Friday 21 May 2021

Come into the garden

An unexpected but obviously very welcome glut of sunny days has made me lose track of time in the garden, resulting in a mad rush to finish this blog post. How I ever managed to consistently post every four days while simultaneously working full time, I'll never know. 

If there's one thing I've learned this past year it's to live life at a slightly slower pace, although it has also created the opportunity to fine-tune my procrastination habit to an almost professional level! It's a thin line to walk, especially as I've still got to work for my money, and a return to full-time employment is looming on the horizon. 



For now, I'm happy as it is - even if there is room for improvement - and I'm making the most of all the days I've got left on which time is my own to do with as I please.

For the sake of this blog, I am backtracking to last week, starting with Tuesday the 11th of May. Although the temperature was nudging 20°C, the sun only paid us the briefest of visits, waving us goodbye before the morning was over.



In my book, blue and green can certainly be seen! In fact, it is one of my favourite colour pairings.

Various shades of both have joined forces in this short-sleeved Diolen dress, which is usually among the first to get an outing in Spring.

I picked up the palest of the greens by adding a sea foam beaded necklace and honoured the sky blue with my charity shopped King Louie cardigan. Navy was represented by my belt and the delightful  enamelled brooch featuring a girl bearing a flower posy.



As that week's Thursday, my other non-office, would be a public holiday and consequently everything would be closed or far too busy, it was a toss-up between the charity shop and the garden centre on Tuesday. 

In the end, we decided to do both, starting with a visit to the three-floor charity shop in nearby Duffel. 

The clothing rails were choc-a-bloc and I dithered over a couple of things, in the end only buying this handmade vintage dress offering a veritable explosion of Summer flowers on a teal background. 

Ok, I also bought a mustard cardigan and a pair of slouchy trousers, but they weren't exciting enough to merit photographing.



On to the garden centre, where a handful of annuals and two perennials ended up in our trolley, together with a Sweet Pea plant (Lathyrus odoratus). I love Sweet Peas, and each year I vow to grow some from seed, lack of space on a sheltered windowsill usually putting paid to my plans. 

Back at home we had lunch, after which I wasted no time in planting them in a big terracotta pot, where they are allowed to scramble upon a wigwam I cobbled together from old bamboo canes, one of which topped with a blue ceramic heart. At its feet, I planted the delightfully named Calibrachoa ‘Good Night Kiss’ (bottom left), more commonly known as Million Bells. 



As Spring flowers are slowly but surely making way for their Summer sisters, the time has come to spruce up the little courtyard at the end of the garden with patio pots. Here, I planted yet another terracotta pot with striped Petunias, aptly likened by Vix to circus tents. These particular ones are called 'Rose Stardust' and they seem to be floating upon a sea of white and purple Alyssum (bottom left).

Other floral delights include, clockwise from top left, the by now pink-tinged petticoats of my beloved Aquilegia 'Nora Barlow', the first of the dusky purple Geranium phaeum flowers, and the delicate white, yellow hearted crepe paper-like blooms of Helianthemum 'Snow Queen'.



Wednesday's office days was a reasonably busy one, but as the sun had decided to be with us for the duration, I nipped outside during my lunch break. 

On my way back from the hairdresser the week before, I'd seen rolls of vinyl tablecloth in various gorgeous patterns outside a lovely shop called Akotee (linking because I like), and as we were in need of a new cloth for our kitchen table, I returned, armed with the necessary measurements, and selected a mustard yellow one with sprigs of white flowers. It is coated cotton rather that vinyl, and it looks fantastic against our kitchen's blue walls. 

I was also tempted by a set of cat face shaped bag clips. No Bess among them, though.

And speaking of Bess, there's no sleeping in on my days off with her around, as she tends to jump on the bed - and on us - in a bid to get us out of bed. We've had to shut her out of the bedroom at one point. And of course, the minute we finally get up, she's out for the count, looking as if butter wouldn't melt!




