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A Nuts and Basket Case
2007-11-02 10:00:00
Recently I bought these 2 baskets that I'm using for storing wood and pine cones. The pine cones I collect in the woods and let them dry before I use them for either decoration or for putting them on the fire in my wood stove. While I was trying to take a pic of my new baskets this happened.Like me, Kadootje (= little present) loves baskets. And we are not the only ones as you can see here.And of course, while I was trying to take some pics of Macavity on the front porch in his own private basket, who had to stick her cute little nose where it didn't belong?Kadootje!I collect baskets in all shapes and sizes as they come in so handy. Just think of all the many good uses you can put your baskets to, like:hanging baskets,baskets up against a wall filled with plants,baskets to put pots in orerm, sorry about that! BTW the one in the middle is baby Russian BlueWillow. Isn't she just absolutely adorable? On the left is her sister Paloma and on the right her sister Ravenna. They were abo...
More About: Basket , Case , Nuts , Bask

Winter Cleaning?
2007-10-30 09:47:00
Not in my garden. I garden organically and that means, among other things, a live and let live attitude. There used to be a time when gardeners would clean up their garden around October time. Out would come all the annuals and perennials, and the shrubs and rose bushes would be cut down to the ground. All the leaves would be removed from the lawn and borders and thrown away. In short, a kind of scorched earth policy would be implemented and the end result would be a vast stretch of bare earth where once the flowers were blooming and the bees buzzing.Well, as I said, not in my garden. Why not? For various reasons actually. First and foremost if the gardener removes just about everything from the garden and cuts down the rest, where would all the beneficial insects such as ladybirds shelter during the cold winter? Where would our other garden friends such as frogs, toads and hedgehogs find a warm place to overwinter? And the birds, especially the ones that eat mostly insects, where w...
More About: Winter , Cleaning

Feline Friday - Dolly
2007-10-26 10:52:00
Today it's Dolly 's birthday. Ten years ago Dolly was born together with her 4 sisters, Jolly, Molly, Polly and Holly and her brother called Ollie. Unfortunately after a few days poor Ollie died from a lung infection. So we were left with a litter of 5 cute little Maine Coon girls. Maine Coon cats are known for their gentle disposition but our Dolly stood out from the rest because of her extreme sweetness of character. She is such a gentle soul.When the kittens were 12 weeks old they all went to live in their new homes. Dolly went to live with a dear friend of mine. My friend already had another cat and thought that Dolly and her Muisje would become great friends but it was not to be. Muis did not accept sweet little Dolly and refused to eat for days on end. So, with great sorrow in their hearts my friend and her hubby returned Dolly to us after one week.Dolly was very welcome of course and after her return we quickly decided to keep her on as she was so very sweet and we felt we ...
More About: Friday , Feline , Olly

Organically Grown Roses at Bliss
2007-10-24 17:43:00
Rosa SombreuilEven as a very young girl I liked roses, my dad grew them in his garden and so did his mum, my paternal grandmother. And what's not to like about roses? They look great and smell great too. For me a real rose is one that has a scent. A rose without a nice fragrance is like an apple pie without the apples, not much fun at all.I enjoy coming home and walking underneath my pergola that's covered with Rosa Madame Alfred Carriere and Guirlande d'Amour. The scent is unbelievable and being showered with rose petals, well, that's just a bonus, isn't it?Close up of Rosa Madame Alfred Carriere, a scented climber.Many roses are also long flowering. My roses have been flowering from the end of April and are still going strong now. Sure, their blooms are not as prolific anymore as earlier in the year but there are still more than enough blooms to gladden the heart.Rosa Guirlande d'Amour in full glory earlier this year.Rosa MoonlightMany people like roses but many a gardener i...
More About: Roses , Grown , Organ

Crowded House Brussels
2007-10-22 08:58:00
On Friday 19 October I went abroad to Brussels in Belgium to see my favorite band Crowded House . I had a ball as the concert was fantastic. Thanks guys!Here's a blissful tribute to Crowded House and one of my favorite songs, written by Neil Finn:Fingers of Love(click on link to hear the song on YouTube)Can you imagine that?An itch too sensitive to scratch?A light that falls through the cracks,An insect too delicate to catchI hear the endless murmer,Every blade of grass that shivers in the breezeAnd the sound that comes to carry meAcross the land and over the seaAnd I can't look upFingers of love move downAnd I can't look backFingers of love move downColour is its own rewardColour is its own rewardThe chiming of a perfect chordLet's go jumping over boardInto waves of joy and clarityYour hands come out to rescue meAnd I'm playing in the shallow waterLaughing while the mad dog sleepsAnd I can't look upFingers of love move downAnd I won't be hitFingers of love move everywhereAnd...

