... And Relax

Well, we've made it to the end of term here at The House With The Blue Door. Phew. D has finished her school year and so have I. I'm not sure who's more tired - the students or the staff! Ahead of us lie six whole weeks of summer holidays - hooray! It always takes me a few days to get into our new routine as the last days of term are so busy, so it takes a while to slow down and breathe. Yesterday evening's glass of wine in the garden was a good start.

We're at that time of year when the evenings are long and warm on a fine day, and despite some very humid and overcast weather this week, there's been some sunshine here and there. This morning was beautiful, warm with blue skies, and as I went into the garden to hang out the washing I felt very happy indeed.

I picked some raspberries and lavender while I was out there. My shed is calling to me. I'm planning on spending a good deal of creative time out there this summer.

I gave the flower beds a much-needed weed and then put some cosy blankets on the bench and sat under the apple tree for a while with a bit of crochet. I'll show you what I've been up to a bit later.

Our back garden is set apart and we can't see it from the house. We have a small paved area by the back door and as well as a small table and chairs, there are pots and containers which make a sort of little garden area. I pop out to pick the herbs for cooking, but there are also some colourful annuals too. Here are a few of them. The pelargoniums are at their best, as are the nasturtiums. I do love those round leaves.

This petunia couldn't be much more cheerful with its fabulous lilac trumpets.

And I'm really enjoying the deep, rich red of this pelargonium.

Best of all is this little passion flower 'Violacea'. I bought it in a supermarket in the spring for under £2, and am thrilled with its fabulous purple flower. I plan to put it in the garden, but it's tender so I'll have to think about where to put it over the winter. At the moment it's very happy in its pot.

Indoors on our dining table a bunch of Sweet Williams is filling the room with summer. I love to buy these gorgeous flowers every year. Relations of pinks and carnations, they have a faint clove-like scent and make me think of traditional cottage gardens.

Finally I shall share with you these rather lovely traditional 'British pudding' sweets. I'm not generally a fan of sweets, but these are so pretty they caught my eye. They come in three flavours: Eton Mess, Cherry Bakewell and Lemon Meringue, and have a bit of a 'retro' feel. They taste nice too.

Now I plan to put my feet up and spend a while catching up on blogs, and replying to all your lovely comments. See you soon x