Country courtyard garden - March update

Sat here after the first week of March wondering where the pleasant weather has disappeared too. From the daffodils at the front gate beaming with spring sunshine to damp and miserable flower tears this week, a swipe at my gardening joy. Nevertheless I have ventured out in a bid to get started and transform the front courtyard garden into the paintbox of colour it was last year.

There are lots of plants just stirring in their pots and in our larger planters, in fact some never went away as the winter has been so mild. My geraniums are still showing some bright pink petals, ready to burst out fully in a couple of months and lots of the perennials are well above the soil, not afraid of chancing some late snow and a zap by the frost. The herb bed is coming to life although I hope they don't get too comfy as they will be being moved due to my Boo dog thinking this area makes a great toilet!

We have been around the garden and cleared away leaves and debris, moved the pots together in order to sort out what has made the winter and discover what things actually are - must make a note this year and do some labelling! With the courtyard being all pots, many of them were just slotted into gaps last summer in their shop bought plastic tubs since I was after instant oomph and I had spent a lot of money on glazed, terracotta pots and other containers. This year I'll buy more pots so that the garden looks more cohesive.

Despite the cold and drizzle, we visited the local plant nursery and antique centre where I purchased a galvanised tub £15 and some plants; garlic chives for £1.40, Arum italicum £4.20 for a shaded area out of reach as it's poisonous (had just seen it funnily enough in a garden whilst on Sweep's rounds that morning) and some lamb's ears for £2

Add to them a selection of bare rooted roses from Tesco £2 each, a lilac and a forsythia for the same price - bargains! So I have lots to do without even looking at the seeds I purchased at the end of last season. However I have sown some chard and other salad leaves into a standing trough and hopefully if the Boo dog stops jumping in here to dig (!) they will be ok.

At the moment I don't have a greenhouse and will be using a table in the living room for all my seeds and probably all the window ledges too. I'd like the garden to look more cottagey which is hard with it all being in pots so we shall see how it all knits together. This will be my first full year here after gradually moving last summer and wanting to create a quick fix garden, now I will have more time to plan and study, discover the joys of container gardening a bit more and give a bit more thought to planting combinations rather than haphazard schemes.

Down by the River Weaver in Cheshire & inspired homeware

Up through new houses of pottering suburbia and down to the river bank, plopping down the hill like little water voles to the pathway. A beautiful day for watching the boats, smiling at dogs sniffing and the swans keeping a keen eye on them. Time for the joggers and the cyclists to come out and general river life busyness is restored in spring warmth.

A cormorant with a dipping dive resurfaces by an overhanging blackthorn, frosted with blossom now and joined by egg dipping yellow celandine, starryeyed spring riverbanks.

Further on by the bridge is a contrast of delicate powdery forget-me-nots against steel and bold graffiti, all part of the ambiance, river life good with the bad. Slight sludgyness of water here but clearing to waters by the riverside cottage where a dog barks by daffodils and a greenhouse shows signs of recent enthusiasm for the new season with rows of pots filled with who knows what, beans, peas or sweetpeas....

Rusty old boats overlook a skyline of a white college cupola, fretwork and a non moving no gusts today weathervane in a clear blue sky. A world of contrasts here, silent forgotten dull river craft and the chug of a brightly painted canal boat, tarnished metal against puff ball pink blossom, running against peaceful bench resting wanders.

River walking inspired items based on the things I saw - cormorants, rust, forget-me-nots, jolly boats, gardening, modern art, blossom pink and cheerful yellow.

Cormorant tea towel, Black Bough £7.50// Metallic rust tealight holder, Abode Living £12//Seed wedding favours, Etsy £1.45//Narrowboat bird box, NotHS £59//
Gardeners Mug, Laura Ashley £5.04// Banksy Flying Balloon Girl doormat, Etsy £24.99// Ronseal Cherry Blossom garden paint, Amazon £4// Cheery Plastic Cup, Debenhams £6//

Back in the sea fret of time

Late morning and the sea fret lingers on the coast of Northumberland, swirling around dog walkers who emerge from the cold dense air like apparitions in waterproofs and walking boots. 

The fishing hamlet of Low Hauxley may be accustomed to a few spectres since this area was an ancient burial place and excavations have found remains from the Bronze age under the dune system, marram grass anchoring secrets from thousands of years ago. An eroding coast of cairns and cists containing human bones and beakers decorated with incised markings.

The beach gradually appeared through the shroud of mist as I walked with my trusty terrier, pattering paws on flat sand rippled with patterns of coal dust. Crab pots left by rocks and a smattering of beach huts on the coastal road, today's inhabitants alongside their Neolithic neighbours.