An October Ode to Autumn
2007-10-18 10:44:00
October, May of the descending days,Mid-Spring of Autumn , on the shortening stairOf the year's eld abiding still and fair,A pause of peace, when all the world at gaze.John Payne, Vigiland and Vision, 1903
More About: October

Organic October Blooms at Bliss
2007-10-15 08:41:00
It's Garden Bloggers Blooms Day once again and time to show what's in bloom on Bliss on the 15th of this month. But today is a very special day as it is Blog Action Day when thousands upon thousands of bloggers post about something that is so close to my heart; the environment. For more information click on banner above.In the Bliss garden everything is grown organically and we live and garden as environmental friendly as humanly possible. Why? Well, it's really not that complicated; we're part of that environment, planet earth is our home and for many others creatures as well. If we give mother nature her reign then everything is in balance. But it's a delicate balance that can easily be disturbed. Here on Bliss we have chosen to garden with nature instead of against it. All creatures great and small are welcome here, as many of them (such as ladybirds, frogs, hedgehogs and birds) are the gardener's friend. The few that aren't so friendly (aphids, snails and slugs spring to ...
More About: Organic , October , Organ

A Forest Walk With a Difference
2007-10-11 09:53:00
As it is such a glorious autumn day with clear blue skies, we're going for another walk today. I hope you're wearing comfortable shoes as it's going to be a long trek today and we're going to do some climbing too.Just look at those toadstools, aren't they humongous? That's the under-gardener's hand BTW and his hands are not petite!Oh look, someone has lost their trousers, a tad careless that, don't you think?This forest doesn't look that autumn-y, does it? That's because it's mainly pine trees.Don't you just love the smell of the fresh autumn air? It always smells so nice and fresh and earthy in a forest, doesn't it?Have you noticed that it's not all that flat over here? You always read about the Netherlands being flat as a pancake and that's true for most of my country not not all.See? We do hills too. And just to prove that we really are in the Netherlands .......This is a forest I love to visit. There's always so much to see and enjoy and you usually meet the kind...
More About: Forest , Walk , Difference , Diff

Taking the Garden Indoors
2007-10-08 09:47:00
is something that I enjoy doing. I'm nuts about flowers and plants and can never have enough of them around me. Not only do I want flowers in my garden, I also want them inside my home so that I can enjoy them 24/7.One of the challenges a gardener faces, is having flowers in the garden all year round. I have upped the ante by planning to make bouquets from my own garden flowers all year round.Of course, living where I do, it's not easy to have a bouquet of your own flowers during the winter months. But not impossible, if you are a bit flexible about the size of your bouquets.Here's a very modest bouquet of Snowdrops and March Violets that I made in early February. Yes, it's tiny but the amount of pleasure I got out of it was immense.See? Another compact and bijoux little bouquet in February.Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to bouquets; flower, herbs, fruit and plant arrangements are great fun too and cheer up any room.This is what I used in March to cheer up the kitc...
More About: Garden , Taking , The G , Arden , Garde

Summer or Autumn?
2007-10-03 20:59:00
On days like this it's hard to believe it's autumn. It's still warm and nice to sit outside, basking in the sun and it feels like summer still. The temperature in my Victorian greenhouse gets high enough for the windows to open automatically. The fig inside the greenhouse is waving its green hands at me.During summer I didn't see all that many butterflies but now there are so many of them fluttering about. They do so love the Verbena bonariensis and who can blame them as it is such a wonderful plant?.Butterflies make you think of warm summer days, but spiders are the harbingers of autumn.And spiders we have in vast quantities. It difficult to move about in the kitchen garden without disturbing at least a spiderweb or two. Sorry guys!My sedums tell me it's autumn but the roses and phloxs whisper it's still summer.Whom am I to believe? Is it summer or is it autumn now? The blue sky spells summer, my Amelanchier tells a different story.And it's not the only one, because look w...
More About: Summer , Autumn

