If I find bugs in the garden I usually spend a few minutes watching them to see what they do and where they go. This time I noticed most of the bees were nipping from flower to flower quickly before leaving. However, a Red-tailed Bumblebee seemed lethargic and barely moved. When I checked a few hours later this bee was still in the same position.

Red-tailed Bumblebee

The next day, it was still on the same flower but looking much more slumped and in a bit of a sorry state. Its legs were twitching occasionally but that was the only movement.

Lethargic Red-tailed Bumblebee

We thought it could just be hungry/weak so Scott suggested putting honey on the flower.

Red-tailed bee feeding on honey

After a few minutes of feeding, it started moving its legs and feelers again. A few more minutes after that it began walking and then flew away. We were happy!

We only had Rowse honey – which is probably the bee equivalent of McDonalds compared to the honey produced in hives before it’s processed. But hey, it did the trick! So if you find a lethargic bee that doesn’t improve try feeding it some honey. We also did this a few years ago with a water and sugar mixture which worked just as well. I know it’s only one bee, but with the bee loses we are experiencing, every bee counts!

Bees seen in our garden

UK garden bees

With the help of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Common Bumblebee list, I’ve managed to identify the 4 species of bee I found on the chives. From left to right:

• Tree Bee (Bombus hypnorum) – ginger thorax, white tail
• Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) – yellow stripes, ginger tail
• Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) – black thorax, ginger tail
• Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) – can anyone confirm this?

Bee identification Resources

• Natural History Museum: BumblebeeID
• Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Common Bumblebee list
• Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust: Different kinds of bees

I’d love to buy a macro lens to get crisp, detailed photos of bees and other bugs in the garden!

The post It’s good to bee kind appeared first on Gemma Garner.

How to paint a terracotta pot

You will need:

• Terracotta pot
• Acrylic paint
• Masking tape
• A sponge (a clean, dry dish sponge will do fine)
• PVA glue or Mod Podge Outdoors
• Water
• Mixing bowl for PVA sealer mixture
• Clean paintbrush for sealer mixture
• Old compost bag for lining (optional)

1. Clean your pot

Wipe a dry scourer over the pot to remove any dirt or dust. If it’s really dirty, wipe with a damp cloth afterwards and allow to dry.

2. Choose your design or use my chilli stencil

You can do anything you like, the only limit is the size of your pot. If you are stuck for ideas, you can download my free chilli stencil.

3. Cut out your stencils

Cut out the 3 stencils: leaf, chilli and chilli stalk with a scalpel or craft knife. Don’t worry if you have a few wobbly edges, it adds to the handmade feel! If you break your stencil just repair it with a thin strip of masking tape.

4. Painting your terracotta pot

Stencil #1 – leaf and flame

Use masking tape to stick stencil #1 to your pot. To avoid leaving any marks, stick the tape to your clothing and peel off a couple of times. Make sure your stencil sits flat against the pot. If you have any spray adhesive (repositionable) you can apply a small amount to the back.

Apply acrylic paint with a dry sponge to get a textured appearance. It’s best to build up thin layers of paint in order to avoid it seeping under your stencil.

Gently peel off your first stencil.

Allow to dry.

Stencil #2 – the chilli

I have added a notch to the bottom of stencils #2 and #3 to help you get the chilli in the right place.

Apply acrylic paint to the chilli with a sponge.

You’re almost there!

Peel off stencil #2 and allow to dry.

Stencil #3 – chilli stem

As you have done with the previous layer, line up the notches and apply your paint with a sponge.

And that’s it. Now you can admire your handy work.

Leave for about an hour or until the paint has fully dried.

5. Seal your design (optional)

You can make a simple terracotta pot sealer yourself using PVA glue and water. Add 10 parts water to 1 part glue (10:1) and mix well.

Apply several thin layers of PVA sealer to make your stencil more hand wearing and protect the pot from moisture.

6. Line or seal the inside of the pot

Lining or sealing the inside is important because terracotta is a porous material. Seal the inside with a plant friendly sealant or use an old compost bag as pot lining.

Terracotta pot lining

Don’t forget to poke holes in the bottom for drainage or you’ll end up with a smelly swamp pot.

