Looks like spring

It looks like spring... finally! It has been very slow in coming this year (as seen in this entry earlier this month). But now it seems we are on the right track, so to speak.



The potager's walkways have been cleared, the borders have been given a fresh layer of top soil... and last, but not least... all the vegetable seeds have been sown.



The lilacs are about to bloom (my favourite time of the year!), while some of the plum trees and not least the bird cherry tree is already in full bloom, spreading its heady scent around the garden.



A few years back we planted a hedge of May bushes either side of the flower borders heading to the potager. When I set to photograph the blossoms today, my four legged companion decided it was her turn to be the star instead!



How I love, love the month of May. It started out as a bit of a disappointment (weather wise), but has come up trumps in the end. It has certainly been worth the long wait.

So how many does one really need then...?

I've been at it again. I just don't seem to be able to help myself. So much fun, and such a quick fix. New cushion covers, that's what I'm talking about. Back in January I wondered whether a girl could have too many. And I believe we agreed that no, she could not.



But the question today is how many does she really need then...? It seems, in my case, the answer is endless amounts. Yet I do have to admit I (at times) despair at the piles of soft furnishing I have around; cushions, quilts, blankets, tablecloths, slip covers... you name it, and I seem to have got it.



Yet there is so much fun to be had in swapping things around. By changing a few cushion covers you get a whole different look to a room. And when I make them myself (mostly out of recycled fabrics) then it really should not be a problem, right? Only I seem to be running out of storage space. Never mind, today I've made yet another one!

Sunday

Cold, windy and wet. That's what it's been like today. For a 'fair weather gardener', like myself, it has not been a day for outdoor activities (even though there is ever so much to do in the garden).



How I long to spend a whole day in the garden, feeling and smelling the warm earth, pruning the rest of the roses, putting the first seeds in the ground and just generally pottering about.



But it was not to be today. Maybe tomorrow...? I will just have to admire the few lilac branches that I brought indoors yesterday and hope that the tight buds will open up soon...



... while adding a few more hexies to my 'retro' quilt (which is growing ever so slowly. Still loving it, though). What have you been up to today? Any gardening...? (of course the irony of it is that the sun has finally come out...)

Pretty little thing

This little (originally brown leather) chair has been in my possession for many a year. And for the longest time it has been dressed in a white cotton slip cover (made by yours truly). I have been happy with the chair, and its cover, but lately the white cover has started to look rather worse for wear. So I have been toying with the idea of giving this trusty old chair a whole new 'dress'.



In my minds eye I saw this little chair covered in florals this time around. But other than to just dream about it I did very little to actually achieve the look. Until I got a few meters of this pretty Laura Ashley chintz (from the 80') from my mother in law, that is.



With the approximately four meters (in two pieces!) of it I was sure there would be enough prettiness to go around the whole chair. And with a bit of fiddling there was. Not quite enough to cover the seat cushion, though, but I do not really mind, as that might just have made the chair a bit too floral. So the blue ticking stayed on.



The chintz fabric is rather light weight, so I chose to line the whole lot with an old white sheet (never throw away old sheets, they are ever so handy for ever so many purposes). Hence more fiddling (I am no 'dress maker'). I have on purpose chosen a 'shabby' creased look (I washed the fabric in the machine prior to the 'dress making' to make it less 'chintzy') and it seems to me the chair is rather pleased with the end result.

Oh happy day

Oh what a beautiful day it has been today. A happy day, full of sunshine and warmth. A day spent outdoors, working in the garden. And every now and then enjoying a restorative cup of coffee while admiring what has been achieved so far...



For the first time this spring the cushions come out. As did the tablecloth. You may remember my lucky find back in March. Now the crochet coverlet has come outdoors, as initially intended (and it fits the table perfectly too!)



Out have also come the geraniums, from their winter hiding/storage. They do look rather sad, but at least they made it through winter. A few more sunny warm days, and they'll be just fine and dandy, all ready to bloom.



It is, in fact, quite amazing how much has happened in the garden since my last entry, only a couple of days ago. I am so loving this, seeing everything turn green just before my very eyes (while I enjoy the sun and sip coffee...)



One of the greatest joys today, though, was the discovery of the very first wood anemones (one of the first wildflowers to appear every spring). Never mind that I picked bunches of them back in March last year. Their late arrival makes them all the more precious.

The reason why...

Those of you that are interested in gardening may have noticed that there has not been any garden-related entries in my blog for ever so long. True, and the reason why can be seen in these photos. There simply isn't anything to report.



This last winter has seemed never ending, and spring really has not got going yet. In fact, in our 13 years here, this is the very latest spring ever. For a gardener these are trying times, and it is easy to get impatient.



Today I finally removed the spruce branches that have been protecting the flowerbeds, hoping to see some new green growth emerging from under the covers. But no, hardly any was to be seen. After closer inspection some life was found, so all is not lost.



Meanwhile I have started work on the potager's walkways. They have initially been laid with stones, but over the course of several years these have been covered with earth, moss and general garden debris. So it is high time to do something about it. Tedious work, but rather worth it, me thinks.



Today we have finally had a day that somewhat resembles spring, and the temperature has been a pleasant 17C, so hopefully some time soon I have a bit more to report from my (at the moment) very dead looking garden. It is hard to imagine that in only a couple month's time it will (hopefully) look like this again.

Coming up roses

Roses... how I love them. As for my garden, roses are nowhere near ready to bloom, as at the moment I can't even tell whether my beloved roses have survived the cold winter. I have pruned most of them (a bit too early as it is still oh, so cold) but that's about it.



Of course, even under normal conditions (and this year the conditions have indeed not been normal!) I do not see the first roses in my garden till June. So I will have to look for roses elsewhere. And what better than in a bit of rosy fabric (and colour) to still my craving.



This lovely vintage (can it really be called vintage, when the fabric is from the eighties...? Surely it is not retro...? Maybe just plain old second hand would be the right term...?) Laura Ashley fabric was given to me by my downsizing mother in law. There is quite a few meters of it. Now what could be done with all this prettiness...?



Somehow pretty pinks and roses seem quite right for the spring season. Not to mention the (hopefully) fast approaching summer. Spring has been quite a let down this year, and it still has not sprung properly here. But we do live in hope, and the forecast for the weekend is indeed blue skies and warmer temperatures. Fingers crossed!



Yes, I have 'borrowed' this entry's title from Cath Kidston who is celebrating the company's 20th anniversary, and where everything indeed is coming up roses. Congrats!