Thursday was mostly sunny, with temperatures of about 18°C. As I had gardening plans, the outfit I wore was assembled with that in mind, selecting a black floral skirt and a pale long-sleeved blouse scattered with tiny red flowers. These are both items which, although nice enough, aren't too precious to wear for some light gardening. 

Both the skirt and blouse are old Think Twice finds, but it was the first time they were paired.



I refrained from using red throughout as an accent colour for my accessories, only picking a red beaded necklace, and adding a belt and bird brooch in butterscotch yellow. 

As the temperature had dropped by the time we made the outfit photos at the end of the day, I quickly threw on my chartreuse mid-length open cardigan, which I think doesn't look bad at all.



Back to that morning's gardening, for which I pulled a pair of purple striped Pipi Longstocking socks over my tights and wore my charity shopped purple plaid ankle wellies and old IKEA denim gardening apron. Into the latter's generous front pocket hides a myriad of items such as my gardening gloves, pieces of string and my trusty pair of secateurs.




My first task was planting the two perennials we brought back from the garden centre on Tuesday. 

Persicaria bistorta (Common Bistort) and Verbascum nigrum (Dark Mullein), along with two leftover purple Alyssums, were added to the new border on both sides of the stepping log path.





Then, with the help of Jos, I transplanted the Nasturtium seedlings into small terracotta pots. When I ran out of these, I put two of them in the old enamel coffee pot I roped in as a planter last Summer, and planted the rest in the garden. In the new border, some of the offspring of last year’s climbing Nasturtiums are popping up too.



Aquilegias galore, including one we never planted in the first place. Growing in a crack along the wall I found the wine red double Aquilegia (top left) which must be the mutated offspring of Nora Barlow. Isn't she gorgeous? Clockwise from top right are the first flower of  'Crimson Star' about to open, the first of the 'Biedermeiers' and the promising flower buds of Aquilegia alpina!




We're jumping to Saturday now, a cloudy and mostly rainy day, with a drop in temperature to a decidedly non-Springlike 14°C. Hello, weather gods, wake up, it's May for goodness sake!



Layering is key in these kind of temperatures, so I wore a three-quarter sleeved t-shirt underneath the midnight blue long-sleeved top. The latter was a charity shop find, as were the necklace and long line pink cardigan, while the pink dragonfly brooch was picked up at the indoor flea market. 




The rest of my outfit was bought from the high street over the years, the most recent being the belt and the oldest the skirt which, although the shop it is from firmly classes it as fast fashion, has been going strong for more than 10 years now.

In spite of the dampness of the day, there was no rest for the wicked when it came to gardening. After all, I still had a trayful of annuals to be given a home. Next up were a two-tone pink Pelargonium and Petunia 'Sweet Pink' (top right) which will hopefully keep each other company for months to come.

Elsewhere, our late Winter, early Spring combos of Pansies, Violas and Bellis (bottom left and right) are still going strong.




I'm leaving you now with a view taken from the back of the garden towards the house. 

To the left of the kitchen, from where Jos is keeping an eye on things, is the famous potting shed with its peeling paint often used as a backdrop for outfit photos, while to the right is the passageway which leads next to the kitchen. The window box at the end is on our dining room's window ledge, and you can actually see all the way to our front door!



And with that, I bid you goodbye once more. I hope you'll join me again next time, and that you will do your best to remain safe, sane and fabulous until then!




33 comments:

  1. I love the blue and greens in your first outfit and I really like the floral dress you found at the thrift store! I can't imagine a 3 level opshop, I'd spend all day there browsing! :)

    I am also finding the same with blogging - while life has returned to almost normal here I'm still working from home which should give me more time but I struggle to get up to my 3 posts a week I did regularly before everything - 2 posts is much more manageable!

