A Floral Summer

I hope you have all had a wonderful Summer! It's definitely been a hot one!

Back in May I visited the Chelsea Flower Show for the very first time! I have avidly watched the coverage on tv for many years and have always wanted to see all the beautiful displays close up and enjoy the aromas! I purchased a ticket for the final day with the hope of returning home with a floral souvenir as many of the displays are sold off in last few hours. Although It was very busy and difficult to view the competition gardens, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Country cottage flowers are my favourites and I thought the delphiniums and begonias (shown above) stole the show! I did manage to acquire a "Thalictum Minus" plant and also returned home with several packets of seeds and lots of gardening inspiration! Hence I have been busy during the Summer months planting, watering (using a watering can as we have a hosepipe ban here in Kent), weeding, feeding and dead heading trying to recreate a little bit of Chelsea magic in my garden!

My love of florals is also reflected in my vintage stock buying! I am always drawn to pretty rose patterned china and old fabric printed with bouquets of colourful blooms! I sourced lots of these treasures to take to the Chiddingstone Castle fair in July. It was an extremely hot day and the perfect setting to curate a Summer floral themed stall. I was delighted that my handmade Sanderson vintage fabric cushion covers proved very popular! (I have popped the remaining few in my Etsy shop.)

Indoors I have finally wallpapered the feature wall in my sewing room with the beautiful vintage Laura Ashley paper that I tracked down on Ebay. I have had a little move around of furniture and repostioned my sewing table under the window to make space for a beautiful French green metal day bed that I was delighted to find for sale locally. Before that can be put in situ my husband needs to finish laying the LVT faux wooden floor which means moving and sorting through lots more stock. Therefore I am currently listing lots more gorgeous haberdashery and homewares in my Etsy shop so please have a browse.

During the summer I also had a wonderful trip to the South of France with my dear friend Claire (@adoredfrenchvintage). We had so much fun sourcing vintage French treasures from Vide Greniers. My favourite purchase was an old pale green tin with a gorgeous floral patterned lid. I will tell you all about our adventures in my next blog but meanwhile I am also adding some of my French finds to my Etsy shop.

Warmest wishes,