If you go down to the Woodland yurts

And I do hope that some of you will get to stay there because it is a fantastic experience.

 

We have stayed for three nights with family members....five adults and two children....

one only 10 weeks old.

Even if there`s a smattering of rain, we don`t mind because it`s really cosy in the yurts, with space on the floor to play Spuzzle. 

Set your toys up on the stove if it`s not lit.

 

The campfire soon gets going for the BBQ.

Sacks of logs provided by Tim and Anne.

Baked potatoes in the ashes.

Home-made tomato sauce, tomatoes, cucumber and potatoes.

All from Freshwinds Garden of course.

As it gets darker, light your lanterns and put on your headlights

and make sure everything is ready for bedtime inside the yurts.

 Get out your glowsticks for some added fun.

 

 

Inside the yurts, snuggle down in the comfy beds.

And don`t be surprised if you find that you go to bed earlier than usual.

  Wake in the morning to the growing light through the yurt top

and the sound of the dawn chorus.

 

Go for a stroll before breakfast and savour the peace and quiet, as well as the beautiful views.

 

Admire the dewy grass and the lacy cobwebs.

Cook breakfast in the camp kitchen and eat in the open air. It gives you a good appetite.

 Laze around the yurts in the sunshine, relaxing and winding down.

Or set off to look for lizards on the fence posts....

......watch out for herons, geese and buzzards overhead.....

....set yourself some tasks....

......making bows and arrows, creating lashed camp tables....

......weaving God`s eyes....

......wander through Freshwinds Garden looking for butterflies....

.....or search for the stone ladybirds and bees, hidden all round ....

.....look for frogs in the pond....

.....check on the rabbits and chickens....

 ......see if the ferrets are out...... 

.....visit the donkeys, Alice and Rosie.....

......go for walks in the nearby woods.....

.....or be even more daring and go for night-time walks.....make sure you take your torches.

Maybe later, go foraging in the hedgerows for blackberries and sloes.

If you wish to go further afield there are many interesting places to visit from the 

Freshwinds Camping site.

Many of them have been mentioned on this blog.

We didn`t need to go anywhere.

 

Spinning Jenny

Looks like I might become a spinning Jenny this autumn/winter.

I have been given a beautiful Hebridean spinning wheel, complete with stool 

and a bag full of wool to spin.

I learnt how to spin many years ago and in fact the scarecrow in the reception shed is wearing a jumper I span and knitted for Steve ages ago. It was dyed with tea.

I haven`t forgotten how to spin but I think I may need some help setting up the tensions correctly.

At the same time I was given an intriguing collection of wool which looks like an experiment in the colour pink. Some of it is destined to become pink owls(!!!)

Well....we will see what they turn out like.

The ladybirds are mysteriously moving around the garden.

I find them in all sorts of places.

Now there are 20 bees waiting to be hidden.

The cardoons in the garden are flowering at last. They are short plants. The ones we have at home are about 10 feet tall.  They attract bumblebees.They go mad for the pollen.

Teasels will also attract insects and later goldfinches love the seeds.

This one, along with the buddliea, has virtually taken over the butterfly garden.

Interestingly, I did not put it there.

My latest job was to remove the sweetpea row, always a sad reminder 

that the summer is coming to an end. All in all I think the sweetpeas have been a bit of a washout, due mainly, to the heat in early June.

There are quite a few bare areas now but we`ve purchased some green manure to sow.

Pumpkins are fattening up and the wallflowers are flourishing.

The beans have lots of flowers.

The pond surface is almost entirely covered....a good thing as far as stopping blanket weed is concerned but I`ve noticed we have got some duckweed.

The frogs are not so active but we do spot them now and again.

Looking ahead, as we gardeners need to do, here are some of the plants and shrubs ready to go in one of the beds after all the rain.

And crocuses....at a very reasonable price....now that I can be sure they won`t get eaten.

In the meantime Pett Level is stunning, as always..

Little House Garden

Last year we created a garden leading down to the little house.

 

I have checked on it a couple of times since then.

I was quite disappointed late last year to find the sheep and rabbits had done their damage.

But I can now reveal which plants have made it through.

If you remember, we chose what were considered to be rabbit-proof plants.

We had some left-over geraniums so after a weeding, I planted them up.

These plants are so far rabbit proof....

iris, perenniel geraniums, ferns, Lady`s Mantle, foxgloves, myosotis, verbena boniarensis, feverfew, honeysuckle, borage, violets.

The perenniel geraniums have done particularly well.

I am also very pleased that the membrane covered in chipped bark has done its work very well, keeping brambles, nettles and bracken at bay.

I found a couple of feverfew  and borage plants around the bigger garden and put those in spaces.

There are plenty that have seeded themselves amongst the so-called leek bed.

I wonder whether it would be worth putting wire round this area in order to increase the types of plants we can grow.

Steve spent his time on the latest fencing round the shrub bed.

In the polytunnel things are looking very pretty with tomatoes tumbling under their own weight.

A couple of different views.....

The melons are swelling ...... several pointers to look for when you want to harvest.

The smell, the colour, the sound and a soft stalk end.

None seem to be quite there yet.

I am very proud of these melons.

In the far corner Anne`s bougainvillea is flowering for the first time.

The helichrysum (straw flowers) are drying well.

A young camper was thrilled when I gave her some in the week, especially 

when I told her they would last for ever.

Think this is a pumpkin.....not the best place considering the size....one of those left-over plants that just got plonked in at the last minute.

The statice bunches are drying well in their gaudy groups.

Outside the temperature is more bearable and there are precious minutes for looking round.

A huge "building" of rooks flew over in full cry (what a strange group name!)

The harvest is prolific.

We are just about keeping on top of it.

Today I`ve made 4 more jars of home-made tomato sauce and frozen some.

I love this time of the year.