Happy Friday everyone.  Bit late I know but I have been out at work all day.  Anyway, the weekend is upon us and I hope you are all going to have a great time.  Now, I know I have talked a lot about stuff for the garden and dogs but for all you cat lovers out there then we do have this little fella who I'm sure you will agree is a total cutie!  His name is Dale and he is one of our "ceramistone" ornaments which can go inside or outside the home.  He sells for £35.00 and can be found on our Inside Gifts page.  Another one of his friends is Nicky and he really is a happy 

cat.  These cats are great.  They don't need fed and they wont run up your curtains or bring you dead animals as presents.  Granted they're not fluffy like this little one but they are adorable just the same.  Well, I hope you all have a very enjoyable weekend, it looks as
though the sun might continue to shine on us.  Could this be the beginning of the better weather?  Who knows, I certainly hope so.  Maybe not time to get the sun cream out just yet but here's hoping it wont be too long!!  

"Gifts To Make You Smile"

Hello again.  I thought this picture might cheer us all up as this is what we should be seeing out there in the gardens by now, not snow.  I have to say that we are having a lovely bright sunny day up here in Cumbria although it is still very very cold.  Hopefully, it wont be too long before things start to sprout up in the garden.   I thought today I would share with you some of our garden accessories.  How about for starters these cute cast iron key keepers.
You can choose from either tortoise, frog or hedgehog and they are priced at only £4.99.  Never be locked out of your home again.  They make a really great gift and look good as a garden ornament.  We also have three or four different hooks available.  I particularly like this one which is a love heart design.  Made from cast iron it would look great inside or out and is only £5.99.   Find them and more on our Garden Accessories page. Now then as promised Alfie is back!!  This was taken a couple of weeks ago in 
the beautiful Lake District.  It was his first time there and as you can see I think he loved it!  Don't forget to look out for him on facebook and I'm sure he will make further appearances on here.  Well, half way to the weekend and hopefully this is the start of the better weather because I'm dying to get back out in the garden.  Enjoy the rest of your week and remember...... Keep Shopping!!

Happy Easter everyone and welcome to our latest Product of the Week.  We are at that time of year when our garden birds are looking for somewhere perfect to nest so this week I decided I would focus on somewhere for them to live and have chosen these lovely shaker style bird houses.  They all have a little round hole for the bird to enter but each has a different design to doors, windows and chimneys.  

They come in a choice of four colours, cream, white, brown and blue and all have a hinged door either at the back or side so you can easily clean them out.  They measure 17x17x27cm and look great in the garden.  They are suitable for Blue Tits, Sparrows and Wrens and are reasonably priced at £18.99.  Find them on our Best For Birds page. 

So go on and make our feathered friends happy this Easter and buy them a new home from Ruddick Garden Gifts.
Well I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Easter Day.  I am off for my Easter dinner now and will speak to you later in the week.  

                           "Gifts to Make You Smile"

Well, it's finally here, that time of year when we stuff ourselves with chocolate eggs.  I've just eaten the biggest piece of Easter chocolate crunchy cake I have ever seen and it was delicious!  Anyway, enough about food.

Today I want to introduce you to some of our products that can go inside as well as outside your home.  They are made from "ceramistone" so although I would say they are not fully frost resistant, they can certainly be left outside in the better weather.  We have a range of mainly dogs and a couple of cats but we also have a rooster, a cow, a sheep and a duck.  They are real characters and are bound to make you smile!   Here you can

see Bart, the German Shepherd, Roland the Rooster, Tyson the Staffie and Ermintrude the Cow.They range from £35.00 - £55.00 but are well worth it.  For inside your home we also do some ceramic tile pictures of dogs which are along the same lines as these ornaments.  They can either be hung on a wall or left free standing.  They are priced at £29.99 and make a perfect present for all you dog lovers out there.  As well as these great gift ideas we also do a range of small animal doorstops.  They are made from faux leather and come in

brown and beige and are weighted

with sand.  They are priced at £11.99 and can be found on our Inside Gifts page. You have a choice of elephant, rabbit, tortoise,

fox, owl and hedgehog and I'm sure when you see them you will find them really cute.  Anyway, that's about it for today.  Please don't forget to put your clocks forward this weekend and I hope you all have a very Happy Easter from everyone here at Ruddick Garden Gifts.  Don't eat too many eggs and keep shopping!!