7. Put your plant in its new home

Hand painted terracotta chilli pot

Chilli pot

Sit back and admire your handy work!

Free printable chilli stencil

You can download my free chilli stencil for personal use. I’d love to see your chilli pots when they’re done, so feel free to post a link in the comments below. If you want to credit this design on your own blog, a link to gemmagarner.com will be much appreciated. Thanks! x

The post DIY painted terracotta pot appeared first on Gemma Garner.

Penny’s wool blanket

I really like how mismatched it is – with granny rounds, flower blocks, over sized flowers and clashing and complimentary colours all rolled into one.

Crochet flower shawl

It belongs to Penny (played by Keira Knightley) and although it’s a blanket it is used as a shawl throughout the film. It only makes a couple of appearances at the beginning of the film so I’m guessing the writers decided it wouldn’t be worth saving if the world was ending :)

I’ve picked a few colours from the blanket colour scheme. If you wanted to make a granny blanket using these colours you could use 3 shades of each colour to create enough variation between your squares.

I thought the film was okay, but for me, the best bit was the crochet blanket!

The post Seeking a Friend crochet blanket appeared first on Gemma Garner.

Carpet of wild garlic next to a stream

We could smell it before we saw it and with the help of our foraging book Food For Free, managed to successfully identify it as wild garlic (Ramsons).

Wild garlic flowers

Wild garlic leaves

Wild garlic pesto recipe

You will need:

• A big bunch of wild garlic (enough to cover the bottom of a carrier bag)
• Handful of parsley
• 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 50g toasted walnuts or pine nuts
• 100ml olive oil / 150ml for thinner pesto
• Lemon juice of 1/2 a lemon (or to taste)

I didn’t add salt to this recipe because the parmesan contains quite a bit and the wild garlic was really fresh so it had lots of flavour.

1. Wash your wild garlic

Pick out the healthiest, freshest leaves and rinse with cold water to remove bugs and dirt.

Foraged wild garlic leaves

Tip: make double sure you haven’t accidentally picked any weeds by sniffing the leaves (for garlic smell) before you rinse them. Also see ‘identifying wild garlic’ at the bottom of this post.

2. Toast your walnuts

Lightly toast the walnuts but do not let them burn.

3. Put all your ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.

Put the wild garlic leaves, toasted nuts, finely grated parmesan and lemon juice into the food processor and blitz into a paste.

Rough wild garlic pesto paste

4. Add olive oil

With the motor running, slowly pour in your olive oil and blitz until thoroughly mixed. Add more lemon juice if required.

Fresh wild garlic pesto

5. Enjoy fresh or freeze

This pesto freezes well although it has a milder garlic flavour once defrosted. If eating fresh, don’t breathe on anyone for a couple of hours afterwards…unless they’ve been eating it too of course.

If you don’t want to make pesto with your wild garlic leaves, chop them up and add to risotto, pasta or stir fry. You can also make your own alioli style sauce by mixing chopped wild garlic leaves, mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Identifying wild garlic

Wild garlic is also known as Allium ursinum and Ramsons.

Crush the leaves slightly with your nail to see if they smell of garlic. Be careful not to pick the leaves of weeds or other plants growing in the same place. Do not mistake wild garlic for Lily of the Valley, which is poisonous. If you can’t confidently identify a plant (and the leaves) as wild garlic, do not eat it.

The post Wild garlic pesto recipe appeared first on Gemma Garner.

First lettuce and spinach harvest

It doesn’t feel like Summer has started until we harvest our first batch of lettuce and spinach. And the first harvest is always the best because it feels like you have to wait forever until it’s ready to eat.

Homegrown salad leaves and spinach

The cooler weather and rain has really helped these plants flourish. I’ve been more prolific about manually removing slugs from the garden which has mean’t the lettuce seedlings haven’t been gobbled up before they’ve had a chance to grow.

New neighbours

I’ve been finding caterpillars everywhere. This year they are loving my mint, parsley and lavender bushes although I’ve found a couple on the strawberries too.

Garden caterpillars

I haven’t seen many chrysalis compared to last year. Not sure whether there are actually fewer or whether the caterpillars have got good at hiding from my prying camera lens.

