Clare Unwin

@sgdesigns

Gardener 🌱 traveller✈️ Yorkshire Lass but home is Shropshire. Kindness & Contentment are underrated skills. I ❤️ travel, crafting, music, books, art, history, dogs, cats & horses. Fiat Pandas ❤️🐼❤️ Looking after the 🌍 as much as I can. ❤️🇹🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇦🇳🇿🇬🇧🇲🇹🇪🇦🇸🇬

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Bluesky

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Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· 12d

Sedums are beginning to come into their own just now, luckily they have tolerated the extremely dry summer. Great news for the bees 🐝 #gardeningfeed 🌱

The deep pink flowers of sedum purple emperor just emerging from flower buds with a honey bee feeding on the pollen behind are the deep pinky purple leaves which are fleshy.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· 12d

A glimpse of the gardens at David Austin Roses. From the pergola through the roses to the planting beyond. A lovely visit on a day we thought was too hot for gardening. #gardeningfeed 🌱

A view from a shady pergola with white columns where roses scramble beyond a yew hedge are more roses leading to a mellow red brick wall

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· 15d

Just a hungry little Robin in the garden try to remember a dish of water for wildlife it's been a hard summer. #gardenfeed 🌱

A robin on a sedum flower head with a whisp of honeysuckle. The robin has a red face and a brown body the sedum is green but will turn to pink in the coming weeks.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· 16d

Another warm day in the garden. This ornamental vine doing well in the near drought conditions. #gardenfeed 🌱

Small bunch of purple grapes on a Dark burgundy ornamental vine.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jul 27

Lovely Sunday spent with my two favourite men (OH and Son) at Audlem Festival of Transport. A free to park and visit event with so much to see even for non car people.

A green and wooden frame Morris Traveler car with chrome bumper and hub caps.

Part of a canal boat called Minnow with beautiful lettering and barge art examples on the roof of the living quarters.

A man and an older woman in front of a blue and white AC Cobra a car the young man says he will buy me! 😂

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jul 26

Am trying not to grumble but have to admit Gardening this season has been difficult. It has made us realise how important drought tolerant planting. How is everyone coping? This garden at Coleton Fishacre in Devon doing well because of the stream and valley. #gardenfeed 🌱

A garden in Devon with lush planting next to a watercourse

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jul 11

What an amazing evening at Llangollen @emelisande.bsky.social was amazing as were The Absolute Orchestra conducted by Dave Danford. The highlight was a special collaboration with Sir Terry Wait who was sat just in front of us! Thanks Llangollen Eisteddfod 😊

A beautiful woman with minimal makeup and a red lip to complement her all black jumpsuit and gold jewellery she has cornrows with long braids. Behind her violinists, harpist and cellists from an orchestra. The woman is singing with her eyes closed.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jul 10

Looking forward to tonight with @emelisande.bsky.social and the Absolute Orchestra in Llangollen some well deserved time with brother and sister in law. 😊

A black and white printed ticket for a concert at Llangollen

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jul 9

Today's garden was a hot one mostly south facing and not much shade. #gardeningfeed 🌱 Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

A dry lawn with brown patches next to a border with some trees and shrubs beyond a raised lawn with a cherry tree and in the background a garden shed.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jul 8

It was a beautiful start to the day here!

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jun 27

Morning to you both. It's been a difficult week for us and our paw pals. We are all looking forward to slightly cooler conditions.

Nova a grey and cream shaded cat keeps out of sunlight on a cherry red chair with a cream and blue stripe cushion behind her.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jun 25

Morning from Shropshire trip to Ireland and hot weather has definitely interrupted Bluesky. Today's garden view is slightly overgrown.

A massive of hydrangea with some staghorn and a beautiful plant for pollinators in many shades of green.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jun 2

They are really interesting gardens I like the traditional glass houses and park-like feel of the flat areas but when you wander up the hills to see the other gardens that's the bits I enjoyed. ❤️🇳🇿

A view of a lawn with a sculpture resembling a pine cone surrounded by tall pines with lower shrubs. The sky is bright blue with white clouds

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Jun 1

Happy June 1st! A good gardening day here in Shropshire. I had to share this fantastic image from @paullecomtephoto.nz of the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Dunedin, Aotearoa 🇳🇿 absolutely one of my favourite places. ❤️

A calendar open to June showing Autumn leaves carpeting a grassy area with a huge tree in the background with sunshine on the leaves

