Post Comment Love 7-9 September

Hello there and welcome to this week's #PoCoLo and a slightly later than usual post from me thanks to a busy (and long) few days at work, a short snooze and the distinct lack of Internet.  If you were here last week it was great to see you, if you're new here this week then welcome - I'm usually a last minute kind of girl, but not quite this much!

After a couple of full on days I had my evening planned to catch up on all things online, and after a quick snooze made some good progress.  Settling in with a cuppa to read some great posts, which you linked up last week I found that the internet said no.  So here I am once again playing catch up - it is the story of my life, I really shouldn't be surprised!

This week Morgan is back from her hols, and quite some holiday by all accounts.  Morgan is also hosting this week's Blogger Showcase, so do pop over and find out more about...

Blogger Showcase: Anne from Forever the Wanderer

Anne is an Irish travel and mental health blogger with a severe case of wanderlust and has been blogging for just four months.  She has big plans too, including organising a blog event for Irish bloggers who are just starting their blogger journey.  But the real test, and for me the question that matters is always the one involving cake - Anne says she has a massive sweet tooth, so while she's not a fan of tea or coffee, it's cake all the way!

Before you pop over to Morgan's blog to find out more about Anne, do take a moment to connect with her on her social channels: Twitter  -  Facebook  -  Instagram  -  Pinterest.

An InLinkz Link-up

Love this #81: Balls of fire, or garden fireballs

I saw these at the Ideal Home Show much earlier in the year and now that the weather is turning a little chillier it seemed a good time to share them, as we try and extend the use of our gardens for as long as we can.  You might have thought about a fire pit, and we have, but what do you do with it when it's not in use, they're not always so attractive looking are they?

Which is where the garden fireballs are different, there's a range of designs and sizes available in these steel balls for fire.  Whether you want a traditional leaf design, the stag or as I've seen on their website a dragon design, which really would breathe fire wouldn't it?

I spent a fair amount of time at this stand admiring them all, and wondering where I could fit one into my garden.  As you'll know I didn't leave with one - you'd have seen it in my garden by now, if I had, but I did leave seriously impressed. The designs are great, although I'm not sure which I'd choose if it came down to it, but also because they can be left out in the garden year round, and while not in use keeping you warm will bring a decorative element to your garden.

There's a practical element too, each comes with a drain hole so they won't become waterlogged and not be ready.  I think they could quite easily sit within a border over winter, and act as a reminder of warmer days.  I've definitely got one earmarked for a future garden, and if MOH had been with me then it's more than likely we'd have had a serious conversation.

What do you think?  They're definitely on my Love List!

A Very English Garden

We're popping back to this year's Chelsea Flower Show for today's post to take a look at another of the artisan gardens, sponsored by The Claims Guys and simply titled A Very English Garden, as as the board said it was "designed to stand the test of time" and to be "simply a beautiful garden" and I think it manages that.

The detail in the stonework entrance, and the overall impression is stunning. It's reminiscent of a grand English country garden and hard to believe that this was only constructed for the show.  It also tricks you into believing it's a much larger space than it is, and just the entrance to a much grander garden.

The garden celebrates craftmanship and tradition and draws its inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement, and it does remind me of our first visit to Coleton Fishacre in Devon back in 2013, and my blog post is an old one and one that I moved over from my previous site, so the photos are tiny.

I think this garden works, not only because it's pretty, but also because of its symmetry.

The planting was, as you'd expect from a garden at Chelsea, fantastic and full of pinks and purples and something that is easily replicated in our own gardens.  I think that's one of the best things of the show, the planting is often attainable, but attractive too.

There's roses and columbines - or granny's bonnets - and while the latter can be treated as weeds in my garden, they're still pretty and allowed until they take over!

I think the garden set out what it intended, and is a simply beautiful garden.  I'm not the only one to think so as the garden was awarded silver-gilt by the judges and voted the best artisan garden in the people's choice vote, what do you think?