Strawberries

Our strawberries are looking really healthy. The leaves are deep green with strong stems and there are lots of fruits.

But the whitefly seem to have taken a strong liking to them :( I don’t know what it is with whitefly and this garden, I think the whitefly population of Farnham must reside here.

Whitefly on strawberry leaves

We’ve discovered wild strawberries growing in our garden. They look the same as normal strawberries only much smaller. I’ve fenced some of them off with string and canes so they don’t get moved over. Will be interesting to see what happens with them.

Getting rid of whitefly without chemicals

I can’t remember where I read this, but someone suggested putting tin foil at the base of affected plants. It works like a dream. All you need to do is scrunch up a few pieces of tin foil and lay them under the plant.

Deterring whitefly naturally with foil

Apparently the whitefly don’t like the light bouncing around the underside of the leaves so they go. I nestled foil in my oregano and thyme because they like these herbs more than the others. No whitefly on them and the plants are strong and healthy.

Deterring ants from garden pots naturally

Last year we had a problem with red ants. They were everywhere. My neighbour poured boiling water on the nests but I couldn’t bring myself to do it :( This year we already have ant nests forming under pots and in a raised flower bed. Last week I went to plant something in an old pot I’d let run wild and it was FULL of ants and larvae (circled).

Red ants and larvae

Previously I tried putting strips of lemon peel under pots which didn’t work. Neither did cayenne pepper. But I’ve found something that works: generously sprinkling equal quantities of ground black pepper and cinnamon under each pot. It’s been 5 days since the last application and the pot appears to be ant free, huzzah!

Beetle nesting

I have another abandoned pot next to the ant pot. I went to move it one day and a few beetles scurried away. After reading about beetle decline I decided to leave it there because they seem to like living underneath it.

Beetles hiding under old plant pot

This ‘beetle home’ was a bit of a happy accident because it really is just an unused pot with a small gap underneath, resting on dried leaves and small stones. I have a quick peek every few weeks and there seem to be a few more beetles each time. I’ve tried identifying them and I think they’re Lesser Stag Beetles – but I could be wrong. Are there any beetle experts who can tell me if I’m correct?

Chilli plants

The chilli plants have been struggling with being kept indoors so they are looking a bit leggy. It’s my first year growing them so wasn’t really sure what I was doing but they have started to flower, which means red hot chillis will soon be on their way. I can’t tell you what is growing because I planted a couple of different types in pots and then muddled the pots up. So you’ll be as surprised as I am when I reveal what has grown.

“I won’t be long …”

Is what I call out when I head out into the garden. But a quick bit of weeding ends up with me discovering beetles, caterpillars, whitefly and wild strawberries. No wonder I’m always out there for an hour or more.

The post In our vegetable garden: June 2013 appeared first on Gemma Garner.

Early idea sketches

It seemed a shame to do nothing with these ideas so I decided to turn them into profile icons. I’ve worked on a few briefs where people icons like these would have made a good alternative to stock imagery. They lend themselves well to any project involving people: avatars, web apps, blogs, articles etc.

‘Heads Up’ vector profile icons

The set contains 16 vector character illustrations with customisable features: hair colour, facial features, skin colour, removable glasses and background. Their flat design makes it is easy to add texture effects.

Available for purchase on Creative Market.

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Homemade coleslaw recipe

You will need:

• 300g of red cabbage (approx half an average sized red cabbage)
• 200g of carrots / 2 large carrots
• 1 large onion (red or white)
• 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• Juice of 1 lemon

The fresher your ingredients are, the better your coleslaw will taste.

Portions: 6-8.

Storage: We keep ours covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

1. Thinly slice the cabbage

Cut your cabbage in half and then into fine strips with a sharp knife. You can do this in a food processor but I prefer to cut it by hand because the cabbage stays crunchy and doesn’t go mushy.

2. Grate the carrots

Grate your carrots with a cheese grater or a food processor. Watch your fingers or you’ll end up with unwanted extras in your slaw!

3. Thinly slice the onions

As you did with the cabbage, cut your red onion into thin strips.

