I went to the Harrogate Spring Flower Show on Sunday with some friends, two of us go every year but it was a new experience for one friend in particular. We had a great time and the weather was cold but dry-ish, much better than the arctic weather that was forecast (the hailstones arrived today instead!)

I bought lots of plants but even at a flower show, I managed to buy some fabric!!! One of the stalls was selling oilskin type fabric for making wipe-able tablecloths etc. I spotted this gorgeous one that is like a carpet of woodland flowers, primroses, violets…it was just asking to be made into a cloth for our conservatory and even better it was only £5 per metre, I bought 2m as I thought that would be generous enough for our table. Our dining room table is in the conservatory and we eat every meal there, it’s a great solid oak refectory table, perfect size, but it is looking decidedly well used! One day I’d like to get it stripped down and re-polished, but for now a pretty cloth will suffice!

Making it into a cloth literally took 10 minutes just to do a quick hem all the way round. It doesn’t fray so I just turned it under once.

The garden is finally beginning to look like a garden, despite having a mild winter it was an extremely wet one (we even had a waterfall coming down our steps on Boxing Day!)  I think it’s taken a while for our heavy clay soil to warm up a bit, but it’s actually looking quite pretty now. The magnolia stellata is in full flower, though the blooms have browned slightly with these cold winds.

The spring bulbs are starting to flower with daffodils and tulips all looking good. A couple of years ago I bought some daffodils that are known for their scent, I planted them near the path so as you walk up the garden you get lovely whiffs of scent.

We have a little clump of primroses next to the back gate and they must have been in flower for a couple of months now, it always cheers me up as I’m walking the dogs . The bed by the pond is starting to green up a bit with foliage from  hostas, solomans seal and irises all starting to appear. The delicate erythroniums often get overlooked here but they come up every year without fail.

I think it might be time to reinstate my ‘Monday’s Meander Round the Garden’ posts, encourage me to get out there, if only it would warm up a bit!