I bought some gumboots. I’ve not owned gumboots since I was 6…

But I saw these at PipDuck’s Floriade stall, and was smitten.

I didn’t buy them then and there. I waited a couple of days to think about it. They weren’t exactly cheap, and I wasn’t aware that I needed gumboots until I saw them!

They’re Tamara Henriques, from the Antique Prints range.

Inspired by an antique toile found in a wallpaper museum in France, this traditional pattern is truly a boot of beauty. A classic rococo print with a contrast gingham trim.

What do you think? I was also quite taken with PipDuck’s Noisette boots.

I’ve been wearing them in the garden, and I’m most pleased with the result! Much less soil and woodchip in my shoes, and my calves aren’t sprayed by the hose. (I even got to wear them out to the letterbox during a storm a little while ago!)

I did some pruning this morning, using the secateurs DrK brought me back from his recent European trip.  (My boyfriend went to France, Belgium and England, and all I got were these lousy lovely secateurs…  And some Versace perfume. From the Duty Free shop.)

They are pretty stylish secateurs – and they cut really well (much better than the el-cheapos I bought myself).  They came from the Victoria and Albert museum; the pattern is ‘Anemone’ design, from a 1897 a wallpaper. There are other pieces in the set, and they’re available online from Amazon.