Mr Mustard, Violet and Doris

Happiness is :  my collection of  artist Sam Toft's 'Mr Mustard'  prints. You may have seen these prints or even know them well, but if you haven't go to the link below and learn all about Ernest Hemingway Mustard, his dear lady wife Violet and Doris their rather grumpy, portly jack russell.

http://www.samtoft.co.uk/meetthems.php

I love these simple prints, they make me smile and make me happy just looking at them. Ernest giving Violet a Big Smackeroo is delightful. I love them and hope you will too.

Todays flowers from my garden

Fabulous dahlia and rudbeckias still flowering profusely

Happiness is having tea in 'The Haberdashery'

At the week-end I was in London, Crouch End to be exact and we went to a lovely vintage tea shop/ eatery called 'The Haberdashery' . It's only a small teashop, but so individual and was packed with customers.

Tea and food is served on/in mismatched vintage bone china crockery and the tea comes to you in a big old fashioned brown earthenware teapot. There are buntings inside and outside the teashop, it isn't cheap but it's really worth a visit if you are ever in that area.

Because it was so busy I felt awkward taking photo's so I just managed to take one of the cups and saucers on the wall, which are all used daily. and the other photo is part of their tiny but very sweet garden which has some seating and tables.

I have put a link below to the Haberdashery website for you to see more of their lovely photo's.

The garden of the haberdashery

http://www.the-haberdashery.com/Photos.html

Happiness is .....................

Growing my own ingredients for Moussaka

Buying some lovey wool for my crochet



A bouquet picked from the garden

A glass of cold French Cider after walking for hours in Central London.

Finding an amazing piece of art work (not graffiti in my eyes !!) on a blank London wall. Could be a Banksy, but not signed.

Happiness is-- A home grown bouquet

There is nothing quite like growing flowers to cut for the house, and this year I have especially grown more in the garden and on the allotment to cut for indoors. This little bouquet was cut on Monday and is still going today, except for the odd one or two getting a bit droopy.




Two new Dahlias grown from seed this year called 'Stargazer' they are so pretty, I'm waiting to see what the other colours will be like.

Oh the joy !!! success at last, Ssshhhh ! just in-case they suddenly drop off !!

I have tried for two year to grow aubergines with no luck, but this year I put them outside in June as I saw them do at RHS Wisley, and lo and behold 3 fruits so far and more just starting to swell. I also have 3 other plants with smaller fruits called 'Baby Rosanna' and the one in the greenhouse is flowering but the 2 outside haven't done as well yet

I had a good harvest yesterday. It makes all the work seem worthwhile. I get such a lot of pleasure and happiness from growing anything from seed, watching over them and enjoying the end result be it fruit, vegetables of beautiful flowers.

I feel Blessed that I have the money to buy seeds, the health to grow them, water to nourish them, my sight to see them grow and good friends and neighbours to share them with.

It's almost the weekend again, so I wish you all a great one.

M x

A day at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

I hope you enjoy these photo's of things that caught my fancy that I had to take a photo of. I don't always take lots of photo's of the gardens, I enjoy the stalls and artifacts that are around that just appeal to me and snap away.

Happiness is

Freshly picked flowers from the garden, the colour of the sweet-peas are like sugared almonds, and the 'double click' Cosmos are the best I have ever seen, I will grow them every year now as the are beautiful.

Cosmos 'Double Click'

Happiness is also my Allotment plot which is looking as beautiful as it is productive this year

Cosmos 'Sonata'