How to keep your cut flowers looking good for as long as possible

I have just arrived home from holiday, and more of that adventure soon, but I just wanted to let you know that I have a blog post up on Sarah Raven's blog this week, detailing all I know about how to maximise the vase life of your cut flowers. Lots of people have asked me about this subject, and I thought it would be useful to make a blog post of top tips based on what has worked best for me. Do click HERE for the link.

Signing off now to partake of the familiar post holiday rigmarole of putting on the first white wash and thinking how on earth to make supper with a remnant of cheese, a couple of bendy carrots and a can of beans. Hmmm!

Best Christmas wishes

to each and every one of you. Thank you so much for visiting the Wild Acre patch here over the last year,  for your comments and encouragement and wit.

I hope that you all have have a wonderful celebration this Christmas time and that in this world which has seemed rather dark and scary at times over the last few weeks, the lights we gather round and the love we share will burn with profligate hope and compassion.

Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year,

big love,

Belinda xxx

Decorating for Christmas with nature

Truth to be told, I like to keep Christmas decorations pretty simple, too many festive bits and bobs on every surface, every deck swagged and sparkling and I start to feel...slightly suffocated. Which is putting it a tad over dramatically, but you know that feeling at Christmas of just too much stuff everywhere? Inevitably made worse the media screeching "spendspendspend", "cyber-monday" blah blah bleugh!

But here is the paradox, I absolutely love Christmas, the feeling of anticipation, feasting, family, gratitude, the whole proper works. I love the celebration of so much that is important to me, plus the depths of winter really needs a bit of general whooping up and fun, no?

So this year I am avoiding the 'drowninginbaubles' feeling by two very conscious little decisions: to keep the decorating all about bringing the outside in and lighting candles, and keeping the gift giving as full of handmade goodness as possible (but not by my hands!). It already feels a lot less frenzied and more considered, which I am liking.

This last weekend, it was about bringing some winter nature indoors by making wreaths from ivy, twigs and various seedheads and weeds foraged from the garden and riverbank.

The wreaths I like best are quite skinny and sparse, slightly quirky and unexpected, and what is available outside around here is actually just right for just these kind of wreaths, so I'm a happy wreath-hugger!

It was just a matter of cutting down some withies from a wild shrub that grows in our woodland area of the garden, creating a base by bending them into circles and tying with twine, and sticking reed seed-heads from the local river through the gaps in the wreath base. Embarrassingly straight forward. The little round seedheads  (the ones that are a nightmare in dogs' fur), are so sticky you can just throw them at the wreath and they stay in place. I squirted some white paint spray at some of them as you can see. Finish off with a bit of ribbon. I know it lacks colour and sparkle, but I really seriously like this one in its understated but slightly boho, Anthro-ish nonchalance. It really feels like we have a bit of riverbank goodness in our home. I think next year I will make this as an autumn wreath.

The other one I made from totally foraged material is totally sprayed white. I think I am definitely having a white christmas this year, snow or not!

More bits of garden shrubbery with hogweed seedheads. It is a bit eccentric but I love its snowy ice-queenishness. Long live the quirky wreath!

So easy to make as before.

I made two other little wreaths for table centres/candle holders but they were using up some flowers from a one-off winter bouquet I made for someone recently - I like them but not as much as my totally foraged ones!

I have also got some white painted sticks in a vase, ready to make a mini decorated tree, but still finding the right decorations for it. That will have to wait.

Merry Christmas!

by Rubens

 For some reason this year thoughts of the Magi have been tumbling about in my heart. Their desire for the truth even when the journey there is arduous and long. That there is often graft and determination needed to discover the things that matter. That following what you know to be right can be hard but is so compelling if you take the time to listen to what your heart is saying, passion drives you along and gives energy to succeed. That fixing your sights on the light, not the pain, is half the battle in so many different ways. That beauty and hope and truth can be found in the most suprising places and people and really life is a continuous series of suprises. That leading an unoffended life, when reality looks different to how we imagined or things turn out in a way that confounds our expectations - all of that is ok and not a cause to hold grudges. That having big dreams is good, but not if the picture of how things should be damages the joys to be had right now. Strength and vulnerability are not mutually exclusive. I feel like I am just scratching the surface of  these things as I wonder about those events so long ago, but I do know that Love that stretches through time and touches my heart. 

This is the centre of my Christmas.....but oooohhhhh, I'm loving the baubles, the bubbles, and indecent quantities of marzipan in my near future!! I am unplugging for a week, to relax with my family and friends and gather my thoughts for next year. See you in 2012!