4. Mix together, add mayo and lemon juice

Add as little or as much mayo as you like. I used about 3 tablespoons which was enough to coat the vegetables rather than smother them. I added the juice of 1 medium lemon but you can add more or less depending on your personal taste (we like ours lemony).

5. Mix and taste

Mix all the ingredients together and have a taste. If you can taste too much cabbage, add extra onion and lemon.

6. Enjoy!

Homemade coleslaw is really moreish so we end up eating it with everything: salads, sandwiches, vegetable crumbles, pasta… it goes with most things. It also makes carb free lunches like salad more filling.

7. Extras

I want to try adding apple slices and chopped walnuts to make a coleslaw waldorf hybrid.

Hate cabbage?

This recipe tastes nothing like over-boiled stringy cabbage or soggy shop bought coleslaw. If you’re a cabbage hater and still don’t like it after trying this, then nothing will change your mind and it’s okay to carry on hating cabbage.

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Our yurt – Chestnut

We stayed in Chestnut, a 16ft yurt nestled amongst the trees in the woods with a view of the main camp area and open woodland.

Chestnut Place yurt

Yurt interior

The day we arrived, it was pouring with rain! Once inside our yurt we were greeted with a trug of kindling and a basket of wood for our wood burner. It was so cold we could see our breath in the air so we lit the fire almost straight away. After nearly smoking ourselves out (on several occasions) we got the hang of our burner and our yurt was extremely toasty.

Kindling for our fire

Woodland walks

The area was absolutely lovely. You can walk for miles through woodland, fields and narrow country lanes. We made the most of the good weather and covered 28 miles on foot in 2 days.

Carpet of bluebells

On the first day we walked to Durleighmarsh farm shop and back in a big loop through fields and woodland. This route totalled 12 miles and we rewarded ourselves with a barbecue back at camp.

The second day we walked 14 miles via Durleighmarsh shop (for ice-cream!) and then through Durford Wood and back via country lanes and footpaths. Our legs were pretty tired by this point because most of the trails had been uphill. We then walked a further 2 miles for dinner, making the walking total for the second day 16 miles.

This holiday was the first time I’d ever smelt bluebells because there were so many of them in one place.

Showering outdoors

The outdoor shower was a simple wooden outbuilding containing a Calor gas powered shower. There was no roof so we had a view of the woods and sky while we washed.

Happy camper with clean feet!

I loved showering outdoors, although I can imagine it’s even better in the Summer when it’s warm and the sun is out. After our 16 mile walk it was nice to wash my tired, muddy feet in warm water!

Composting toilet

Neither of us had ever used a composting toilet before. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I was pleasantly suprised. There was a toilet seat (huzzah!) attached to a wooden plank with a long drop into a pit in the ground. It had some quirky touches including a rustic toilet roll made from branches, coat hook and mini window.

After use you sprinkle a fine layer of sawdust down and wash your hands with an antibacterial gel. No water needed. Wild wees were encouraged…so wild wee we did. Used properly, the composting toilet had very little odour. Doing ‘the business’ in the woods with the door open (when camp was empty) was rather peaceful!

Food

Being foodies, we ate alot of good food on our trip. The first night was so wet and windy that we ended up having an indoor picnic next to our wood burner. The shared camp kitchen was kitted out with barbecue equipment so we made use of that on one of the sunnier evenings.

Camp bbq

We took homemade food (coleslaw, bread, pasta) and ate it with barbecued sausages and asparagus from the local farm shop.

Our neighbours gave us some perfectly cooked marshmallows in exchange for a ready made fire and barbecue coals.

Toasted marshmallows

Pubs within walking distance

- The Half Moon

The Half Moon was good for a quick drink and snacks (nachos were tasty). The food looked okay but perhaps not somewhere to go specifically for a meal.

- The Harrow Inn

We arrived at The Harrow Inn about 10 minutes before it closed at lunch. We were too late for food but the menu looked really really good, full of home cooked comfort food. This pub was small and tucked away in a country lane with plants for sale outside. If you are looking for a pub with character then this is one to visit. If you like cider, try some Thatchers. It was cloudy, delicious and strong (I had boggled eyes after half a pint)!

- The Queens Head

The Queens Head is located in Sheet, Petersfield. Nice pub in a lovely area. The night we ate there, they only served barbecue food which was a shame as we were hoping for something more filling after walking 14 miles!

