If you live in the area of Maidstone

One place we'll worth visiting is the Notcutts outlet on the outskirts of Maidstone. It's plants are top notch and the café is always busy.

Easy to spend a fortune though; I kept mobe just under £100 so for me that's seriously doing well.

They have a beautiful show garden in there. I just wish I'd seen something like it when I was first developing my garden.

The area is more than just a garden centre, it's one half of a large shopping centre with many stores not only on the garden centre side but also the other side of the roundabout.

So back home with some plants for a friends front garden (tomorrow's jaunt over to Sheppey) and some pots for my indoor plants (which are now repotted).

I'm going to need stronger shelving soon!

Oddities spotted whilst out and about.

A letter box warmer spotted outside a school in Kings Hill

Dead box hedging spreading in the area. Just wish B+Q would stop selling the stuff.

Empty carpark at the supermarket

 during women's world cup final.

Home and ready for days out again

Been a while on this blog but I have been out and about; very local though.

Today its hot, so I've decided to come into Maidstone, just because it's an easy journey by car and bus.

First stop is The Eden, a really lovely café just off the main road.

Its situated in the old grand entrance to a hotel, long gone. Although much of the original was either demolished or bombed I'm not sure which areas like this entrance way still exist if you know where to look. Some places in Maidstone are really very old showing how much of a bustling market town it must have been.

What fascinates me are the two mercury lights which remain on come rain or shine. Glowing green, they give a glimpse into the past come Christmas time.

Talking about Christmas, yes, I've seen the first baubles being put on racks ready for sale along with the calendars and diaries for 2024.

Yep! Only just crawling into September with Halloween still to come and we've leapfrogged to December. 

Took myself off to the local "posh" garden centre (in other words, expensive) and had a look around. Much of the summer bedding is still available but I noted the veg plugs are in for autumn planting so it's that time already.

No, didn't buy anything just tea and fruit scone......a lovely it was too.