Happy New Year 2023

Photo from the TV of The Queen Elizabeth Clock Tower (Big Ben) on New Year's Eve/New Year's Day

Here we are in 2023.  2022 seemed to go particularly quickly, but that is perhaps because I am getting older!  As I have been doing for the last few years, I will reflect on last year and write my aims for this year.

A page from my Care December journal

Read interesting books - a big tick for this aim. Although the number of books read in 2022 went down to 54, there was an eclectic selection, including Circe by Madeline Miller; Anne Bronte re-imagined by Adele Hay; At home with William and Jane Morris by Suzanne Fagence Cooper; Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley and  Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus as well as several rereads of Jane Austen books, a few murder mysteries and some series continuations.  I am already off to a good start this year, with Dame Sue Black's Written in Bone, which is just as fascinating as her previous book, All That Remains.  (I thoroughly enjoyed her Christmas lectures for the Royal Institution  series on BBC4 and available on iplayer, should you be able to access them.  She is an extremely knowledgeable and experienced forensic anthropologist and has a huge passion and enthusiasm for her subject.)  There is no doubt that I shall continue this aim.

A page from my Care December journal

Be Creative (using what I have) - a tick for this one too, although I have added to my stash of crafting supplies.  I am trying to stick to one in, one out, but there are so many lovely products out there, I do succumb.  I have been able to use a lot of what I have over the year in my Wanderlust course and in other challenges, such as the Index Card a Day challenge,  #Printinktober and Care December.  Currently I am working on a challenge for January which was originally for August, but I decided to do it now, as I find January can be a long and somewhat depressing month.  I am continuing with Wanderlust 2023 and will no doubt be making cards and making some more dresses as well as taking part in the annual challenges this year.  

Another page from my Care December journal - my portraits continue to improve, I think

Get rid of or donate things I no longer want or need - while I did start in earnest and donated many books to the charity bookshop, this rather ground to a halt, so this will certainly be a continuing aim for this year. I really must make a proper effort and keep going through the year.

Another page in my Care December journal - colours I may focus on in 2023

Take more notice of Nature - another tick and another aim to continue this year.  Being a gardener, I do take notice of the seasons and my time in the garden increases after Winter.  I still have a wander round the garden in the Winter and admire the effects of the weather and the stoicism of plants which flower at that time.  Being in the garden or out in the wider natural environment is increasingly important and does give me that mindfulness which I also get when I am crafting.  I am getting better at just sitting in the garden and not rushing to do something all the time and find that just a few minutes of quiet sitting or wandering and observing will give me a boost.  

So there are my aims again this year.  Some will be easier to achieve than others, but I will do my best.

Here's hoping 2023 is a kinder year to us all.

Just a little light reading?

 I love reading.  It is one of my favourite things to do.  I do have a Kindle, which is great for work, as it is light, portable and can store lots on it, but nothing can beat the excitement of a book, whether new or just new to me.  However, I have had to have a serious talk with myself.  I have got too many books which I haven't read.  So, after ordering four more over Christmas(!), I have decided not to order any more until I have read all of the ones in the photo above and possibly a few more as well (there are many more yet to be read).  I enjoy many types/genres of books and the selection above encompasses fiction, factual, biography, gardening, art, cats and social history, to name but a few.  Now, which one to start with?

I usually have a few on the go at once, but if one really grabs my interest then it gets my undivided attention.  The ones above have the potential for this, I think.  I bought 'Merry Hall' for my Mum for Christmas as she likes Beverley Nichols and I had a sneaky peek before wrapping it.  I loved it, so had to get a copy for myself and then, as it was a trilogy, what could I do but buy the others as well?  You see my problem...
So these are first on the list and I must admit that 'The Lost Pre-Raphaelite' may be the very first to be read,  as it has intrigued me.  I have been keeping a record of the books I have read over the last couple of years and it is fascinating to look back.  Last year, I read 86 books and many were on my kindle.  I wonder whether I'll read more or fewer in 2015?  I am reading the Mapp and Lucia series on my Kindle at the moment but I am ready to start a real book too, so off I go!

A productive gardening day

I have had a busy day in the garden today, doing jobs which I have been unable to do in the week, due to the hot weather.  This weekend has been grey and cloudy with cooler temperatures, so I was able to catch up a bit.  Above is Jasmine 'Clotted Cream', which is doing really well, with lots of flowers still to come.

 I have planted a couple of Penstemon 'Garnet' and potted my Blueberry 'Goldtraube' into a much bigger tub.  I have also potted my Raspberries 'Joan J' into a big tub too as they had filled the original one.  Above is Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'.

I did some cutting back of geraniums which had flowered and also removed some violas which had become rather thug-like.  Above is Clematis 'Piilu'.

I wasn't the only busy one in the garden - lots of bees were visiting the jasmine and lavender.  So, a good day (but my back is aching a bit now!)

Four Happy Things Swap

 I recently took part in Bobo Bun's Four Happy Things swap which was great fun.  The idea was to include one thing from childhood, one thing in your favourite colour, one thing vintage/retro and one thing handmade.  I was partnered up with the lovely simply vintage and we emailed a couple of times and then it was all systems go.

The parcels were duly exchanged and the unwrapping began! I was extremely lucky and received some beautiful gifts.  Above is the childhood collection - sweets, ribbons and little gardening buttons all in a Flower Fairy tin.  I loved the Flower Fairy books when I was little.

The vintage thing was four beautiful embroidered napkins, in lovely seasonal Spring colours.

