flaming flowers that brightly blaze

The sunflower is the Marmite of the floral world, brutally dividing those who think they are jolly marvelous, from those who think they are garish and naff.

Personally I adore them, especially as ours were lovingly sown by my small apprentices, who have been mesmerised by how quickly and loftily they've grown. We're hoping to harvest the seeds for topping bread, if the birds don't eat them all first.

I can't look at a sunflower without remembering hazy warm childhood summers in the south of France, where they grew in fields as far as the eye could see. The French call them 'tournesol', which literally means 'turn with the sun', because of the way in which the flower head follows the path of the sunlight throughout the day.

This is me in the Dordogne circa 1986, looking very much like Flora does now!


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PS thanks for all your comments on the snail experiment- since that post I haven't been able to find a single one of the 'snail-varnished' gastropods either in my garden or next door. I'm worried the red spot has ruined their camouflage and made them vulnerable to hungry blackbirds... oops!

shake, rattle and roll

I will confess I'm not much of a seamstress and sewing doesn't seem to come anywhere near as naturally to me as knitting. But when I do have a go I'm always really proud of the result, so I took the opportunity on this rainy evening to re-familiarise myself with my trusty sewing machine.

One of Flora's close friends is just turning five and I am still trying to stick to the challenge I set myself of only giving gifts that I have made myself, so I was delighted to find this little tutorial for a very handy crayon roll.


I'm sure some of you more experienced stitchers will be casting a critical eye over my seams and corners, but I'm really happy with the result.


The sweet little crayons were from the 99p shop and there are lots left because they came in a box of 60, so I'm going to stitch up a couple more of the rolls so that my two smalls have one each in time for our camping holiday.

I feel more sewing projects coming on over the summer!

pink pigeons

They say it takes a year after a move before you feel really settled somewhere and it is now a year since we left our Sussex home to start our new life here in Oxfordshire.

Today marks the opening of Faringdon Arts Festival and we have been spending this warm Summer evening sipping ale, watching the girls dancing and listening to some dubious local bands perform in the market square. And it really does like feel like we are now finding our feet in this little community and are beginning to make some friends.


Faringdon does have some echos of Brighton's camp quirkiness too- as part of the festival, people have been decorating their houses with pink pigeons, in homage to Faringdon's much celebrated eccentric Lord Berners, who is famous for dyeing the birds for his own amusement.

Much as I was enjoying myself, I made my excuses and have taken Pearl home to bed, leaving Steve and Flora to dance the night away. One of my oldest friends gave birth to her first baby this week, so I have knitting to be getting on with, not to mention catching up with Hampton Court Palace Flower Show...

Happy weekend folks, it's going to be scorchio!

papa's got a brand new...

pair of socks!

I have been furiously knitting away trying to get my dad's Fathers Day present finished in time and managed to complete the second one at gone midnight last night. It's a pattern I've not used before called Harris Tweed, and whilst I like the quite masculine pattern along the leg, I'm not sure about the rather odd wedge-shaped toe. If I make any more in the future I'll use one of my other patterns to get the more rounded toe shape that I'm used to knitting.

He was pleased though, I've been promising him a pair of knitted socks for months.

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The other very super Daddy in my life has been working flat out on our little patch of allotment, playing at being a 'real man' by getting all sweaty and grubby. He has even taken to drinking ale.

I'm trying to decide what to plant, as it feels like a funny time of year. I think I'm going to sow some more spinach, as we get through masses of the stuff, and I fancy growing some pretty rainbow swiss chard.

I think the rest of the patch will then have to wait until August, as I've seen a fantastic bargain pack of Winter brassica plug plants. It's a bit of a cheat, seeing as all my Summer veg has been grown from seed, but unfortunately I've missed the sowing window for most winter veg.

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Back at Purl Cottage, we have been harvesting our first crop of peas- my goodness they taste so sweet and wonderful straight out of the pod. I doubt any will make it as far as the steamer, let alone onto a plate!

We have gazillions of ripe strawberries too, which are going down well with the small people....

I never want this Summer to end!

sunshine, sandpits and stitches

Hurrah for the scorchio weather- a paddling pool and a sandpit will keep two busy girls amused for hours on end! This means a bit of me-time and I have quickly knitted up this little bird for Flora's friend whose birthday party it is tomorrow.

I'm also in the middle of knitting some blanket squares for a community project I'm participating in- everyone is given a letter to knit on a 6" square and when they're all sewn together they will make a giant poem. We won't find out what poem it is until it's finished and displayed in the library. I've been given an 'E' to do and am using up some vile shocking-pink acrylic mix yarn I've had in my stash for ages- Flora chose it for a jumper she wanted me to knit her last year, which I started and never finished because I just could not stand staring at the yarn any longer!

On Thursday, a woman from a local nursery (the plant sort, rather than children) came to work in our lunch break to talk about growing veg and brought some jolly freebies plug-plants, so I picked up two dwarf bean plants, some coriander and some trailing tomato plants that I'm going to train down the side of a planter.
As it is so hot, I have brought outside all the courgette, cucumber plants and pepper plants that have been growing on my window sill- no doubt I'll be bringing them back in in a few days, but it's nice for them to get some fresh air and direct sunlight. We have also planted out the sunflowers that we sowed the other week- they're down the back of the garden by the fence, next to the girls' sandpit.
I am delighted to see my basil seeds have germinated- I can never ever get basil to grow normally!

Right, I'm back off to laze in my deckchair- wish I had some Pimms!

pearl helps out

Today I had another lovely day off work and was rewarded with plenty of sunshine and blue skies. The garden was filled with the sweet Spring aroma of violas and fresh washing drying on the line.I love my garden so much that I really would spend every living minute pottering about, sniffing, poking, weeding and watering if life would allow it.

Pearl had a wonderful day too playing in the sun and being Mummy's garden helper and assisted me with watering the plants, sowing some more salad leaves and picking some lettuce leaves for tea.

It feels as though Spring has finally arrived!

garden pests

The hot air balloon that sailed across the sky as I was sitting out listening to the radio earlier, is a clear sign that the weather is still beautiful and it's looking even better for Saturday, with temperatures predicted to max at 18 degrees. As a family of four in a tiny two-bed cottage, it's been so nice to use the garden as an extra room, especially for the girls who have been spending hours out there this week. However, the extra time they have been spending outside is not without its downfalls....

Forget slugs and carrot fly, my biggest gardening battle seems to be against my family. Pearl has developed a taste for Viola flowers and my pots full of colourful flowers are being destroyed by the day- hopefully they're not poisonous!

My salad isn't fairing much better, with two lettuces having been lost to a stray football and a perfectly lovely row of spinach seedlings being decimated by my cat, who has been digging around in the raised bed. This weekend I'm going to be buying some netting to put over the top to keep her off my germinating seeds.

It's not all doom and gloom though- some crops are going from strength to strength, especially the peas which are happily shooting up in their sack. Their biggest predator is myself... I just can't resist picking off and nibbling on the delicious fresh pea-shoots. Nothing beats the taste of veg that's still growing as you chew! I have been shocked at how much plant pots cost, especially ones big enough to grow healthy veg, so the hessian sacks are a cheap and cheerful alternative to terracotta pots. You can even cut holes in the side, planting more crops and maximising the space and making your own bag garden, perfect for people with limited outside space.