February has been full of colour for me… It started on the last day of January when we both celebrated our 48th Wedding Anniversary. So, flowers were in abundance
And of course on the 14th, Valentines, so more colour and beautiful flowers decorated our home
The flowers too in our garden are starting to spring into life.
The primroses which have been out since January are showing their magnificence as too the Yellow crocus beginning to bloom..
Walking in the Woods the Catkins were gloriously wagging their tails in the breeze,
And the snowdrops were in abundance as they bowed their heads in the undergrowth.
Hubby finally got all the manure dug in, and has now started on making another larger raised bed as one of the old ones the wood was rotting, so this was repurposed.
My Knitting project of my Chunky knitted Jacket is finally finished today, and while I have enjoyed this project its not been without it’s challenges and mistakes.. But such is life, and It taught me not to speak, listen, and count at the same time 😊
My herb seeds are now sown into pots.. Along with some early cabbage and broccoli seeds sown to be grown indoors for a while, before planting out.
We could still have some very cold weather yet, and we never discount we could still have a frost until May arrives,
The church in Bakewell
It was wonderful to see how others in local communities are now banding and gathering together their produce to form small independent co-operatives..
Its great to see locally sources organic food being pooled for distribution. I hope to see more communities gathering together this way
This is how I feel our Communities will build the new ways evolving with local services and skills.. Its wonderful to see these new projects springing up as we become more self-sufficient in all sorts of ways..
I hope you have a ten minutes to listen to their video and the ideas being put forward.
I particularly loved the quote on their website. Which said.
Hold your Vision of the Future… Stay focused on what you wish to create and not on the Fear being generated…
First may I wish you all a very Happy New blogging and Gardening year!. Unfortunately last year my garden blog took a huge back seat in priorities as I spent more time out in nature and within creation, than being behind the computer screen.
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.
To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”
– Alfred Austin
So the last days of Autumn I spent gathering seeds from my plants, I harvested in the Sunflower seeds which I use to feed the birds with over winter. Also I collected dried peas, Kidney beans and French beans seeds for next years planting, along with flower seeds etc…. Not to mention planting new Spring Bulbs in the garden and tubs for Spring flowering.
Sunflower heads
Seeds from Sunflowers
Now I would like to introduce you to Cyril…. the name just resonated as he was created, and although he now has a new home and a new name. Cyril left quite an impression, and we may well be seeing more of him during the year ahead. He started out as a ball of yarn…. and so as he was created so his personality began to shine through.
First as it may not be obvious at first glance… Cyril is of the Owl Family…. and as you know eyes are large and round and can spot their pray way off… But as he came together stitch by stitch… Something bugged his creator in that his look was not quite right, So Cyril went to the Eye hospital where he was given a new pair of eyes, but because his eyes were not as large, he was given a pair of spectacles to help him see…
Once Cyril was safely put together his new glasses on the end of his beak, he set about asking for a wardrobe of clothes
And he Loved modelling them.. But his New Foster Mum who had created him, said not all the clothes were for him, and he must learn to share. Cyril was fine with this for he was becoming a Wise Owl learning much as he sat and watched his foster Mum knitting away.
Me in MY waistcoat.
Modelling hat and scarf
Modelling Duffle coat
Modelling another waistcoat
And stop laughing, I had to even model a dress!
While some of you may remember last year, my Foster Mum made Charlotte the Fox… Well here she is with her new outfits she had for Christmas
Charlotte in her red dress Charlotte in her purple top and skirt Charlotte in her new shoes and with her handbag and shawl
Here is Charlotte and the family that adopted her Last year all ready to open up their Christmas toys that Cyril so kindly modelled.
All excited ready to open presents Charlotte ready to open her gifts The Boys showing off their new coats.
All the family were really excited in meeting Cyril…. and he is now settled in… Charlotte is learning to play the piano While Cyril is turning out to be quite the philosopher….
I do so hope you all have had a lovely Christmas, and I hope no matter what gifts you received, you treasure the Gift of family… And remember the True Gifts in Life are Free……
I thought it beyond time I opened up my garden blog again. Some of you already may know I took a long-extended break from blogland. It wasn’t intentional, it just happened, as I swapped the computer for my crafts as I absorbed myself in my creations. And the longer I was away, the harder it seemed to return here.
I have sorely neglected this my garden blog, and now more than ever, people need their gardens in which they can ground themselves, as they re-connect back with Mother Nature, along with her gifts of beauty and bounty. We have so many wonderous gifts bound within nature, that many of us still take for granted. So I thought it about time I shared some of these precious gifts we all can learn to participate within, as we merge in nature, be it growing things or just relaxing in it.
