Hello and thank you for visiting this small corner.
Yesterday, one of D's friends invited us to share a birthday meal with her and her family, whom we know well. D's friend is a nurse, and this is the cake she had. The cake looked amazing with all those details. It was almost a shame to cut it up, but it was delicious.
We had a bit of a disaster during the week. We have not suffered any damage in the garden in all the storms and windy weather over the last few years -that is, until now.
At the bottom of our garden is a row of the dreaded conifers leylandii. When we first moved into the house over 20 years ago, we had them cut down by half their height. They regrew very quickly to the same height they had been before but no taller. So we left them as they were, as they didn't shade the garden. However, this week, with only the smallest of winds, one of the central branches on one of them decided to part company with the rest of the tree and fall into our garden. No real damage has been done, and Hubby has been able to remove the offending large branch, which can be used as a new home for insects and wildlife at the bottom of the garden.
In brighter gardening news, we have added another raised bed to the garden area we are working on. So now I have even more space to grow vegetables. I plan to grow some carrots there. My previous efforts to grow carrots have resulted in rather alien-shaped vegetables, but I will train them to grow straight by putting them inside old cardboard tubes with a sandy soil mix. Gardening can be trial and error, so I shall see how it goes.
After the lovely sunny weekend we enjoyed in this small corner, it looks like the rain will return. On the positive side, that will give me plenty of time to be in the greenhouse, potting all the seedlings that must be in their hundreds by now. I have a chair out there, so a mug of tea and a biscuit will keep me happy for some time.
It's been sunny and warm here along the south coast, the wind is still cold but it's not blowing so much.
ReplyDeleteIt's been sunny today so lots done outside but the weather is still quite changeable. Have a good week.
DeleteThat cake is amazing. People are so clever.
ReplyDeleteIt was a pretty special cake and was perfect for D's nursing friend. It also tasted delicious.
DeleteOh, isn't that a fabulous cake, some people are so creative. A shame about the tree but good news that it didn't damage anything in the garden when it came down, you were lucky. That hosta must have been a whopper to get all those plants from it. We've got a large one in the garden, we could never grow them in our last house, even in pots, because of the slug damage but they don't seem to fare so bad here. I hope that's not a case of speaking too soon.
ReplyDeleteYes, the cake was amazing with all that detail. We were very fortunate with the tree branch and I'm hoping no more branches get blown off. We may not be so fortunate if there is a next time. The hosta was quite big and was jammed tight in the old pot. The slugs left it alone because it was stood on a gravel area. This time all the pots have copper bands to keep them away.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is a nurse and I know she would love that cake. There's a lot to do in the garden at the moment. Sitting down to do gardening sounds like a good plan. I like your raised bed. I've two types of hosta and I'm pleased to see both are doing well. I hope you have a good week and no more branches fall from your conifers.
ReplyDeleteIt is a perfect cake for a nurse and of course it has all those zero calories too :-)
DeleteI find that the sitting is much better for my back so I can generally work for longer without problems. Now that the hosta have been split up I might be tempted to try another variety although I will wait to see how these ones survive the slugs first. Fingers crossed for no more tree branches breaking !
Have a good week.
That looks such a lovely birthday cake. We recently had a family tea gathering to celebrate grand-daughters birthday and her birthday cake was yummy. There are some amazing flavours and designs to buy or make.
ReplyDeleteA shame about the tree but good to read that it didn't damage anything in the garden when it came down, you were quite fortunate.
I like Hosta's and that is a good idea to use copper bands to keep the slugs away.
Wishing you an enjoyable week ahead.
All the best Jan
Good Morning Jan. There are some very talented people who can dream up and create the most amazing cakes. The tree is down safely now and will be used as a home for small insects to enjoy at the end of the garden. I have always found copper bands and grit/large gravel to work well with slugs and snails and it doesn't harm other wildlife.
DeleteEnjoy your week too x
I love the raised bed and, as for that cake - wow!! xx
ReplyDeleteWith the problems I have with my back I have found raised beds work much better for me. The cake - stunning and delicious :-)
DeleteHave a great week x
What a great cake. A real tribute to a dedicated nurse.
ReplyDeleteWonderful.
Your raised bed is great. But I'm looking forward to your carrots. Good luck.
