miss marie's miscellany

Cheer up!

It's still pouring with rain, so I thought a bit of retail therapy might hit the spot, and dispel the wet weather blues. The cupboard was bare, so a trip to the supermarket was necessary. But a left turn at the door took me to the aisles of non-comestibles. Lots of goodies!

A new magazine with this free Cath Kidston bag and magazine.

It is described as a washbag but I think I'm going to use it as a  crochet/sewing bits and bobs bag

Some things to put in the bag (the row counter was only 37p, bargain! )

There was a brilliant selection of crafty things and stationery

Some things for the garden

A new t-shirt

A  lovely V&A card 

That was my haul and I'm enjoying all of them already......sitting reading the magazine with a cuppa wearing my new top.  The Cath K bag contains bits and bobs for crochet on the move, and I'll plant the peony when it stops raining.

I'll leave you with crochet progress, more squares for a new cushion cover. 

 

And my spring clematis is finally blossoming

which is good enough reason to be cheerful.

pictures from the weekend

I had a busy weekend, working for the greater part of it.  But there was still time for lots of good things.

Getting my peas and broad beans planted.

New flowers. Pink pulsatilla and wonderful glowing red tulip.

I made maple and pecan biscuits(recipe courtesy of Nigella). Naughty but nice!

Cherry blossom at night. I sat in the garden when I got home at 10.45pm, enjoying the warm night, and this is what I saw as I looked up.

My crochet squares are ready to be sewn together. Cushion completion soon!

A slightly naughty wool purchase at my lunch break on Saturday.( I couldn't stop myself! Shop next to place of work + zero resistance is not a good combination for economy)

That's all I had time for!

Flower power

The plans for a great floral display are coming on well. I already have sowings of geraniums, sweet peas and lupins, which I started off a couple of weeks ago. Last  week I planted more seeds, some marigolds and mesembryanthemums, both in shades of yellow, and some zinnias, a variety called sunbow.  

 I was very taken with this plant on a visit to Broughton House in Kirkcudbright last summer (a lovely place to visit if you are ever in that part of Scotland). It's called cerinthe, so I hope to get some seedlings of this to give the garden a liitle je-ne-sais-quoi

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Unusual shades of flower and leaf, very eye-catching.

I've also got some bulbs and tubers to plant.....peonies, anemones and ranunculus asiaticus. If the latter look anything like these 2 ranunculus plants which were bought  last week I'll be delighted.

 And lots of dahlias, I can't get enough of them! 

My spring flowering clematis is about to open, so there will be some pictoral treats to look forward to, as it's a beauty.

Here it is just waiting to open.

This lovely tulip caught my eye today, 'Apricot Beauty'.

And this one,which I can't put a name to.

So many things blossoming everyday and so much to look forward too.:)

 

Frill thrills

This azalea is looking so good in the garden right now. 

Like lots of frilly underskirts.

A beautiful start to this week.

Tulips

A quick post today,as I'm having a few gremlins with my internet connection. Normal service will be resumed by the weekend..

I love tulips, so here is a collage of some of the loveliest of late, a mixture of indoors and outdoors.

Weekend collection

A whole weekend off, that's a rare treat. On Thursday evening, I felt so tired I thought I'd spend it lying in a dark room, but by Friday morning I was up to speed again thankfully. Here are my highlights:

1) A couple of long lie-ins, much needed! So nice to be able to turn over and go back to sleep!

2) Curling up with a good book

3) A new houseplant

I think it is a Christmas cactus!

4) Feeding sister no.1's cats

Tullulah and Chloe!

5) A lovely meal with friends

They brought me a present to add to the collection of hearts!

6) Crochet

This is my latest project, more of which later in the week.

7) A trip to Edinburgh armed with Easter eggs and flowers to visit  sister no.2, brother-in-law and 2 little nephews.

8) Lots of gardening.

I spent 3 afternoons digging for victory, so I think I deserved the following!

9) 

Well, it's not Easter without a bit of chocolate!

Hope you all had fun too, dear readers!

In the pink

Lots of new blooms in my garden, and especially lovely are all these beautiful pink flowers. Just the right cheery and colourful note to celebrate a much-needed long weekend off work!

Seedy

It's that time of year, when a gardener's fancy turns to thoughts of a bountiful harvest and beautiful blooms. Here in Scotland, it's been a bit too cold to start sowing seeds much earlier than the last 2-3 weeks, but finally spring is in the air, and it's definitely time I got my hands dirty. 

 I'm lucky to have enough room for 2 good sized vegetable patches. When I first started gardening 4 years ago,  my enthusiasm outweighed my inexperience and I tried to grow far too much......now I only grow what I know I'll eat.  I love being able to go out into the garden to pick something and be eating it only minutes later - the taste is so fresh and delicious. 

I already have these sprouting seedlings, broad beans and peas.

I start these off indoors, as bitter experience has taught me the seeds are deliciously appealing to mice, and if they don't get them, the snails and slugs will devour the young shoots before they can flourish. I'll give them another few days on the warm windowsill,  and then into the garden they will go.

 

Carrots - these haven't worked out well before now, as my soil is heavy with quite a bit of clay, so I decided to try this small round variety,  'Parmex',  designed for windowboxes and containers (which you can just see on the left in the first photo above).  I'm also growing parsnips, 2 different kinds of broccoli, beetroot and a different variety of broad beans for a later sowing. I may try and fit a few leeks in too!

chitting nicely!

 

Colourful !

Trying something new too.

There will be flowers too, lots of those, but I'll keep that for another post, to follow soon.

Now all I need is a few months of sunny days, with a little light rain at night ......perfect growing conditions, I can but dream. 

Golden overture

A shining start to a new week!

Gorgeous green 4

Waiting to be planted in my garden

Blooming in the garden

A bit of calm

Green fingers!

I hope you have enjoyed all this greenness! I'd love to feature another colour theme in the coming weeks......I wonder which I'll choose?