Autumnal days are here ....

Don't know how it's with you, but over here there's a definite nip of Autumn in the air.
Though I've still got some (french) sunshine coming my way,
 I'm quite ready to embrace it.
I'm sure this has a lot to do with the wonderful Summer we've had so far.

Eating every possible meal in the garden was almost a rule.

You can find the Rustic Hanging Bottles here 

You can find the Wooden Scandi House here 

This year I was very late sowing and the heath wasn't very helpful either,
 but there still were enough flowers to fill my Jugs.

Both Hogben Jugs are available on our website and can be find here

A lovely customer gave me the idea for this display, 'love in a mist' in an Espresso Mug

For the third year in a row my 'Cafe au Lait' is flourishing, 
even after I left the bulbs hibernate in my border during Winter

The pond was the most popular spot for all wildlife this year

But also my Buddleia

Trying to hang on that Summer feeling I like to preserve all its produce in a box

You can find the Wooden Window Box here

Now the days are drawing in, I like to cook meals that have to simmer
or bake cakes.
Any excuse will do and this time it was the youngest son
coming home from a holiday trip on Ibiza.

You can find the Wooden Cookbook Stand and Tea Towel here

I saw the recipe of this cake on Facebook at a friends profile 
and because the men around this house love coconut I gave it a go.

I dare say with success.

I already shared this photo on my Instagram and there were a lot of requests
 to share the recipe, so here it is.

This is what you need for the Coconut Cake:

       *For the Cake Base:

- Sponge Flan Base 200gr

*For the filling:

                                                    - 30 gram Cornflour

                                                  - 480 ml of Cream

                                          - 3 Egg Yolks

                                                - 150 gram Sugar

                                                             - 55 gram grated Coconut

                                                       - 2 tablespoons Butter

Put the 480 ml Cream in a saucepan and add the Cornflower. 

Whisk until the Cornflower has completely disappeared.

Then whisk the Egg Yolks and sugar in its total through.

Put the fire on medium heat and bring to boil while constant stirring.

Once it boils, take it off the heat and stir in the Coconut and Butter.  

Pour the mixture over the Cake Base, cover it with Cling Film
and put in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. 

     *For the Topping:

                                                     - 180 ml of Cream

                                                             - 3,5 tablespoons Sugar

                                                                       - 1,5 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

                                                                             - 40 gram grated Coconut roasted

Whisk the 180ml Whipped Cream, 3,5 tablespoon Sugar and 1,5 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
at medium speed and spread over the Cake.
Sprinkle the grated Coconut over the Cake and after being in the refrigerator
for at least two hours it's ready to serve.

The Cake can, provided it's covered, be kept for several days.

  

Right now I'm busy packing for our break in the Provence.
I'm still very behind with my monthly Embroidery subscription
so I made sure to pack the 'essentials' 😜

Basket available here

Leaving my garden in the capable hands of my lovely neighbor,
I can't wait to see my Wisteria (which is full of buds) flowering for the second time.

And of course meeting you here again!

Anita
~xo~



Spring has definitely sprung ....

After the hibernation of my garden the first sign of Spring were these fritillary popping up in the border. 

It continues to amaze me when there actually grows something out of the bulbs I've planted months ago .... 

But also all the wildlife which makes a frequenter appearance, like this wren who is sunbathing after a bath in the pond .... 

The grape hyacinths in the flower box in front of my living room window were a nice surprise, it's such a relieve there's also a bright sight at being forgetful sometimes ....

A serious fight was preceded but in the end this blue tit has taken up residence of the nest box ....

And love is definitely in the air as this is his lady friend. They really seem inseparable and even feed each other, they're so much fun to watch ....

Now I'm used to get lots of different bird species in my garden but I couldn't believe my eyes when these two showed up on a Saturday morning ....

Another nice surprise on my drive to work, the storks who are back on their nest
just like last year ....

During a walk in the woods with a good friend I was astonished at all the green ........

On our way we also visited the Goat Farm where not only we saw a lot of little goats but also this hanging basket with a very special resident ....

Not only a lot of new green in the woods but also in my garden, gorgeous signs of Spring ....

