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Recent Entries to this Blog
Why I love Holland so much.
Posted: 19 May 2006 Posted: 24 Sep 2007 Posted: 22 Sep 2007 Posted: 21 Sep 2007 Posted: 06 Sep 2007 All Entries |
eileen's Blog
All change.
Category: Front garden make-over | Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:55 am I decided on Saturday that I really didn't like the planters having bark chippings in them to cover the soil as I thought they looked rather dull. While we were out and about yesterday we visited a garden centre (how unusual id that for me eh? LOL) and bought a bag of plum slate chippings They are exactly the same as the ones we have in the front garden already only much smaller. Today, between showers of rain, I removed all the bark and put it into the back garden. Now my planters seem much more cheerful and certainly look more attractive. Here's what they look like now: 
I'm a happy bunny now!! This blog entry has been viewed 4006 times
The bit I enjoy.
Category: Front garden make-over | Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:45 pm Well, once again, Ian and I have been busy in the front garden. Planters are in place...... 
......and getting ready for planting up. 
Plants positioned to see how they look. 
Planting finished!! 
Now all I have to do is wait for the fetterbushes to arrive, plant them and enjoy the finished garden. Last edited: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:45 pm This blog entry has been viewed 2592 times
Almost there now.
Category: Front garden make-over | Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:40 pm At long last my garden planters are here!!! I've given them three coats of clear, satin finish, yacht varnish to make sure they retain their colour and also so that they will withstand the weather better. 
Now all I have to do is wait for the last coat of varnish to dry overight and then I can get them moved to the front garden and plant them up. Also got a letter from Spaldings saying that the two bushes I ordered should be here before the end of the month. Sooooo by the beginning of October the front garden will, at last, be done and dusted!!! Will post more piccies once the planters are in place and the plants put into them. This blog entry has been viewed 2515 times
Starting from scratch.
Category: Front garden make-over | Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:29 pm Well at long last the weather has been good enough for Ian and I to get on with getting the front garden sorted out. We originally had a large conifer in each side with various low growing plants around them and an old, rickety stone wall. This is how it used to look: 
The first thing we did was to remove all the plants that were in the garden so that we had a clear space to work on the fence. Out came the large conifers: 
Next we had to tackle removing the low growing plants and the stone wall. 
No plants left now except the hedge and my beautiful bell heather. I really didn't want to pull the heather up as I'd grown it from a tiny wee thing in a 4 inch pot but, sadly, it just had to go too. 
I think we must have dug out about three tons of stone before the job was completed. Maybe I should have sold the stone on e.bay!! LOL It would certainly have saved us having to move it all into the back garden which was back breaking work. 
Next we had to remove the old, rotting, green picket fence. All the fencing was taken up to the council skip and weed control fabric was laid over the bare earth. 
Finally, work on the new fence got underway!! 
New fence is now completed. 
The next job we tackled was building the new wall around both front beds. The colour ties in nicely with the paintwork around our front windows. 
We had to take a break at this point as the weather deteriorated but we did telephone the builders yard and order up two tons of plum slate chippings for delivery. Here they are: 
Now for some more hard labour - getting the slate into the garden and raking it smooth. 
Job done at long last!!! Now all we have to do is wait for our friend, Jim, to make six planters for us and for Spaldings to send out the two fetterbushes for planting. This may now be a very low maintenance garden but boy was it hard work getting it that way!!! I'll post more piccies once they arrive and are all planted up. Last edited: Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:46 pm This blog entry has been viewed 2661 times
Isle of Skye.
Category: Places I've been. | Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:57 pm I decided to put these photographs into my blog rather than post them all in the forums. It was a long, hot trip to Skye especially as Ian was working and I was left to amuse myself for about an hour each time he went off to check the exchanges. Did I sit in the car? Did I read? Did I go for a cuppa or have a nap? No way!! I braved the searing sun, the rough terrain and the clouds of swarming midges just to take photographs to share with you all. LOL So without further delay here they are: This is a view of Ben Nevis the highest mountain in Scotland - Elevation: 1344 M (4409 FT.) Ben Nevis is located at Lochaber, near Fort William in the highlands and its name means Venomous Peak. 
This next mountain is worthy of mentioning too because of its unusual shape. It's called the Pap of Glencoe as it is said to resemble the nipple on a human breast. 
There are 284 Munros (mountains in Scotland that reach an elevation of 3,000 feet (914.4 m) or more.) Many of them can be found in Glencoe. I don't know the names of them all but here are a few I thought you might like to see. 
I thought the low cloud in the valley between these mountains looked as though a volcano was gushing out clouds of steam. 
This is a photograph of one of the highland lochs that we saw on our trip. If you look at a map of Scotland and then at this loch they are remarkably similar aren't they?!! 
This is a picture of the new Skye Bridge which put the ferries between the mainland and the Isle of Skye (and quite of few locals) out of a job. Until recently the bridge was a toll bridge but now it is free to travel across it. 
There used to be a large fleet of fishing boats at Kyle of Lochalsh in Skye but, sadly it has dwindled over the years as young men have moved away from the island to seek work, and live, elsewhere. These are the remaining fishing boats. 
