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My English Country Cottage
  • Blog Posts
    • Our Home
    • Interior Design projects
    • How To Create A Cutting Garden
    • Pantry Recipes
    • What Makes an English Country Cottage?
    • Home County Candle Company
    • Their English Country Cottages
    • Country Cottage Creatives Interviews
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  • There will be nothing bare about these roses in a couple of months

    This week I’ve been planting up some bare root roses, so I thought I would share with you a quick step by step guide as to how to do this. Any time between November and April is a good time to plant them, as this gives them enough time to establish before blooming over the Summer. However, if your ground is frozen or waterlogged, I would wait.The first step is to select where you want your…

    March 5, 2021
    How To Create A Cutting Garden
  • The White Cottage

    Their English Country Cottages Time was ticking for Victoria and her family when they viewed this beautiful cottage. Their Victorian Villa had sold and after three months the buyers were getting a little impatient. White Cottage ticked some of their boxes with a village location and period characteristics but there were a few deal breakers: a front door that opened into the sitting room where the staircase was also situated…

    February 28, 2021
    Their English Country Cottages
  • Let’s have a ‘socially distanced catch up in the garden’.

    The latest announcements on COVID and next steps have definitely put a spring in my step. Isn’t it wonderful to think we’ll soon be able to have people in our gardens once again? I have provisionally pencilled in some dates but am slightly worried about catching up with all my gardening jobs first. I therefore thought it would be useful for this week’s blog to be on a quick maintenance checklist to help get us ready for those ‘let’s…

    February 26, 2021
    How To Create A Cutting Garden
  • Manor Farm Cottage

    Their English Country Cottages Every corner I turned I fell in love a little bit more Leanne Chesterman had just laid down her paintbrush on her cottage refurbishment when she received the details for this beautiful cottage. She and her boyfriend were looking to buy a property together and from the details Manor Farm Cottage fitted the bill. Unfortunately the cottage was already under offer when they telephoned and nothing…

    February 21, 2021
    Their English Country Cottages
  • Preparing the spring garden

    It’s been so nice to see the return of some sunshine and milder weather. I’ve managed to spend a couple of afternoons out in the garden, starting to get it organised for the Spring months. Here’s a quick update on what I’ve been up to. Mulching I know I’ve already talked about mulching but as I’m doing it, I thought I would remind you of why it’s so good. Not…

    February 19, 2021
    How To Create A Cutting Garden, Uncategorized
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Latest Posts

  • There will be nothing bare about these roses in a couple of months
  • The White Cottage
  • Let’s have a ‘socially distanced catch up in the garden’.
  • Manor Farm Cottage
  • Preparing the spring garden

Daily Instagram Blog

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Happy Mother’s Day to me, happy Mother’s Day to me. I look like a ...actually let’s not define what I look like, let’s call it “gently home schooled”.

When @flowersandlifestylebymargot said “can I pop some flowers round please?” I naturally screamed “YES”!!!, when they arrived she was lucky that I actually didn’t jump her and lick her face “I HAVE ONLY ONE LESSON TO GO!!!! GIVE ME FLOWERS!! Give me Champagne!!! Actually just half an hour of quiet with no one shouting “Mama! mama! Are you on the loo AGAIN???!!!” (daughter March 4th 2pm) would be the biggest treat.

I’ll take any plaudits, then weep, then bemoan the school run, then miss my babies desperately. Ahh the uncomplicated life of a mother ALWAYS on the loo!

These are Karen’s truly beautiful white and peaceful Mother’s Day flowers, just buy them for yourself if you are local, you are soooo worth it (I can’t do the hair flick, it hurts my many necks with my straggly harsh grey hairs of ruindom, but know that next Sunday I will be whipping my hair up a storm in congratulations to me - the children may still need to help me with fractions but by gum..we are excellent at feeding birds). Link in stories to buy Karen’s gloriously scented and stunningly beautiful flowers x

Happy I might just sit down on...the actual sofa... for a few minutes Saturday!!! X

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#farmhousekitchen #seekthesimplicity
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We are soooooo nearly there!!! No, not real school, I still will not let myself believe this happy news until they are both physically back inside their actual classrooms of education (my son won’t go back until Wednesday so I am keeping a lid on the excitement), no I am back on blossom watch and it has almost popped!!!

Then it will be officially spring and false spring will have to slink off, deeply embarrassed at its hammy, below par performance (if you are going to try and upstage spring then you need to pull out all the stops! One requires snow, hail, thunderstorms, possibly even snowstorms of such mighty proportions that no house is left uniglooed). But no, false spring has barely mustered proper rain, just amateur grey skies and rather unthreatening clouds.

You don’t get to play the ultimate seasonal role of Spring without putting your all into it - did Vivien Leigh mutter “fiddle Dee Dee” a bit when she auditioned for Scarlett O’Hara???? No!!! She spent every waking hour perfecting a Southern accent between test 1 and test 3! That’s how you do it false spring! You wear a dress to bring out the colour of your eyes which happens to be the colour that Margaret Mitchell described, you express delighted surprise at being asked to screen test and then you murder anyone who gets in your way. It’s quite simple really.

On your way false spring, you are an embarrassment to the craft, frankly my dear, we don’t give a....

