How Does Your Garden Grow 3

Here comes the rain, do do do do, here comes the rain, I said "it's alright", who sang that, it is not alright!  It is nearly the end of May and still rain, wind, coooold!  Anyone else getting really cheesed off with the weather??

This week nothing much has happened in the garden.  The blossom is fully out on the trees and starting to fall now, the rainy, windy week smattered with the odd ray of sunshine thankfully didn't wipe them out completely before the bees have their chance with them.

More Aquilegia have shown their beautiful faces, more purple and a delicate pink with ruffled centres. 

I've planted out some ready potted flowers to fill in some gaps, a few Lobelia and Marigolds.  I flung some Calendula seeds I saved from last year onto a couple of sparse beds and they have sprouted, very slowly but they are there.  I look forward every year to their sunshine yellow and blazing orange daisy-like blooms which go on and on all "summer".

All my trees in containers that I planted from seed a 2-3 years ago have all come to life again.  I really need to find somewhere to plant them this year, the plan was to create a memory garden, we tried once a few years ago and the local rabbits stripped the foliage bare in days!




Our Hazel

 The Tomato and Courgette seedlings are nearly all planted out into containers, hanging basket and gro-bags, but as it has been so very cold for the time of year, they haven't grown at all, they seem to be suspended in animation, we need sunshine!

Outside of the garden, the fields are golden yellow, bursting with crops, interspersed with green fields, the stuff of oil paintings, they make the landscape so very pretty.  I found these Bluebells hidden amongst the nettles when I jumped out of the car to snap the scenery for another post.

And look who's come up and so fast..... the Forget-Me-Not seeds I had sown indoors last week to plant at TC's nursery in memory of Matilda Mae, so teeny, so delicate, hopefully they will be as gorgeous as the ones in a corner of our garden that come up year after year. 

How does your garden grow this week, hop on over to Mammasaurus to see some how everyone's garden is doing this week.

Beauty-full - Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

Elemis is an amazing, leading luxury British spa and skincare brand I have been using since its early days.  As with all the brands I favour, I cherry pick the ones I love and that suit my skin.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm is a powerful, super-cleansing, luxurious balm that will sweep away make-up and remove impurities without stripping or drying the skin.  It is suitable for most skin types but especially favours the normal to drier types and those of us who look for anti-aging qualities.  It contains a fusion of fragrant oils and waxes including a signature blend of geranium, lavender, chamomile (my 3 favourite oils!), eucalyptus, ho wood, orange, menthol and clove which is blended into the highest quality shea butter, wheatgerm, oat, coconut, starflower and elderberry oils.  Finally this is all perfectly infused with mimosa and rose floral waxes which soften the skin, restoring elasticity and tone.

If you have never smelt or used floral waxes you are in for a treat, concentrated.divine.aromas, I have used them when making my own balms and soaps, a very luxurious item that adds richness, texture and fragrance.

The top ingredient throughout the whole Elemis Pro-Collagen range is Padina Pavonica, a new one on me, known for its anti-ageing properties, it also improves the skin's elasticity and firmness.

How to use:

For daily cleansing, smooth over face (avoiding the eyes, I always use a separate eye make up remover product), neck and décolleté, gently massaging into the skin, moisten fingers and continue to massage before removing with the cleansing towel (dampened) that comes with the balm, this also has the added benefit of gently exfoliating the skin which, in turn, will improve the absorption of your day and night creams.  Your skin will feel smooth, hydrated and comfortable.

The Balm can also be used as a treatment mask for a deep cleanse, smooth generously over face and neck with dry fingers and massage in to warm the skin. Leave to melt into your very grateful skin for 10 minutes.  Wet the cleansing towel with (not too) hot water and place over your face to steam for a couple of minutes as an optional extra.  Use the towel to gently wipe away any excess balm cleanser.

I have been oil cleansing my face for years with a hot cloth, I learnt this from a beautiful lady at the salon my mother used to frequent in London, her skin was flawless and she was in her 70's.  The Elemis cleansing balm has so many wonderful nourishing and anti-ageing ingredients and I've seen a noticeable improvement in my skin which has been "normal" forever but now is heading over to the drier side, so I need all the extra help I can get! 

I purchased mine as part of a kit, but Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm retails at Time to Spa for around £39.50 for a generous 105g of product. 

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Silent Sunday

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Manners, How do You do??

I'm not all that bothered by people's manners on a daily basis, if you don't want to hold that door open for me young man that's fine, but I find that most do anyway.  Maybe it's my winning smile (ha!) or that "hold the door for me or else" look I give sometimes when I'm struggling with many bags.  I am no longer grappling (again) with a buggy (and to those with double buggies, you have my deepest admiration) which, along with no more daytime nappies, has been very liberating to say the least.

But I digress, manners...  As parents we try to teach our emerging children the way of the world and how to fit in and be polite and well-mannered.  A few weeks ago an Education Minister complained that a lot of nurseries are failing to teach children good manners, by which she meant they are unable to socialise correctly or listen to the teacher.  This doesn't seem to be the case at TC's nursery I'm pleased to say.

