The Orchard Studio

Twitter - What's it all about?

 

Alarmingly the end of the year is closing in and as usual I can't believe where the time has gone. But that's getting old for you.  It's been an interesting and sometimes difficult year but one of the most unusual developments has been my unlikely involvement and subsequent chronic addiction to Twitter.

 

Having scorned the whole idea for ages as being something people with too much time on their hands do, I was finally swayed by a friend who is madly keen on it and I began slowly dipping my toe into what turned out to be an insane, ongoing drinks party, full of the most diverse and sometimes eccentric people in the land.

 

The land of Twitter is a strange one. It takes time to get the hang of how the rules go and it also takes a measure of boldness and front otherwise I found, you never get anywhere. Having starting 'following' some people (and this whole follower/following thing has slightly the wrong connotations for me) slowly people started to 'follow' me back and then some conversations ensued. Those of only 140 characters of course.

It's easy to get the wrong end of the stick on Twitter and I've witnessed many misunderstandings and fallings-out as well as friendships forged and a lot of mutual support and kindness. The Twitter pendulum swings both ways from thoughtful and well mannered, to, well.. the opposite. There have been times when the self-important inflated egos of some has been difficult to take, and indeed in the 'real' world I would not bother to hang around these people, but I've learnt to take the rough with the smooth and the net result has been that I have been fortunate to meet many highly entertaining, thought-provoking, kind and funny people. Some actually in the flesh it turns out.

Having already 'done' internet dating many years ago and met my husband via this approach, I was not shy about the idea of talking to complete strangers online, which sounds pervier than it is oddly enough, and sometimes meeting some of the people from Twitter has had that frisson of excitement in terms of what will they be like? Will we get on? And, I'm pleased to report, so far so good, obviously not with an eye to romance though!

My new gardening school business would have taken a whole lot longer to organise and set up without the amazingness of Twitter, within weeks I had been able to contact, meet and eat cake with a number of really great people who have been central in me being able set up the school, even to the point of once asking into the Twitter ether if anyone knew a certain well-known writer. Within minutes I had the phone number of his agent. Magic!

Once I got past the annoyance of naked ladies following me, spammers galore and a lot of dross, it seems that there is a community of solid and good people, who often take time to find. I keep updating who I'm following to include a diverse range of interests, otherwise the whole gardening world can get a little tedious with a lot of Twitter accounts being used to constantly flog garden tat no-one wants.

I would be lying if I said I don't get annoyed at times by the cliquey-ness of the gardening world as they all seem to know each other and it's hard to break into that circle but generally with some exceptions, most have been welcoming and inclusive and a lot of fun. Being self-employed and often working on my own, I find that being able to dip in and out of these conversations is really good for keeping me going particularly on deadly dull days in the winter when I'm often confined to the drawing board or doing my accounts. I've also managed to waste entire days on Twitter and been told off countless times by various members of my family for being 'obsessed'. That does not however stop my teenage daughter for using Twitter to berate me on my mothering skills, or my husband to request cups of tea when he is in a different room.

 

They could well be right. My name's Emma. And I'm a Twitter addict.

 

Thank you for reading my blog and have a great Christmas, even though it seems the entire country are either stricken by the lurgy or snowed in, or both.

 

 

Gnoming

I miss my blog, I miss the connection with other bloggers, and I miss thinking about what I'm going to write next.

This last year has taken me by surprise, my life has become busier than ever, not least because my business is so full-on but also Grace is taking her GCSEs next year, and that is a demanding time not only for her but also those who facilitate her endless lifts, washing, meals and general welfare,in other words, Tom and me.

My blog has been pushed down the endless to do list which goes wherever I go. I used to be a very keen blogger and make sure my posts were regular and kept up to date. However, I feel I've let the side down and wish that I had more time, that I could somehow squeeze some extra hours out of my week, but at the moment this seems impossible.

 

I am grateful though that I am busy and that I am working on some really great projects and that I have been lucky enough to not only survive so far through this scary economic state we are in, but actually thrive.  My gardening school is going great guns and I am going to be announcing the first dates very soon, I have been amazed at the good-will and positive energy which has surrounded me during the setting up of this business and I really cannot wait to get started next year.

Meanwhile we are all working hard towards breaking up for Christmas. Traditionally this has been a time of fear and loathing for me, but over the years I have learnt to embrace and perhaps even love Christmas and especially this year when I will be lucky enough to spend it with a few people who are closest to my heart.

