Floral diversions

I've just returned from an hour in the dentist's chair and am still shaking! I am the world's worst wuss when it comes to dentists, no amount of rescue remedy helps and I'm not sure what is upsetting me most right now, the thought of further treatment or my complete inability to pay for it - both thoughts fill me with dread.



So I'm in need of pretty and the garden is full of it at the moment.



We went to a Springwatch event this weekend and were able to buy some lovely plants at good prices. Last year Big Sister went and brought home lots of wildflower seeds for me. Here is the result, well it's more of a work in progress, my mini meadow:


It is such a pretty thing but so hard to photograph. Full of ox eye daisies, ragged robin, buttercups and other wildflowers waiting on the sidelines. It does prove that you really do not need that much space to enjoy the beauty of flowers and in particular my favourite wildflowers. I also found the little window box in the road so the whole thing was free!



Wildflowers really particularly appeal to me, probably the romantic side of me. I love the folklore attached to them and will spend a very happy hour or two browsing through books on the countryside and herbal lore.



The lovely pink ragged robin is also known as Cuckoo Flower, Meadow Spink, Polly Baker, Shaggy Jacks and Bachelor's Buttons and the Thunder Flower.
Folklore has it that men would carry the plant in their pockets and they would be successful in love, so the story goes, only if the plant thrived or not. By the 1600s girls carried the plant as well under their aprons, giving each plant the name of a local boy. The flower that opened first would bear the name of the boy she would marry or who wanted to marry her.



The beautiful ox eye daisy is known to repel certain insects and has been mixed with animal bedding in farms to keep insects away! It is used herbally to help with conjunctivitis, coughs, asthma and ulcers amongst other things.



One of the many things that watching Springwatch has taught me is that there is so much nature right on our doorstep. Our gardens are full of birds, insects etc and as for the flowers, well, it has taught me that walking around the garden and looking out for the showier plants to bloom, I can still cut armfuls of these:



and be more than happy with the results.



The orange flowers are wildflowers I bought on Sunday, Fox and cubs or orange hawkweed. They really are the burnished orange of a fox. Apparently they grow well on railway cuttings and roadside slopes.
It is the quieter, less showy and flamboyant plants that are now catching my eye - but I'll never say no to a rose!
I need to go and search through my books now for herbal remedies for my poor teeth and perhaps invest in a money plant or two!

"Wish you were here"

I made these a couple of months ago and was meaning to post about them but they sold before I got round to it. I then meant to make some more so I could show you but somehow along the way I got sidetracked.



Finally today I finished another couple of bundles of them to show.



They're made from vintage linen and are my attempt at mini postcard pillows. You all know how much I love old postcards and my love for the countryside and being by the sea, well I decided to put all those things together and came up with these.



I loved reading all your comments on our recent walk and wanted to create something that in some way captured some of those scenes, all these are of course images of a bygone age, more "Darling Buds of May" than "The Ragged Roses May ramble"
and much the nicer for it! I've put them in my etsy shop if you'd like to take a look.



I even managed to make myself a set to put in the bathroom.



It's been a funny old week, the girls have gone back to school and are really tired - Big Sister told me last night that she needed a holiday!



I know what she means though, she said she was feeling claustrophobic, and I understand that feeling when the sun is shining and you really just want to be free to enjoy it.



Free to go on long country walks, free to sit on a beach and hear the sea, feel the sand or just read a book. For Big Sister, free to run across the Downs with your arms outstretched, Ipod on and be alone with your thoughts.



I bought this book as a birthday present for a friend recently - The Fortnight in September by R C Sherriff. Has anybody read it? I'd be interested to hear what you think. I was so drawn to its subject and toying with the idea of getting a copy to read if and when I get to the mountain of books by my bed. Written in 1931 it tells the story of an ordinary family's fortnight holiday in Bognor Regis on the Sussex Coast.



Of course I'm interested in finding out how much seaside holidays have changed but in a way it's the domestic details that appeal and above all the hope that we all set by our holidays, the desire to escape just for a little while.

I'm not sure if the Ragged Roses will be going on holiday this year but I'm determined to make the most of any good weather that comes our way and I'm lucky to be living in a place that offers me both beautiful countryside and the sound of the sea.



Hope you all have a lovely weekend, we're off Springwatching!

A PIF, a TAG & a "MERCI"

Well it's very quiet here this morning. M at work and the girls at school again. The first day back to school always reminds me of that Bjork song "It's Oh so quiet" (please imagine it playing in the background). I love the gentle introduction to the song but on days like today when I'm not quite ready to enjoy the silence and stillness of my home, I'm longing for a bit of the loudness and fun of the rest of the song - tomorrow will be a different story but today it feels like our home has lost a bit of its soul.



