FlowerScapes at the Floral Fringe Fair

Last weekend saw the Floral Fringe Fair at Knepp Castle. Our company FlowerScapes advised event-goers how to plant nectar and pollen rich flowers to help our declining insects. The fair was a great success and had a lovely mix of wildlife, vintage, yummy food, plant and craft stalls. Knepp Castle is privately owned by Sir Charles Burrell, and has been in his family for 220 years. Until recently most of the land on the Estate was devoted to traditional arable and dairy farming, but in 2001 they shifted their focus entirely, and embarked on a series of regeneration and restoration projects aimed primarily at nature conservation and a less intensive way of meat production. This method of re-wilding has been successfully introduced in Holland.

Strange and unusual plants being sold

Knepp Castle

Our FlowerScapes stall, before being prettied up with flowers

Not just vintage cars but people too.

Vintage bus

View of the castle and fair

Willow weaving

Lots of plant stalls

Vintage brocante

Steve in action at the FlowerScapes stall

Although there was a constant stream of people, because the stalls were spread out, the atmosphere felt relaxed

I want one!

Wood and willow weaving stall

Restored camper van, yep, want one of these too!

A nice event and the event goers really nice too, all very interested in creating more insect-friendly planting.

The birthday splash and dash at Bedelands

BB is turning 11 next week, so before his school chums disappear on vacations near and far in the half-term, we gathered a dozen kiddies and headed off to Bedelands Nature Reserve  for a picnic and play. I love getting the youngsters out exploring nature, having fun, getting fresh air and using their imagination.

Here they are heading down the stream, crashing through the undergrowth, climbing under and over fallen trees, laughing and squealing! Fearless warriors!

Getting the picnic area ready for cream teas for big people, and party platters for small people!

Jelly and birthday cake in the meadow in the sunshine after a run and play in the woods......

before we all head off home, tired and dirty, but happy!

Many thanks go to my lovely girl friends Gaby, Nadia and Helen for helping to make the party extra special. xXx

That ancient dragonfly

Last Thursday after spending several hours getting our Ardingly road verge ready for its annual sowing of wildflowers for the pollinators, Steve and I returned home to find a flurry of activity around our little pond. The pond was created in the spring of 2011 and quickly filled with pond critters. It has, without a shred of doubt, been the one addition to our plot which has attracted the most new wildlife to the garden. It has been a joy to see the frogs spawn and the newts develop, the pond skaters breed and great diving beetles...well, dive!

However, having seen damselflies and chasers make use of our pond in previous years, our recent sightings were well and truly extraordinaire. Now Steve and I are reasonably well tuned into the magic of nature, but this was quite wonderful. We must have witnessed the 'birth' of over 40 adult chasers during the next two days! I even sent for BB to run home from the school playground to come and witness the hatching!

We realised that the Libellula depressa, Broad-bodied Chaser, nymphs we had previously seen in the pond trying to catch the little tadpoles were numerous, but to see them all emerging almost at once was quite something; flying off on shiny and beautifully glossy wings.

These marvelous dragons are ancient creatures, being around when the dinosaurs lived 300 million years ago. This dragonfly is an opportunistic predator during all life stages, it mates on the wing, and the female lays her eggs often in newish ponds.

So if you haven't already got a pond in your garden, you could be missing out on a whole section of our very fascinating wildlife. You don't need a vast garden, as we have demonstrated a small pond can bring much pleasure.

For more information on dragon and damselflies, visit the British Dragonfly Society's website!

A perfectly peachy pinny

In true creative style, when I saw a cute tea towel at the charity shop I decided then and there that I just had to use it to make a pinny like the ones shown in the fabulicious Tiff and Rachelle's ultra fun crafty book, Granny Chic. If you haven't poked your nose into their handy dandy book yet, do go ahead, there are many peachy projects using pre-loved fabrics, braids and trims.

The finished pinny

Here are examples of the fun Granny Chic pinnies!

The tea towel cost me the princely sum of 30p, and together with an embroidered lacy doily (20p) taken from my huge stash of vintage lacy doilies, tray napkins and table cloths, and a piece of lace and some bias binding from my crafty drawer, I set to making my very own pinny. Oh, and I do really have a few, I confess to being a bit of a magpie when I see such handsome pieces of hand crafted loveliness in a forlorn bargain bin in thrift and charity shops! I may not have an immediate use for such treasures, yet they somehow find their sneaky way home and join my fabric stash, with the premise that such a grand piece of history will somehow weave its delicateness into a future crafty endeavour.

Starting with the tea towel 'Wedding Anniversaries'. It has the look of an embroidered sample and is made of linen.

A doily which is folded over and sown on the tea towel making a pocket

Lace is added to the bottom, and then bias binding is added to make ties

And hey presto the finished article! And in Tiff's words - I immediately felt peachier about my daily chores, because how can you not - in such a pretty pinny :o)

As you can see I am quite partial to a pretty doily or two, and change my little displays regularly, adding seasonal flowers and quirky items to create a colour themed corner.

Hope you have a crafty moment or two this week!

Easter decor

It's Sunday eve, and two weeks have passed since Easter. The boys are back to school tomorrow. It's been a hectic two weeks, fitting work and a trip to Grandparents in, together with keeping the boys entertained, so the blog has been put to one side. So to start with...here's with some Easter decor.

 

I bought a couple of pots of  Muscari a few weeks back, and kept them in the greenhouse until they were close to flowering. Muscari are perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia that produce spikes of dense, usually blue flowers, and are commonly known as Grape Hyacinth.

I have kept Easter cards that the children have made over several years, and displayed them with a cute little chick eggcup.

 

Bunting was made using hessian and stamping words and pictures on, very simple and rustic. And, of course, the usual egg tree was put together with blown painted eggs, chickens and other Easter bits collected over the years.

I also made a little nest as a centre piece for the table. I collected some fallen birch twigs when I was out walking the dog, together with a few lacey pieces of lichen. I added some little eggs and a chick and finished it off with a peppering of fluffy feathers.

Muscari look so pretty in a metallic pot, and can be planted in the garden once they have finished flowering.

These lovely painted eggs were picked up in a thrift shop some years ago, and I like them so much that they don't actually get packed away with the Easter decorations, but are kept on display in a cabinet the rest of the year.

And, of course, the Easter cake! It was made by Sam, with help from his teacher at school. This treat was enjoyed at our family get-together and was quite yummy!


Have a good (and thankfully warmer!) week ahead!