Author Archives: mrsgarnettsgarden

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About mrsgarnettsgarden

After a life in International Development where I have seen many resililent women farmers bring abundance out of almost nothing, I'm now more often at home in Derbyshire with my husband David, a retired Archdeacon who runs the churches on the Chatsworth estate. Our garden and my allotment are the setting for a little diary of plants and pottering, aided and abetted by our dogs, Spaniel jess, and Collie, Pip. David is a hen fanatic so the chicken runs encroach ever nearer the house. I work freelance as an assessor for Comic Relief International grants, and also run a little not for profit agency to help African women get going in business, called "Lasting Solutions."

Entrances and Exits

June 10th 2011,  A charming and merry little boy called Stephen Emmanuel was christened here on Sunday, having come all the way from New York for the privilege.  His delightful Mum and Dad had assembled a party, and borrowed three … Continue reading

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Kung Fu Panda and spelling bees

The face is definitely improving, my black eyes have slid down my cheeks to form  faintly exotic yellow patches, and I no longer scare little children. I went to the surgery to see the nurse today and we agreed to … Continue reading

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Mimulus or musk

A mystery parcel turned up a few days ago from Jersey plants, containing 70 mimulus plants! Apparently I had ticked a box to receive a mystery bonus box of plants. So I felt even more like the old woman who … Continue reading

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bumps-a-daisy

May 31st 2011 Such a lot has happened in the last ten days I haven’t had any time to catch up with the blog, which is a shame.  so here is a little round -up of events to get us … Continue reading

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All of a kindle

David bought me a Kindle as a present this week and I am quite entranced by it. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a slim line electronic reader on which you can store hundreds of books, and yes, … Continue reading

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Now is the month of Maying!

Sunday May 15th. The horse trials are on this weekend. Last week they were worried that the ground would be so hard they couldn’t hold them. -last year they had to cancel because the weather was too wet- but this … Continue reading

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The day that the rain came down . . .

Sunday May 8th I remember this song from my childhood in the 50s, when it struck a particularly mysterious chord for me, “mother cried!”  Why should one’s mother cry over rain?  But it impinged on me somehow the power of … Continue reading

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a bit more botany

 Saturday May 8th.   When I came home from London late on Thursday night, David told me that a botanist had been round to say we have a very rare daffodil growing in the churchyard. It is white with a tiny … Continue reading

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Darling buds

May 2nd Double bank holiday weekend, and enough deep blue skies to satisfy even me. warm in the sun, but a wicked wind blowing, – “rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, ” – I should say so, … Continue reading

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Flights of fancy

April 27th- Chris has taken off from Sao Paulo by now and is coming home across that huge black ocean through the night. I see the planes pass overhead and still wonder. – the amazing mad trouncing of gravity, turned … Continue reading

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