Spring

Tunnel

The dome has begun to green up a little and I have been planting out lots of bulbs seeds and seedlings around the entrance to the dome. I' ve even divided and taken cuttings from some of my herbs and flowers so when my little girl is playing in her dome she will be surrounded by colour and fragrance. A lot of the plants are good companion plants for a vegetable plot and some are culinary, sources of natural dye and healing too. There is sweet pea, sunflower ,enula, borage, cornflower, marigold, iris, sweet cicely, nasturgeons, daffodil, fennel, oxeye daisy and chocolate mint. Next I will have to hang the pirate bunting on the inside of the dome and the Jolly Roger flag to the wall behind the swing.

I managed to squeeze in a little time to finish off the tunnel yesterday. I wanted to create a sensation like climbing down the rabbit hole when entering the tunnel for the willow dome. The tunnel is curved and taller at the entrance and considerably smaller at the point which it meets the dome.

Getting Started

I've been spending a lot of time outdoors this year. Taking long walks, collecting gorse flowers for the dye pot and for culinary uses. I've found recipes for gorse flower cordial and for using the flowers in salads but so far the call of the dye pot has been strongest. The gorse gives the wool a lovely buttery hue but I do have a feeling that I may achieve a vibrant ochre if I use a higher ratio of flowers and less water. I'll have a play about and show you the results when I have done some more dye pots.

Today we started the willow dome that we are building for Naomi. Naomi helped out marking the size and shape out with finger paints.

The living willow structure is at the bottom of the garden at the end of the path. The plan is that she will have to crawl through a tunnel to get to the door. Then she can enter the dome and exit by a back door that leads to the swing. She likes her secret areas of the garden best :~)

Here is a picture of the dome half done. I have made the basic structure, added 2 doors and one window. Tomorrow, I will make the tunnel; leading up to the door, strengthen the roof and weave around the base. When its all finished we will line the base with bark chippings and eventually plant runner beans, nasturtions and marigolds around the dome to brighten it up.

Last month I planted lots of willow cuttings. Its nice to see that they have settled in and are sprouting nicely :)