The Pause I took, I know was due to something shifting deeply within, for while I was creating with my hands, I was taken into a place of bliss, where peace and calm ran like the threads of yarn I was using to create, as I allowed my mind to drift into its own rhythm of creation, away from the chaos I was seeing unfolding in the outer world.
charlotte the Fox in the making-1
Charlottes dress.
Charlottes Cardigan
Charlottes undergarment
Charlottes shoes
Charlotte the Fox and Piano
Charlotte the Fox with her coat and bag.
Crocheted Afghan throw and cushions
Crocheted Throw
I felt alive within the patterns I wove, absorbing each thought, each download of wisdom, as thoughts filtered through, as I tried to fathom out a world which to me was no longer making that much sense. For what I saw unfolding was contradiction after contradiction, and as our world and our rights dissolved with leaders whose strings were tied into their own dark tethers of intentions. So, as each stitch was formed within my creations, I tried to sort out within my own safe haven the heartache of all I was experiencing around me.
Did I succeed in clearing that heartache? In part yes, in part, no..
For we are all learning, each of us are all growing, and like the seeds we plant, we have to nurture and give them the right conditions in order for them to thrive.
So, within my creative quiet time, I saw ourselves each as small seeds, all cast down onto this Earth within our various circumstances. Some got planted in the rich earth of plenty, while others were cast upon the rocks, who often it seems have to strive harder than their neighbours to survive, as they send their roots out to find nutrients to sustain them, as they struggle in overcoming their various obstacles and circumstances.
Tomatoes and Cucumber
The plot sheds and our cat.
Sweetcorn
Lettuce, beetroot, peas
Kidney beans
Strawberry Bed
Courgettes
Cold frame with lettuce, leeks and in front are gladioli bulbs shooting
Cold frame plants
Potatoes
Potatoes and Sprouts
Gooseberries
Cat Break.
But all of us, were here to learn how to grow.
Yet ALL no matter what conditions they find themselves in, they are each given that which enables their inner light to strengthen. For all are in need of the Light, no matter how deep in the dark they have fallen into the cracks of despair. We are all striving towards the light, no matter how hard or harsh some are finding it in their own dark shadowy places, we all need light in which to mature and grow. And we all started out in that dark lonely place at one time or another.
All of us I feel in the not-too-distant future may need to learn and start a garden, or at least support a local communities or farmers markets, as we see the value of how growing our own food and keeping our seeds pure will be so important in the future.
Many too who are awakening, are seeing the value of clearing and cleaning our energies centres, as we not only need food in the physical sense to sustain us, we also need to cultivate our inner garden, as we re-learn how to nurture and cultivate our inner world.
Iris’s Purple hues Foxglove haven A Reflective Corner
To do that we need to open our hearts, as we embrace and unify our fellow travellers who find themselves in troubling times. We must also remember to also be very gentle with ourselves, as we learn to navigate newly ploughed ground which may still be rough and full of stones underfoot. For we are all going to be walking upon newly turned earth as the old earth gets turned over ready for us all to plant new seeds, new ideas, new solutions to the broken systems we now see falling by the wayside.
Things in our reality may for a time feel more confusing, but a garden cannot be maintained unless we are prepared to put in the hard ground-work, clearing out the weeds, and thorns, as we lay new foundations, planting new seeds of truth, that are not poisoned by the chemicals which not only pollute our Earth Mother, but pollute the minds and choke our freedoms to grow and thrive within this God’s Earth we call Gaia. To which we were all born free to experience.
This garden blog has been dormant for far too long, its now time to open up this garden once again, as we plant our new seeds, new ideas, new solutions into BE-ing, as we bring our Dreams into reality as we walk our walk and talk our talk…
Dreamwalker’s Garden is now open for the growing season of New Earth.
As promised I will share some of my crafting over the last few months, and recent weeks along with how things are growing on the Plot.. April has been very dry here in the UK, and cold. With heavy frosts first thing in the mornings. So things in the greenhouse have been covered in fleece.. Tender plants are still vulnerable so holding back planting out some tender plants in the garden until later on in the month of May.
So here in picture format is just some of what is growing, If you click on the images they will enlarge .
Rows of Potatoes
Tomatoes which are covered in fleece at night
Cabbages
Leeks and cosmos, and brassica family .
Here is a comparison.. Our plot on the right, one that has been neglected on the left for a year
Lettuces in the cold frame
Cosmos
Flowers, Asters
So that is what is growing above. Below is what I have been creating . I have been painting, and creating knitting and crocheting. You will see a large crocheted blanket , and some small knitted and crocheted jumpers / sweaters/ tank tops for some teddy bears. And I recently had bought me a Mandala crocheting book from my daughter for my birthday and so I am now enjoying creating some mandala’s in crocheting.
The first is a bag I have done and crocheted the outside.. I made from a canvas back and created some pockets inside
Red little sweater for a teddy bear
A little green sweater for a teddy bear about twelve inches in height
The back view of a little jacket
A coat cardigan I knitted for myself in some spare wool I had left over
My crocheted blanket throw
One of my recent Mandala’s I did this weekend.
Tank Tops for teddies .
The inner liner.. This bag I got from the Flower show the other year I attended.
I made inner pockets one open the other buttoned out of cotton linen.
The outer bag I crocheted which was sewn to the liner bag. Its the same both sides
Creations in Yarn
Meditation Tree in Acrylics a present for a friend
A glitter butterfly, another present for a friend
Stone Circle in Acrylic
And I tried my hand at painting on glass, Some jigsaw patterns in the bottle Light I created.
So my friends, that is what I have been doing while I have been absent from blog land.. I feel the need to be creative. I hope you also embrace your creativity .. Enjoy ALL you create.. All you grow..
“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will” – George Bernard Shaw
May you never stop Imagining into being that which you wish to create..
Dear friends… So how are you all doing? Have you managed to get into your gardens, have you been creative with your hobbies…
I began a new knitting project, a cardigan… Though I chose to do a different stitch pattern to the one on the pattern below
As you see the stitch pattern is different, but quite easy only for rows to complete one pattern..
We have been on our daily exercise every morning in our plot… And the weather here has been beautiful and sunny and dry…. So dry that we have already had to start watering.. Our nearest water cistern was quite close but its broken and now dry so I counted my footsteps yesterday in strides and it was 82 strides to the next nearest and 82 back.. When you are carrying 4 gallon in two gallon watering cans at a time… My arms were more than aching.. It certainly puts into perspective those who have no water in their countries who carry every drop in searing heat over long distances… My gratitude for water took on a whole new meaning this week..
So I decided to give you a little treat in my other creative skills I am still learning, and that is to share a short video I made of our allotment plot… Its far from perfect and I will add below the video new pictures taken today of our planting of cabbages and where I mulched after shredding some of our conifers and cutting back some shrubs we needed to clear for repairs to our garage roof.. You will also see how this week the Sun has brought out the blossom which I didn’t think was there on our apple trees when I made the video as we transplanted and moved both trees in the autumn to a new position in the plot as they were not thriving where they were..
Enjoy your time my friends as much as you can in your restricted zones of lockdown… Create as much as possible… as you try to detach from the daily news.. Breath in Nature as much as you are able… And create your own inner peace in all you do..
Click onto the photos to enlarge..
Apple tree blossom
Mulch between the blueberries and raspberries
Cabbages these are various varieties. Grey Hound, Golden Acre and five broccoli are set here.
This is the time when we get busy again with our plots and gardens, as we prepare the ground to plant our seeds and soon we will be planting our early potatoes at the end of March..
Now I could have shown you rows and rows of seed trays we had set.. We set our pea seeds and I set my Sweetpeas in February. My hubbies peas were just starting to sprout, when we had a little visitor sneak into our allotment plot greenhouse and who merrily nibbled their way through every tray…
So we have had to both resow again… And I alone set 100 sweetpeas, as I bought lots of different varieties this year… So we had to repurchase and start over… And its amazing how mice will nibble through the harder husk of the peas and take the tender centre and leave the husk on the surface of the compost…. Any how Hubby has found where he/she or them were getting in and so far so good.. But I am not risking my second sowing of sweetpeas being eaten again so they are now on my home window sill..
While the weather has been up and down, I have been merrily knitting.. And while it may look at the moment a mixture… I know what I am doing as I make it up as I go along… lol..
I know this looks a bit strange at the moment… But it my own made up abstract design.. lol
I just want to leave you with a little bit of Spring that is now starting to bloom, through the wet soggy days..
While Seeds have been set and are pushing their way through in the green house, most days have been dull and wet, with the odd bright skies that do not last long before the rain and sleet fall again..