An Autumn Walk
2007-10-01 09:00:00
As it is autumn we're going for a walk in the forest today. I love forest walks during this time of year as there is so much to enjoy. The forest we're walking in today is called the forest of Rucphen, slightly more than half an hour's drive from my place. The weather is nice and sunny today so, if you're ready, let's go!That path looks very inviting, so take my hand and let's explore all the treasures in this forest. Most trees here are oak as you can see here; oak leaves and little acorns too.But there are a few other trees as well; chestnut trees. My pockets are always stuffed with chestnuts to take home with me for roasting. Roasted chestnuts are such a treat.The trees are just starting to show their autumn colours, but most trees and shrubs are still mainly green.Wild grasses abound, and look very pretty with the low angled light of the autumn sun shining through.The autumn forest is such a treasure trove, we've already found acorns and chestnuts but there is much more ...
More About: Walk , Autumn

Autumn Harvest in the Kitchen Garden
2007-09-27 16:20:00
Autumn is a wonderful time of year in the kitchen garden as so much is waiting to be harvested. There are grapes and pears and .......????Any idea what those are? Tatties! Yep, that's right those are potatoes but not ordinary ones as they are small and purple too, something you cannot see yet as they've just been harvested and the fat clay is still sticking to them. I'll leave them outside to dry for a few days so most of the earth will fall off, before I bring them into my kitchen.There are still yummy strawberries waiting to be eaten. I've been picking them since May this year, almost non stop. And that's not the only crop I've been picking since early May;I'm also very happy with the lovely flowers my garden has provided me with for months on end now. One of the things I'd like to do most in the garden, is pick a nice bunch of flowers and then arrange them in a sweet little bouquet. I always put in some scented flowers as it is nice to please your nose as well as your ey...
More About: Garden , Kitchen , Harvest , Autumn , Arden

Nature and Culture
2007-09-24 09:23:00
When I was on holiday in Denmark last August it was a very agreeable surprise to see how many wildflowers were growing there. I love wildflowers so this was such a wonderful treat for me. I found little blue Campanula's, blue Scabiosa, wild roses, heather, clover, clematis, honeysuckle, brambles and many other wild flowers I don't know the name of.And I came upon this plethora of wildflowers rather unexpectedly as we were going for a walk on the beach with the doggies. Thinking of beaches you think of sand or pebbles and the sea, not of wildflowers. Well, I don't.The walk along the beach was something that my friend Maria, the Bliss under-gardener, me and the doggies, Bamba and Pluto, enjoyed very much. So relaxing to walk along the beach, hearing the sound of the softly crashing waves and not meet a soul.Two ecstatic little doggies having a truly blissfully happy time.So there we were on the beach, walking along the shore, breathing in the fresh sea air, the sun on our backs, wa...
More About: Nature , Culture

The Last Day of Summer
2007-09-20 09:56:00
Or so my calender informs me. Autumn is approaching and there's a nip in the air, early in the morning and late at night, that wasn't there before. But today it is still Summer and as it is such a lovely day we'll do a spot of gardening.During the day, when the sun is out, it's still very nice and warm, around 18 to 23 C. That's an ideal temperature for working; neither too hot nor too cold. But before we start work, let's have a look at the garden first.I love those dark, almost black Holly Hocks, they look great!Sedum Autumn Joy, who would be without this little trooper? Not me, that's for sure. Such a nice sturdy plant, that hardly needs any looking after, and flowers its heart out year after year during a time when the garden is, slowly but surely, winding down. I also pick the Sedum flowers to put in a vase; they last for 3 weeks or more, not bad, eh?The Conference pears are almost ready for picking. Well, I think they're almost ready, somebody else already had a bite o...
More About: The Last

Walkies!
2007-09-17 10:42:00
Today we're going for a walk, a long walk, so I hope you're wearing sensible shoes or boots. Mine are both sensible and fashionable of course. ;-) Walking is all the rage now in garden bloggers world or so it seems. Chuck B. has been at it, and Kim, and Pam too. But we're not going to walk in my neighbourhood though, nope, we're going for a walk in beautiful Denmark. Denmark is a great country for walking; with its gentle rolling hills and wonderful countryside.You can walk for miles and miles and not meet a soul. But there's more to enjoy in Denmark than just its countryside, let me show you. Are you ready? Come take my hand and let's go! Bamba (left) and Pluto are rearing to go, so don't keep them waiting too long, will you? OK, best foot forwards and off we go!The countryside is lovely isn't it? The farmers have recently harvested the grain here and soon they will harvest the straw as well. Take good deep breaths of that wonderful country air, delicious isn't it?But, as...