    Hope you are having a good weekend :)

    Away From The Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica! The 3-level charity shop is one of my favourites. The ground floor mainly has furniture, so we usually just walk through it to get to elevator. The basement is where the clothes are, so I usually concentrate on that ;-) xxx

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  2. if a house ever earned the "cottage" in its name - then its yours!!
    i always guessed it from the interior pics but the allover look from the outside proofs - its tiny! and looking really cute between the lush bushes in your garden!
    my problem with posting in the pandemic is to have enough photos.
    with almost no trips to interesting places, not much picture-worth outfits - my garden attire is always the same shorts with different old shirts - and a slow progress of the plants because to cold its hard to have interesting (in my books) material.
    and for the writing: i could wax endless about whats wrong with human kind - esp. in this pandemic times - but this would bore even me........ not to mention the readers. but other events "to write home about" are much to rare/non existing.
    happy weekend! hugsies! xxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! Dove Cottage is a small-ish house indeed. It was originally a two-up, two-down, to which a kitchen and bathroom extension was added. We've christened it Dove Cottage, because the street we live in translates as Dove Street :-) Oh, and I do miss writing travelogue, day trip and flea market posts, too. xxx

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  3. That photo of Jos looking out on the garden is just fabulous, he looks like he should be in my Garden People book!
    You've managed your free time really well, rediscovering your love of gardening and getting so much joy from plants. I bet the thought of returning to full time work is a little daunting but the excitement of life returning to normal and being able to travel again is so exciting, isn't it? I'm thrilled that your jab is imminenet, too!
    Wonderful outfits, the colours in the dress you found are glorious.
    Bess looks so sweet and cntent tucked up her basket, she looks like she's smiling! xxx

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    1. I can't tell you how chuffed Jos was with your remark. And he isn't even much of a gardener. Basically, I am the head gardener, and he's the under gardener :-) I'd like to think I used my time well, I just have to look at the garden whenever I've got any doubts. 4 days to the jab now! xxx

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  4. Love the picture of Jos and your garden behind your Cottage.😁 It‘s a green oase, with so many amazing flowers. Green and blue together is great as we can see in this amazing dress. So cute this dragonfly brooch! and Bess slrepkng on the chair. 😉
    I wish you a great weekend, with a very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! Our tiny green oasis has always been our sanctuary, and especially this last year! xxx

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  5. The teal flowered dress you found has the most gorgeous print. The colours work so fantastically well together.
    Your garden is putting mine to shame Ann. I'm afraid it's all looking rather overgrown here with wall to wall ( or rather cloud to cloud) rain, I haven't been able to face going out there, especially as it's been windy and cold too. On the plus side it's a haven for insects!
    Bess looks beautiful. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! That dress's print was love at first sight. I do hope you've been able to go out in the garden in the meantime! xxx

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  6. The garden is looking beautiful-so much colour. I'm rather enchanted by the cat clips-how cute are they?

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    1. Thank you Goody! I thought those cat clips were irresistible :-) xxx

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  7. Adore your fabulous ensembles, dear Ann. The blue, green and white one seems especially suited colour wise to these last few weeks of spring, as blue skies smile down on us and the grass underfoot is just as verdant as verdant can be.

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Thank you Autumn! We finally have some warm and sunny weather here. I hope it lasts longer than just a couple of days, though! xxx

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  8. The last photo of Jos looks like he is on a episode of gardeners world! I love those KL cardigans. Whenever I am in the shop nearby, where they sell a lot of KL, new though, I'm drawn to the rack with those cardigans. All hanging on color, it makes me want to have all of them. Yeah, they call me caterpilar never enough..... I love sweet peas plants too, the colors are so gorgeous. We are going to the sea tomorrow for a few days..... windy, rainy and bloody cold. Ah well, I guess someone is saving the glorious weather for the UK hopefully in September. Gerben gets his vaccin next Saturday. He will be the first one from our friends group that is ready for it as he gets just one jab. Have a good week Ann!