So I hope that all of my blogging friends out there are all well and happy and I shall do my best to come and say hello to you, perhaps some of you in person very soon.

 

This is just some of the gnome madness at my studio.

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Teenage Tantrums and Corsham Court Gardens

 

Yesterday, after several hours moaning loudly about the state of our garden and how much I hate living in our house, my teenage daughter Grace sighed deeply and with a wisdom beyond her years, said very calmly 'get your coat mum, you've got to stop wigging out and stressing, I'm taking you to see a garden'.

 

 

Twenty minutes later we arrived at Corsham Court, yet another place I have never got round to visiting with a gorgeous understated garden.

We mooched around in the main house and ooohed and aaahed over the amazing paintings and art then hot-footed it out into the soft autumn sunshine where peacocks roamed about  and the sheep were nibbling on the fields on the other side of the ha-ha.

This place has Capability Brown written all over it, except that off to one side of the grounds was a beautiful arrangement of smaller walled gardens, stuffed full of lovely autumn planting and acres of topiary, all with a (and I hope they don't mind me saying this) slightly let go feel, which I really love.

 

 

My daughter led me around by the arm as if I was slightly demented, and although she is not a great fan of the outdoors I was really touched she had thought to take me to these gardens as they cheered me up and made me forget my tantrums at home. Although the planting was pretty standard, Verbena bonariensis by the square yard, Penstemons, miles of Buxus, considering we are at the tail end of the season, it was engaging and interesting enough for even the most jaded of garden types!

 

I tried to fit a pair of stone owls into my handbag but they would not fit, which was a shame as I have not seen such characterful creatures in a garden for a long while, there was also a rash of gorgeous massive urns and huge metal plant supports, shaped like upside down bells which were spread out throughout the large walled garden borders.

This garden also had an inspiring planting of six large Catalpa bigonioides which were luminescent in the late afternoon sunshine, their lime leaves lighting up the entire garden and giving fantastic structure planted in a circle around a dipping pond. Flanked by red brick walls and with several well thought out benches, I could have easily been left there for the rest of the week.

We did'nt quite make it out into the parkland as the only thing on our minds was getting a cream tea, but several times around the walled bits was enough anyway but there is a lot more to be explored.

This garden felt well loved, but not overly fluffed up, without the pretensions and strangle hold that a lot of National Trust gardens have, slightly chaotic in parts, good structure and without doubt a garden I would revisit many times again. The added bonus being that it was not overly busy so I could have a brief fantasy moment that this was my garden and not the wild and woolly mess that was still waiting for me at home.

And all this for only £2.50 for adults and £1.50 for children, although quite who the child was yesterday is up for debate.

 

 

Autumn Pinks

 

As my deadline for Bath Life was last Friday and I had not managed to get my copy in on time I had to rush off to the Botanical Gardens today to get some images to go with my article. This fuchsia caught my eye, how amazing is this colour? They are planted in a spot under the trees by the path which winds around to the Acer garden and I had to stop and touch one! Staggering around with a vile cold and feeling like death, I also came across this:

 

Euonymus alatas, another must if you like pink, and a really good compact but pretty shrub.

 

Now back to bed and where's the Lemsip?

 

 

Rare Autumnal Domesticity

Having returned from our long holiday in Wales it felt like some nesting at home was needed.  So I decided to make these lavender biscuits with some flowers which had come on later than the rest. They were delicious, their taste being slightly floral and buttery at the same time. If you hate Parma violets or rose creams then probably give these a miss!

A bracing walk around Rainbow wood yielded some hazel nuts although these are a bit early, together with sloes which are now bathed in gin and sugar and residing in the kitchen cupboard.

I also made some damson and apple cheese, which has the consistency of membrillo and will be gorgeous with goats milk cheese or roast lamb.  These I made up by using damsons from our tree, together with apples also from our trees and sieving like mad and boiling up with sugar.  All of this whilst wearing a pinny and watched by my slightly bemused other half who is not used to such a house-wifely vision.

These hawthorns were amazing and I wanted to pick some to make jelly but did'nt bring enough bags with me, but I will go back this weekend and get making again. Not sure if him indoors will be able to cope with that!