And not before long now these ones can hide in my maple tree ....

"Pretty in pink" at the end of my street ....

After living here for fifteen years I finally planted the fruit trees who were on my wish list for so long. So now I've got lovely blossom as my garden fence  ....

With the large selection of flowers this season it's so easy to create a spring scene at home, even in my kitchen with my favourite spring flower ranunculus ....

A real bonus to the longer and warmer days is the evening chorus of the blackbird .... 

I've been very busy sowing all kind of seeds and last week all my seedlings went from the attic to my greenhouse in a new larger pot ....

Still so very happy with my little green house. As you can read here the assembly of it was quite a task but so worthwhile ....

How fab it would be when these really turn into the gorgeous hollyhocks as the front of the seed packet does promise ....

But for now I'm enjoying the wisteria on our back patio, if only you could smell the scent ....

My mums peony with so many of these promising buds ....

In an attempt to capture the fairytale atmosphere of the English bluebell woods just a little bit at home, I planted some Spanish bluebell bulbs and were so pleased when they actually popped up.
Although I think they're very pretty and would love to have them spread around my garden, it's not exactly the same one I admired during our holiday two years ago.
Not being able to find this particular one in a garden center at home gives me the perfect excuse to pay a visit to a local garden center during our upcoming visit to England, I'm not complaining!
But for now I'm very happy with these ....

So my next bunch of flowers will not only consist of cow parsley but just like this beautiful illustration in The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady with some bluebell too ....

We've had wonderful weather this past week and hope it will stay with us for at least the (long) weekend!
Hope you'll have a wonderful one too.


Anita
~xo~

My little (outdoors) sanctuary ....

I have expressed my love for Instagram and Pinterest once before with you and the way they are a constant inspiration.
In this case particularly the lovely (most English) ladies I follow on Instagram.

Last summer I saw many pictures passing of vases filled with sown flowers from their own garden. Especially there were the sweet peas where, in some cases, there seemed no end to its heyday.
And not forget to mention the home-grown vegetables on the even more inspiring allotments.
Through all this grew gradually the desire for my own (little) greenhouse in the garden.

I started my research for a little greenhouse and that turned out not such an easy task. After many hours browsing on the net I finally found one with the measurements that would fit perfectly on the spot I had in mind. With the "small" detail we had to collect it on the other side of the country.

Although gardening isn't really his thing I'm so fortunate with my husband, without complaining we drove to the east of the country to collect the kit and once home the even bigger job started.
It turned out to be a real DIY project because there were quite a few adjustments required before it became a solid greenhouse.

Our youngest son felt sorry for his dad so decided to help him and there was , except a few curses, also much laughter.
Love watching these two together, not only father and son but also so best buddies ....

And here the end result of their hard work, so very pleased with it ....

Almost starting to believe that soon I will be able to harvest my first tomatoes ....

And just replanted them as my "tutor" and "date" every Friday night in the person of dear Monty of Gardeners' World told me to do ....

Hopefully flowers from the sweet peas in the making ....

But also a place I love to spend time with everything I need around me ....

Even outside the greenhouse work in progress - hope to get these strawberries in time before the birds do ....

A lovely gift from my husband, a little greenhouse with more sweet peas ....

Sharing almost everything with my sisters I also told them of this new adventure and they followed the whole thing with big interest.
After I had compared ourselves with (you may know) the lovely and at the same time hilarious couple Tom and Barbara from the old seventies television series The Good Life  my sisters couldn't resist to call us by that name. And started to ask when they could have their first home grown meal.
Besides having a sense of humor they are also so thoughtful when it comes to gifts because isn't this cute, this small shovel (also very handy to plant out seedlings) with the inscription dear sis ....

After I had hardened off the sweet peas and planted them in the large flower bed also build by my husband I just couldn't believe my eyes.
Because this is one of the many flower buds I just discovered ....

And ta-da ... my first pick from the garden ....

When you read this I'll be on my way to my beloved England. And I'd better warn you in advance because I'm afraid my next post will be with a whole lot of that beautiful country (and hopefully a garden full of sweet peas!)

Anita
~xo~