Garden Bunting

Well, what amazing, gorgeous weather we're having this Easter holiday!  We are making the most of every second and spending as much time outside as we can.  This morning we cut the lawns, watered the seeds and planted two rows of shallots - before half past ten!  The long, warm days are bringing the seeds in the poly tunnel on in leaps and bounds and the weeds in the garden are reaching for the sky.  It feels more like early Summer than Spring, but I am not complaining in the least.  I love it!

Yesterday morning, while there was still a faint breeze floating across the skies, Pea and I went shopping.  I bought a pretty new blue floral dress with a little lace collar.  It is for wearing to my baby nephew's Christening next month, but it's the kind of dress that will feel so lovely all Summer long, what ever the occasion.  I also purchased a new gardening book - the first in many years, I might add.  It took a bit of soul searching before I splashed out, but as it was way less than half price, it would have been churlish to leave it behind.  After a busy day potting up salads and annual flowers in the poly tunnel, I was longing to curl up in my comfy chair in the evening with my new book.  And to top it all, I had chocolate!  The perfect end to a perfect day in my opinion.  The book doesn't disappoint. (The Patch:The Big Allotment Challenge.)  It has lots of lovely pictures and tons of sound advice for growing food and flowers.  I am most pleased.

I got up fairly early this morning as the sun was streaming in through my bedroom window and the birds were singing fit to burst, making it impossible to stay in bed any longer.  I made my usual cup of tea and snuggled up in my chair with my book again.  Pea and I had been thinking of some way to scare the birds off our newly planted seeds and future crops.  We have used childrens' windmills in previous gardens but haven't seen any for sale yet.  As I flicked through my book, I saw a picture that gave me an idea for the solution...

Bunting!  Sorry the picture quality is so poor, but I'm rubbish at photographing pictures in books.  Anyway, after the initial gardening jobs and a trip out to fetch Pea's boyfriend for the day and to buy a chicken for dinner tomorrow, I sat at the table in the garden with a selection of fabrics and my mug of tea and began making bird scaring bunting.

 As it will be spending all Summer outside, there seemed little point in taking ages fussing over detail and immaculate stitches.  This has to be functional and look pretty from a few feet away; not hung up indoors for close inspection.  Therefore I could whip up a yard or two in no time and enjoy the fun of it.

To make life even easier (and I always like to do that), I cut strips of fabric instead of triangles, wrapped them over a length of string and stitched them along the tops; no edging and no nice neat finishing.  In this manner, they will flap daintily in the wind and deter any foraging avians away from our seeds and crops.

 
As I finished sewing the first length of bunting, the sky darkened and the threat of rain hung in the air.  A chill breeze made us pull jumpers on and head indoors, taking our days activities with us.  We will have to wait until tomorrow before we hang the bunting and see if it works.  Until then, have a lovely evening and thank you for dropping by my Windy (and very sunny!) Island. xxx