Inspiration for the garden ...

I have always loved green spaces & have gardened wherever life has taken me across many countries. 

Our Shropshire garden is a modest, urban space that I love.  I have planted loads of green plants over the almost 2 decades we have been in this house because I enjoy looking out over greens in winter when it is grey & bleak. 

Lush planting also softens urban sounds, making gardens more private so you can enjoy the space without your conversations travelling across fences.  The dense planting allows you to share the space with wildlife, & that is always entertaining. 

I am still coaxing a side hedge to grow because the far side neighbour cut down a mature hedge a year ago & this has been the second summer of living with a gap that I am keen to fill.

 I saw a social media post that Wollerton Old Hall Gardens will soon be closing after the summer & it jolted my memory that I have not visited it for perhaps 3 years. I used to travel out to that part of Shropshire weekly to students, but since the 3 sisters have outgrown lessons, it is rare that I go there so I seized the free morning to head out & visit the nearby gardens. 

They are often featured on gardening programmes, in magazines & on shows because they are so inspirational. 

I got there at opening time which means there were not as many people about & that makes for better photos & a quieter meander which suits me well. 

The gardens are laid out in sections / rooms, some formal with neatly clipped shapes, balls & trees, other sections a riot of colour, always ordered but planted for impact. 

There are benches in various spots to sit & take in the beauty. The summer house has a view in two directions, lamps on the table & I can imagine the owners enjoying their garden as the light softens in the evening. They are then free to enjoy their space without visitors ... 

They grow salvias in many colours & varieties, from dainty to tall ones - planted en masse so there is a profusion of colour amidst the arching stems. I need to be bolder, I definitely need way more plants.  

What really struck me again was what I would call the jewel garden - vivid yellows, oranges, magenta,  hot colours side by side with purples & blues that set them off so well.  I need more yellows & oranges in the garden at home. 

I had a wonderful couple of hours, taking photos, getting inspiration & buying some more salvias to give pops of colour. I need to make my borders deeper, fuller & more colourful next year. 

What a great morning on my own, just being inspired by this beautiful space. I am planning some changes in the garden, I just need an abundance of plants. 

Thank you for stopping by, how is your outdoor space doing? 

Dee 🌺💐🌼🥀🪻🏡🪏🪴

A little felting morning ...

It has been almost a decade since I took my first felting course & it unlocked a new world of interesting creative times. 

Since then I have felted several projects & it is something that is immediate & enjoyable. I did a series of sunflowers in blue & yellow in regard to the Ukrainian crisis. 

My cousin & I also felted a heather landscape together last year because it was new  to her & she did very well. 

This week, our local haberdashery shop had a felting workshop & I made time to attend. 

We do need to hone our skills regularly; as a life long educator, I love courses & learning off others too. 

I was the only one out of the 6 of us who had previously done any felting but with Lou's excellent guidance, all were soon jabbing away at the little project, inspired by her example. 

We had all opted to have the additional kit, so we all started with exactly the same selection of felt colours & threads to use for embroidery embellishment. 

One of the ladies suggested adding in a sheep & so sheep were added to the little countryside scene. 

My mind went blank & even though I had felted sheep previously, mine were not good & they will be sorted at home. Felt is very forgiving & you can remove it by pulling on it or, as I did, felt over to change the shape. 

That is what I love about felting - it is forgiving.  

I am confident in a variety of embroidery stitches & everyone helped each other out with a quick refresh so it passed in no time. 

Lou had little frames to show off our work. The little frame is useful to have it out in the craft space at home. It was an enjoyable time with like minded people & we all had something that was complete or almost complete.

We all encouraged Lou to do another felting day.  

It is more fun to do as a group activity too because working together is great for creativity & to be able to bounce ideas off each other.  

I had to sort out my sheep at home so they look more like sheep than sheep dogs.  

This is a previous one I did & so I had to do some remedial work on mine. 

However it was great fun to do something with some guidance & a different approach - that is always useful. 

While sorting out my sheep at home, I decided to add a few beads to the fly stitched field. I love the way they just catch the light & the fly stitches look like a field of flowers. 

Does anyone else find it really tricky to thread the beading needles with the tiny eye? Any technique suggestions will be welcome. 

Who else loves courses as much as I do? Always lovely to have you stop by the blog, 

Dee 🪡📍🧵🐏🐑

Traditional pipe making skills ...

Just a century ago, smoking a pipe was a common sight with smaller plain pipes smoked by the masses while more intricate ones were a status sign. The bowls were small because tobacco was expensive.

Clay pipes were also quite fragile, they needed you to take time to fill them up from a tobacco pouch, tamp them down, then light them, not a quick process.  

The first world war brought about a change to cigarettes that travelled well with soldiers & pipe manufacture declined over time. 

Broseley Clay & Pipeworks is a fairly local one -I noted that they were open as part of a Heritage Weekend so we went off for a much needed return visit. 

 I last visited about 20 years ago & because part of the Museum is besides private 1 up 1 down cottages, it is not open too often. 

It is humbling to stand in the museum part of the 1 up, 1 down cottage & know that an entire family of parents & perhaps 6 or more children lived in these tiny spaces with just a fireplace for cooking in the downstairs room. 

It makes us look at our large homes with fresh eyes & appreciation of how life has changed in just a century. 

