Tulips Before Daffodils?

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

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daffodil

I was extreeeemely tempted by the most beautiful tulips in the shops yesterday.

Bright, clean, fresh colours.

My complete favourite for spring-time indoor flowers.

I was all ready to buy the most gorgeous bunch when…

…a voice in my head made me think twice.

(My mother’s voice)!

‘You can’t buy tulips before the daffodils are out. It’s un-natural.’

Humph.

What is your view? Should I support the natural order of nature? Or should I kick natural order to the kerb and give in to my tulip-love extra early?

Love from The Dorset Finca x

Dreaming of June Roses

21 Thursday Feb 2013

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rosesMmmm… June….

Warm winds and outside eating.

Two layers of socks not being a complete necessity.

Lazy afternoons reading books.

You might have guessed, but I am going slightly stir crazy with all this -600 degree wind chill factor and am desperate to get out in the garden and do proper gardening things.

Like… mulching and hole digging.

Ho hum. Never mind.

I’m going to put on another pair of socks (yes, that will then take me up to 3) and dream of summer sunshine.

x

Love from The Dorset Finca x

 

Blog Awards

10 Sunday Feb 2013

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blog awards bunting

Karen from the gorgeous blog The Garden Smallholder  nominated me for two blog awards:

blog-award

blog-award-2Thank you very much! These are my first awards and I will proudly display them in my footer area below!

Of course there are also rules about receiving these things…

1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Add The One Lovely Blog Award / The Very Inspiring Blogger Award to your post.
3. Share 7 things about yourself.
4. Pass the award on to 10 nominees.
5. Include this set of rules.
6. Inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs.

Hmmm… seven things… seven things…

1.

This is so the hardest thing ever…

ok.

1. I love books. I think they are so beautiful all organised together on shelves. If I could cover entire walls with bookshelves, I would.

2. Which brings me nicely onto organisation. I get really excited when I read about new ways to organise my life and I jump on every organisational-themed band wagon. The thought of labels, planners and order just makes me all tingly!

3. It is my mission in life to learn to sew properly. My next project is cushions. I will of course let you know how it goes!

4. Swimming used to be my greatest passion. If there was a patch of sea-water, I’d be in it. Now however, I’m scared a shark might be lurking underneath waiting to eat me.

5. I secretly play computer games when I think no one is watching.

6. I have a current girl-crush on Kirsty Allsopp… all that galavanting around with Phil Spencer, wearing nice dresses and making homemade crafts sounds wonderful.

7. I tried writing a blog quite a few times, always without success. Suddenly, writing about what I was doing at home and in the garden seemed to inspire me and The Dorset Finca has now been up and running for almost 2 years!

Hurrah! …and my 10 blog nominees are:

1. The Cosy Creative

2. Simply This and That

3. Attic 24

4. Chica Andaluza

5. Modern Country Style

6. Our Growing Paynes

7. The Dorset Rambler

8. Amore Mio Bello

9. Artsy Crafty Babe

10. Frugal Feeding

Love from The Dorset Finca x

Blood Orange Cupcakes

09 Saturday Feb 2013

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Blood Orange CupcakesOk, I know, enough with the citrus.

It’s just that we keep on getting exciting things like blood oranges in our fruit and veg box…

…and there’s only so much blood orange juice I can drink so…

…I re-vamped a classic vanilla cupcake recipe by putting in the juice of one blood orange and about 1 teaspoon of zest.  The icing also got a citrus injection – which turned it a beautiful pastel pink colour.

All topped off with a peel garnish!

If anyone has any great blood orange recipe ideas, I’d be fantastically grateful! 

Love from The Dorset Finca x

The Hellebore’s First Flowers

04 Monday Feb 2013

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HelleboreAbout a year ago I planted out some of the tiniest hellebore seedlings ever.

Just made up of a couple of leaves and a little stem.

10 months on and they barely looked any different.

Small. Insignificant. Possibly dead.

However, in the last month they have completely exploded.

Leaves unfurled and the most beautiful flowers appeared.

(I removed some of the older leaves as this prevents disease from getting hold and promotes more flower growth).

What stunners!

I am left feeling really rather proud of these little growers!

Love from The Dorset Finca x

 

Free Downloadable Menu Planners

20 Sunday Jan 2013

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AFeatheredNestListSince the arrival of our fruit and veg box every week, we have had to be super organised to make sure that nothing goes to waste and that every meal is planned to veg-tastic-ness.

I had a bit of a search around and found this beautiful menu planner from A Feathered Nest.  You can download it here.

For us, this one works the best.

However, if you want a bit more choice over your meal planner…

…this blog post at Fab N’ Free

(which can I say is so aesthetically beautiful – I just like staring at it),

has over 20 free meal planners to download.

20.

I know. Amazing.

Love from The Dorset Finca x

A Quick Dash To Prune The Roses

18 Friday Jan 2013

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rose pruning

It is absolutely amazing!

We’re in the middle of January, all plants are supposed to be sleeping and yet there is growing going on in every direction.

Most alarmingly, the roses have been shooting all over the place and I hadn’t gotten around to giving them their annual prune.

If I didn’t get on with it, I would have missed the boat!

So keeping an eye out for those scrummy, outward facing, side-shoots, I gave them a good haircut.  My main aim being to keep 3 strong-looking vertical branches that would support the plant as it matures (I have climbers – golly, I love a climbing rose).

Hopefully, these strong stems will gradually mold themselves into a more horizontal direction (with a little persuading) and fingers crossed, this will lead to plentiful flower production.

Happy rose-growing!

Love from The Dorset Finca x

Gift For A Garden-Lover

14 Monday Jan 2013

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Gift for a GardenerI had to share this with you all.

It’s just too sweet for words.

The fab-est garden note-book you could ever dream of and it was given to me by a lovely friend who obviously knows me too well!

I even get text messages from her saying things like…

“There is a program all about flowers on the telly. Switch on now!”

It has the most beautiful little cross-stitch watering can, trowel and fork on the front.

I plan to use it to write my plant shopping lists (which are miles long already, I can assure you).

The person who made it is quite clearly a talented cross-stitch-queen, but I wonder what other little labels could be made in this way…

…for other things around the house.

Hmmm….

P.S. If my lovely friend is reading this post, maybe she could comment to say where we could go and buy more of these super-duper pressies!

Love from The Dorset Finca x

This Week’s Veg Box Star ~ The Turnip

12 Saturday Jan 2013

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The Turnip

“Turnips.”

Was my first word as I opened this week’s veg box.

“What on earth will I do with turnips?”

Was my second sentence.

Well, I needn’t have worried. After a bit of research I found out about lots of ways you can use turnips to brighten up your life.

Stews, mash, roast veg… the list went on.

Here are some recipes that I found and will attempt to try, so that I can banish my fear of the humble turnip…

(There is even an entire website dedicated to them).

Turnips in General

Turnip Mash

Beef and Turnip Stew

So, because I underestimated the importance of the turnip. I am awarding it with this week’s Veg Box Star Award. (The star award means that the family have to look at the particular fruit or vegetable with immense respect, say things like “you’re a very fine thing” and relish eating it without any hint of a grumble!”

Love from The Dorset Finca x

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