Happiness is … Auriculas in bloom, socks that match their stripes and Ric Rac on steroids!

 Happiness comes in a terracotta pot, brimming full of auriculas. It's so satisfying to compare their performance with last year, and see how they're filling out and prospering. 

Auriculas

Things that rocked my world this week ...

 This week I've been struggling with the cold weather. I want to spend my days outside, but it's just too cold. I've got a jungle of tomato plants that are crowding my conservatory, and I'm so proud of my baby pelargoniums. Back in February I pruned back the leggy plants that had over-wintered, planted up the cuttings and - hey presto - I've got loads of baby plants. 

Happy Mother's Day 2021!

 A very big shout-out to all our mums! Happy Mother's Day!

I've just made this lace scarf in a sumptuous fingering weight cashmere/ silk yarn that a supplier sent me as a sample. It was a delight to work with: lovely sheen and all the gossamer lightness of a spider's web. I cast it off on Thursday, blocked it overnight and posted it to my mum on Friday morning. And, thankfully, it arrived just in time - phew! 

Garden Wins from the Summer of 2020

It's that time of the year with summer turning to autumn, when I feel nostalgic for the season that's passed. It's hard to believe that summer's been and gone. And what a strange summer it's been: I've stayed put all summer. With all the crazy uncertainty I simply didn't want to go anywhere. I've been happy to just be at home in my garden. And we've been fine: my garden and I. I've taken care of it, and it's taken care of me, nurtured me and kept me sane. 

So here's a list of the very best bits of my garden in the summer that's been and gone: my horticultural hit parade. 

5 Things to do with a dead duvet ...

 Do you feel bad about throwing things in the bin - things that you might just conceivably find a second life for?

I hate to waste things. Any things. It's my pet peeve. And one thing that always causes me particular angst is the vast expanse of a dead duvet - a duvet that, for whatever reason, you no longer want to use for its primary purpose. I am ideologically opposed to sending so much fabric off to landfill . So here's a list of what I've found to do in order to spare my conscience the wrench of binning the cast-off.