Floss goes Country Living

I've had these photos for a while now, and I've been longing to share them with you! When the work was finished on our terrace roof and pillars, Raja and I finally got to play 'Country Living Photo Shoot'. The rotting wooden pillars that held up the roof have been replaced, at the front, by brick ones; locally made, probably, as we're in such a brick-making area. As with all these things they look really bare and new.

Ben's dad suggested spraying them with slurry (sport the farmer) to age them and encourage moss and lichen growth. Ben was very relieved when I reminded him that natural youghurt is a more pleasant route to the same end! Haven't done it yet, though...

I put the basket-weave chair, found beside the road earlier in the year, back in place to hold a few potted hen and chicks, and discovered that Ben had left his own Country Living-style arrangement on the terrace. I quite liked it!

The pumpkins and gourds needed to sit outside in the sun to dry out after harvesting , so I thought I'd get them looking good while they did it.

Add a few late roses and some berries from the Coulee Verte.

And the secondhand garland I bought at Frip'relais the day before!

I was quite chuffed with the result, which I have now moved round to outside our front door. It looks a bit thinner now, as we made 'butternut gratin' yesterday!

This is just a glimpse of some of the non-edible gourds we had on the front window ledge last autumn and winter.

In the spring I had these lovely miniature irises in the same place.

Later on I filled the gap with hen and chicks - see how bad the woodwork was getting?

I fixed that this summer, when Son 1 got this photo of me!
He also gave me these heliospermum (I think) for a colourful summer display there.

And this is what it looks like now... lots of Crown of Thorn gourds and some trusty hen and chicks.It's good to be back - the boys and I are on holiday now and enjoying the autumn sun before we head off to Edinburgh on Wednesday.