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases, and a very Happy New year! Thank you so much for visiting Wild Acre this year and for the connections and friendships that have grown here, I love your comments and really appreciate your support and encouragement for the flowers and jewellery. Happy Christmas! xxxxx

 

Ain't it the truth

Ain't it the truth that Christmas trees look best in the dark when just their twinkly lights are on? It was still totally dark outside when I got up this morning but Richard had been downstairs before me and switched the fairy lights on.

A Christmas tree all lit up in the quiet darkness and a cup of tea is good way to start the day.

And it is a busy one today being the last day of the winter term. And it is snowing! It all feels very Christmassy around here, and I am just finishing off wrapping a few last presents and writing the last of the cards before starting the holidays proper and enjoying the run-up to Christmas with my kids. So before the happy chaos begins I'm having a cup of this (frothy capp with cinnamon),

and a little sit down to write this post and think what else needs to be done. I have never felt so calm and chilled about Christmas as I do this year, and I feel ready. Amazing!

The present wrapping, like everything else this Christmas has been very simple and pretty thrifty. Bulk craft paper (the same that I wrap my bouquets in during the summer), proper bakers' twine from a baking wholesaler - a huge great reel of it for not very much at all, and a few tags and fun tape. Cheap and cheerful but I rather love the look and the "brown paper packages wrapped up with string" feel!

Ok I did splash out on some red pom-pom ribbon, but if you can't buy red pom-pom ribbon at Christmas, frankly when can you?!

I found some huge bunches of real mistletoe being sold at our local deli for a pound, so it seemed rude to refuse. I got so many "ooo, have fun under the mistletoe" remarks walking through town I feel duty bound to spend most of the holidays puckering up and hoping for the best! Anyway it looks very festive above our sittingroom door, and I added an errant sprig to this plain wreath on our stairway (the sky was so blue yesterday, it is white with snow this morning!)

I always love candlelight, and at Christmas some extra ones in lovely sticks are lit in the evenings, I love these mercury glass ones.

Meanwhile the snow has been falling gently (the sloshy kind, I think it will melt away), this is the view from my kitchen door - I don't think I have ever seen my yellow roses in bud and bloom still whilst covered in a sprinkling of snow!

I am so glad Friday is here, it feels like the run-in to Christmas has started. The children have Christmas parties and sleepovers and I have an excuse to put on a party frock myself this weekend.

I must mention that this weekend is the last one for UK Christmas orders from the Wild Acre jewellery shop, (although the shop is not closing over the holiday period, items after this weekend will not be dispatched until the new year). Thank you so much for your support (and purchases) - it is lovely to think some of my pieces will be opened from their little be-ribboned boxes on the 25th!

So,  bring on the holidays, and some downtime some serious cosy! Have a really wonderful weekend where ever you are.

the tree is up, despite hitches!

We have started our Christmas! Richard gets the tree each year, it is his thing. He has been buying them from the same seller at our local town market for about 10 years and they know each other by name now, exchanging an annual chinwag in December, with frosty breath and much stamping of feet and jolly banter. The youngest still waits by our front door for him to return, as the others did when they were younger, and shouts over his shoulder to us, "he's here, he's coming, he's got the TREE!!"

It was a whopper this year, standing in our sitting room by the garden door, all bushy and fresh and wafting that delicious pine-y smell around. That smell is Christmas for me.

Anyway, the yearly decorating of our Christmas tree is usually accompanied by some excitements getting it to stand in a bucket properly and of course the electrical uncertainties that are part of the tradition. I usually drown out any unfortunate discoveries of broken lights/baubles etc with a cd of the King's College choir singing their hearts out, copious mince pies and a little nip of something strongish for the grownups. It is such a lovely time, fire lit, dark outside and is everything you want to be doing and celebrating this time of year. Except this year was notable for its technical hitches. Our eldest was desperate to have the football on which slightly totally threw the 'ambiance.' Since I am probably the only one who really enjoys a blast of festive choral singing I acquiesced. And then I forgot a huge delivery of groceries was due to turn up, which it did bang in the middle of tree-deccing. As I slammed the fridge door shut, I whacked the oven on for a roast later in the evening, forgetting I had earlier sprayed the entire thing with that vile oven cleaning foam which is not supposed to get hot. Cue, 20 minutes later the most acrid and appalling smell emanating from the kitchen, followed by semi-evacuation of vicinity while every window was opened and leaking brown toxic oven-waste cleared from oven and the floor. Honestly, you couldn't make it up if you tried. Not quite the magic moment I was looking for! But we soldiered on, laughed, rolled our eyes and still oohed and arhhed when the fairy lights were switched on! It always seems special that moment, the light in the darkness, the smell of pine, the symbolism. As a kid I always used to squint my eyes at it, so the lights would starburst, secretly I still do, am I the only one? It sort of looks like this.

