I can supply these beautiful elegant love birds cake topper, that would look stunning on the top of a Wedding cake, or a cake for a Wedding Anniversary celebration.

I wanted to share with you my most popular wedding favour from The Ayrshire Wedding Show at the weekend, which were these adorable pair of gingerbread candles. ‚   Unfortunately they aren’t edible, but cute never-the-less as a unique favour for your guests.

Having cut back herbaceous plants in the last month that were growing out of control, I was worried that I would lose the colour in my garden but I was wrong, as this month I have a selection of shrubs and perennials in flower, including:

• Lavendar
• Delphiniums
• Crocosmia
• Astilbe
• Hypericum

Some ideas to decorate your home include:

• cutting a few spriggs of lavendar and tying them with ribbon, to place across napkins laid at the table for guests
• sprinkling delphinium heads onto crisp white table linen for friends coming over for brunch or lunch
• placing tall stems of crocosmia into a slender tall vase of water to add impact to a coffee table or sill

This month in ‚  our gardens we have so much blooming, so here are a few ideas of which flowers you could use from your own garden to decorate your home, church, reception venue or even to tie together with ribbon to create unique bouquets for a bride or bridesmaids, saving on the pennies.

• Foxglove
• Lupin
• Aquilegia
• Heuchera
• Orchid
• Rose

More and more of late I’m seeing bridal collections that include a number of shorter dress styles for the Bride. ‚   At a recent local wedding fair, a couple of the fashion show models also wore knee high dresses.

So if you don’t fancy floor length gowns, then why not copy the latest trends and go for a shorter cut dress teamed with a beautiful pair of shoes.

Father’s Day is this Sunday, 21st June, and if you haven’t yet considered what to give to your dad, step ‚  dad or the father figure in your life, then here are a few ideas:

• Little something for his car, such as new car mats, an air freshner, or a complete wash set including a new sponge!
• Magazine subscription for a weekly or monthly mens mag, related to; photography, golfing, cars, fishing, or health.
• Day at the races, either dogs or horses. ‚   Its the Saints & Sinners race night this Friday at Ayr Racecourse.
• Has he always wanted to grow his own veg, if so get him some vegetable seeds for him to sow in the garden.
• Simple arrange to take him to the pub for a few beers, and have a few games of darts, pool or join in a local pub quiz.

No longer is it necessary to have a top table at your wedding reception. ‚   Brides and grooms are now opting for a round reception table at the centre of your wedding reception, with your closest family and friends seated with you. ‚   An option for your bridesmaids and best men, is to ask them to host the other guest tables.

Well it’s the last day of May, and we have had a glorious weekend of blue skies and sunshine in Ayrshire, so I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the garden weeding and watering, as well as buying some new herbaceous plants to co-ordinate with the blue agapanthus that I’ve planted up in ‚  two whiskey half-barrels.

So in my garden this month I’ve had lots flowering, all which can be used in some way to decorate your home, so here are a few ideas:

1. Take some sprigs of flowering hawthorn and stand them in a tall vase
2. Use the heads of bright azalea to scatter on your ‚  table if you are having guests over
3. Trim a few flowering short stems from Choisya ternata ‚  and add to a clear glass ‚  bowl-shaped vase to create a dome of white flowers and bright green leaves
4. Cut 6 inch pieces of Eucalyptus and tie name tags onto them using ribbon, to present at each place setting at the table

‚  

Well what a blooming month we have had, my garden is looking picture perfect with lots of colour and freshness. ‚   There are many flowers that can be used from your garden at this time of year to decorate your tables and living areas, should you be having guests over ‚  or simply wish to enjoy a floral display of your own. ‚   Here ‚  is a selection of what you may find in flower near you:

• Berberis darwinnii
• Pulsatilla vulgaris
• Chaenomeles
• Cherry blossom
• Jacobs ladder

It’s Easter weekend, and in Ayrshire we have been having some glorious sunshine which got me right into the Spring mood for creating some wonderful ideas for Easter.

I have my sister and her family visiting on Easter Monday, so I’m planning an intimate gathering with lots of Easter delights for lunch. ‚   I will be baking a few favourites, like my chocolate orange bars, cheese scones and some iced buns.

Today I handcrafted a toy chick for each of my 3 young nephews, which I will give them together with a stunning Lindt chocolate bunny. ‚   You can find ready made kits in most supermarkets, or you can buy your own items ‚  from local craft shops and garden nurseries.

Along with a ‚  handful of purple freesias that I bought today, I have ‚  picked some daffodils from my own garden and arranged them in a beautiful cut vase to adorn my kitchen table. ‚   I actually have quite a few different flowers flowering my garden just now, so it’s a nice touch to bring the Spring into your home.