Gardeners Crafting Diary of Wonderment August 2026
So, here we are in August, all warm and golden-tanned from the fabulous sunshine of a good summer. It has been a wonderful month of doing not a lot, except for winding down from garden pottering, to organising and preparing for the coming festive season. It may only be August, but shopping starts to pick up in September, especially from our American friends across the pond, beating the chaos of the peak festive season.
1st AUGUST
Spiral survival
My fabulous wildlife spiral of uncut grass is still looking luscious, despite the lack of rain since June. This spiral has been uncut for 3 years and, other than keeping on top of the bindweed and nipping the long grasses for a little aesthetic tidy-up, it is left to do as it wishes. The clover is extensive and covered in bees when in flower. A moss patch has formed in the shade, which regularly gets riffled through by Mrs Blackbird and co.
3rd AUGUST
Loving Lincolnshire
One of my favourite things to do on a hot August afternoon is to take a trip up the road, into very rural fens, to experience the county at its peak. I know a little, quiet fen road just wide enough for the car, with grass growing down the middle, where any speed over 20mph over the humps, lumps and bumps would put you in a disguised overgrown dyke. As far as you can see in all directions, you have the fabulous farmland of Lincolnshire doing what it does best. Stretching flatly out in all directions from this spot are the golden.
swaths of barley and wheat. If I am lucky, the wind will whisper secrets through the dry stalks as shocked farmland birds, not expecting anyone to be about, duck and dart to avoid a collision. There is an unbelievable dryness and heat, with that distinctive smell of dried summer grasses. My favourite place in the height of summer!
4th AUGUST
Rose surprise
I have been really good this year sourcing and applying manure to my roses. In past years I have cared for my roses so they look nice, but this time last year I started collecting poop from a local community farm and researching organic ways to prevent rust and black spot. So, this spring, armed with banana peels, diluted milk and a bicarb wash, I set about being an ultra rose lover. Oh my, has it paid off! This little pink rose has always struggled, but this year it has flourished with a full revival. I have been taking rose cuttings.
and popping them in the polytunnel, all cosy and humid. Whilst two have already started to grow leaves, if they all take, I could have 20 new roses in various pinks and white to put along our picket fence out front.
7th AUGUST
Loving Lincolnshire II
I had to share this, only in Lincolnshire during harvest. This is our local coop, where you chat with staff if there's no one waiting and talk with folks if you're stood in the queue. You help oldies lift stuff off shelves or offer to carry bags to cars; it's old England, a blurry memory to most around the kingdom right now. What I love about this photograph is that nobody batted an eye. The tractor with trailer wasn't in the way, butted up to the post office vans so the car park could still be used. What is completely amazing is how
he backed it in there? He's got a baler on the back too; it is enormous! You have to be impressed, especially if you know the store and how skinny the road is!
11th AUGUST
Dangerous Dahlia
All year I have been taking macro photos for my Adobe Stock portfolio (art portfolio, not investment!). It has been windy about 85% of the time, so I have struggled with delicate flowers wanging about in the wind. Now the heavier flowers are out like hollyhocks and dahlias, I am back out in the garden looking closely at my blooms, whether for texture, colour, or composition interests ready to transfer to my crafts. Just look at the teeth on this dahlia!
12th AUGUST
WHAT is that?
I don't know if you ever experience something you cannot explain, well, for a few minutes I had to wonder what the heck this was. The solar eclipse was at its peak at 19.09, which is when this photograph was taken out of my bedroom window, directly in between the two houses opposite. AND then there was this crescent, which I knew wasn't a camera flare and couldn't explain. After researching and half an hour of 'What the hells,' it turns out the camera had picked up an optical illusion and the crescent was
the sun's eclipse! So cool!
15th AUGUST
Willow photoshoot
As part of my twice-a-year Etsy revamp, I was looking for a kitten to star in photographs for my kitten pom toys. This is Willow and he is amazing. He played non-stop with the poms I made him. It was really nice to see them enjoyed, as we don't have a cat, so I have never really seen my poms being played with. It was the sweetest morning, playing with a brilliant kitty supping tea. He is in his teenage years and is a little bugger at the moment, but the brief time I spent with him, he was a complete gentleman and
absolute star of a sweetie! He must have had fun too, as the next time I went to his house, he was twisting about my legs!
17th AUGUST
Lovey Dovey babies
A fabulous thing happened in our apple tree: our collared doves, Lovey and Dovey, had two babies and we had the pleasure of watching them grow. From when they cracked out of their eggs to leaving the nest was really quick, just a few weeks. We were really concerned as Lovey and Dovey never seemed to be feeding them and they always seemed to be on their own. However, as you can see, they grew into amazing adults and we are quite sure they are still in the garden. We have seen Lovey making another nest, so we have
left her seed and water under her branch.
20th AUHUST
A humblebee card
When I make something new, there is a small window where I have wonder and doubt about the aesthetics and desirability of the thing. Just because I like it, there are lots of things that could disrupt its progress. Choosing the right words to describe it, of course, is important, but even if the thing reaches its target audience, it may not be appropriate or relevant. As soon as a new thing is bought on Etsy, I breathe a sigh of relief. This Beltane Blessing card with a rune font has already sold, so I am confident it
will do its thing once we are nearer May. In this range there were three other designs: an owl, rooster and bee.
22nd AUGUST
Nasturtium nurturing
I have decided I try too hard at growing nasturtiums and the ones that get no help or attention grow to be giants. Next year I am going to sow my nasturtiums in partially shaded spots. These nasturtiums grow under Lovey's apple tree, in complete shade with no water. They just seem to get on with it, really tough and giving.
24th AUGUST
Time to get the jingle bells out!
Crafting wares with yarn and holly
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
It's only August, but it's time to get jolly
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Crafty crafters make and measure
Fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la
Forging gifts to lovingly treasure
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!
27th AUGUST
Relief of Rain
At last, after two months of glorious summer sunshine, we have a few days of great rain. I stood out in it and projected my gratitude...I wouldn't have to water the garden with a watering can, yay! That wonderful smell of rain came well ahead of the showers and you could almost feel everything in the garden sigh in relief. This is the scary dahlia with teeth after the rain, looking regal and romantic with its Redoute-esque water droplets. There is something about Dahlias that you just cannot beat in an Autumn garden!
30th AUGUST
Stoned Stacked
I am absolutely over the moon to be able to share this photograph with you all and when you find out what it is and where it is, you will understand my emotion. My son has moved to Canada (this is his photo and I have permission to use it) and has a fabulous job in the middle of nowhere in the Rockies. He is having an absolute blast and has taken up rock stacking and sculpting whilst on his hikes around his lake. This is his first one and I love it. Not just because of where it is and who made it, but for the composition,
contrasts and intrigue it instils. The simplicity and gentle balance of the construction just resonates with me, probably because my boy isn't particularly arty, though he can do anything he sets his mind to. I have passed on a bit of advice to help him along and cannot wait to see where he goes with it.
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