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    1. Haha, well, I can't imagine Jos on Gardener's World, as it's me who does the actual gardening here! Would you believe I found yet another of those KL cardigans in the charity shop the other week? I know! xxx

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  9. Your garden looks like a lovely, colourful place but it looks very small - like mine. You do have a side return which makes it more interesting than my plain rectangle shape. I love what you did to your sweet peas. We have two trellises with boxes underneath which is where ours will be going. One set of sweet peas is about 9 inches tall and the other is awaiting planting as the plants only arrived by post on Saturday. When everything is blooming your garden must look wonderful.

    Lovely outfits as always - the chartreuse cardigan addition was a touch of genius and the newly found dress had the most beautiful floral print - and lots of colours so plenty of options with the accessories. You're a very stylish looking gardener with your apron and matching wellies and socks!

    Love the new tablecloth and the cat bag clips are fab; don't let Bess get her paws on those...

    It sounds like you've been having goodish weather. A lot of grey and rain here but better weather is on its way for the BH weekend, I believe.
    xxx

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    1. Thank you Vronni! That side turn isn't much to write home about, however. And it will be completely sun-less once our neighbour has finished his planned kitchen extension. The garden's far too small for a plant-o-holic, but the upside is that we can keep up with its maintenance! xxx

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  10. Loving that first brooch and the cat face shaped bag clips! Your garden is looking great too :)

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  11. Slowing down our hectic modern lives is important, even if we still have to work. Everyone needs balance.

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    1. I know, Ally. As I'll be 60 in September, I think it's time to down-size to a 4-day working week, anyway! xxx

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  12. Flowers, flowers and more flowers. Very nice indeed! Have a lovely time planting, potting and what ever you are doing in the garden. xxx Regula

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  13. Ah, your myriad flowers are just gorgeous to see! I love seeing them! Beautiful! The varied Aquelegia are so glorious! I love the red mutant (seems a mean word somehow to use).
    I love your outfits. I do green and blue too.
    The handmade vintage dress looks like it would be good for this week's Style imitating Art as does the stripy skirt! I would love it if you joined in.
    I like the planted tea pot.
    Bess is certainly acting as a typical cat now!

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    1. Thank you Kezzie! I do agree that mutant is a horrible word for something so lovely! One day, I promise I'll join Style imitating Art. xxx

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  14. The flowers are beautiful! I love your blue and green outfit and those black floral skirt is a pretty find! Have a wonderful week ahead!
    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

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  15. Oh, jeez, I knew I'd missed a post and here it is! Lovely outfits, Ann! That seafoam green is so pretty on you.

    Aw, look at Bess! She's learned to leap on your bed, has she? Vizzini alternately pokes his paw in my mouth and meows in my face, or he runs across our pillows (quite startling, to say the least) or he lurks around the bed, meowing at us. I often have to shut him out of the bedroom, and am very thankful he didn't pick up the habit of pounding our door! Our old kitty Inigo would do that for hours on end, until he was fed!

    Your garden is so lovely! Have a great week, my dear friend.

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    1. No problem, Sheila! Vizzini's bed antics sound a lot worse than Bess's :-) She does jump from the chest of drawers onto the bed, and guess who's the person she lands on ... Our first cat Poesie used to rattle the built in cupboard door until she was fed! xxx

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  16. totally agree about blue&green, it's one of my favourite color combos and love the way you styled your floral dress with this cute cardi and fab brooch!, You Rock Accessories!
    And I also totally agree that procrastination is becoming my thing, my list of tasks is massive and I don't care too much!
    Loving all the colours in your garden, loving Bess' cuteness and loving the cute tablecloth and the cat clips!.
    You rock mixed patterns, and love the chartreuse and red details all around!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! I had so many plans around the house when we first went into lockdown, but it all petered down after a couple of months ... xxx

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  17. Urns, balustrades, stone, gravel paths, parterres, formal pools and framed views are all part of the formal garden. There are no surprises, you know what to expect. empresas de mantenimiento de jardines

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