September Blooms at Bliss
2007-09-13 10:51:00
It's half September , well almost, so it is once again time for the show and tell about what is in bloom in the garden right now. Months ago it was Carol of May Dreams Gardens who came up with this idea and it is fun to see what is blooming in the gardens of many garden bloggers all over the world.At Bliss there is still quite a lot in flower, let's start with the potager aka the ornamental kitchen garden:Nasturtiums galore in many different coloursMarigolds, double yellowViolets, deep purpleSolidago, yellowStrawberries, we are still picking the little darlings and eating them of course.Abutilon, pinkDahlias in various coloursLove-in-a-Mist in pink, white and bluePetunias in purple, white and pinkTomatoRocket, yellowRudbeckia, yellowCentranthus ruber, deep pinkSweet William in burgundy, pink and whitePeriwinkle, blueImpatience glandulifera, whiteThis chap, that I keep forgetting the name of, is Nicandra physalodes 'Violacea' (I looked it up). Pretty plant though, did you notice ...

Danish Bliss
2007-09-11 10:37:00
Last month we went to stay with my dear friend Maria in Denmark. Denmark is a beautiful country with rolling hills, stunning views, big forests, lots of small villages and harbours, and a wonderfully big countryside.As a big part of Denmark is island, there are a lot of beautiful beaches about. Here's one (Solrod) where my friend Maria, the Bliss under-gardener and doggies Bambe and Pluto (black) are enjoying a walk along the beach.Maria and I met through our love for Russian Blue cats. At her home a very pretty Russian Blue by the name of Montana is to be found. Montana is the grand-daughter of my Sam, so I was very happy to see her. In Montana (and many other Ruskies) my wonderful Russian Blue boy Sam lives on.As always we did about a zillion things during our holiday; there is such a lot to see and do in Denmark. One day we went to the Zoo in Copenhagen.It's not a very big Zoo as it is situated in a city where space is at a premium.At the Zoo we met this chap who was taking San...
More About: Danish , Dani , Nish

Humongous Fruits!
2007-09-05 14:21:00
Lately the garden bloggers world has been bombarded by blog posts of gardeners who were vying for the questionable honour of who had actually grown ( if grown is the right word to use here) the smallest tomato. Carol of May Dreams Gardens (who else?) started that mini-tomato competition.Well, we at Bliss have different ideas on that score; we don't go in for the smallest (perish the thought) but the biggest. After all, size matters. ;-)And look what we have come up with in the big department:Isn't that the most enormous tomato you've ever seen? I put the coffeepot plus cup and saucer next to it, to give you some idea of its actual size. The dinner plate underneath my humongous tomato is almost invisible. It's sad really when gardeners go for the smallest tomato when you can actually grow something as spectacular as this. And you haven't heard the best bit yet, it's a cherry tomato too, just like those ittybitty ones.And at Bliss we do not only grow whopping great tomatoes, oh ...
More About: Fruits

September Bliss
2007-09-03 08:35:00
It's September again and the days are getting noticeably shorter. In July it got dark round half past 10 in the evening but now around a quarter to 9. In the garden there is still a lot to do; such as a spot of weeding and pruning, but there is also a lot to enjoy.This is what I harvested shortly after I returned from my wonderful holiday in Denmark: some leeks, the first red cabbage, my very first apples ever, tomatoes, corn, red hot peppers and strawberries. The outer leaves of the red cabbage are slightly slug damaged but the rest is fine, I'm glad to say. Slugs have been a real pest this year; there were so many of them after the mild winter we'd had, and the rainy weather this summer really helped those pesky crawlies too. Grrrrrrrrr!But regardless of enormous quantities of slugs, there's a lot to harvest and enjoy at Bliss this month so I mustn't grumble too much.There are still some ears of corn to be harvested. We have enjoyed eating them since the end of July. They are...

Jam Today, Gone Tomorrow!
2007-08-16 18:26:00
The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today. Or so would Lewis Carroll, in his book Alice in Wonderland, have us believe. Not so on Bliss though, we are firm believers in jam today!Black berry (bramble) jam in fact, as there are lots of ripe berries at Bliss at the moment. We have a thorn less black berry which makes for easy and damage free picking ( look Ma no scratches!). And jam making is easy, very easy when you have one of these nifty kitchen gadgets:a bread making machine. Yep, that's right, this handy gadget is good for making bread; you just chuck in the ingredients and the machine does the rest. The only other thing you have to do, is eating the bread while you enjoy the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread in your home. But, like I said, this handy little machine also makes jam. See? Programme number 13 is for jam making.So in went the handpicked berries, the sugar and the lemon juice, programme 13 was selected, then the start button was pushed an...
More About: Today , Tomorrow , Morrow , Tomo