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 23

We bought Shropshire Lad as a rose to remember our old working dog Sam. Every year it flowers beautifully I even used a photo of it as part of our wedding invitations. 😊 Sam shown here being camera shy in 2010.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 23

Ooh happy #caturday to all who celebrate. This is Nova who obviously has some Viking blood in her. 😊

Grey and cream cat perching high on a black clothes mangle behind her many different plants.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 23

Morning Dawn a nice start to the day In Shropshire I am pausing for a minute with a mug of tea on the patio listening to the birds. 😊

A slate patio with an old black cast iron mangle used as a plant stand there are two phormium plants with strap like leaves I. A blue pot and a cream pot on the wall a blue pot with a yellow and green grass and behind the wall a blue pot with a canary Island palm

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 23

Apologies to all but I couldn't resist some rose photos this morning! deepest red is Falstaff, peach blush is A Shropshire Lad and the vibrant apricot is Lady of Shalott all from David Austin and all at the back of the borders in my garden. #gardeningfeed 🌱

Vibrant semi open apricot colour rose with hints of pink at the edges of the outer petals.

An open blush colour rose with a yellow centre and some visible stamens the outer petals are paler

A very deep burgundy colour rose with many ruffled petals the centre cannot be seen

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 21

Morning Mushen. It seems like a grand day to be out working in gardens so that's where I will be today. 😊. Nova meanwhile will be awaiting my return for her servant to be available to adore her.

A long grey and cream cat on a dark green sofa she's resting against a couple of cushions.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 20

So today I saw a spider I had never seen before and although I am scared of the big house spiders this one was awesome. 😊 Apparently it's a crab spider some of them can change colour and they can ambush bees. Isn't nature cool?

A bright yellow spider on the deep blue heads of brunnera macrophylla also known as Siberian Bugloss it has captured a bee I do not know exactly what type of bee this is.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 18

It was another shower filled day in Shropshire but at least the flowers in my garden are cheerful 😊 #gardenfeed 🌱

Yellow flower of Welsh poppy with delicate raindrops on the petals

A blue large open flower of clematis in the centre a lime green cluster

Deep red peony with raindrops on the multiple flower petals

Pink Eustacia Vie rose with many blushing pink petals and a peachy centre

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 16

I have just demolished a mini bar myself (chocolate not alcohol obvs) It was indeed Divine. 😊

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 16

Good morning from a soggy Shropshire. Even in this weather Nova seems to enjoy being outside surveying her queendom.

A grey and cream cat sitting on the top of an old black mangle looks at the camera. Beyond is a canary Island palm in a pot with large feathery leaves and further back a large fatsia with hand shaped leaves next to a David Austin rose called a Shropshire Lad climbs on a trellis

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 12

Another nice day in the garden. 😊 #gardenfeed 🌱

Two male blackbirds on a lawn which leads down to a pond fringed with bullrushes and other plants behind the pond is a boardwalk and in a distance a hawthorne has many creamy white flowers in the tree

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 11

Good morning who has rhododendrons? Is it me or have they been spectacular this year? #gardeningfeed 🌱

The head of a rhododendron flower the individual flowers have ruffled edges and are deep pink the centre of each flower is a paler pink giving beautiful contrast

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 8

I saw this poster in Takapuna back in March and wished we could have been in Ao/NZ to see them. A real blast from my past. 😊

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 8

I have been a bit absent here since coming back from Aotearoa/NZ simply work took over! Gardens are looking lovely though! #gardeningfeed 🌱 Upton Magna, Shropshire

A pergola with a brick path running below, the path has trimmed box balls alongside.

On the pergola a mixture of wisteria in purple blue shades and laburnum in bright yellow is trained to form a beautiful walk leading to a Japanese inspired garden in the distance.

The flowers of the wisteria and laburnum hang in beautiful long many flowering bracts

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· May 1

Morning all today it's tidying of my patio. Hopefully my reward will be some Bunderberg ginger beer later. I know it's from Australia but it's something I got a taste for in Aotearoa New Zealand when I wasn't drinking the stuff from Marlborough 😉 🇳🇿

Stock photo of a case of four bottles of ginger beer the bottles are amber with oak barrels and a banner in red saying ginger beer.

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Apr 29

Who has plans for Bank Holiday weekend? I am hoping to sort the pots on my patio. #gardeningfeed 🌱

Pale wisteria climbing over a brick and timber pergola, behind a choisya in flower and a white potentilla lower down some bluebells and pulmonaria

Clare Unwin@sgdesigns· Apr 28