It’s all about the garden…

Hello,

There’s definitely a gardening theme to this week’s blog! After moving house in March, and having almost finished the work that needed doing inside (apart from a couple of kitchen cabinets which need replacing, which should happen any day now), we’ve finally been able to turn our attention to the much neglected garden. I sorted out the raised bed next to the side gate a few weeks back and showed you a photo in a previous blog, and now I’ve finally started on the main back garden. (I say “I” because the garden is very much my domain and not hubby’s, which is fine by me! I really love gardening. He’s king of the kitchen, which is also fine by me…).

I’m going to work my way round it methodically so began by clearing the bit of border next to the shed, a big mess of various shrubs which had all grown into each other over the years. Here are my before and after shots…it’s SO much better now! I’m going for a sort of “tropical English” style and this particular bed is quite shady so I’ve got cordyline, phormium and fatsia there, along with ferns, echinacea, euphorbia, sedum, heuchera and several others. I’ve also bought Richard Jackson’s allium bulb collection which I’ll plant soon so we should have a lovely display there next year.

That will probably be it now until the spring (gosh, plants aren’t cheap, are they?), but I’m so looking forward to slowly creating this new garden from scratch over the next couple of years.

I do like a little finishing touch (note my gazing balls and Easter Island sculpture in the border!) so I was also rather pleased to find out that Langdons have a pull cord lightbulb Today’s Special Value offer coming up on Wednesday 25th. These lights are always really popular so it’s great to see them back. They’re perfect for indoors or out and great to use in places where you need extra lighting but where wiring would be tricky (attics, sheds, cupboards and so on).

It’s a set of three in a choice of black or silver (I’ve got the black) and they are battery powered (three AAA) but also have a remote control which is so handy… I’ve hung them in a tree next to my new border so it’s nice to not have to walk on wet grass every time I want to turn them on and off. You can also switch between white light or colour changing (I might change to the colour option for the festive season!) and they are super tough so fine to leave outside if you want to. I love them.

Meanwhile inside, we’re lucky enough to have a guest bathroom but it was looking a bit bland. I love real plants but inside and particularly upstairs I often use faux greenery (I tend to forget to water real plants if they’re upstairs and out of sight!). I do love Peony (which will feature in my next blog) but have also been impressed by some of the faux plants in Amanda Holden’s range, so I decided to buy her set of three succulents in concrete pots (only £20 for the three!). And voila! Instant interest in the boring bathroom.

Right, I’m writing this on probably one of the last sunny, warm days of the year so I’m off to meet a friend for a picnic lunch in the park before heading to work for a late shift. Have a great week!

Love Jackie x