Hanging baskets

When I was a child my mum used to meet with her friends at this time of year and have a hanging basket making session. We always had such lovely baskets of trailing flowers all summer long.

In between down pours, and with help from my mum, I've put together my own, with trailing petunias, geraniums and lobelia. I just love how unusual some of these colours are.











Ensure that your basket is full of good quality compost, that the plants have some room to expand, and that you have fun!

Latino inspiration

In my dreams I swan about in a cool courtyard sipping margaritas and chowing down on my own home made refried beans (not at the same time). My years living in Texas really gave me a taste for all things mexicana, but somehow I must accept that it's now a Wiltshire life for me. I love the potted aloe, the iron gate and the white painted brickwork in this courtyard garden.


Photography by Coles Hairston

But just because the weather in the UK is dismal at best, it doesn't mean that we can't have a sprinkling of garden fiesta for ourselves. Aloe grows perfectly well indoors in the UK, and paired with a few lanterns and some candles, can make any English patio feel like a hacienda on a rare warm evening. Rusty metalwork, painted brick and climbers also create a Spanish feel that can't be spoiled by the weather. And if all else fails...here's a cracking recipe for a margarita...just turn up the central heating for a bit!

A classic margarita:-

35ml/1¼fl oz Reposado Tequila
20ml/¾fl oz Cointreau
35ml/1¼fl oz fresh lime juice
handful ice cubes
lime wedge, to garnish




http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/classicmargarita_84327

making the best of what we've got

Poppy

The weather has been so unreliable recently that the garden has been slightly neglected (I'm minimising this here!) I spotted a little petal hanging from a spider web and it sparked my desire to take a few pictures of the garden at the moment.

Petal from spider web

I just love the colours of all of these!

Today is the summer solstice...the longest day of the year! I am fighting the urge to think 'it's all down hill from here'. But the garden is looking fantastic and I am honestly in awe of the growth and the little miracles going on. How can you be miserable with that!?                                                                                                                     

Clematis- shocking purple

The prettiest, frilliest poppy I've ever seen!

Clematis- what a colour!

Some Jubilee Yummies

For the Jubilee weekend we went on a camping trip to Cornwall. Although the weather was dismal, I did get to enjoy using a posh new camera and here are some pics of delicious bread in the Chough Bakery (Padstow) and a Jubilee themed cake in a little cafe called 'Cherrytrees' (Padstow).

The weather can never spoil baked goods!