Settling into a new garden

Every day in a new garden is an adventure.  We discover new and exciting things everyday.  I don't know what this flower is called but it looks almost like it is painted.

There are several roses dotted throughout the garden.  They are not roses I would have chosen but they suit this space and I am thrilled with them.

We are waiting for our fruit to ripen and I think the birds are waiting for them too.  We have apples, apricots and cherries.  Our lemon tree has finished fruiting but has lots of new fruit on it.   The idea of having a productive garden is also new to us.  We have added a vegetable garden and a little plot of herbs.

Speaking of birds - I discovered this nest today when I was pruning.  Mother bird is sitting on the eggs so I was careful not to disturb her.  There are several nests in our garden and the birds here are different from the birds in our previous garden. 

Sometimes we even manage some time to sit and relax.  This palm makes it feel like a resort in our own back garden.

Planning a new knee

Today I visited the surgeon who will do my knee replacement.  He is well known as an orthopedic surgeon and operates in a hospital just ten minutes from our home.

I do feel nervous about the surgery but at present I can hardly walk for more than five minutes.  I look forward to being able to take long walks again.


Anyway in the meantime the garden continues to delight.

Wonders from the garden

New House - New Life

I have been surprised at how quickly we have settled into our new home.  It is as if we have always lived here.

It is only 20 minutes from our previous home so we are still in the same general area but this is much more suburban compared to the bushland we were living in.

In practical terms this house is not as big as our previous one but it is spacious and well designed.  There are no stairs and the block of land is flat. 

We were on a quiet windy little road before and now we are on a main road with school buses passing by morning and afternoon.

We had possums and tall trees and mostly indigenous plants in our garden.

There were lots of beautiful birds too.

Our new garden is well established with lots of flowers and green lawns.

Fruit trees and bulbs.

I spend a lot of time outside in the garden.

I do love our new home.

Butterflies and Bling

 I have added some lace butterflies to the corners of the box lid and then painted them with yellow glitter paint so that they blend with the other elements.





The wings of the butterfulies are turned up a bit so you can see what is underneath.

 The base of the box needed some attention so I have painted it with crackle paint.

This is a new product to me and I am quite happy with the results.

 Next I need to decide how to treat the inside of the box.  Fabric, or paint, or paper? 

I like the inside of a box to reflect the outside somehow so I think some butterflies and flowers will be in there.











 

spring in the garden

adding colour

Thanks for the useful comments about my wall hanging.  It does help to "discuss" a piece if only to reinforce previously held thoughts. 

I have decided to go with my original idea and add some colour.  As I look out my kitchen window I see a lot of tree tops and the various branches, leaves, flowers and of course birds.

Although at first glance the eucalyptus
trees seem quite dull, in fact there is a lot of colour and texture within.  You just have to look for it.

Anyway I now have a clear picture in my mind of what this piece will be.  I want it to be something that reveals itself slowly.  I want it to be peaceful and calming.  Meditative.

Beautiful helebores

These beautiful Hellebores are growing in our garden and always delight me with their fragile beauty.
 

 The flowers are easy to miss as they bow their pretty heads and this means that  they are not a good cut flower either but they are real treasures in the garden.

They usually drop a lot of seeds and so each year there are more to enjoy.





 

The colours are very  delicate and the petals are like paper so they give the impression that they are painted.







Thanks for the comments on my eaucalptus flowers.  

I was surprised to learn that some of you were unaware of these amazing flowers.  I will look in some of my books for projects that feature them.  The flowers vary from white, through yellows, oranges, pinks and reds.  Some are tiny and almost invisible while others are bright and showy.  

The trees offer nectar & shelter for birds and often provide homes for small animals, such as possums as well.

In addition they brighten  up our landscape. 

What was I thinking.

I made this little pin cushion a few weeks ago and once it was all finished I realised you can see the loose threads from the back of the work.  

I am so cross with myself for being careless and not making the back neat.  

This is something I do like to do - finish the back of my work neatly.  In fact I am a bit obsessed by it, so you can imagine I am not pleased.

The back is stitched together in blanket stitch and although I hate the thought of it I am going to have to unstitch it and fix it up.  Those loose threads will drive me mad.

 

I have been spending quite a lot of time in the garden lately.  This beautiful Gordonia had just dropped off the bush and is a little bit bruised but still so beautiful.  The bush is only about 30cm high but covered in buds.  Hopefully I will have a chance to take a photo of some of the flowers when they are still attached to the bush.

We are gradually making sense of the parts of the garden that had the trees removed.  It is hard work but well worth the effort.  

The stack of logs for the fire is looking good and as we have far too much we put some of the logs out the front and today someone drove up with a trailer and was thrilled to take some away.

As some of you know, I mind the little babies next door for a couple of hours each day and their daddy helps us out with tasks that are difficult for us. (we don't have to ask, he just notices things that he can help us with)  Today he climbed up on the roof and cleaned our gutters for us.  You can only imagine how thrilled I am to have that done before the winter. 
Good neighbours are real treasures.   

 

Images

It is cool outside so I am playing with photos on the computer.

The first pic is of some flowers I received some time ago,  They are so pretty and bright.

I added some texture to the pic first.

This is the "cling wrap" effect.  I love this look.

And I can never resist a spiral.   Isn't this interesting.

I really do have lots of other things to do - for instance 3 baskets of ironing but today is a kind of day off.
We are out visiting friends again tomorrow and as I find socialising a bit of a strain I need today to relax.  

SANTA - TAKING SHAPE

While I was away I managed to fit in quite a few hours of stitching. 
We were travelling light so I just took some of santa's costume, a few threads and needles.

I finished adding the leaves but still have a few crystals to apply on the border of the skirt.

The bodice is to be decorated with some native flora.   On the back and over one shoulder is some yellow wattle.  One sleeve has some daisies and the front and another sleeve features gum blossom.  

I am hoping to finish this project by Monday. There are still quite a few details to be taken care of but I am fairly confident it will look ok when I finish.  I am especially pleased with the hands.  They look really "human" in expression and colour.

The perfume from this gorgeous gardenia filled the humid air after a short rain shower.  It is so creamy and perfect.   It is in the garden of the house we stayed at in Noosaville.

THE EQUINOX - HAPPY DAYS AND SAD NEWS

I never grow tired of the sunsets over the sea.  Last night we went to pick up some fish'n'chips for tea and on the way we stopped on the cliff top to watch the sun go down.  It seemed like a special sunset as we had heard earlier in the morning that Mike's (my hubby) dear uncle had passed away in hospital in the UK.

These are the times that we feel so far away.

 The tyrrany of distance is more than just a saying when you have relatives so far away and no way of being there at important times.

So we watched the sun go down and thought of this man who was so important to Mike as he grew up and so lovely to me when I visited the UK some years ago.  We were lucky to have him visit us here in Austtralia some twenty years ago and Mike made several business trips to the UK which allowed him the opportunity to see loved ones.

 In the garden we have lots of baby birds and their parents seem to be endlessly seeking out food for them.  We have magpies and crimson rosellas with little ones in the nest.

And speaking of little ones - the neighbours next door have welcomed two new daughters into their family.

These much wanted little girls, Chelsea and Caitlin, will be home in a couple of weeks.  They have a big sister at home who is anxious to help with them.

I haven't done much stitching this week but am hoping to do some in the next few days.  School holidays continue and of course the garden requires lots of attention at this time of year.  The roses are producing new leaves so I am looking forward to flowers later.  The camellias have bloomed prolifically this year but the rain has been so constant that they have not lasted well.