The favourite colour thing was an egg shaped tin containing an egg shaped soap.

The handmade thing was a ribbon bookmark, made by simply vintage, with a ladybird on one end and a leaf on the other.  As a wonderful added extra, she had added a book, all about gardening tips.  

 Here it all is - wasn't I lucky again?  Thank you so much to simply vintage, who was a perfect and very generous swap partner. 
What did I send?

 Here are my four happy things waiting to be wrapped for posting.

 The childhood thing - Lindt chocolate (I remember little Lindt moulded animals with flat backs, which tasted creamy and gorgeous, from when I was little) and Iced Gems (which were PARTY FOOD to me, as we only had them when there was a party).

 My vintage thing was this cake plate from the 1930s/1940s or thereabouts.

 The favourite colour thing was a blue macrame bracelet with agate, sodalite, fire agate, lapis lazuli, aventurine, quartzite and a polymer clay bead.

The handmade thing was a felt heart made from the wool of my sister's sheep (well, you knew that jewellery and felt would be featuring, didn't you?)
I really enjoyed this swap, so many thanks to Mrs Bun for organising it and to my swap partner, who was fantastic.

The oddness of English seasons

I took advantage of Sunday afternoon, when it wasn't actually raining, to have a brief tidy in the garden (not that you would realise I had tidied anything!)  There was a clematis (I think it is Etoile Violette) in flower and with buds coming too.  I had cut this one back hard at the end of the summer because it had gone brown and horrible, and I was hoping it hadn't got some nasty disease.  This must have either sent it into shock, producing more growth and  flowers, or made it think it was next year and time to flower again.  Yes, it was lovely to see, but the sad thing is that it will more than likely get another shock from the frosts.

 A hardy geranium still flowering, despite the rain.

Rose Molineux also with lots of buds.  This isn't all that unusual, as roses often do flower into winter.  It is still a wonderful thing to see and lifts the spirits.

Garden Thoughts

 I thought I would have a bit of a garden review for this post - how last year went, what were the highlights? and what I need to do this year.  Pictured above is Hydrangea AvantGarde, still in flower, and with the flowers looking as though they are made from icing - at least, that's the thought that came to me when I looked at them this morning.  So, how did last year go?  A mixture of highs and lows, as always.  Highs were the gorgeous tulips, the magnolia, the clematis and roses.  Lows were the unpredictable weather (not that any of us can do anything about that, of course) and the lowest low was the battle with the fungus in the soil (this fungus is normally present in all soil and helps to break down debris,  but has decided to run amok through the border for some reason.)  (Incidentally, I think I have lost that particular battle and am going to have to retire gracefully - or not so gracefully).  I think I am going to dig up all my asters and the perennial sunflower and transfer them into large pots.  It is not practical to keep replacing the soil and anyway, the fungus will go where it wants to.  I think deep rooted plants will survive, but the more shallow rooted perennials will need saving.

 On a more positive note, here are the first signs of snowdrops, which is always cheering.  I applaud their tenacity to grow no matter whether covered by snow or ice, or blasted by freezing temperatures or  Arctic winds.  Spring isn't too far away, although I have the feeling the winter will still throw a few surprises at us yet.

 Two brave little violas, adding a splash of colour to the rather bedraggled and sad looking garden.

So, I shall try to remain positive and save my asters.  Then I shall have a long think and do some research about tough plants. I wonder what 2012 will bring for the gardeners amongst us?

Ginny on the pot

I was out in the garden yesterday, busily potting on a buddleia and a couple of box bushes, and within two minutes of me being out there, Ginny came strolling down the garden, jumped onto her favourite pot and surveyed my activity with a knowing stare.  She then posed very obligingly and even looked at the camera for me.  Both cats enjoy watching me gardening, and really love to be in the garden when we are out there.  However, I do have to protect some of my lovely plants from Ginny's claws ( I am sure she purposely chooses my best plants) as you can see from the chicken wire wrapped around the trunk of the magnolia in the photo above.   This pot is one of Ginny's favourite places as it is high enough to give her that feeling of superiority which she loves, and also big enough for her to sun herself on.

Gardening

I have finally managed to get out in the garden and do some sorting out! Hooray! I've pruned roses, clematis and miscanthus grasses, I've potted on a couple of hydrangeas and moved a rose bush that was in the wrong place. I have tidied and sorted the pots at the front door and cut down stems from perennials in the back garden. I have divided astrantia major and spread it around the borders. There are a few bare patches in the borders, but things will soon start to grow. These scillas were planted last autumn in a container and are providing a lovely splash of lapis lazuli blue at the moment, and I noticed lots of muscari (grape hyacinth) bulbs coming up which will continue the blue theme.

Clematis and wallflowers

These photos are of plants from my own garden. The combination of colours was a bit unexpected (and I have to admit, not necessarily planned by me, as I didn't know what colour the wallflower would be when I planted it!) but I think it works. The wallflowers were bought at the local market, in the traditional way, wrapped in newspaper. I planted them last autumn and only two survived the cold winter, both of which were this deep red.

I have lots of clematis in my garden - Piilu, Asao, Arabella, Princess Diana, Kingfisher, Ice Blue, Rebecca, to name but a few. However, for flowering at this time of year, it's hard to beat the alpina and macropetala cultivars. This clematis macropetala has flowered beautifully this year and the pale lilac-blue compliments the spring flowering bulbs and early hardy geraniums very well.