We have a mixture of decorations, with a special new one each year. This year I bought a hand blown glass bauble from a young woman who is just starting out making a living from her art. I love the swirls and swooshes of blue.

Some decs are rather swanky,

many were made by the kids, when their sweet, pudgy little fingers loved to play with glitter and glue. They are beyond their use-by date really, but they will never be thrown out.

Of course I can't resist bringing in a bit of nature, some pine cones and silver sprayed alliums bringing more of the outdoors in.

And on the front door a berry wreath, faux but I love its simplicity.

So, it is beginning to look like Christmas around here, and for more Christmas-y flowers and trees, hop along to Jane's lovely gaff.  xxx

pictures in my head

A little introspection and a few questions. Will you indulge me?

The thing is this, I have noticed recently that I seem to spend quite a lot of my life rushing. I have four kids at four different schools, plus an energetic hound and a fledgeling business just for starters, so I suppose it isn't suprising. This morning for instance I did the school run without socks on,(nice warm boots though), because I didn't have time to put them on! What? Here is the thing though, rushing makes me crabby. If when I hear myself being short tempered or snappish to my children (oh dear!), it is often because I am in a rush and feel under pressure. Cursing like a sailor under my breath? Usually in a rush. And in the run-up to Christmas, this feeling of everything being under time-pressure gets more intense, and there never seems to be enough hours in the day.  I mentioned a couple of posts ago, that I was a bit out of love with the idea of a majorly fluffed-up Christmas, and ready to try a calmer approach. So far I have noticed something really cool, which I really knew before, but this week has crystallised. When I slow down, I discover things, I learn things, I appreciate things and I communicate  better. My priorities shift back into their rightful place along with my pulse-rate. Slowing down my natural tempo makes me a happier and better person I am convinced. I see more beauty in simple things, I notice quicker the kindness and needs of those around me and I get inspired and energised. Life has so much more shape and colour, when the blur of  speed makes way for the clarity of a steadier gaze. Do any of you find this?

Sooo, I am going to do something totally anti-intuitive and quite possibly bonkers in December - I am going to properly slow down. Yes indeed. s l o w d o w n.  I am going to list, (ye gods, LIST, you know like a grown-up!), a few things that absolutely have to get done each day, and then I am going to step off the crazy conveyor belt and just be in whatever the day brings. Play with my youngest without multitasking on the side, cook and enjoy the creativity rather than moan inwardly at yet another midweek meal to rustle up, wrap gifts as a pleasure rather than a graft...is this possible, is it?? I don't think it is all the time, but being a bit more mindful, and in the moment, well I'm giving it a go!I may sometimes run out of time to put my socks on of a frosty morning but we are all human, right?

And as a postscript, part of all the rushing about this time of year, at least for me, is chasing a nutso fantasy of what "Christmas" should look like and as Foxtail Lily said on her blog recently, " What screws us up the most in life is the picture in our head of how it's suppose to be". Well ain't that the truth? Not just at Christmas either. I mean I am all for goals and hopes and plans for the future, but not constantly trying to measure up to unrealistic "pictures in my head", (mainly plopped there from a height by the media in one form or another). When actually enjoying the loveliness we can find in our realities, however budget-strapped or quirky or suprising they may be is so much more achievable and satisfying. Because life is full of suprises isn't it? Things not quite turning out like the picture in our head, but still full of beauty and meaning if only we embrace them. (I am not talking about devastating life events here, but just that chasing after the unrealistic 'perfects' of home, family, fashion, taste, accomplishments etc.) Because it is easy to feel mildly offended if life doesn't quite fit our mental blueprint, easy to feel disappointed or uneasy, when infact rolling with it and embracing our own unique circumstances makes for contentment. Relishing the present moment, not squandering it in misplaced aspirations or rushing about like a blue-arsed fly. Ack, I just keep forgetting it! 


Do you feel inspired or imprisoned by your dreams? Do you ever feel you are struggling to measure up to the perfection you see in the media, on blogs even? Does it make you feel you need to rush ever faster to achieve your desires? Step off the pedals with me if you like, lets see how it feels! Let's be kind to ourselves. It is the Christmas present I am giving myself. xxx

First sunday of Advent

It is the first sunday of Advent today, we have lit an Advent candle and are beginning to put out a few decorations, so far just those on the Advent candle plate. The rest are still lurking in that particular nook of the attic that causes my hubby to do something horrible to his lumbar to find! oh season of joy!