Virginia Woolf and Monk's House

Last weekend I went to Virginia and Leonard Woolf's home, Monk's House, near Lewes in Sussex with my mother and daughter. I have been here before years ago on a trip with the Women's Farm and Garden Association, which took in all the Bloomsbury gardens in the south east, not least Sissinghurst, but the one place which has stuck in my mind is Monk's House.

I think because it reminds me a great deal of the house I spent a lot of time in as a child with my great-aunt in West Sussex, with cool dark rooms, decorated very much in the style of the 20's and 30's, very simply and almost sparse in it's decoration.  Monk's House however has quite a lot of work made by Virgina's sister, Vanessa Bell, who lived at Charleston, another one of my most favourite houses in this part of the world.

The garden is divided into rooms, with an orchard, lawn, mixed perennial borders, a pond, vegetable garden and a wonderful summerhouse/study where Virginia used to write. It looks over the South Downs and a small church nestles on the other side of the boundary wall.  Despite the hoards of visitors, it was still peaceful and idyllic and I can see why she and her husband chose to weekend there.

They did'nt slum it altogether and bought their cook with them on their visits! There is a sense of sadness to the place however, as it was from here that she got up one day and walked to the river, filled her pockets with stones and drowned herself.

 

All of these photos were taken using my latest film camera, a Pentax Spotmatic, and a very old expired film found in a drawer. I'm quite pleased with the lomo quality of the pictures!

July Polaroids

I am steadily getting through my last supply of 600 film which expired in August 2009. These images were taken in Laugharne at Ginst Point, which is a vast deserted beach. Our house is on the hill overlooking this amazing landscape and we rarely see more than a couple of other people walking their dogs here.

This beach has also yielded some amazing finds including huge pieces of driftwood, shells, and strange flotsam and jetsom. More recently a sheeps jawbone and a large birds skull as well as a huge piece of rope and a sea-worn piece of timber sleeper which I hope to make into a bench. The last large piece of driftwood I found would not fit in the car however, and resulted in the smashing of the windscreen as I tried to slam the boot down to make it fit in!

This amazing lily grows outside the door to my studio, the scent is incredible and it brightens my day.

How time flies

Lately it feels as if I've hardly had a chance to pick up my camera. Life has been a whirlwind of activity combining a very busy work life with rushing to our retreat in Wales at every chance. Suddenly it's July and I hate that feeling of life rushing past at a pace I can hardly keep up with.

I think it's time to try to slow down and take stock again! My business has taken off this summer with a velocity I did not imagine, with a continuous flow of new projects, the usual diverse offerings including redesigning large areas of a golf club near Bath as well as many gardens large and small.

We are gardening and planting busily and managing a very beautiful garden on a regular basis, which I love as I get to see my work develop and change and the garden owner allows me to get on with things, which is always a bonus!

I don't remember ever having a summer where everything has blossomed and bloomed so amazingly. Every single garden I've seen has been a riot of flowering and fecundity, roses, foxgloves, Philadelphus, any flowering shrub or perennial has seemed to take on a new life after this last winter. Clients have told me that shrubs which seemed to previously struggle or not flower have pulled out all the stops this year and come back to life. My own apple trees are heavy with fruit, more than ever and the roses are flowering their heads off.

This rose was rescued from B&Q about five years ago as a nearly dead stick and has been amazing this year.

I hope all you, my blogging friends, are all well and enjoying your summer and I'm sorry I have not been able to say hello to many of you for ages.

Vintage Fairy Tales

For those of you who have not come across this blog by Rebecka Ryberg Skott, or Becky as I know her, do yourselves a favour and have a look.

Incidentally I seem to have just won a caption competition on Becky's blog which is what reminded me to draw attention to it! It speaks for itself, crazy, inventive, funny and never dull, these images always make me laugh and Becky has a knack of tying in her photos with insane song lyrics. I love her.

I adore this monkey photo... especially holding up my name! Brilliant!

We have just got back from an idyllic week in Laugharne, where the sun was shining every single day and we walked on the beaches and hung out in this meadow which is next to our cottage. You can see the amazing view through the gate.

I am now writing an article on meadows for the next issue of Bath Life Magazine and did a lot of 'research' lying around in this one!

A day out with my Polaroid camera

I have hardly had time this year to take any Polaroids and so we ventured out to the beautiful Hanham Court yesterday and took a lot of photos including these.

 

It was a perfect day.

 

One day I will have one of these...