Looky here, isn't this lovely pink bear gorgeous? I won it on a PIF giveaway on Jennie's lovely blog. Jennie has made this so beautifully and I don't know how she managed to fit making this in with all the other ones she made. My bear sits proudly on the shelf surrounded by piles of buttons that were also kindly included in the parcel and a delicious bar of Turkish Delight which sadly didn't even last until I finished writing my thank you email to Jennie. I'm a woman of no willpower... In the true spirit of PIFs I know I am meant to offer this on to other readers. So if you would like to enter into a PIF please say so if you comment on this blog, There is no obligation to and unless you state that you want to I will not enter you into the hat. It will of course take me a while to make things to send off but it's a promise, three people will be sent something from me at some point in the future (and judging by woefully bad lack of self discipline, the parcel will not contain any chocolate!).




I have also been tagged by the lovely April. So here are the answers (it being a Monday morning and the lack of chocolate in the house, please make allowances for the answers!).

1) What was I doing ten years ago?

Ten years ago I was living in the twilight zone. The land of sleep deprivation where I had been living for four years and with another year to go until Big Sister decided that sleep was a good thing!




2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

Washing,washing and more of the same.
Running In and out of the garden to retrieve washing from showers.
Running in and out of the garden to re- hang washing when the sun dares to shine.
Making dreaded, and oh so boring, phone call to car insurance company about the lady who drove into my car last year.
Having cup of tea before collecting Little Sister and holding head in hands when I realise how little I've achieved today. Go in search of chocolate on the way to school.




3) Snacks I enjoy:

CHOCOLATE - any shape or form, apart from white chocolate and powdered
Pistachio nuts - I love 'em
Grapes, cold and juicy from the fridge
Greek yogurt (is that a snack?)


4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
a) A billionaire - that's a lot of money ...
Would have to give some away to families and friends. There would be no fun unless it could be shared.
b) Give to charities of course - it would be hard to know when to stop
c) A bit of indulgence here - buy a house in French or Italian countryside.
d) Sort out that lavender farm dream
e) This one is pure fantasy - but arrange a huge bloggers party, venue to be decided!

5) Places I have lived:

London and Sussex

6) Jobs I have had:

Saturday jobs whilst still at school - working in clothes shops in London. Great discounts, good opportunities to practise my languages and money left over to go out in the evening!

I have mainly worked for charities since leaving University ( after a brief spell in music PR and teacher training). Working for children's charities have definitely been my favourite jobs. These were in London.
When we moved down to Sussex i had various temping jobs to tide me over (the worst being stuck in a freezing cold portakabin on a building site) and spent some time commuting to London to work which I hated. I think my favourite permanent job here was working at the University. My dream job is yet to happen ...



I know there are rules to this tag and you know that I don't do the rules. So if you want to join in, feel free.and if you've got time please pop over and say hello to April so I don't feel so bad about not playing nicely!!!



Before I go and rescue the washing, once again, I need to thank Mrs Cowboys and Custard and her props department for the so very lovely and generous gifts that she recently sent me and which have featured in many of the totally gratuitous photos here today. THANK YOU!

PS _ I'm very sorry and assumed that everybody knew what a PIF is, here by way of an explanation is this:

I will send a handmade gift to 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Rambling Roses

Looking out of the window this past week you could be fooled into thinking that we have fast forwarded to Winter half term, grey skies, rain, rain and more rain. Not that this is the view from my window - mine offers views of half munched plants left over from the National Snails' Convention that seems to take place daily in my garden. But I'm rambling already - what we wanted was to go in search of views like this. No car, proper walking, picnic lunch and rain macs.



So the other day we took a train to here. A little village nestling in the Downs that we have driven to many times before but this time decided to meander around on foot and walk on to another village across country.



I really love this part of the country even when it's grey the greenness of the softy rolling Downs and the beauty of the plants never fails to move me. One of my favourite, gentle books is "A Postillion Struck by Lightning" by Dirk Bogarde. It is the first part of his autobiography and he writes of a seemingly idyllic childhood where he spent long periods in his family's house in this part of the South Downs. It is a beautiful book.



We had no plan really other than to visit our favourite church. So we walked past our favourite country pub (not without some wavering) and soon arrived here:




St Michael and All Angels Church in Berwick Village. It is such a beautiful church dating from mid 12th century. Nestled amongst the Downs, in a quiet pretty village, on passing you would have no idea of the other treasures that it holds. Inside it is tranquill and still, the views from the windows reflecting its beauty. The stained glass of the windows had been destroyed by bombs during the war and were replaced by plain glass making the church lighter and brighter. What makes it so special for me are its wonderful murals and paintings. Just a few miles from the church lived the artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell (their beuatiful home is perhaps our favourite place to visit) and they were asked to paint the church. It was a bold and brilliant idea. (it might be worth clicking on the following photos to enlarge them).