But we cannot grumble.. for there are those who have lost so much as the floods have been horrendous in various part of the UK with rivers bursting their banks, flooding homes and business’s in many areas.. This is going to make farmers tasks of sowing seeds for their harvests so much harder.. And we may well be seeing prices rise in shops due to what will no doubt mean crops are in short supply, So I am very thankful for living where I do, and that we grow our own veggies etc, and although we often get problems with our hill when it snows, we are not flooded out like many people have been.. So we are very blessed, and thankful.
So while its been soggy and cold, I have been snug and warm and my knitting needles have been creating sparks. lol.. Yes they are not plastic ones but metal and the have been clicking away.. 🙂 And so I knitted myself a waistcoat with pockets..
The reverse side showing pocket before sewn in place
One side of the collar and rib knitted up for one side. Pocket ribs done and pockets now sewn in place.
Finished Waistcoat
I have today spent a little time creating a short little video of aGwili Steam Railway which we visited last year. We spent a pleasant afternoon looking around the railway yard and enjoying a long scenic ride along the track and back..
The lane we walk once inside the Allotment gates down to our plot. One the left you can see the water cisterns which are at intervals along the lane.
Well Christmas has come and gone, and already we are halfway through January. And even though the picture below shows early morning frost, this image was taken on the 20th December of last year, as we were up early collecting our sprouts for the Christmas Dinner.. We have had loads of rain and everywhere is quite soggy.
In the Autumn Hubby moved both of our Apple trees.. While we got some apples off of one tree, the other was covered in scab.. A good site to find out how to care for your apples, how to plant, store and treat diseases is here. https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/essential-apple-care-guide As we do not like to use any type of pesticides or chemicals on any of our produce.. We just take pot luck and find alternative treatments for problems.. Ten tips on Homemade Organic Pesticides can be found at this site, The Global Healing Centre or you can listen to the short two minute video telling you how to mix them on the link.
Our neighbouring allotments plums which over hung where the apple trees were also diseased.. So we took the decision and replanted our apple trees to their new position, pruning them back hard.. It means we may not get much fruit this coming year.. But it will give the roots a chance to grow and hopefully they will like it better where they now have been planted..
Apple Trees.. A Cooker and a lovely sweet rosy eating apple… I confess I forgot what varieties they were..
The Kidney beans are now pulled up.. We still have plenty of sprouts and about a row of parsnips left.. I will be sad when these are finished I have enjoyed them roasted several times a week..
Our Manure arrived on Saturday, a huge tractor trailer load full.. The heap is bigger than me. Today is the first decent day to get some of it moved.. And we have hardly made a dent in it.
( if you hover your mouse over the below photo’s you will see the captions )
Don’t just stand there smiling, there is work to be done!..
That’s better put your back into it.
You can see I am wearing one of my knitted hats and my snood/scarf in the photo, a closer look at another one I knitted for a Christmas present is below
Hand Knitted Beret.
Remember the tuba’s of the Dahlia’s drying in the greenhouse, well here they are stored nicely in the shed.
Dahlia Tubas in straw.
Well that is all from the Plot this month.. I hope you all have a wonderful 2020 and have a great growing season.
Well, hello again my WordPress friends, its that time again for another monthly update. And oh my what a wet month we have had since I last updated here.. So much rain with the odd dry day thrown in-between..
Back at the end of October the weather broke just long enough for us to to get more of our allotment cleared and while my hubby worked on digging and clearing the top end of the plot, I set too and began to cut back the Autumn Raspberry bushes.. What a harvest we have had, both from the early and the late berries, The bushes were still full of wet soggy fruit when I cut them back.
My hubby had also dug up all the Loganberries and composted them. Because for the past several years they had not been at their best and as they are much more tart and sour than the abundance of raspberries we harvest, so I decided we would concentrate on the raspberries for next year and clear space. He also eventually in stages was able to lift out the Dahlia’s, so clogged were the tubas with sodden earth he had to dry out in the green house first before he could remove the soil from around the tuba.. These are then placed upside down with the cut dahlia storks of around 6″ to 9″, (I still work in inches even after all these years of being metric.. So that is around 15 cms to 22 cms..) The storks facing downwards to allow them to drain… When completely dry these are then stored in straw… Our Home Begonias and gladioli are stored in sawdust.. These are kept frost free covered in the shed.
Here is a previous image of stored Dahlia tubas from 2017.