The Vale of Eden

When the return home journey offers views that make you stop and draw out the holiday just that little bit more. The rolling, green landscape of the Vale of Eden in Cumbria and fluffy clouds to match fluffy sheep. May trees, some still in leaf burst and lungs full of spring air, a sandwich and a bleat from beyond a drystone wall. A stretch of road where cars zoom past and I think please slow down a little, in fact just stop and look through this tree framed view of mine at this wonderful drumlin, a glacial deposit and there are lots of them here in groups known as a basket of eggs or a swarm.

Treat yourself for Valentine's Day

So as we approach the end of January I'm thinking of what the month ahead has in store; snowdrops bursting forth from the chilly ground, buds appearing and those other little signs of spring like the songbirds singing their hearts out finding a mate. And yes of course it's Valentine's Day. Do you love it or hate it? If like me you've never had anything other than a bill arriving on that day from the posty you're probably cringing at the thought of all that sentimentality that will be splashed around every shop, magazine and blog post....ahem.....

But maybe it's time to embrace the day as some love for yourself. A day to treat yourself because you're great and even if no cards arrive, so what. Love yourself instead.

Have a Valentine shopping trip, I will be. Buy yourself some flowers but not roses that you'll be charged far too much for. There are usually some early daffodils out in the shops in February that will cheer the house up or maybe a fragrant hyacinth for the kitchen window ledge. Even some fresh herbs like basil and coriander in pretty pots to start thinking of the spring days ahead.

Make yourself a cocktail or too in some classy glassware from House of Fraser, why save them for a special occasion, you're important and deserve a glass of something exciting. I love the champagne saucers, a great size to fill up with fizzy or make up a special drink. The coloured Martini glasses are gorgeous and would look so pretty on a shelf too. But for Valentines how about creating one of the pink Paloma cocktails: tequila, soda, zingy grapefruit juice and lime with a sugared edge to your glass. Make yourself your favourite meal for date night with yourself; lasagna with loads of garlic or a huge pizza all to yourself because who will complain. Indulge in the chocolate cake, pour yet another cocktail, leave the dishes for the morning and settle down on the sofa.

Light a gorgeous fragrant candle. I love Blush; The First Kiss of the Night! by Lily-Candle, it's one of my favourites and certainly the name has a Valentine feel, it's scent is very feminine and sultry. As the candle is flickering, time to watch a romantic film or read a girlie book. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or Cecilia Aherne's PS I Love You - both great as either film or book but let's be honest make it the Colin Firth version of Mr Darcy, OK!

Valentine's Day is so much better this way, no disappointments. Who needs a dozen red roses anyway......?

*collaborative post

Getting the chills in the village of Chillingham, Northumberland

 Back in the holiday cottage, on one of the picture maps of Northumberland, we had spotted a picture of some white cattle and as I'd also seen them mentioned in the local mythology book too I was intrigued to know more. Added to this, the local church looked a beauty and off we went to explore.......

There's a castle at Chillingham, an extremely haunted one with a torture chamber. The views into the estate are magnificent, bats on the gates and a vista with a bronze statue of Viscount Gough on horseback. Edward I used the castle as a fortress for his warring with the mighty William Wallace and then it became home to the Grey family. These days it's a privately owned attraction that you can visit. You can read more about the castle's history and ghosts here.

The white Chillingham cattle are an ancient herd and well hidden away, you can go on a tour to see them. Fierce in nature and not approachable, the herd of around 100 have no veterinary treatment and are left basically to their own devices. We saw no glimpse of them and with having the dogs couldn't go on the cattle walk or into the castle but nevermind for there was the church to have a look at and I was excited about the tomb in there.
 St Peter's Parish church, founded in the 12th century has some interesting graves in the churchyard and inside has a medieval tomb that is glorious - the best I've ever seen. It's 15th Century and is for Sir Ralph Grey and his wife Elizabeth with their effigies on the top of the tomb chest. Walking through the churchyard through the lush grass I found some nice 17th century gravestones with angels and lots of moss and lichen on them. The church is right next door to a gatehouse of the castle.   Nice box pews but not so keen on the modern east window and altar, very jarring with the rest of the church.
A very early grave slab now in the foundations of the wall as often happens.  There are traces of paint on the tomb and all the saints around the sides are such a rare survivor, normally such iconoclastic symbols were destroyed in the Reformation or Puritan times. Such beautiful detail of saints in niches and angels. This is why I love to look around churches, you never know what you are going to find and learn about.   Sir Ralph Grey with his feet resting upon a lion. You can often find old photos on the walls of churches, invaluable if you are into the history of them. This one shows how the church used to have a gallery, extra seating space up high. Very few churches still have galleries so it was great to see this picture.  Opposite is a gatehouse to the castle, I wonder how many many have passed this way over the centuries from there to the church. Maybe one of the ghost hunts at the castle would show us...