Art for Heart's Sake

An Exciting Discovery!

Hi, it's 10.03am on Monday morning and I have a load of washing on the line, the dog's been walked, I have the sprinkler going on the raised beds around my studio (will take a few hours to do it all) and I am about to head out to the kitchen garden to start weeding! 

A few days ago I was looking at the garden behind the chook houses when I spied a plant I'd completely forgotten about.  Around three years ago (I think) I bought a Tree Paeony ''Delavayi'' which I put in this garden.  Silly me really because at that time the soil wasn't up to much!  This darling tree paeony has perhaps been only around 30cm (12") high at the most each year (yikes I feel guilty).  Imagine my surprise when I realised not only was it looking a lot more healthy it had a flower bud on it!  Mass excitement with a very loud ''wow'' at the time.  This morning I checked it and the flower is open - I love the colour - sort of a dusky brick red.  The flower is only about 2.5'' across but it's stunning!

Something else that I always find amazing is the way foliage can look absolutely stunning even when there are no flowers.  This is a section at the front of the woodland garden and I just love all the contrasts of colours and shapes in the foliage.

I tried to take a photo of the Viburnum I mentioned yesterday that is at the back of the woodland garden but I simply couldn't do it justice.  What a pookie!!

I'm heading down the home straight towards Saturday and I have to say I will be happy when the Iris Convention is off my mind.  I am completely besotted with the garden at the moment though which is a lovely feeling.  Everywhere I look there is something simply gorgeous to look at and I feel very proud of it.  Thanks to John the main lawn and the edges up the drive, in the kitchen garden etc are looking fabulous.   The belt on our ride-on mower broke late last week and we are waiting on a replacement which hopefully will arrive at the equipment centre tomorrow (oh please please).  The paddock is really long and the main lawn will need one more mow before Saturday.  The weather is looking a bit patchy over the next week or so but hopefully there will be a decent fine weather window.   Keep your fingers crossed!  Smiles..

 

A Gorgeous Viburnum

Hi, happy Saturday or Sunday wherever you are.  It's mid-morning on Sunday here and again my head is spinning in circles trying to work out (or in some cases remember) what I need to do next!  I thought the main garden was pretty much finished in time for next weekend when I realised the two gardens directly in front of our verandah need re-weeding!  Crikey, giggle.  They won't take long but I'd forgotten about them.  There is loads of perennial growth there so I will just need to tweak out the weeds where I can see them.

One of my favourite Viburnums is in full flower at the moment and it is magnificent.  Her name is Viburnum plicatum ''Lanarth'' and I just adore the way she flowers.  The flowers are held on short stiff stems above each branch, giving a beautiful tiered effect.  I took this photo of the one in my main garden to show how the flowers are held above the branch. 

I have another beautiful one at the back of my woodland garden and I must take a photo of it today because it is looking so beautiful!

This pm we are off to a ''thank you'' for all of the Rugby World Cup Volunteers.  The mayor of Nelson will be there (as will a bouncy castle for the children.. hmmmmm noisy!) and it is great that they are holding something to thank everyone who volunteered.  Part of me is thinking what I could be doing here but I know it is good to get out and about sometimes too!  I'd better go and garden while I can.  Smiles..

 

More Photos

Hi, it's Saturday morning and my head is spinning - full of all the things I need to do before next weekend.  I've already taken a few things off the ''to do'' list, like adding more rocks to the rockery that isn't a rockery yet because we just won't have the time to do it.   I know, no matter what we do or don't get done - the main garden is looking FABULOUS which is the main thing.  A dear friend of mine is coming to help me weed one very nasty bed in the kitchen garden early next week and that will be a big help.  She loves weeding - hallelujah - finally someone like me!! Giggle...

Here are another couple of photos for you.  The first one is about the same size as the two I posted yesterday except square.  The butterflies are rub-ons and it looks as though she is watching the one on her shoulder - hence the words.  The second one is slightly larger and rectangular (I LOVE THIS ONE, it's so pretty!).  Enjoy!  I must get out into the garden and I have to go and pick up my neighbour/friend who has just had two weeks in the UK and Poland!!!  Crikey!  Smiles..

Off to Zumba & Photos

Hi, I'm rushing out the door this morning to walk Chester and then to go to my zumba class which starts at 9.30am (a 20min drive away).  I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying zumba again even though it means I need to get up fairly early and rush around to get all my animal tasks done and Chester walked before I leave (John leaves for work around 7.20am most mornings).  Zumba is so good for the soul (and the body of course).

Here are a couple of photographs for you, let me know what you think.  I used black chipboard as the base for all 9 of these pieces.  (More photos tomorrow).  I added some gold acrylic paint as highlights on the edges of the chipboard, the paper and in most cases somewhere on the actual paper design itself.   All of them are 3" high x 2.5" wide approx except for a couple.  I've also added a word here and there.  I really wanted to highlight the paper without smothering it in embellishments.  I'm hoping I might sell some of these (and my other decorative magnets etc) when the Iris Convention people come here on 5 Nov.  They won't be here for long so fingers crossed!!  Smiles..

An Odd Day & A Project

Hi there, yesterday was rather an ''odd'' day in a way.  I didn't get into the farmshed at all so by the end of the day I was feeling a weeny bit frustrated with myself.  After I took Chester for a walk yesterday morning it was raining so I spent a bit of time catching up on a few things on the internet (big mistake as time just disappeared!).  John came home for lunch around 1pm and then we desperately needed to go grocery shopping.  By the time we got home it was around 4pm already! 

I did manage to take some photographs of my latest projects and here is one of them.  I'm really happy with the way this turned out, mainly because it just sort of ''happened''. 

