Summer is here!

Finally, summer is here - although I know technically it has been summer since June 21st but I've been doing things... yes, that's right: THINGS. "What are these things?" I hear you cry. Well, I'm very glad you asked, now that my exams are finally over I've finally been able to do some of the things I've been waiting to do all this time.  I won't bore you with the monstrosity that is my summer list but there is this: Ever since the fist little buds opened up (which was in the middle of my exams) I've been itching to press some flowers and do something with them.  I actually love pressing leaves as much as flowers, they can come out so delicate and beautiful - I think herbs are my favourite because they keep their lovely smell.

So I dug out my lovely dark flower press, a present from my parents a few years ago - I love how big and chunky it is, I didn't realise how difficult it was to get one like it until I was looking for one for someone else!

So off I went - flower presses are laughably simple and a big book works pretty much as well as a press, but as with so many things I manage to over complicate it.  I stack my flowers up in between three different types of paper: first corrugated card - it lets air in and out and keeps everything flat, then comes the stiff card - I'm pretty sure most people don't use this but I've found that the corrugated card leaves lines across the dried flowers and this card is very tough and flat, then the thin tissue paper to absorb the moisture and then the flowers.  After that I add another layer of tissue paper, the stiff card and it's time to repeat.

Anyway, I think it turned out pretty well - I left the flowers in for a few weeks, I think it was three, but I wasn't paying much attention - I just came back to it and found that the screws had become loose (which I took to mean that my flowers had flattened down)

I think that my lemon verbena turned out the best- it's got such a lovely smell and the detail of the top pressed nicely.  If you don't know what lemon verbena smells like, it's heavenly - a bit like lemon ice cream.

I actually ended up using the little blue flowers (they look like forget-me-nots but they're actually called alkanets and the plants are a lot bigger and considerably pricklier than forget-me-nots) in a card for my cousin - I laminated them on a little card as a removable bookmark:

There's been a lot of people saying the weather hasn't decided it's summer yet and to those people I say: when was the last time you went outside?!?! it's been so hot and sunny (well, mostly - we still have the mandatory English randomness when it comes to weather) and I have to say, I think my wildly unkempt garden also disagrees.  I have just gone out and harvested a little bowl of proof that it is indeed summer.

Small and slightly tangy, but my absolute favourite kind of strawberry!

I've also got little red currants, tiny apples which will hopefully be getting bigger and similar little plums so as far as me and my garden are concerned, IT'S SUMMER!!