Tulip Love

Hello again! I have loved the wonderfully warm sunny days which we've had lately, as well as the soft (and sometimes not so soft!) rain showers. May really is my favourite month of all, and fills me with great joy. All this rain and sunshine has resulted in a great deal of growing activity in the garden and surrounding countryside and at this time of year that mean just one thing - tulips! The garden has been full of them and they are sadly nearly over. But, oh my, they have been good.

'Angelique', one of my all-time favourites.

 

I love these stripey ones. When the sun goes in they twist shut.

This one is my favourite one this year. I bought it from the National Trust and it's called  'Black Parrot'. It's a beautiful shade of blackcurrant and is gorgeously feathery and ragged.

When we woke up yesterday morning and saw that the sun was shining I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Something that has become a tradition in recent years. We drove to our favourite farm shop, collected a yellow bucket from the kiosk, then headed across the fields. It was warm and gloriously bright. Swallows swooped, sheep bleated and children giggled in the play field - it felt good to be alive. We walked through the gate and stopped to take in the view.

A beautiful field full of pick-your-own tulips, just waiting to be gathered, taken home and admired. I must admit I felt quite giddy and may have hyperventilated slightly at the sight of them. 

I just stood and drank it all in. It's not a very big field, but there are so many blooms in furrowed rows. The colours on such a bright day positively glowed.

There are interesting signs with little bits of information about tulips. I managed to tear my eyes away from the flowers just long enough to read them. 

Where to start? I got down to business and started picking. I picked enough to share with my parents and brother and sister-in-law, so I made sure we had some of each variety. Before long the bucket was full, and it was time to pay. A bargain.

 Before we left we had a milkshake in the cafe (raspberry for me - my favourite), and stopped to look at this rather cuddly little person,

and these gorgeously fluffy people - aren't they sweet?

As we drove home we pulled over to look at some fields of oilseed rape. Wow, what a colour.

 Once home, I divided the tulips up between us, my parents and my brother and sister-in-law who came up to visit today.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed all this tulip love. I've been a bit more absent from blogging than I hoped lately and am sorry I haven't been visiting blogs. I'll show you what's been taking up my time soon. Fingers crossed, I plan to catch up properly with everyone this week. See you very soon x

This Week

Hello there, and thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post which was all about poetry. I must confess that when I wrote it I was a bit worried that it might be met with a rather quiet response. However, I should have known better, and I was delighted to discover that you enjoy poetry too - yay! It was fascinating to hear about your favourite poems and to hear about why they're special to you. 

This week has been pretty chilly with a good deal of stormy weather. Last weekend I managed to do a bit of gardening: tidying up dead perennials, a bit of weeding and some pruning. It felt good to be outside digging the soil and being active, and I spent an hour or so in my shed afterwards.

Some muscari which I bought from a supermarket a week ago are doing well and will bloom soon, and brighten up the shed with their wonderful blue-ness. I can't wait.

Yesterday they were in bud next to their scented cousins, the hyacinths. Such a lovely spicy, springtime smell.

At Christmas I bought another Mark Hearld concertina card decorated with a scene of winter birds. It's in my shed too, reminding me of the birds outside in the garden.

This weekend I plan to take part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, spending an hour watching the birds in my garden, and taking part in the survey. I already sent off for a pack and have refilled the feeders ready for our feathered visitors.

As you can see, Clover took an active interest, hanging about while I put out the seeds. Not sure the birds appreciated this.

I can see this might not work. Cats are not ideal birdwatching companions.

Whilst I was out in the garden I had a look round to see what was blooming, and discovered that there is a surprising amount of colour out at the moment. Outside our back door is this potted rosemary.

Looking at its flowers closely you can see how very blue and delicately marked they are.

There are pretty frilly primroses,

sweet violas,

hardy little snowdrops,

spotty-leaved pulmonarias,

richly-coloured and scented wallflowers,

bell-shaped heather

and shyly nodding hellebores,

delicately freckled and patterned.

And indoors on the window-sill a bright vase of sugary pink tulips glow in the sunshine.

More indoor flowers were to be enjoyed at my friend Jane's house which is where I spent a very pleasant afternoon last weekend. We have been friends a long time and share a love of making things, gardening and baking. When we can we take turns to go to each others' houses for a creative afternoon. Jane had prepared a very cosy corner with pretty miniature daffodils and a scented candle. Bliss. We had an inspiring time together sketching, sewing, crocheting and knitting.

It was lovely to chat and bounce ideas for projects around, as well as seeing what each other are making. 

Jane is talented and sells her brooches and artwork on Etsy - you can visit her shop here. It was fun to be surrounded by someone else's creations for a change, and very relaxing.

We drank tea, ate slices of stollen, and I started to crochet a basket from some chunky handspun wool which I bought online a few years ago. 

I finished it this week. Can you see the little star beads which have been spun into the yarn on the inside of the basket? I bought this gorgeous yarn here, as well as the yarn which I used to make my autumn garland and crocheted pot in this post.

It makes a good container to keep my wool in.

Or my knitting. I do like baskets, don't you?

This week I discovered overnight oats, as recommended by Jane. I had never heard of them, but after a bit of online research I discovered that they are quite a big thing. You may well know about them already. Not sure how I missed them, but I think they are the answer to my breakfast dilemma: I know porridge is delicious, healthy and excellent for keeping weight off, but I never seem to have enough time to make it before work. Overnight oats, however, make themselves. You simply put rolled oats in a container with milk, yoghurt, or a dairy alternative like soya, almond or coconut milk, and leave it in the fridge until morning. You can also add fresh fruit, like berries or banana, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and a sweetener like honey or peanut butter. You can even add cocoa powder the night before. That's all a bit rich for me first thing in the morning, so I kept mine quite plain with milk, walnuts, seeds and a little honey. Delicious. Thanks, Jane.

I shall leave you with two glorious sunrises this week. The colours are so gorgeous, I don't mind that they signal unsettled weather for the day ahead. As far as I'm concerned they're a great way to start the day.

See you soon x