Happy feel the real spring Friday X

Ps: Head to my website (linkinbio) to scent summer plans- @flowersandlifestylebymargot has written a fabulously clear and straightforward blog on planting glorious summer roses with her top 3 roses of all time. Don’t read unless you are happy to immediately order bare root roses! X

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I don't care how the weather vane points
When the weather vane points to gloomy
It's gotta be sunny to me...mainly because I have filled my home with spring joy.

It may well be day nine thousand and five of grey skies but I will not be beaten, I will revel in signs of spring..inside...until my son’s PE teacher forces me outside to try and throw and catch tennis balls with one’s back to the thrower. This is impossible by the way, do not attempt this age humiliating exercise in reactions. I watched the video where two terribly agile, young and handsome pe teachers demonstrated lightening reactions, leaping forward for the ball that their acute young hearing had immediately heard bounce and then springing into action like playful lions towards innocent bouncing antelopes.

I stood with my back to my son, I heard the tennis ball bounce behind me and felt the tennis ball hit my shoulder and roll past my still inert frame. Apparently I don’t have any reactions at all. 

It appears that I must remain inside, in my own little world of spring, safe from the wintry skies and dangerous things that may well require lightening reactions to ensure safety. 

Happy thwarted Thursday X

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That’s better! Hello pretty sky, hello glorious but cold sunshine but I promise swear I don’t mind!

I brilliantly camouflaged myself with my bright pink and green blanket and enjoyed a quiet cup of tea to the tune of the tractors beginning their seasonal journey this...argh! The games up! I can’t do it! This was Sunday guvnor, I’m sorry, it wasn’t hurting anyone, I just can’t stand the grey, the miserable grey, you gave me a glimpse of the good life and I am hooked! I need more!

Admittedly I did feel a total plonker in my colourful camouflage sipping delicately (the Saturday night zoom Sauv Blanc effect) whilst the farmer toiled the land. I tried to look thoughtful and contemplative, I suspect I achieved ‘hungover’, possibly even ‘still merry otherwise what is she doing out here at 7am in the freezing cold wrapped up like a rhubarb and custard sweet’.

More sunshine please, I promise to stop looking like a weirdo Wednesday X

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Spring blossoms and blooms...ok the winter Jasmine isn’t necessarily a spring bloom but this is its second attempt at flowering because all the rain and snow drowned it so I think it deserves a place in the line up.

The daffodils looked like they were about to break into a Wordsworth jive on Sunday but have sadly remained adamantly closed with the return of The Fog yesterday so we content ourselves with painted daffs in the background.

This must most definitely herald spring, this predicted snow that word on the lane has it will arrive next week will surely take one look at this planter of Spring Hope and do one.

Otherwise it is yet another reason for me to put off my first run of the year and given that we are in March and I have to be seen by real life people next week (at least the mask will cover the chins but even the duvet coat is struggling to cover the bottoms) I really have to stop “can’t go - it’s foggy...can’t go - it might rain...can’t go - I have maths...can’t go- the mice ate my trainers...).

Help me spring sunshine, I need you!

Happy actually where are my trainers Tuesday?! X

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Happy, happy 1st March!

Yesterday really truly felt like spring, so I am using a yesterday shot and ignoring today’s fog! Even the daffodils braved the sunshine to join the daring snowdrops. Even my son ventured outside for a whole entire two hours in the garden: it must be spring!!!!

We spent the day preparing the ground for glorious mixed hedging to allow us a degree of privacy- AT LEAST three dog walkers meandered past just in the morning. My directional skills and encouragement techniques excelled themselves- I don’t like to infringe on my husband’s manual labour, he likes to be at one with the earth, it’s an organic process ripping green wired fencing that has become entangled in years of tree roots and brambles. I knew he would just want an “ooh that looks wonderful “ and an “oh you are doing a fantastic job - just a few metres left” as I wafted past with my spring bulbs -I mainly carried them around and then put them back where they had been originally but I think they enjoyed the airing.

Here’s to a month of spring garden jobs and plenty of excellent encouragement.

Happy 1st March Monday! X

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Ohhhh the lovely sunshine!

Light up my home and let me see the...what is ...oh brilliant!...let me see the sneaky naughty wheely tiger bug peeking out with its vicious nasty bite your ankles wheels as the children scream in delight.

Oh yes! You remain skulking but I know you are there, ready to pounce in your push push games (small daughter pushes beloved older brother up hill and down dale (17th century meandering floorboards) whilst attempting to break all records known to mankind (4.53 seconds from top of hallway to bottom).

This is the hallway that persuaded the older brother that there might be equally brilliant houses to the one he was currently living in - the smallest sister had no idea, simply filled her nappy and forced her slightly embarrassed Mummy to change her on the entirely empty sitting room floor which made her Mummy wonder at the true marvel of a house constructed of enormous beams as she tried not to inhale or be embarrassed at the clearly you have fed your daughter far too many blueberries nappy.

When I asked this week’s cottage dweller if there was a fall in love moment , she told me no! She admitted that she cried for the first week, I remember doing exactly the same when we moved in, the project seemed so vast and these glorious beams seemed so filled with cobwebs!! 

@victoria_at_thewhitecottage has created the most calming and serene home from a cottage that didn’t tick all the boxes but is now a truly beautiful and relaxing retreat, sometimes we need tigers and tears to make us see the potential!

Head to my website to read more about this beautiful white cottage (link in bio).

Happy serene sunny Sunday X

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