Viola wishes you a happy week. Hug
Yes, it was a perfect cake for a nurse. I'm hoping the carrots will be a little straighter this year in their little cardboard jackets. Have a wonderful week, Viola x
DeleteWow what a cake, and I bet it tasted great too,
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris . It certainly was a great cake and suited the young lady very well. She certainly deserved it. It did taste very yummy too :-)
DeleteGlad that the fallen branch didn't cause too much damage. The cake is wonderful, so much work has gone into it. It was good to have a sunny weekend so that we could get out into the garden:)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rosie. Yes, we were very fortunate with the tree. It was a lovely sunny weekend and although wet today the rest of the week should see some more dry spells. I wonder how many hours it took to decorate that cake? It was delicious to eat as well.
DeleteHave a good week x
I love that cake, it's amazing. Sorry to hear about the tree breaking off. When we moved into our bungalow a few years ago, we had lots taken off the conifer Bush. It's actually the neighbours at the back of us (next road over. Our back gardens touch in one part. She said she'd pay half but... anyway, reduced height for a time but it'll need cutting at some point.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely cake. Thank you.
DeleteThe trees are generally ok but they are not my favourite conifer. Still I'm sure that the wildlife enjoy using them. Enjoy your week.
What a delightful cake! Whoever put that together has a lot of creative talent. Sounds like a lovely birthday event you went to. I’m sorry you had the tree branch fall but how impressed I was that you are leaving it for the insects and other critters to make use of it. You must have a lovely garden. I like the look of your raised bed, not only practical but decorative. Clever thinking about the cardboard tubes too. Gardening always seems to be trial and error, but very rewarding when things work out. We also have hostas we badly need to separate and reading how you do yours has been helpful. I have never heard of the copper tape to keep slugs away so thanks for all that. Enjoy the rest of your week :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Denise. It was fortunate that the tree branch fell where it did. A few further feet over and it would have been in the pond and that would have been a much bigger problem. It wasn't too heavy to move to its new position where the bugs and critters can now enjoy a new woody home. I will let people know how the carrot tubes work out :-) I'm sure you can get the copper tape online if you want to try it. It works well for me. I hope your hostas stay slug free this year. Have a great week x
DeleteWhat a great cake! I'm thinking of growing some carrots this year too. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLet's hope we both have success with carrots this year. The cake was such a clever design.
DeleteThat cake looks brilliant. Have you ever tried growing the little round carrots. They're great for shallower containers
ReplyDeleteI think it was all the detail that had been put on the cake that made it so stunning. Amazing what can be done with a basic sponge cake :-)I have found a packet of short, round carrots so I might give them a go as well. Thank you.
DeleteGlad the branch didn't cause major damage. Oh my gosh, that cake is too cute. I love it. Super creative and fun. Cheers, Ivy.
ReplyDeleteHello Ivy. Thank you for visiting this small corner of ours and for wanting to follow as well. It is lovely to have new blogging friends. The cake was pretty amazing with all that detail. I'm glad I managed to take a photo before it got munched. Going to pop over and visit you too. Enjoy your day.
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DeleteThat's a fabulous cake! I am so glad we don't have any leylandii in our garden... my friend bought a new house with a garden entirely surrounded by it. It is backbreaking work to cut it down.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that Leylandii are not the love of my life. They have been tollerated because they cause no shade. They are on the back edge of our garden between us and a stream. A bit of no mans land really. They have reached the limits of their height so I know without having them completely removed, costing a lot of arms and legs they will resume their climb to the skies until they are back to the original height. For now it's laissez faire I think.
DeleteWonderful cake. The dreaded Leylandii - we have some between me and the neighbour at the back of us. It is their hedge and it has all gone brown on our side and nothing we can do as they do not regrow from any dead branches. All we can do is plant shrubs in front of it to hide it. Love the raised planter especially the colour.
ReplyDeleteWe had put a fence up made of individual timber planks a few years ago that hide the bare trunks, so at least it looks tidy on our side. I am going to star planting up some veg in the raised beds and also some veg seeds and tomato plants. Always lots to do but it makes me happy to be outside.
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteLove the cake! Too cute!
ReplyDeleteI need to get to the nursery today!
Happy Weekend!
hugs
Donna
The birthday cake was great both in looks and taste. Hope you find some lovely plants at the nursery. Happy weekend to you too, Donna x
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