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  • Welcome To My English Country Cottage

    In May 2020 our little thatched cottage was featured in Period Living Magazine. It was the culmination of 7 years of creating a family home with my “effortless rural style” – I have taken this as a positive comment on my interior design style rather than a reference to the lack of housekeeping, muddy wellies and occasional strange smell and have created a website to write about interiors, gardening, recipes…

    March 25, 2020
    Our Home, Period Living May 2020, Uncategorized

  • The Glorious Salvia

    This week’s blog focuses on one of my favourite plants, the Salvia.  I absolutely adore these flowers.  They are a fabulous border filler as well as one of the best flowers to attract bees into your garden as they are so rich in nectar. Wherever you plant them, the bees will be sure to find them.  Here are my top tips on growing and looking after Salvias. Salvia – A close-up All salvias thrive in full sun and are ideally placed in a…

    July 2, 2020
    How To Create A Cutting Garden

  • Not Your Normal Brownie

    Time for something sweet.  Elevenses and teatime are, it has to be said two of my favourite times of day.  So I am always on the hunt for something to nibble at either or both times of the day. I’m not a natural baker, unlike lots of my friends but I’ve been intrigued about using vegetables in baking since my great friend gave me a beautiful cookery book to say…

    July 1, 2020
    Pantry Recipes

  • Craftsmanship

    Modern houses often make me extremely very jealous: “You have windows that OPEN?” “Your walls don’t let in the breeze?” “Your roof doesn’t house mice, squirrels, birds and spiders the size of your hand?” “What sort of miracle building do you live in? How do I get me one?”. But for all these modern quirks, I would still blindly, stupidly pick an old run down thatched cottage over a new…

    June 28, 2020
    What Makes an English Country Cottage?

  • Heavenly Hydrangeas

    Heavenly hydrangeas –  one of my favourite shrubs and flowers and definitely a fabulous follow on to the peony. These are one of my favourite blooms and I adore them in bouquets, arrangements and in my garden. They can flower from April through to October and the foliage can be quite wonderful to in the Autumn months. Here are my top tips with planting, growing and pruning these fantastic shrubs. Planting  Hydrangeas…

    June 25, 2020
    How To Create A Cutting Garden

  • Fresh Salmon Tartlets with a Dill Reduction

    So something fishy for this weeks recipe.  This is a lovely, simple recipe I have done for years.  It was my first rather smart starter that I tested out on unassuming friends in the relatively early days of my cooking escapades.  And I thought as we are potentially able to start entertaining a little more from a few weeks time, some of you might be ready for something simple yet yummy to kick things off.…

    June 23, 2020
    Pantry Recipes