Every spring I start looking at my vegetable garden.  The needles get put down in favour for spades, hoses and time outdoors. Sometimes it hold my attention, other times things get a little despondent by the end of January - lack of water (or watering), white fly and plants bolting to seed.  This is not one of those years. 



So far we have had :

• Peas and potatoes ready for Christmas, if only we had been at home to enjoy them.  
•  Avoided the tomato glut by just planting cherry tomatoes for myself, admitting that I am the only one who eat them
• My first success with climbing beans  - it's true you really do get more than with dwarf beans
• A successful strawberry bed - the answer to millipedes is to plant flowers instead.  Probably doesn't taste any good, but they looked fantastic.

Sometimes creativity is a force to be reckoned with.  H helped her self to a buch of flowers from the garden and told me we were about to hammer some flowers like they did on Sticky TV.  I can only be thankful that the hammers are kept well out of reach or she wouldn't have waited for help.

To make you own flower stamps, you will need:
Coloured, flatish flowers (pansies worked well)
Baking paper
White fabric
Chopping board
Hammer

There are little signs of an impending spring.  Some of the signs are quite literal.  I asked E to make a label for the dark box holding our bulb glass.  I think she did pretty well - as you can see the box holds a bolb, glas and wota.  There is nothing like children's spelling to to remind you of how your accent really sounds.

Other signs of spring are little sprigs of daphne spotted around the house.  My bedside table is also holding my two new thrifted books - Rupert Brooks and Strange Meetings.  It's funny that I should find them both within a week of each other.  One, poems sprinkled with wonderful woodcut illustrations and the other, telling the stories of the war poets themselves.  The poets have me wondering if it is time to make some more of poet-tea cups.

 I have also been looking up the illustrator - Buckland-Wright.   It turns out he fought in the WW1 as well and is equally legendary as an illustrator in his own right.

Terrariums and I are slowly scoping each other out.  I rediscovered them over at the hipster, too cool for cool, series of Terrium Tuesdays.  I picked one up thinking it would be great for at the office.  E had other ideas and when she has ideas, she makes plans.  It was just what I needed to get me out of a post modern, "is this passe?" rut.

When she asked if she could draw me a plan, I thought we were just talking about where things would be planted in the small globe.  I was wrong.

What you can see above is a description of the organisms and animals living in the soil and garden*.  There are snails, worms and spiders.  Each is carefully attached with double sided tape to the outside to avoid damage when watering.  Some have crowns to show that they are the kings and queens.  They are also keeping the house pixie company.

You can keep your icy succulent filled, styled terrariums in the pages of your magazines and pinterest boards. While this terrarium was not quite what I had in mind, it is exactly what we need in our home.

*Go soil science enquiry units at school!!
**E, you can style my lounge anytime you want, as long as your room is tidy first.

To remember Anzac Day, today's adventure was planting poppies.  Anzac Day conveniently falls at just the right time to get poppies ready for the distant spring.  A punnet of red, spotted lady bird poppies and blousey shirley poppies are now stretching their toes in our front garden.  E helped digging, watering. 

We picked up some purple and black poppy seeds from the lovely Quince Tree shop.  We sprinkled these over last.

I'm used to wet Easters that let me weed the garden, plant bulbs and tuck everything in for the winter.  This year, the drought has meant we had to wait a little longer.  On the other hand, it gave us a nice way to remember Anzac day, both today and as the flowers lift their nodding heads.

I love the out of season inspiration of northern hemisphere blogs.  As sewers start to show off their winter wardrobes, I start to weave my dream projects.  So few of them happen but it is nice to dream.  However, garden blogs are where the 6 month difference is incredibly inspirational.  So often, just as their flowers are coming out in the northern hemisphere, it is time to prepare and plant here.

I have been admiring the winter roses over at Saipua. They seem to be the perfect plant for the beginning of spring.  I can imagine them in strange blooms from below the straggly bare hydrangeas come spring time.

I even found some china ones at a school gala on the weekend.  They were hidden at the back of a stall, still wrapped in newspaper.  I offered to help unwrap only to find this beautiful Crown Lynn set - cups, sugar bowl and 2 coordinating jugs.  The little winter rose pattern is called "Saphire" and it has me thinking it is time to plant some real ones.