Helen Philipps: First of May

My favourite month has arrived! Although I love all the seasons for their different qualities and atmospheres, the month of May is the one I love the best...The joyous celebrations of the royal wedding were such a great start to this beautiful time of year, and the sunshine and flowers everywhere makes it all seem perfect...

We had an outing to a lovely garden....Erdigg in North Wales...where you can picnic in the orchard, wander round beautiful grounds and gardens and have afternoon tea surrounded by wisteria outside the little tea room....the old beehive here is one of several surrounded by buzzing bees....

.....the garden is a mixture of formal and informal, and charming pastoral views...

I love the bluebells still flowering - not for much longer though...and the pots and watering cans and lovely old greenhouses always fascinate me...

My project in the May issue of Crafts Beautiful is this bright felt bag, decorated with a stitched beehive..

Off to do a bit of gardening now - the ground elder is also loving the month of May and needs to be weeded right now...I hope you have had a lovely weekend so far and are enjoying the new month. Thank you for visiting me and for the sweet comments. Back soon xxxxx

21 comments:

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...: Good Morning Helen,
What a lovely place to have an outing and picnic! The surroundings are beautiful and so green and lush. Looks like the perfect spot.
Love your magazine spread! The bag is so bright and set for May. I love May too. It just gives the feeling of being reborn, especially after a long winter.
Have a great day in the garden and see you next week. xoRobin❤; 1 May 2011 at 12:32
*❀* said...: i absolutely agree with you about May, it is such a wonderous month.

your photographs are lovely and have me looking forward to this special time even more :o)

warmest hugs xxx

Millie; 1 May 2011 at 12:47
Simone said...: The garden looks lovely and I like the mix of formal and informal - something for everyone! I like your beehive motif. I do love bees and beehives and honey! Let's hope that May is a very flowery month! x; 1 May 2011 at 13:15
Crafts @ Home said...: What a lovely bag, you have been a busy bee.... The outing looks like a lovely day out, a little far away for us :( I have never thought of May as being a wonderful month! I will view it with different eyes this time :)
Sue Xx; 1 May 2011 at 13:41
sweetmyrtle said...: Happy May day Helen! i too LOVE May and spring flowers. hope you are having a relaxing day x; 1 May 2011 at 13:52
Gill said...: I too love May!
Lots of ground elder this year in my garden too - hardly had any before! any ideas??; 1 May 2011 at 13:54
Pomona said...: Well done for being published - hope you are having a good weekend!

Pomona x; 1 May 2011 at 14:32
Jane said...: What a lovely garden you visited Helen and I agree the bluebells have been so early that they will not be around for much longer. Your felt bag is lovely, how great to have it in print. This sunshine is just bliss, happy May Day,
Jane x; 1 May 2011 at 17:36
greenrabbitdesigns said...: What a lovely garden to visit,everything is so beautiful and I love the old watering cans too! I love May as well I always think of it as the green month, the plants and trees all look so well.
Pretty little bag, I love the little beehive. :)
Vivienne x; 1 May 2011 at 17:39
sylviesgarden said...: It sounds and looks like a lovely place to have a picnic.; 1 May 2011 at 18:09
Teresa Kasner said...: Helen, thanks for sharing that pretty farm garden. I must get out and take some photos today as my first Rhododendron is in bloom!! They are funny as I have several varieties and they seem to take turns blooming, not all at once.. I guess they each like to be the center of attention for a while. LOL

Hugs, Teresa in Oregon USA; 1 May 2011 at 18:26
Jenny said...: I'd heard how beautiful Erdigg was when I lived in Chester but never got the chance to visit myself which is a shame as it looks so beautiful, your pictures are gorgeous! Hope you've had a nice day, I've been inside all day today, was quite breezy (aka cold) here :( Bring back the sunshine I say! Jenny xxx; 1 May 2011 at 20:37
koralee said...: Oh my friend I love May too....it is usually a busy month for me because of soooo many birthdays..it is for sure a baking month.

Your images are lovely!!!!

Have a great week. xoxo; 2 May 2011 at 04:03
Naturally Carol said...: The pictures of the countryside are perfect..such magnificent views. May is a fantastic month everywhere..cooling down here but still warm and pretty!; 2 May 2011 at 04:12
sew said...: Erdigg is indeed lovely - I used to live in nearby Holt, between Chester & Wrexham. There are so many things I want to sew I won't have time to visit anywhere!! Thanks to your last blog I've also bought a knitting pattern from Mary Jane's Tearoom so hope to do some knitting in the garden - if it's not too breezy!; 2 May 2011 at 09:24
salty pebble said...: ive just been catching up on your blog helen , its beautiful with all your special spring feast to your eyes piccys. especially love the royal heart colours ;0)x; 2 May 2011 at 14:47
Mia said...: Loving all your images again, Helen! It's not that pretty here (snow!) so thank you for sharing! I wish you sunny week!

Yours,
Mia; 2 May 2011 at 17:07
Unknown said...: ooohhh lovely photo's we have been so lucky with the lovely sunshine. Have fun in your garden, dee x; 2 May 2011 at 19:00
Anonymous said...: I agree - May is a-MAY-zing (see what I did there?!)

It was gorgeous here at Easter (East Yorkshire) but it's been cold since. Fingers crossed we can get back to garden crafting soon x; 3 May 2011 at 12:36
Rubyred said...: I love May too Helen!Beautiful images and a lovely project to have published too!
Loved your patriotic heart in the last post! Very fitting for a Royal Wedding!
Have a great week!
Rachel x; 3 May 2011 at 17:44
koralee said...: Your images are so pretty my sweet friend...pure joy...and those wild roses are my favourite! Happy weekend. oxxo; 7 May 2011 at 04:27