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
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
I am in a baking frenzy. There is a flour tornado in my kitchen as I open up self-raising, plain and gluten free flour and bag after bag of sugar. The KitchenAid mixer is maxed out and I am juggling four recipes whilst desperately channeling Bree Van de Kamp and trying to remind myself that I … Continue reading
“Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with complete abandon or not at all.” Harriet Van Horne
“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
Capture a fragrant memory of this evocative, heady perfume by tossing some dry Lilac blossoms between layer upon layer of fine sugar crystals. This scented time- capsule containing the essence of spring will be there for you until long after the Lilac in your garden has faded and died. Then later, sprinkle a little romance … Continue reading
Wrap yourself up, in fold, upon fold of voluptuous, velvety red petals. This is a Winter miracle; a gift of Red Roses, snipped from an indoor plant, and sent with love to you all on, Fabulous; it’s Friday.
Dartmoor Flower Shed 