This clay pipe works was abandoned in 1960, shut up shop with unfired pipes still in their saggars, orders still packed, equipment left as it was & it became a time capsule of the industry. The buildings needed extensive remedial work when they were brought in to use as a museum & their listed status guarantees their future. The little glass office in the image below was where all the paperwork was done in, a window open on to the street behind where the wares were collected or sent on from. 

These little industries were essential work & the prestige of this small pipe maker meant that clay pipes were often just called 'The Broseleys' after the place they were made & the pipes were sent to far flung places that the workers could never even dream of.  Pipes had been made in this area from about 1600. Local clay was used but it was a creamy colour so white clay was brought up the nearby Severn River from Devon & this was seen as better quality. The cast iron pipe moulds were made in the metal works & fired in the numerous furnaces along the Severn River where the world famous Ironbridge of 1779 was cast. It was fortuitous to use what was available. 

Touring the small space with a very knowledgeable volunteer was very interesting as her grandmother & great grandmother & great aunt all worked there in their time. She had photos of them at the pipe works, smartly dressed & neatly turned out.  They were paid per full saggar (firing pot) of pipes they made. It was precise work with long hours & poor pay but options were limited so people took up whatever employment they could. Their records show that one worker made 1,056 pipes a week. 

The low ceilings, small rooms, poorly lit spaces make you appreciate the working conditions of people. Pipes had been made in Broseley since the early 1600's, a highly prized industry.

It was a fascinating return visit of a time when smoking was mainstream & there was a huge demand for such items. 

There is much beauty in the lines of beautifully made pipes laid out on the tables & in the saggars as they would have been when prepared for firing in the kilns at 1000C, then the time spent cooling before they could be taken out - a process of about 5 days. 

A full kiln held 60-70 gross of pipes which was 8,640 to 10,080 pipes per firing. 

Good honest work was what happened in these little places ... 

I hope you have enjoyed the visit with me, thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 

A fruity lamb tagine ...

 There is a decided chill to the morning & evening air & thoughts turn to warming stews or tagines. Southern African cooking uses fruit in meat dishes which reflects the Malay heritage influences at the Cape 300 years ago. 

Some years back, Ms M (my sister in law & often travelling companion) & I did a fantastic tour of Morocco & the food was just sensational. The aroma from the tagines filled the markets & dining-rooms & it was inspirational combinations of sweet & savoury. 

These are some of the memories of that trip 

Exploring-moroccan-city-of-fes-fez

Time-stands-still-in-bakery-in-Al Jadida

jardin-majorelle-ysl-gardens-in Marrakech

The-portuguese-port-of-Al-Jadida-in Morocco

Making-time-to-travel-explore-new places

I have cooked from Tagine, Spicy stews from Morocco by Ghillie Basan many times over the years. Having some lamb in, I decided a fruity tagine would be perfect. I used lamb chops, not a shoulder of lamb & adjusted the recipe to take in to account the smaller portion. 

The meat was marinated in fresh garlic & ginger (grated), salt, chilli, cumin, olive oil, honey & half a freshly squeezed lemon. I cut an onion in  to the mixture & this was left in a bowl in the fridge for about 3 hours. 

The marinated lamb was fried to brown it, I added the onion & then lastly the remains of the marinade to the pan. This was then returned to the oven dish (I no longer have a tagine but a deep covered ceramic dish worked well.)

At this point I added about 8 prunes & some hot water, covered the dish & baked it for about 45 minutes. Lastly, I stirred in 2 quartered fresh figs & covered it while I made the cous cous. 

150g of cous cous in 250 ml of salted boiling water in a heat proof bowl. Cover & leave to absorb the liquid, stirred in a small knob of butter & fluffed it up. 

Served with the lamb on the cous cous base, alongside some garlic flatbread. The stew had formed a delicious rich dish that was perfect for cooler weather & it reminded me how much I enjoy fruity stews. 

I hope I am not the only one who enjoys spicy & fruity food. Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 

A hearty plum & apple crumble …

Our weather turned very wet yesterday & having friends for a midweek supper, I decided it was crumble time for pudding.

I had some juicy fresh plums & apples in the fridge so they were perfect for baking.

I love a substantial crumble topping so just winged it.

Cut up the plums - I used 5, cut in pieces, pits taken out

4 eating apples, core taken out & each half sliced into about 6 slices

A few bits of crystallised ginger - cut up & dotted about the fruits, a little water (about 50ml) over the fruit in the bowl for a little liquid.

The crumble was made with

120g butter & about 75g Demerara sugar, mixed together

I measured 200g of flour, oats, coconut into a bowl & rubbed it into the butter & sugar mixture to form large crumbles because I think they are far nicer. 

The crumble was scattered over the fruit & baked at about 180c till golden brown.

Served hot with ice cream or cream. 

It was absolutely delicious using just what I already had at home. We ate in the conservatory with my favourite pink & green table setting - they are all things I love & have had for years.  

The ones on the sideboard are IKEA ones that are cheerful & colourful (& affordable) from some years back. 

The pinks & greens are lovely summer colours & I have enjoyed them, in various combinations, for weeks now. 

What is your favourite fruit combinations? Do tell …

Thank you for stopping by, it is always appreciated. 

Dee 🧈📖👩‍🍳