Making a mini pond from a £1.49 washing up bowl found in Aldi- Bargain!

Hello, please excuse me for being so exited about this! Got to get pleasure where I can!

I've been looking at articles and thinking about making mini pond for ages. I've found the odd toad or frog in the garden over the years to my delight. Last year three of them were hiding under a plastic tray where I'd been watering pots for ages. They were all lined up underneath. I got quite fond of them!

I really want to encourage toads in the garden as the adults eat slugs and snails - something I have a big problem with particularly as I keep forgetting to hunt them down and relocate them!

I'd expected to have to pay quite a bit - having seen pictures of glamorous ceramic bowls.

However on my regular shopping trip to Aldi I found a rectangular washing up bowl in dark grey so cheap - about the price of a bag of frozen chips. Just the thing.

So once the snow has gone and the ground unfrozen I'll be out with my spade.

I plan to dig down so the rim is only just above the soil level. I then plant to surround it with some gravel,  stoneand cobbles I have left over from another project.

Then I need to use small logs or bricks or small rocks to build a ramp in and out of the "pond" to make sure nothing gets trapped in there such as hedgehogs.

I'll collect rainwater to fill it as apparently that is best.

I'm planning to site it in a shady border near the house which has some small shrubs in it which will provide cover. With a really small pond it can't be in full sun as it will get too hot according to my research.

Nearby I'm going to  make a toad or frog house. Apparently I need to make a hole about 30 cm deep and fill it with rocks and logs to make "corridors" for amphibians to hide in. I need to mound these up to be about 10 cm higher than the surrounding soil. I think I will then cover with something like a paving stone propped up on bricks to protect it further.

I have a shortlist of recommended plants though I can probably only fit one in. Rigid Hornwort or Water Milfoil or Marsh Marigold or Nymphae Pygmae.  Apparently these allow shade and cover and also places for emerging insects to sit.

My local garden centre sells aquatic plants but right now they all look dead and the water around them is frozen. I was advised its not the right time to buy! I tend to agree.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Take Care
Caroline
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To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

Blackcurrant leaf tea - delicious and free from my garden

Hi there

A while ago I bought a blackcurrant bush - Big Ben - Since then I've made a couple more bushes for free by taking a stem and putting in the ground in autumn and just leaving until its rooted.

I was browsing the web for infusions/teas and found that blackcurrant leaf tea is recommended

I put a few leaves in a teapot and steeped for 10 to 15 minutes and served with sugar in a posh white cup. It helps the flavour - honest!

It is really delicious  and smells gorgeous - all the flavour of blackcurrants with no acidity. Perhaps my favourite ever free tea from my garden.

I use the mature leaves (the young ones don't have much taste) but not from late summer onwards as they lose their flavour again. I pick a few from each stem - usually near the top of the stems. The leaves freeze well and make just as good tea so you can treat yourself throughout the winter .

Hope you try it

Caroline
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To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

Lavender tea, (from my garden) with homemade scones butter and lavender honey - and "Sunshine on Leith" - HEAVEN

Hi

Thanks for dropping by .

I love to make teas from things that grow in my garden - Lavender tea is one of my favourite. It freezes well. I have a lot of lavender in my garden so lots of free tea for me!

The young leaves or young flowers make the best tea - a few sprigs in a tea pot and let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Then pour into a nice broad cup so that you can best smell the tea. A white china cup is nicest - it needs sugar or best of all honey in it I find.

My lovely husband gave me some lavender honey for Christmas. It is really delicious. Its from Littleover apiary.

Lavender Honey Link to buy

I often make scones - some butter, self raising flour, sugar and milk - flatten gently then bake on 180 degrees fan oven. I measure it by eye I'm afraid. 

I laid a tray with all these goodies and put on Sunshine on Leith  - a wonderful feel good film. The ending sequence makes you smile from ear to ear - its based on the music of the proclaimers and the song for the final sequence is - if I could walk 500 miles... I expect you know it.

Below is a link to the final scene - my favourite!

Link to final scene of Sunshine on Leith

Anyway - my tea tray plus that film made for a lovely treat.

Love
Caroline
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To learn more about me and Caroline's Cottage Gardens please visit my website. https://sites.google.com/site/carolinescottagegardens/

How to make a cottage garden patchwork gift card

Hi

I spent my Sunday Afternoon making a patchwork from cottage garden paintings I found in a book. It was like making my own mini cottage garden but without the backache.

First I cut out a piece of thin card the same size as the front of one of my blank cards. I drew a series of lines on it to make random sized rectangles and squares and numbered each of them.

 

I cut out the shapes and used them as templates to cut out sections of the pictures I like.

I kept the cut outs with their numbered template.

I then glued them on to my blank gift card.

However .... the ideas was that the sections did not overlap but went back together like a jigsaw  - but I went a little bit wrong and around the middle it didn't work. I think perhaps I should have laid it out first - then transferred to the blank card. The ideas was that there were no gaps which I did achieve.

I think I might try this patchwork decoupage as I've fabric patchwork books which will give me lots of ideas of patterns.

Certainly doing a gift card like this is very achievable in a short space of time so good if you have a busy life.

Hope you have a lovely relaxing evening. I'm going a light a real fire, and curl up under a rug with my husband to watch a film.

Take care

Caroline

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