Life on Stapleton Hall Road

Monday, 19 September 2011

Hay-corns!

I love seeing the seasons changing and these acorns that have been forming on the Oaks along Parkland Walk caught my eye on my way home from work- so I picked a few to take home with me.

The pottery Stoat I bought down in Cornwall on a holiday back in 2008- he is raku- which means his glaze is all crackled- i really like how realistic he looks! :)

Spirit Collection Tour @ The Natural History Museum

It was half term and I foolishly decided to go to the Natural History Museum. I love going to this museum but its the crowds that always prevent me from staying longer than 30 mins or so each time I visit. However this time I wasnt going to look round the main museum- but rather what is held in its basement. The Spirit Collection is where the museum keeps its specimens in alcohol that arent on display in the main museum- and these are held as a scientific resource for researchers to use to help in their studies. This area is not open to the general public apart from on these special tours.

I love the outside of this musuem- its beautiful!

The dissection room

The tour guide who informed me that photography wasnt normally allowed while on the tour- however then went on to say if she didnt see me taking photos then that was ok!

Inside each of these aluminium vats are filled with alcohol and hold the larger specimens that would not fit inside a jar- eg chimpanzees, komodo dragons and large mammals. Note the ceiling runners used to open and close the lids.

Mammals

Fish

A giant Squid- this was huge! See a news article here on where it came from.

Different squid tentacles- either discs or hooked depending on the species.

And finally some of the flesh eating beetles used to clean carcasses!

Australian Landscape @ The British Museum

Every year the British Museum turns one of its front lawns into a recreation of a landscape from a different country- this year it was Australia- and ties in with an exhibition within the museum and is made in collaboration with Kew Gardens. In the past few years they have done China, South Africa and India.

I first visited the garden back in early May- where we had had some blustery cold weather so the garden really wasnt looking its best- but upon a return visit in late August really showed the plants surviving remarkably well the temps of a pretty awful British summer!

The grass trees always hold a soft spot for me as I have one myself that lives in a friends garden while I am currently garden-less! and these 2 below looked beautiful. I have to say a couple looked very worse for wear- but Xanthorrhoea are notorious for coming into this country with no roots at all- and then slowly dying. Indeed my X.glauca arrived with only 2 roots! But slowly regrew over time- but i know of many others that simply dont survive. These 2 below are probably over a hundred years old- which i believe makes looking after them something of a responsibility. They are all imported with a liscence to show they have been taken legally from teh wild from where the land had to be cleared- and would have otherwise been destroyed. And also luckily for me have proven to be hardy - especially with the winters we have been having recently.

My lovely Blue Grass Tree (X. glauca)

Me at the South African Garden @ The British Museum last year

Sunday, 18 September 2011

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town

I love cocktails, and I love secret London- so when i heard through the grape vine a new speakeasy bar had opened where to gain entrance you have to walk through a secret entrance in a fridge- i couldnt wait to try it out! In fact since then ive been back 3 times!

The bar is hidden in an American Diner near Spittalfields where you actually have to walk through the above fridge to get into the bar!

This underground speakeasy is a bit of fun and certainly a great place to take a date- it can be quiet early on in the evenings midweek but get there about 8 and its packed! I wouldnt spend the whole eve there but certainly worth stopping off to sample some well made cocktails!

So my advice is go and find the fridge and ask to see the Mayor....

Islington Ecology Centre

I've lived in Crouch End now for about 6 years and never visited the Islington Ecology centre until earlier this year completely by chance!

There is an unassuming entrance right by Finsbury Park station- which id walked past hundreds of times not knowing it was an entrance to a nature reserve!

The place is really beautiful and wild- with lots of different habitats created and is a far cry from the flat grass of finsbury park just across the road. The hold lots of different events on throughout the year- i believe the next one coming up was about wilderness survival.

Ecology Centre information

Decklan Buckleys amazing garden

Decklan's garden in Stoke Newington, North London is really amazing! I was lucky enough to be able to visit earlier in the summer. He is a well known garden designer and architect and I worked with him on a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show earlier in this year.

His plant choices are mainly evergreen sub tropical species- including palms, fatsias, some beautiful specimen trees and schlefferas over the years the under story has become dominated by shade loving plants as his main specimens have grown above to form a beautiful canopy.

I loved this tank full of goldfish swimming in black water tank- so simple yet so effective!

My favourite thing was the outside shower next to the jasmine! What a way to wake up in the morning!!

I loved the jungle feel to the place!

http://www.buckleydesignassociates.com/

Cake baking!

Now ask anyone I know and they will tell you my cookery skills are nothing to write home about- indeed for about a year my dinner consisted every night of a cheese and tomato pizza- and I still managed to burn it 50% of the time!

But my enthusiasm for the subject is certianly not lacking! I just dont have the time to do it!

So one afternoon I got it into my head that I was going to bake a cake- and so I did!

I decided upon a Victoria Sponge as this is my favourite cake- and if your going to bake a cake- why not bake your favourite one?!! The sponge came out really nice although a little dark for my liking!

Shaking up the whipped cream in a kilner jar- this is a great tip! Beats hand whisking or using a machine! Simply pour the cream into a jar and shake! Job done!

The fun begins!!

Dusted with Icing sugar!

OMG!! This tasted amazing!! :)

Live Forever!

Following on from my Garden makeover blog- i wanted jsut to draw your attention to these 2 little pots which im rather fond of.

They are full of houseleeks or Sempervivums to give them their latin name- which means ever living- in reference to the fact they can survive in very little soil.

These guys came from Columbia road and I grow them on my kitchen and living room window sills as they are very drought tolerant- but pulled a few rosettes off to plant up in their own little pots for my front window.

In europe they are often grown on the tile roofs of houses to prevent lightning hitting the house apparently- but i think they look beautiful!

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/1084269950025419241nmafwM

My Garden make over!

Ok so you would have thought with only 1 window sill to look after- combined with my passion for gardening- that my window sill garden would be looking pretty damn amazing! Sadly not- i have yet to discover plants that seem to like living on a shady windy window sill- things dry out too quickly and the shade doesnt suit alot of plants. The photo above show the sill back in january.

By April it can be seen below the Stipa already is sadly looking like it has dried out one too many times- the mini christmas tree is looking surprsingly good though- ive had it 2 christmas's already. The seedlings at the front are broccoli, cabbages and sunflowers for the allotment.

I decided by June that enough was enough! Things had to go! The stipa has already croaked it and been replaced in its pot by the Phormium that had been in a 3" pot for months! It bought a rosemary with the idea of having drought tolerant herbs in there.

So decided to clean everything up, chuck, give away or put in the front garden the plants that didnt need to be on the window sill. And I bought 2 Lavenders, and 2 Purple Sages to go in the trough along with the Rosemary. And here it was in early August.