At the mouth of the harbour at Skye there is a lovely old ruin. I'm afraid I didn't have enough time to find out what it once had been but I thought it looked lovely. 
I came across this curious sight when we were driving through Glencoe. I think one cairn (the largest one) was the origional one built but then, for some reason or other, people started building seperate, little ones and now there is quite a large area covered in piles of stones of varying sizes. 
Now for a few views of the countryside on Skye for you to see. 
This second photograph is of some small highland tarns. Tarns are small bodies of water in the highlands not large enough to be called lochs. Some tarns, however, are bigger than some of the so-called lochs, most of the tarns though are very small, and some are not even named. The highlanders call them lochies. 
I took this piccie of Eilean Donan Castle as it is rather famous and not just because of its history either!! It was said to be the castle that inspired the makers of the Harry Potter films to build Hogwarts school in the way that they did. There is also a bridge somewhere in Glencoe that was used in one of the HP films but I didn't get a snap of it. We actually saw a film crew out in the valley as we drove past on Wednesday. I wonder if they were making another HP movie in the area? 
Eilean Donan Castle is recognised all over the world. It is situated on an island at the point where three great sea lochs meet, and surrounded by some magnificent scenery. It is one of the most visited and important attractions in the Scottish highlands. The castle was first inhabited around the 6th century but became a fortified castle in the mid 13th century and stood guard over the lands of Kintail. Since then, at least Four different versions of the castle have been built and re-built. The castle was partially destroyed in a Jacobite uprising in 1719, Eilean Donan castle then lay in ruins for almost 200 years until a man by the name of Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911 restored it to its former glory. After 20 years of toil and labour the castle was finally re-opened in 1932. I couldn't visit Skye without taking a photographs of the glorious sunsets to be seen there so here is one I took on Tuesday evening. 
Lastly this sheiling is still being lived in but has been well maintained in its origional state. I couldn't take a pic from the front of the house as the owners were sunbathing in the garden!1 
I hope you enjoyed the Isle of Skye as much as I did!! Last edited: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:32 pm This blog entry has been viewed 2082 times
Visit to the island of Texel.
Category: Holiday pics 2007. | Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 3:19 pm We left the mainland in Holand and took one of these ferries over to the island. It was a wet and blustery day but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as there was such a variety of bird life to see. 
Here are just a few of the species we spotted whilst on the island. Nesting cormorants. 
Black tailed godwit. 
Lapwing with three babies. 
Greylag goslings, oystercatchers (back left) and shellduck (back right). 
Turnstones. 
Marsh harrier. Not the best of photographs but I didn't want to scare it off so took the piccie from inside the car. 
Best of all - a spoonbill!! 
Here are a few more piccies from the island. The lighthouse at the most northerly point of Texel. 
Ina told us that she'd always wanted a plastic cow for her lottie - well look what we found for sale on the island. I must send her a copy of this piccie!! 
I just has to take a picture of these too to show you all - every single flower is a flag iris!!! There must have been more than 5 acres of them altogether simply growing wild. 
Last but not least a beautiful sunset to finish off a great day. 
This blog entry has been viewed 2356 times
Everyone visits garden centres in Holland even..............
Category: Holiday pics 2007. | Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 2:48 pm ....... truck drivers getting married - here's a piccie of the groom's truck: 
The bride's car: 
The wedding took place inside the garden centre where they have a special area, complete with organ, set aside for weddings. Such a pity I left my camera in the car when we went inside. Another visitor to the garden centre was this Macaw. He's probably making sure that his owners didn't forget to pick up his supplies from the pet section. LOL 
Last edited: Wed May 23, 2007 8:52 pm This blog entry has been viewed 4047 times
Anyone for cheese?
Category: Holiday pics 2007. | Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 11:55 pm Ian and I visited a town called Alkmaar while we were on holiday. Every week they hold cheese auctions in the town centre and have market stalls lined up selling almost every kind of cheese you can think of. We arrived too late to see the whole of the 1/2 acre site covered in cheeses but these piccies give you an idea of what the auctions were like. 
By the way, Ina's father used to work as a chesseman and carried the cheeses the way these two men are doing. 
The costumes aren't just worn for the sake of the tourists these are the actual uniforms of the Dutch cheese workers. This blog entry has been viewed 3456 times
Some beautiful Dutch houses.
Category: Holiday pics 2007. | Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 11:47 pm This first house was, by far, my favourite as it had almost everything you could wish for. 
The houses in Holland are just so pretty that I couldn't resist taking a few more to show you. 
Of course no Dutch pictures are complete without at least one windmill!!! 
This blog entry has been viewed 8070 times
Sculptures at De Tuinen.
Category: Holiday pics 2007. | Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 10:55 pm As we all walked around the gardens at Appeltern we saw these wildlife sculptures. All were for sale but, sadly, were well beyond my means. I think my favourite is the frog bird bath. 
Here are a few more photographs from the gardens that I thought would be of interest to you all. 
This seems like a great way to give the impression of more space in a garden. The wall with the mural certainly makes it appear as though the garden just goes on and on. Pretty, perfect, pink waterlily. 
Solomon's seal. 
A gorgeous orange honeysuckle. 
Last edited: Mon May 21, 2007 10:29 am This blog entry has been viewed 2134 times
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