It is in a child's inherent nature to be "naughty" and to get into mischief, TC has that look when asked to do something, I can see it, it says "I am going to look you clear in the eye and not do whatever it is you want me to do until I see fit!".  But we are saying please and thank you to everything and so far she is doing well in that department.  She makes great eye contact and I know in time she will stop interrupting every thought I have and learn they it's ok to wait if she doesn't get everything NOW (I do remember this with my own mum, being told to "wait a minute" was a frequent occurrence!).

I'm not sure yet, though, if I'm going to teach her the "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all", she can already convey her displeasure with that look, which she has definitely got from her daddy!

I can ignore things like a friend or colleague answering their mobile when I'm talking to them, in fact I'd prefer if you did answer your phone, it might be important especially if you have children and some things cannot be avoided in this technological world we are all part of.  It does appears to be a something that probably won't be going away any time soon either.  Even my 2 year old can text and use my mobile, I never know whether to applaud this or be slightly scared of how easily toddlers take to today's gadgets!

I could list a few otherinstances but when you analyse things like being forced to listen to someone else's music on public transport, it does seem a bit trivial, my answer is to move if you can (no not dance, although that would be a great outlet for pent up stress on the tube!) - these, like answering your mobile are part of today's modern manners or lack of them.

One thing that does irk me though is courtesy on the road, when I let a driver through or whatever and they simply drive on as if it was their right of way anyway, acting as if they haven't even seen you.  Makes me want to wind my window down at times!

So how do you do on the traditional or modern manners scale??  In everyday life some niceties can just get lost in the hustle and bustle so maybe it's not that we're impolite, just rushed and we "forget" our manners?? 

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How does Your Garden Grow

Not much to report from the garden this week, the rain and wind came back again, soaking my Apple and Cherry blossoms, they seem to be intact still so really am hoping for some warm sun to bring them on more and let the bees do their work!

The seedlings are all doing well and some have been planted on into larger pots.  Some things are taking so long to germinate, I planted 3 differing heat chilli seeds and none came up so I planted more on top of those and they all popped up, then guess what, the others popped up too, so now I have a lot of chilli's, am already plotting what to do with them if they make it to fruiting and what I can freeze!  No Scotch Bonnet yet though, was really looking forward to cooking with those!

The tomatoes and Courgettes are all coming along nicely and will find their way into grow bags, pots and a hanging basket full of flowing Cherry Tomatoes - well that's the plan anyway!

Apart from the Dandelions and Borage, the only plant attempting to flower in the garden are the Acquilegia, every year they come up, the seed blown from a neighbouring garden as I know I didn't plant them myself.  The gloriously deep purple colour is magnificent and I can see some pink and white specimens too.  I am an avid seed saver and every year I collect the seeds from anything that will give up its seeds to me, it's a fascination I have had from childhood, I love showing TC how to collect seeds, of course she wants to eat them so am ultra careful as some seeds can be poisonous.

We're popping some sunflower seeds in pots this week, I don't hold out much hope but this year TC is ready to understand the seed in the pot, water, watch it germinate and grow into a flower, then if we even get that far, collect the seeds and do it all again next year.  I have put my cosmic order in for a warm, balmy September to make up for all the rain and snow thus far!

I am also planting some Forget Me Not seeds in memory of Matilda Mae, if they seed successfully I will plant them out at TC's nursery who I'm hoping will do some fundraising for the Lullaby Trust.  I want to scatter some seeds there too and let nature do its thing - it seems a fitting place.

How does your garden grow this week, hop on over to Mammasaurus to see some how everyone's garden is doing this week.

Silent Sunday

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How Does Your Garden Grow - My Magic Moment this week

A new Linky popped up in my inbox the other day from Mammasaurus and although I don't have much time to join in many Linky's, my love of photography wins out every time, I may not be the best out there but to me each photograph I take is a personal memory, a snapshot of life here and now.

Our garden has been late starting like most others this year, last year the wind took off all the blossoms from my apple and cherry trees, 6 trees in total, all usually laden with glistening cherries and bursting with apples until well into the Autumn, last year nothing.

So with the Apple and Cherry blossom starting to peep their flowers from their tight buds, I have faith this year we will see fruition!  It's always a magic moment for me when the garden starts springing into life, every leaf, bud and seedling gives me so much pleasure.  This year I had already started the garden when the second load of snow fell, blotting out all my hard work, thankfully some well established plants have survived.

The primroses and labyrnum are still hanging onto their Spring blooms and my Honeysuckle has weathered the winter and is now growing like a weed, I hope its flowers are prolific again this year, with Lavender and Honeysuckle the garden smells divine in the late summer sun.

The seedlings are doing well now albeit late, I'm only growing cherry tomatoes, larger tomatoes, courgettes, chilli's in varying degrees of hotness, basil, parsley and oregano.

We have a patch of grass that grows Dandelion's on it every year, we watch them turn from sunshine yellow flowers into puffballs that we always blow around and make a wish or two.

And my baby conker tree has grown and sprouted its giant leaves on its stick frame again, a neighbours child threw the conker over a few years ago and it rooted, I don't have the heart to uproot it and besides one day TC might need some conkers!

How does your garden grow, hop on over to Mammasaurus to see some other beautiful blooms.

Also linking this up with lovely Jaime at The Olivers Madhouse and Magic Moments, seeing everything sprouting is my magic moment this week.