 So, here we are again, and guess what.....
Carlisle had SNOW this morning. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture before I went to work and now that I am back its all melted.  But you can take my word for it, it was all white!!  Anyway, enough about the horrible cold weather and lets not forget that it is now officially spring.  So I thought you might like this picture of one of our products.  This is Baa'bara and she is made from ceramistone which means she can go in the garden, or if you prefer you can keep her in the house.  She is no trouble at all and will always make you smile.  She has loads of other friends and you will find them all on our Inside Gifts page.
Another little fella I thought you might like to meet is Alfie, my Parson Jack Russell Terrier.  He is only 10 months old but already is quite a character. Now unfortunately for you he is not for sale on Ruddick Garden Gifts website but he will be popping up on my blogs from time to time.  He also appears on my facebook page, so if you haven't seen it yet then check it out.  Just put in Ruddick Garden Gifts facebook and remember if you like it then please click the like button.  Well that's about it for today, enjoy the rest of your week and please feel free to leave any feedback, it's always interesting to hear from you.                                               

Good Morning and I hope you are all keeping warm this cold, snowy Sunday.  Its hard to believe its nearly April and yet we are having colder weather than we have had all winter.  Once again I have to report that Carlisle is in its own little bubble and we have yet again had NO SNOW!!  We must be the only place in the Country but there you go. Anyway, enough of that and back to my
Product of the Week. This week I am highlighting two items because as you may or may not realise, the clocks go forward next weekend so I thought it would be a good idea to show you a couple of my outdoor clocks.  This first one is a Bickerton Clock which has an  antique effect brown surround and a handy built in thermometer.  It is fully weather resistant and can be used outdoors or if you prefer, inside your home.  It has a 12" diameter and needs 1 AA battery which is not included. It is
priced at £15.00.  The next clock is this Stonegate Clock which has a slate effect surround , Roman numerals and once again a built in thermometer.  It too is fully weather resistant and needs 1 AA battery.  It is 10" in diameter and would look great in either the garden or home.  This one is priced at £18.00 and you can find both clocks along with others on our Outdoor Clocks page.  Hope you like what I have shown you, there is plenty more to see on our website so go on have a good look around it and feel free to leave any comments.   
So on that note I will say ta'ra (as we say in Cumbria)  and remember British Summer Time officially starts next weekend.

Somebody better tell the weather that!!
(This clock is not for sale on Ruddick Garden Gifts website just in case you were wondering)
           


                                                 

Ok, all you chocoholics out there who are looking forward to all those yummy Easter eggs, STOP!!  Yes, they taste good but only for a short while, why not get something that will last a whole lot longer.  As previewed in my blog on Sunday, this topiary rabbit frame is a really easy way of getting topiary into your garden.  You simply place a plant, box is a good one, in the opening in the bottom 
and as it grows, tease it to fill the frame.  Once the shape if full, 

allow the growth to come through the frame and clip to keep in shape.  Then you can have an Easter Bunny in your garden all year round!  Another great gift idea for the youngsters instead of chocolate are our fun window thermometers.  They come in a choice of frog, ladybird and bumble bee and are a great way of introducing children to the world of weather.

Another range we do are gardening gloves, something we will all be needing in the next few weeks as we get back out into our gardens.  Sometimes gardening gloves can be quite bulky and you can struggle to handle small plants etc. well with our gloves they are like a second skin.  They come in some great colours too.  The picture on the left is an example of our Soft and Care Landscape range which comes in navy, burgundy and green and in sizes small and medium.  The picture on the right shows an example of our Soft and Care Flora range which again comes in small and medium but the choice of 

colours are pink, blue and yellow.  I hope I have given you some ideas for Easter gifts other than chocolate, but if you feel the need to still indulge then our gifts are reasonably priced that you can still buy an Easter Egg if you really must!!