Durleighmarsh farm shop and pick-your-own

Durleighmarsh farm shop was only a few miles walk from our yurt.

The asparagus was fantastic. Reasonably priced, big fat spears and very tasty barbecued. We also picked up some amazing free range pork and apple sausages, chutney, handmade bakewell cake, Gospel Green Sussex Cyder and Mooka ice cream.

Back to reality…

We really enjoyed our short holiday. During the day we went exploring and picnicking and in the evenings we sat in front of our fire trying to strike a balance between cold and boiling hot. It was nice not to have to worry about emails, sitting in front of a screen all day, noisy neighbours and squeezing exercise in around other things.

❤ Our verdict

If you are looking for an eco friendly, off-grid holiday that helps you appreciate simple things… a yurt break is perfect.

The post Yurt holiday at Adhurst appeared first on Gemma Garner.

Radio Days Vintage

Radio Days is an Aladdin’s Cave of vintage treasures. When you enter the shop it feels like you’ve stepped into someone’s house rather than a shop. Every nook and cranny houses some sort of vintage item, whether it be homeware, magazines or clothes.

Radio Days window display

Radio Days shop interior

I found a fantastic green floral 1960′s dolly rocker dress with pearl buttons. It was perfect in every way apart from me needing to be about an inch thinner :( It wasn’t too small, it was just very snug and if I didn’t need to breathe in and out for more than an hour I would have bought it. But I did find another gem hidden away in their sale pile. A 1960′s maternity dress for £15.

It’s HUGE but the fabric is beautiful so I might try taking it in (perhaps a little over ambitious).

I could get lost in this shop for hours, there’s so much to look at! You can take the shop tour on their website if you want a better idea of what Radio Days sells.

What the Butler Wore vintage boutique

What the Butler Wore sells vintage clothing, accessories and footwear. This shop is a contrast to Radio Days as it’s more open and light and you are greeted with the smell of freshly laundered clothing (on the day I visited, anyway).

Vintage clothing

Vintage shoes and accessories

They had a container of clothing by the door and I spotted a cream shirt with a retro green and teal floral print.

At only £5, I couldn’t leave it behind! It fits perfectly but I’m not sure cream suits my pale skin so I thinking about upcycling it into something else.

So there you have it! Two must see vintage shops at Waterloo, both within walking distance from London Waterloo station. There’s also a vegetarian cafe and deli and knitting shop in that area too.

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My phone really wasn’t working properly:

• The power button was intermittent
• The volume button wasn’t working
• The speaker sounded odd
• I had trouble booting into safe mode because the liquid was shorting out the buttons so I couldn’t select anything

Balls! I’d only had this phone for about 2 months so I was feeling a bit gutted.

You can’t take the Nexus 4 apart easily because it’s a sealed unit and you need a Torx screwdriver to open it… which I did not have. I found teardown instructions on ifixit but I wanted this to be a last resort because me opening it up could help water to move deeper inside my phone. I also wasn’t confident I’d be able to get it back together as it was.

The solution? Rice!

Rice saved my water damaged Nexus 4. Here’s how to do it:

1. Turn your phone off.

2. Fill up a pot with rice.

3. Plug up larger holes such as the headphone socket to stop rice getting stuck. I used kitchen roll because it’s absorbent and fairly strong.

4. Bury your phone in the rice.

5. Cover your pot but leave an air gap. I put mine in an old plastic container and rested the lid on top at an angle.

6. Keep it warm (but not hot) to encourage evaporation.

7. Leave for 48 hours (more if you think there’s alot of water).

8. Do a happy dance when your phone is bought back to life!

Why does rice work? It’s a desiccant, which means it absorbs water. If you don’t have any silica bags this is the next best thing.

Repairs

I was looking into repair costs as a backup plan. Generally, the feedback is that LG have terrible customer service and it takes a long time to get your phone fixed. I found a repaires page on the Carphone Warehouse website, where they say faults not covered by the warranty can range from £29.99 to £169.99! I’ve never used this service so cannot make a recommendation but it could be worth looking at if everything else has failed.

Good luck with the rice!

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