Wanderlust 2026 - First seven weeks - roots and wings

The art journal course I have been doing for several years is well underway and the theme was 'roots and wings'.  It has moved to intermediate skills and slightly away form always being pages in a journal.  However, I am keeping my work in a journal because I don't have space for 'things' to be on display.  It will be a challenge for some weeks, transferring 3D to 2D, but that will be fun in itself.  As last year, I won't show every week, just the weeks I particularly enjoyed.  Above was week one, where we were encouraged to use a big sheet of paper and be free, then cut it down.  I enjoyed making all the swooping brush marks.

This week was about someone who inspired us, so I made a tribute to my Granny. There are scanned watercolour paintings from when she was at school as well as a watercolour from when she was in Australia.  I have inherited a love of art and nature from her as well as enjoying sewing.  

Creating natural dyes was the focus of this week. I used walnut ink, tea and the bright yellow is turmeric. 

I so enjoy making books and journals too, so this week was really right up my street.  My little book has a pocket to live in.  We were encouraged to think about our dreams and what we hope for ourselves in the future.

This is the front with a handmade bird stamp, texture paste and a little fabric collage. The binding thread is decorated with beads.

Inside the book are pages including stamps, material, cut outs, tracing paper pages and quotes.

Found poetry on the left and a material flap on the right...

...which shows the word dream through a cut out page.

More stamps.

A final quote.  More to come in my next post.

Enjoying flowers both inside and outside

Last month, I was given these cream roses by a friend and they lasted really well.  I trimmed the stems and changed the water and they lasted for two weeks.

Outside, the run of a few days of sunny and warm weather have brought plants on really well. It's nearly the vernal equinox too, so the lengthening daylight is also a signal to grow.  Primroses are out, both the native ones and...

others which have self seeded under the patio table, but as they are so pretty, I haven't had the heart to dig them up and move them.

Muscari (grape hyacinth) flowering in a bowl on the patio.

Some different varieties of grape hyacinth in a pot.

Scilla going over a bit, but still a lovely sky blue.

Camellia St Ewe with its bright pink flowers and egg yolk yellow centres.

Tulips are also in bud in the border.  I did plant some in pots too, but they are not looking too good.  I think they have got too wet over the winter, so may have rotted. We'll see whether I get anything at all.  However, there will be lots of other plants to enjoy, so I shall focus on them instead.

Early Spring in the garden

While it is early Spring, there is still a high chance of colder weather up until May.   I am enjoying the early flowering plants, such as this unnamed camellia. 

Hellebore Ice and Roses is doing beautifully, with really tall stems and more upward facing flowers.

The unnamed double camellia which Mum gave me quite a while ago now is looking lovely too.  I think this may be a camellia williamsii.

The flower colour is very zingy!

The cyclamen coum and snowdrop pot has been bringing colour to the shady patio.

While cardamine quinquefolia is lightening up the shady border.  It does spread, but so far isn't trying for garden domination...yet.  

The hellebores in the garden are flowering now but seem to be a little less prominent than they were.  Perhaps they were affected by the heat and lack of rain during the last couple of summers.

These are Harvington speckled ones and you do need to lift the flowers up to see the patterns.

I think this one may be a self-seeder from the original but I am happy to leave it in the garden.  It is a joy to welcome these lovely plants each year.

Chocolate treats

For a birthday treat last month, I baked a yummy chocolate cake.  It is my usual go to chocolate cake recipe which always makes a moist cake that keeps well (not that it has much chance to!).  I decided to break with tradition and have a Cadbury's Flake on the top, rather than Chocolate Buttons.  It was delicious and didn't last long!

I follow Rebecca at Railway Cottage on Youtube and she has been trying a WWII diet.  She provided a recipe for Crumb Fudge which uses dry breadcrumbs mixed with margarine, cocoa powder, sugar and golden syrup.  This mix was one Mum always used with Cornflakes to make us Cornflake cakes for parties.  I think I may have had too many breadcrumbs as the base is a bit dry, not soft and squidgy as it should be.  I had some left over chocolate so topped the 'fudge' with it.  It is a recipe I will try again (great use for left over bread) but with fewer breadcrumbs this time!

It does taste good, but best eaten accompanied by a cup of tea!