Countdown to Open Gardens.

Hello. It's starting to come together. David is installed in his new position, among the flowers. The pots have been moved around, the straggly plants have been trimmed and the tall ones have cane supports. I just have to fill the gaps now with plastic flowers. 

Leo looks lovely with his flower arrangement.

One more day left to add the finishing touches tomorrow. The lawns will be mowed. A few weeds will be pulled up. I won't be putting my artworks in the summer house until Sunday morning.

That's all for now. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

More painting, and blinging stones.

Hello. That's another day of winds battering the garden. The trees at the back have been lashing about, the noise is a tad annoying as I'm trying to get things done. The flower beds need tidying, must try and get that done tomorrow. Mayze doesn't care, she is in heaven in her sun lounge. 

This is the remains of the old cat shelter, I managed to salvage some of it and today I painted it. I might not paint the bottom shelf, and I haven't painted the bits round the back that can't be seen. It fits perfectly in this space.

I have painted a few stones, they will be scattered about the garden. Blinged them up with sequins and glitter nail varnish.

I've been looking after Barry's dog, Scruff, today, short walks and sitting with him. I managed to find a new home for a large plant that I have no room for. Janet has taken it in and will find a place at the bottom of her garden. Only two more days of prepping to do, then a busy weekend, then I will be free to do something else.

The strange marks were inside the bottom of a bowl which had a bit of rain water in it. I think the readers who said slugs or snails are probably right.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Pretty pots.

Hello, just popping in while I have my after lunch coffee. Egg and beans on toast today. Someone asked about using emulsion paint on outdoor projects, does it wash off in the rain. It seems to work ok with me. I painted these two pots this morning, one is plastic, one terracotta. I last did them a year ago, they were a bit faded with the sun, and had a few scratches where I moved them about. They will be ok for another year now, I have repainted them in the same colour. 

One thing I would say is that if you are painting over a pot which was previously finished in gloss paint, it might not cover it very well, and might flake off. Here I have used Crown flat matt emulsion, shade Euphoria. 

I have to go to the vets now to pick up Heidi's tablets, so I'll say tattybyes and catch ya later.

Adding more colour to the garden

Hello. At last this screen is finished, it looks lovely. I got the clothes rail out of a skip, 66 flowers and 66 leaves cut out of vinyl, attached to strips which are fixed to the top and bottom rails with cable ties. No wonder it took ages. I didn't take the flowers down to the bottom because I will stand a few pot plants in front of it. 

Here's a little puzzle for you. I took this photo in the garden today, it's a close up of something. The patterns made me look twice at it, rather fascinating I thought, and very arty. Any ideas about what the something is, and what made the patterns. I don't know the answer to the second question so your guess is as good as mine.

Got to go outside and water up now, no rain so the ground is dry. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

The evolving Shed of the Year.

Hello. This is my entry for Shed of the Year 2016. It's interesting looking back at these photo's and seeing what has changed. The flower beds had pallets around them, now they have bricks. There is now a porch on the front of it. Some of it has been repainted and is a different colour. The garden chair has been replaced with a cane conservatory chair. The brown old fashioned dining room chair has been repainted. I still have the black storage boxes, some of the plants have come up again this year. I have thrown out the dead pieces of monkey puzzle tree but I still have the vase. The sea view on the back of the garage has gone and is now a rainbow of colours. The stack of small pallets next to the shed has gone. The carpet tiles have gone, now vinyl flooring with a large carpet on top. The table has gone, now there is a board supported by two tressles. The roof now has a sheet of plastic over the top of the polycarbonate.

There will be some newer art pieces in there on Sunday. I hope I remember to make a video of how it is now.

Crafty Club this morning, and a coffee with Angela after. Now going outside, more to do. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip