Stationary Swap

The photos taken by a famous photographer

Hello in beautiful May!

Some weeks ago, I spontaneously participated in a stationary swap organised by a dear blogger friend who I know in flesh, as we were able to meet the last time we went to beautiful Cornwall.  Barbara,here is her blog : Small Moments, had a great idea to launch it.

How lucky was I to be paired with my dear friend Pondside! We also know each other in flesh, as she made a trip across Europe and Great-Britain and we spent several days together. That is already 3 1/2 years ago.... I blogged about here.
And I still have so many precious memories to think of.

Here is what I received:

A wonderful bird card accompanied the pack

every card with its own colour-matched envelope

how gorgeous is that close-up?

every card a piece of art

I especially love that batch of wool

Thank you so much, dear Honora and also for the Canadian Living magazine! I utterly enjoyed every item and treasure what you sent!

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As I am not blogging as often as I would like to, here are some pictures from a stroll around the garden in May. We are now in year 16 after having bought the farm and later starting the garden from a cow field. Right now, I cannot get enough of walking through it and discovering each day something new. Would you like to join?

Right at the beginning welcomes this Azalea which we once bought in Cornwall, in Trevarno, my all-time preferred garden, sadly now closed to the public

Every plant, shrub or tree seems to be in competition with another

The grotto (full with tadpoles right now which are regularly fed by EG)

Loads and loads of apple blossoms

This veggie plot in the 'hanging gardens' proves that EG is now a full-time EG

The Staphylea is out

The tree peony 'Ludlowii' flowers for the first time

 Only this week we found out that 'Ludlowii' did not get its name after our preferred town in Shropshire but it was the planthunter Ludlow who brought it back from Tibet.

The 'functionary tree' Catalpa in the middle still bare, as all funtionaries always comes late and leaves early ;-)

...and what might that be???

The Davidia involucrata is flowering for the first time! (Pocket handkerchief tree)

I love the spontaneous appearance of colombine and leave them where they come up

This picture of the grotto hill is some 2 weeks old, before I went to Bristol. I came back after a week into a different garden.

This is how I always imagined a cottage garden --- a part of the front garden yesterday

Until next time :-)