scented Sweet Williams and old fashioned Pinks are picked and the baby carrots are bunched and tied and the Rhubarb is piled high, my little stand becomes a natural, … Continue reading
Gently rounded, honey-brown and dappled by the sun, but with a slightly fragile outer shell…. something has happened to me! I have finally become just like a Burford Brown hen’s egg! This is no surprise because during the month before my garden open day, scrambled eggs was all I had time to cook and eat as … Continue reading
Removing faded blooms from Summer flowering plants is essential if you want to prolong blooming. But am I the only one who finds it tedious? But with some flowers, like these Poppy seed heads, it is really easy. Each little pod in shades of soft bluey green through to pale olive is a mini work … Continue reading
Smashing up vintage china with a hammer sends shards of pottery embellished with rich paisley pattern, gold leaf and hand painted swallows flying through the air. I am in no mood for safety, technique or planning. I am making a mosaic; nothing slick and polished, but something free spirited and easy and very, very last … Continue reading
Dartmoor Flower Shed 