Actually this year i have made myself a little promise. Less rushing, less spending, less ridiculous and stress-inducing magazines telling me to plan my New Year's Eve tablescape in November, more cosy relaxation, precious time with people we love, and aswell as the feasting and celebrating, some time for reflection and prayer which may sound very old fashioned and dour, but the total opposite is true, for me it is where adventure and challenge and inspiration begin. I'm really holding out against the panic buying and craziness this year....if i am still saying this in three weeks time, i will be chuffed to bits!

Merry Christmas!

The candles are lit,

presents are being wrapped, mince-pies scoffed and snow still lies all around,

and all that remains is to wish you all a very 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

***Discovering your lovely and inspiring blogs this year, sharing thoughts, hopes, fears, flowers, food and dreams for the future has been an astoundingly positive experience for me, and I am so grateful to each of you for visiting Wild Acre. 
I will be away until after the New Year, but hope that your deep midwinter days over the Christmas holidays are filled with warmth and peace.***

Magic moments

The tree is up in the House of Norrington!

It is an event I absolutely treasure, and get ridiculously sentimental about, but every year  we are faced with the same dilemma. The living room is triple height and could, in theory take a 9 foot tree, (and that is in a sensible position, the kids are all for moving out the sofas and having the tree in the centre of the room which could go to about 20 ft - eek!). We have on several years gone for the 9 footer, but it is a major deal. It gets chosen, as annual tradition dictates, at the local town Saturday market from a family that sell them there every year. It gets delivered later the same afternoon, by which time the decorations have been retrieved from the attic, the Christmas carol cd has gone on and a celebratory ginger wine poured for the grownups.

So far so festive and jolly, but that is the easy bit. Richard then spends about an hour outside in the freezing cold, often lashing rain, denuding the tree of its lowest branches and whittling down the hefty trunk which we have realised does not fit in the stand. And he is not, umm, a natural lumberjack. Numb hands, red nose, a couple of minor lacerations later, he arrives in the house, triumphant but with the set jaw that is the tension give-away with my beloved!!

Then, swiping furniture and dropping needles, the tree makes the lumbering journey across the living room, ("watch the lamp!" etc),  and  into its stand. The whole 'getting it straight in the stand' is a good 15 minute team effort involving poked eyes, squealing children and increasingly terse dad. Only it still leans. Crank up the cd and pour another gingerwine. Cue more heaving and swaying and the the lingering possiblity of a major crash/crushed limb plus an unseasonal swallowed expletive or two. I know you can imagine the scene. Still deemed a health risk so out comes ladder and steel wires. I am not making this up. Another half an hour later a spagetti-junction of wires attached to beams holds the tree in place and, oh joy, the decorating can begin. Except the kids have long since wandered off and it is possible that mum is getting a just a tiny bit tiddley on the ginger wine as the cd hits its third loop of fa la blinking laaas.

So you see, a cute 4 footer seems so beautiful to us! Comes from the same sellers, but still with roots in a pot so no stand stand-off, far less needle drop and can be replanted outside later. Win-winnity-win all round, (except for the tree sellers who get very cross with us for wimping out of the giant tree purchase)! Up it goes on the sideboard, easy as you like, cd playing etc, everyone happy and cheery and ignoring the 16 year old who says he prefers the big tree. This year we went for mainly blues, whites and silvers, but we rotate our collection, only buying or making a couple of tree decorations each year (this time it was the glittery pine-cones left over from the wreath-making). And every year the magic moment comes, again dictated by the traditions of the House of Norrington, when all lights are turned off and after a noisy count-down, the tree-lights are switched on. Genuinely, a rather lovely moment. I always take a peak at the kids' faces.

We have put up a few other decorations, but I don't go completely mad - just a few things we love or have collected from outside. Christmas cards go up on our dining room bookcase, the wreath has made it to the front door with another on the inside of the garden door,

 and a last one on a windowsill.

Our most treasured Christmas item is a tiny fold-out book, made for us by hand by my lovely sister. She designed and made the whole thing, and I really think it is a work of art. It reminds us of aspects of the Christmas story with each letter of the alphabet. Amazing and will be a little family heirloom,

There are white pin lights up at some windows, and foraged loveliness, hogweed seedheads that I sprayed silver,

and, in little vintage glass vases,  other seedheads that I sprayed with silver glitter, (love spray glitter but the photos don't pick up on the effect unfortunately, its not quite as subtle as it looks!). It is not really overtly Christmas-y, but seasonal in an understated sort of way that I love,

So if it all looks a little understated and plain for your tastes, fear not - the kids are off school next week and that is when the home-made technicolor paperchains and baubles get made! Bring it on!

***Heaps of Christmas decorating inspiration at Southern in my Heart  on Friday***