A month in photos...

This last month has flown by in a whirlwind of visits, visiting, DIY and work.  The combination of all of this makes for a lazy blogger.  My solution is an update in photos.

Learning to bake bread.

Enjoying evening walks.

Taking in the carpet of bluebells in our local wood.

Celebrating my sister's birthday with a cocktail.

Marvelling at the porcelain flowers at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Wild flower envy at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Flower garlands decorate a stand at Chelsea.

A Mexican feast courtesy of Mr E.

Basking in the glorious glow of the gorse on the beach at my parents.

A whistle-stop tour...

...of the last two months.

I can't believe that it has been over two months since I last wrote anything.  That is terrible, truly terrible.  In my defence it has been a super busy couple of months - I feel like I've hardly had two minutes to sit still.

June was, in the most part, devoted to work.  I was at the NEC for nearly three weeks working on BBC Gardeners' World Live, it is my favourite shows to work on.  I love the transformation that happens, the amazing Floral Marquee and beautiful show gardens.

My first day back was the start of boot camp part II.  This time it was a two week course, I really enjoyed it and am noticeably fitter.  I also managed to lose a few inches!

My youngest sister came home from travelling in South America.  She has been away for over six months and I have really missed her.  It is lovely to have her back.  She arrived home with some amazing presents for us - I think my favourite is this super bright fabric.  I just need to decide what to make with it.

We've seen a lot of friends and family.  I popped over to Madrid for a long weekend to see my best friend C.  We had a lovely few days of tapas, wandering through the scorching streets and roof top cocktails.

And every other second of spare time has been devoted to house hunting.  We are now searching for our own home and have seen the best and the worst that is on offer!  We haven't seen anything that is quite right yet though so the search continues.  Watch this space...

York House Gardens...

This Sunday the husband and I took a stroll along the river to York House in Twickenham.  This  is the local council building and happens to have the most beautiful gardens.  It also happens to be where we got married, but more about that later.


The gardens reach down to the river and are a stunning combination of the most outrageous fountains, formal rose gardens and wild grasses.  We sat by a lovely pool and reminisced.  Well I did.  The husband mostly nodded and looked at me with the kind of indulgent look saved for small children or the very drunk.  Still it was a lovely afternoon.

Another day, another nursery...

Photo from here

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to Gardeners' World Magazine's 20th Anniversary Party.  The evening was held at Clifton Nurseries, which seems to be Petersham's North London cousin!  The nursery is hidden between amazingly grand houses, and we walked down an alley lit with fairy lights and candles to find our selves in a real life secret garden.  You would never know that this oasis existed in practically central London.

We were treated to lovely canapés, abundant champagne and a goody bag at the end of the evening.  So glamorous was the evening that we even made the local press!  I left with a magnolia to plant out - fingers crossed that it survives!