Good afternoon and welcome to our "Product of the Week".  This week I have chosen an item that is very useful, especially at this time of year.  It is a boot scraper and jack.  Made from black cast iron it has two brushes on either side to clean off those muddy wellies and a handy boot jack on the front so no more having to bend down to take off your boots.  It measures 22x25.4x11.7cm and is priced at £24.99.  Great to keep at the back door or in the garage so no more trailing muck into the house.  You can find this item along with some great doormats on our Wipe Your Feet page.

As Easter is coming up at the end of the month, I will be highlighting some gift ideas later in the week.  I know we all just want chocolate, but think about it, it tastes great for a little while then you just regret it.  Whereas, with one of our great gifts for the garden you will keep on enjoying it right throughout the year.  Here's a little taster of what might be coming up. It's a different version of the Easter Bunny!! 

And just to make you feel as though Spring is on the way, enjoy this picture of some lovely daffodils and let me know if you have any in your garden.

So, its been another cold start to the week, we even had SNOW on Monday.  This
is exciting because while the rest of the country has had its fair share of snow this winter, we in Carlisle have had practically none.  So we mustn't forget our feathered friends at this time of year and here are a couple of products which are great ways of feeding the birds in your garden.

This mesh nut feeder is such a simple item but the birds will love it.  And what about these apple feeders, they come in a choice of apple, circle or duck and you just stick an apple on the skewer and hang it up.

Hopefully you all saw my blog from Sunday where I introduced the first "Product of the Week" which was another, more decorative way of feeding the birds with a Pinecone bird feeder.  The response to this feeder has been great and I only have a few left now and at £19.99 they are really good value and will last for years. As you can see below they are quite large and look great in the garden and the birds love it!

Well that's about it for today hope you've got some ideas.  You can find all these products on our Best For Birds page and there are loads more things to choose from.  We also have a facebook page now so look out for that and please click the like button.  Feel free to leave any comments on either the blog or facebook we love to hear from you.  Enjoy the rest of the week and stay warm wherever you are.
                                                      

As promised this week starts with " PRODUCT OF THE WEEK" where we highlight one of our fab gifts.

First one up is our Pinecone Bird Feeder which you can find on our Best For Birds page.  This feeder not only looks good but is a great way of feeding the birds in your garden.  It is made from a durable weatherproof resin which means that when hung from a tree the weight wont damage any branches.  

The feeder has 10 holders for either seed, water or peanuts.  Each holder is approximately 4.5cm in diameter and 2cm deep.  The overall height of the feeder is 25cm and the width is 20cm.  It comes in a rustic finish that will naturally blend in with your garden.

So go on why not treat yourself to this unusual and decorative bird feeder. You will love it and I'm sure the birds in your garden will love it too.  At only £19.99 it makes an ideal gift which will keep on giving pleasure the whole year round.  Find it now on our Best For Birds page!!

WW5

How's the weather been with you today?  We have been freezing up here in Cumbria and now it's just started raining.  I thought it was meant to be getting warmer now that Spring was here.  We are so obsessed with the weather in this country that having a handy thermometer in your garden is a really useful thing to have.  We even have these fun frog thermometers to get kids interested early on.  Or if you want something a little more stylish how about this round thermometer with a bright blue face.  Its modern and useful and would look great in anyones garden.  For more ideas on keeping an eye on what the weather's up to go to our What's the Weather page.

WW8

We've launched!!  Our new online gardening gift shop is now open for business and we've already had our first 2 orders which were despatched today.  

Starting next week we will be having a "product of the week" where we go in depth on one of our many gift ideas. Talking of which, don't forget Mothers Day this Sunday 10th March, you just about have time to place an order and make your mums day with one of our fabulous products that will make her smile!  Here's a couple of ideas to get you started.

BK6

IG11

Ruddick Garden Gifts.

Well were nearly there the mystery will unfold soon just a quick blog to check things working.

www.ruddickgardengifts.co.uk