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Happy gardening!

Thursday 31 December 2009

Belated Merry Christmas and have a very Happy New Year!

I cannot believe what happened to the time during December - such a busy month one way and another... Just hope you've all been enjoying a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year for 2010 will celebrated in style!

On the 13th December we celebrated my 44th Birthday - it was a beautiful sunny day despite being cold and with everything going on I opted for a quiet day spent on the beach up near St Malo at St Servan - a lovely walk along the beach and down to a completely private little cove looking out to sea - basking in warm sunshine and totally sheltered from the biting wind - we returned Lucy (dog) to the car and then sat outside in the sun overlooking the beach in a little cafe enjoying delicious hot chocolates and crepes filled with a real Breton speciality - Caramel Beurre Sale! You couldn't ask for much more!

We had some fantastically cold and frosty weather here before Christmas - enough to warrant getting out with my camera - I just love the frosty weather for taking pictures and the birds here were very much enjoying all the food I'd been putting out - I felt terrible going away with the snow and ice on the ground and knowing that in a few days it would all run out - the table and feeders now fully stocked up, the birds have been returning today which is great to see.




On the 18th December we went over to the UK to join my family for Christmas near to Falmouth - we only just managed to make the ferry over from France as having had literally no snow here for over a year we had a fall of snow - about 3cm which was enough to make the roads difficult to drive on - we passed a number of trucks and vehicles stuck in the snow on the main roads which was also made more hazardous by black ice as well. Cornwall, unlike many areas of the UK escaped the worst of the wintry weather - we did end up with some horrible icy roads for a couple of days which kept me away from the shops and meant that we ended up enjoying long coastal walks along the Helford River in winter sunshine. The light down there is fantastic and we captured some wonderful views and skies too.














We returned here yesterday - relieved to actually get back as the car was making all sorts of noises after getting off the ferry at Cherbourg, it sounded like a failing fan belt but unfortunately for us we discovered it was the alternator and were faced with rather a large bill - not what you really want just after Christmas but at least our local garage managed to fix it all yesterday - not bad seeing as we arrived at 10.30am - we got the car returned by 6pm. There are some things in France which you just can't fault!

I wonder what 2010 will bring in the garden and also what the weather will bring over the next week or so, as it looks as if we're in for some more snow at the weekend which I must admit would be welcome - at least we'd be able to enjoy it this time!

Have a very Happy and Peaceful New Year for 2010 and I really look forward to your visits over this year and to visiting your blogs for those of you who have them - I do hope that I'll get the time to post a bit more regularly throughout the year - do be patient when I'm not around but my work as both a gardener and garden designer keeps me pretty busy especially at certain times of year - so if I don't reply straight away - you really aren't forgotten - I promise... take care and have fun.... Miranda x

12 comments:

Layanee said...

Beautiful images to start the New Year. Peace and prosperity for 2010.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Happy New Year Miranda, may it bring you lots of garden and blogging fun!

Connie said...

Miranda - Happy belated birthday! Your photos are so awesome...I enjoyed each one. Wishing you the best in 2010, and a great gardening year, as well!

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Layanee, Yolanda and Connie - thanks so much for visiting and hope you all have a fab 2010 and much fun in your respective gardens - Miranda x

My Mother's Garden said...

Hi Miranda~
Oh, so many exquisite pictures in this post! Sounds like you had a delightfully peaceful birthday celebration.
Happy New Year!
~Karrita

Cheryl said...

Wonderful images of France and UK. Glad you were able to celebrate your birthday with style. Sounds perfect. 44, gosh that seems like a lifetime ago. Enjoy each and every moment Miranda.

Did I notice a small red campion bloom? Mine stop flowering around five weeks ago. They have bloomed from May through to November. I love having them in the garden.

Have a healthy and happy 2010....

Miranda Bell said...

Thanks Cheryl - 44yrs seem to have gone past rather quickly - hoping that life will slow down a bit :-) Enjoying everyday is SO important... None of us knows what lies ahead.

That little Red Campion was hiding at the side of the coast path just below Mawnan Smith in Cornwall - in a beautifully sheltered spot it was amazing to see in late December... I've got both the white and red ones here.

In answer to your reply on your posting - Monty Don is SO down to earth and he actually knows how to get his hands dirty - some of those on Gardeners World now don't look like they'd last an afternoon doing what I call proper gardening!! Maybe that's a bit unkind but it's not the same without Monty!

Take care and have a good week - Miranda x

Ricky Luz said...

Hey there! Found your blog at the Blotanica community! Have a great 2010. I have just built my own greenhouse, so thought I could share this great experience with others. Cheers!

Chrissie said...

Happy New Year, Miranda. Here's to a successful year for gardening :-)

Miranda Bell said...

My Mother's Garden - I'm so sorry I seem to have missed replying to your kind comments - Happy New Year - Miranda x

Miranda Bell said...

Hi Rick - a warm welcome to my blog and thank you so much for adding me to your Fav list on Blotanical too.... you must be having much warmer weather in NZ than we are here right now - it's all turned wintry now since this posting - will pop over to your blog and see how the greenhouse is doing! Miranda

Miranda Bell said...

Dear Chris - very warm wishes for a very Happy New Year - thanks for visiting and hope this is a really good year for you... Mirandax