Hubby made a metal grid in the allotment greenhouse, where you place the stalks side down and tuba side up, This helps to drain the moisture out of the stalks .. And here they will stay for a couple of weeks until the soil has completely dried and can be shaken off. Then they will be stored in the shed
Here below is the Before Photo where I weeded and cut back the autumn raspberry canes. The Red foliage leaves are the blueberries these I leave alone.. Sadly we hardly had any fruit on the blueberries this year due to a late frost which caught the bushes in flower…. But the raspberries made up for them.. You always win some and lose some when gardening and you have to take it all in your stride.. Some years are good, others not so good.. Like our Leeks, this year because of the rain many have rotted and have been composted..
Cutting and clearing Autumn Raspberries
And here is the after photo… I have to say my back was aching when I had finished and I left some of the grass and twitch to be weeded out the following day as my bones had had enough for the day.
Raspberries pruned back and ground partly cleared I went back the following day and cleared the patch you see left of grass and twitch.
I also collected all the finished sweetpea seeds. My idea for next year it to plant many sweetpeas along the trellis where we dug out the Loganberries and place a net for them to grow up, The frame work is already there. You can see the stakes and framework in place on the above photo.
Sweetpea seeds
As the title says November has been almost none stop rain too, and many low lying areas not far from us have been hit by floods.. And I count my blessings daily for living on a hill, and even here outside my window at the moment the water is around ten centimetres in puddles that are no longer soaking into the ground.
Rivers have overflowed their banks and I feel so sorry for all the residents of FishLake near Doncaster as their streets and homes have literally been turned into a lake, More on their plight can be found at this BBC news link. The whole village is under water..
So while nothing outdoors can be done I have been spending more time on my indoor projects and have completed these items you see below as well as I am midway through another knitting project..
And I have been less and less on technology and on the internet So I have spent less time in WordPress, though I do hope to try and get back into my WP reader and catch up at some point.. But as the Autumn days get shorter and as winter approaches I am finding I am hunkering down into my creative space more and more as I try to tune out from the bombardment of negative news and tune into my own creative, harmonic creative space..
Forest Green Cardigan
Hat and Snood.
Cardigan stitch detail
I hope you are all Keep safe out there..
So many things going off in the world, Fires, Floods, and Elections!…
Keep your own Balance!.. And create your own Bubble of Peace..
Hello again, well October has arrived and with it many places have had flooded roads and rivers are running high to overflowing here in the UK, as for the last few days its done nothing but rain, rain, rain day and night..
Click on Photos to Enlarge .
Cleared out the sweet corn and general tidy up The sprouts are now clearly visible standing to attention
But thankfully before the rain set in last week, we had a wonderful week of sunny warm weather. Which my hubby and I took advantage of as we got stuck into more chores of clearing on the plot.. The sweetcorn came out and we cleared a space ready for the delivery of manure which we order later this month. You can see by the picture below just how the lettuce is growing and we have picked quite a few now, and the swedes are also filling out as are the carrots growing which will be weeded out once they get much bigger.
Lettuce on left, Swedes, and carrots, leeks, January Kings Cabbage and Sprouts far right
We also reaped in our Butternut Squash and have stored around 24 largish Squash so we are very happy with our harvest of these as you see below.
Butternut Sqaush
I also cleared out the borders on the front garden of the summer flowers which had gone past there best and also took down the hanging baskets and replenished the wall containers with winter pansies and cyclamens.. Which I forgot to take photos of.. Maybe next time.. I planted lots of chrysanthemums in various colours as well as dwarf daffodil bulbs. My intention is to fill the front border with more perennials next year so as to help with lower maintenance of Summer and Autumn planting..
But there is still lots of colour in the back garden and these fuchsias were made into standards by my husband are now three years old taken from one plant as cuttings. They have now been moved into the greenhouse as we have a pending forecast of frost for Wednesday..
Rainbow light from hanging crystal
Since my husband cleared and cleaned the pond in the spring its done really well, the fish are happy and the waterlily he cut back hard, and its produced many more flowers this year. I think in total this year we have had nine or ten blooms in total, where as in other years we have only had a couple.
Water Lily in our pond.
You may remember a few months back I began knitting an Aran sweater, It got shelved in July when I went on holiday and upon our return we then started decorating our home and then had to catch up with the neglected plot, so this now knitting project has been completed. And I am very happy with its fit.
My hand knitted Aran sweater .
Have you any projects unfinished? Or have you about to start some.. I am being urged by my inner prompting to start painting again now the garden chores have been caught up with. So I will leave you with a gallery of some of the flowers still in bloom and the Dahlias are still in wonderful flower until the first frost hits them on the plot.
Dreamwalker's Garden 
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