E .... is for Erica

... for the alphabet challenge.

This heather garden is in the front driveway of my house. My husband and I designed it many years ago and bizarrely it ended up in the shape of Africa! We wanted to have colour all year round and so chose 6 small plants of several varieties of both Calluna Vulgaris, to flower in the summer through until autumn and Erica, which is the winter heather, flowering through winter and spring. Heathers flourish in an acidic soil and are so easy to grow here as long as you are vigilant and prune them once the flowers are past, otherwise they can become leggy and unsightly. As you can see each of the 6 plants have now melded beautifully and the Erica varieties offer such vibrant colour in the drabbest months of the year that they are invaluable and make me smile each time I come home, which is why we specifically planted these so they could be seen as you approached the house. They look especially colourful this month and provide a stunning backdrop for the snowdrops.....my fellow gardener would be thrilled if he could see how well they have matured now.

This morning at our regular quilt group, one lady brought in a superb completed quilt which is large enough for a double bed. It is entirely made up of scraps put together in an innovative way and it was quite exciting as those of us who had contributed odd bits of fabric over the past months were able to identify them in various parts of the finished item. She is going to offer it to a charity so they can raffle it and now is eagerly planning the next project which will be a cot quilt for her first great grandchild expected in August. All our quilts are completely hand sewn so they take a time to make, but then become very cherished gifts for the recipients.

My walk with the dogs today was so much more successful and enjoyable than the two previous days - which was a great relief.