The Nativity by Vanessa Bell. It is set firmly in local countryside - a Sussex barn, the Downs in the background and local shepherds used as models. It's lovely soft muted colours work so beautifully in its setting.



This wonderful painting is by Duncan Grant, he has incorporated kneeling figures of local serviceman and churchmen.




Below it on the Chancel Screen are The Four Seasons, Dawn and Sunset. These illustrate typical Sussex rural scenes of the time.



My favourite is the pulpit. Originally painted by Vanessa Bell but later destroyed by vandals, it was replaced by work from Duncan Grant using designs from, their daughter, Angelica Garnett.



Each panel is a wonderful painting of fruit and flowers and the colours and detail are just so typical of their nearby home at Charleston.



I have always loved the soft dove, almost lilacy grey that they used.
Inside the Chancel there are wonderful frescoes by Vanessa Bell's son, Quentin Bell.



This is one is so beautiful and its delicate tones and lines remind me of the many illustrations and designs of the Bloomsbury group.



If you're ever passing by, it really is worth a visit. It is a church firmly set in the countryside and a church that has let the countryside in.
So we walked on and on.



Passing beautiful cottages,



seeing lots of cows, rabbits and a heron.



With our arms held high to avoid the nettles and our legs flagging we finally got to Alfriston for our picnic.



Another gorgeous house to admire (of which there are many here). This being one of our kind of rambles we of course come on the day when everything is closed and the next bus to the station is 3 hours later!



But it didn't really matter, we stopped for ice creams and the walk back didn't really seem that long. It was the next day when I tried to move my legs that I noticed!



Fingers crossed for a sunny weekend - have a good one
x

The excitement of waiting and the beauty of knowing

I bought this peony last year from a plant sale in the local church hall. The old man selling it couldn't remember what colour the flowers would be. He had a feeling it was a red peony. I bought it anyway. I don't really like too much red in the garden but the element of surprise and not wanting to say "no" to the seller was too much for me. So for a year I have waited. Watched the plant grow, eagerly awaiting the first buds and then trying to judge its colour by the tightly wrapped petals. It seemed as if the old man was right, judging by the outer petals on the bud it was going to be a bright, fiery red. As the buds increased I was becoming more and more excited by the prospect of a burst of fiery red blossom in the corner of the garden. The other day when the sun was at it's hottest the bud unfurled and this is what it revealed. Beautifully crisp, pure white , with the added bonus of those first few tantalising raspberry edged petals. A wonderful surprise, that was well worth the wait. I knew deep down it was going to be beautiful.



This weekend after weeks of frenzied emailing I finally got to meet this lovely lady I knew it was going to be a real treat but hadn't anticipated the flurry of mutual nerves and insecurities that this meeting would bring! A real attack of middle age crisis came over me and as the day approached and our emails became more and more hysterical I wondered where all this was coming from. Having swayed daily from wearing a diving suit, balaclava, and finally full bee-keeping suit complete with hood to meet Michele in, the mid week low came at breakfast:
Big Sister: "Mum you should wear your hair in a really tight pony tail on Saturday"
Mrs Ragged (very ragged) Roses: "Why?"
Big Sister: "Well it's meant to be as good as Botox and less painful than a face lift!" (said in all seriousness)
At which point M chokes on his muesli and I lose the will to live!



I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to let my daughters understand just how important it is not to get too hung up on appearances and here was I not exactly leading by example. Just why this was happening I couldn't understand until Saturday morning when order of some sort prevailed, when I put on my normal clothes, brushed my hair as normal, ditched the pony tail (!) and went to meet Mrs Custard - what I was feeling was sheer excitement (mixed with more than a tinge of not wanting to be a disappointment).



After months of reading each other's blogs and emailing and striking up such a warm affinity and friendship I really didn't want to be responsible for tarnishing any of that. Within minutes of meeting, finally meeting, all of those feelings were dispelled. Both Mr and Mrs Custard were just as I imagined - lovely, warm, kind and gentle people and it was I felt just a few minutes before we were able to continue where our emails had left off.



I am so grateful that they both made time in their very busy, and constantly changing, schedule to meet the Ragged Roses on Saturday. It was so good to finally meet up, to walk along chatting and laughing, to take them along to say hello to Emma and her gorgeous little boy (Emma we have fallen in love, big time with your little boy!). When they left for the next stage of their whirlwind tour, it felt like we were saying goodbye to old friends. I have so much to say about Saturday but in a way can't say it, it meant a lot to me ... not the most profound thing to say but perhaps the most honest. I have at times felt overwhelmed by the warmth and kindness of you fellow bloggers, "strangers" who have become friends. Now and again the line between "real life" and blogworld disappears - Ragged Roses becomes Kim and Cowboys & Custard becomes Michele and Sew Recycled becomes Emma - and favourite bloggers on your link bar have faces and voices and you know that, just like my peony, you were going to like them right from the start!