I had a lovely paper napkin and I decided to use gel medium to adhere it to a black 6x6 canvas I've had for ages.  I put gel medium over the top of it too and then used a white poster paint Sharpie pen (that my lovely friend Glee sent me from Hawaii) to write the words ''for the love of roses''.  This was nervewracking for me because I really don't like my handwriting very much.  I also have had the ceramic heart for a couple of years so wanted to use it here too.  I also made very simple paper ''roses'' to adhere to the canvas to give it more dimension.  Tattered Angels glimmer glam in ''Flirty'' finished them off nicely.  I painted the chipboard heart white and then decided to use ''permanent alazarine'' (I think that's its name) instead - such a gorgeous rich red.

Tomorrow I will start posting photographs of the stand alone pieces I've been working on.  They are simple but, hopefully, effective!  Let me know what you think.  Yippee, off to the garden I go!  The farmshed can wait until tomorrow when it is meant to be showery! Smiles..

Snowing Cherry Blossom

Hi, yay it's raining!  I am so happy because the garden (kitchen garden in particular) was just at the starting to dry out again.  I'm not sure how much rain we are going to get though, hopefully quite a bit.  It isn't cold, so it's lovely warm Spring rain too.

This morning I took Chester to our local village of Mapua because we needed a loaf of bread - not a slice in the house! and when we were walking back up the main road gusts of wind were making the cherry blossom blow off the trees.  It was so lovely walking along with cherry blossom petals falling on me.  At one stage Chester decided he wanted to chase the petals blowing along the road - NOT a good idea said Philippa as he practically pulled me off the path.  Grrrr, yes I made him sit!  It must be amazing seeing things through a puppy's eyes - so many things to take in.

Yesterday I got a lot of seedlings potted on and also sowed some more seeds.  I didn't get the farmshed totally tidied but I'm going to continue with that today.  I also need to vacuum the house badly!

I am DETERMINED to photograph the creative projects I've been working on this pm too.  I finished a canvas that just sort of ''came together'' all by itself and I'm pretty happy with it.  It's amazing what you can do with a paper napkin!  I keep saying I'll post the photographs and I promise I will!  Smiles..

Sabah and the Hare!

Hi, it's Tuesday morning and it feels like Monday!  Yesterday was a public holiday here - ''Labour Day'' and it always puts the rest of the week out of whack totally.  I always spend the entire week trying to catch up with myself..giggle.

Around 8am this morning I came outside to feed the ducks/chooks/bunny/ducklings and I noticed Sabah sitting by the bottom edge of the retaining wall, looking intently at something.  I looked in the direction he was looking and YIKES! there as a (hopefully) dead teenage hare lying on its side on the drive.  I know Sabah has killed baby rabbits in the past, but nothing this big.  I could tell it was a hare because of its incredibly strong back legs and the beautiful black tips on its ears.  I picked up Sabah and put him back inside while I decided what to do with it.  The trend is to toss them over the fence into the paddock so the hawks can benefit, but its eye was open and it was such a beautiful creature that I couldn't bear to do that.  Needless to say it is now buried.  I had to smile to myself - how many people have to bury a hare before breakfast??!!  That's country life for you.  Dear little thing - I did feel sad, even though hares destroy trees and vegies etc - they are still living creatures and very beautiful.  On a slightly sombre note it is a sign that Sabah is not up to eating these things anymore, he was just sitting there looking at it.

Today I am concentrating on potting up herbs and tomatoes and then I am going to tidy the farmshed around my potting area.  I find it is really difficult to have a production line going several days a week and keep the shed looking tidy.  It is one of the first things that people will see when they come here on 5 Nov so it is important it looks good.  I also need to unearth the trestle table which is under a pile of potting ''stuff'' so that John can strengthen it (it sags badly in the middle).  I need to use the table to put my nursery plants on in the garden on that Saturday (5th).  I think it will be more beneficial to have plants right there in the garden rather than behind the garage in the nursery.  I'm hoping I might sell more that way.

I hope you're having a great start to your week.  Big smiles.. I must fly and get started on my herbs. 

WE DID IT!

Hi and a big phew!  Yes the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup by a hair's breadth..  crikey talk about nerve-wracking.  I spent the last 20 minutes with my fingers in my ears, concentrating intently on a newspaper article so I wouldn't have to hear if we lost - hmmm sorry AB's I was so hoping you would win and the 1 point margin was just too much for me.  Giggle.  I am so happy they won and even though it wasn't the most awe-inspiring game, they have played their heart's out throughout the entire competition.

We had a lovely dinner at a local restaurant beforehand and I also managed to do some art during the game too - all in all a good evening, if a tiring one.  I am fairly pooped today as Sabah (bless his heart.. yawn) tends to run across us early in the morning meowing his head off!  I got up at about 6.35am, fed him and put the kettle on.

Yesterday I sowed some scarlet runner beans, dwarf green beans (a very special type kindly given to me by our local vegie farm stall owners) and some purple dwarf beans in the kitchen garden.  I am going to sow them successively, doing some every two weeks or so to ensure a continuous crop (I hope) this season.   I need to grow some American dwarf popping corn as seed stock for Mapua Country Trading too - I have 80 seeds (crikey) and am trying to work out where to plant them.  I don't really want to take up precious room in the kitchen garden so I think one of the house vegie raised beds will have to be it.  I'm not sure the bed I have in mind will get quite enough sun but I will give it a go anyway.

I also planted a gherkin plant for John up by the house and an Abraham Lincoln heirloom tomato.  I've put this in the caged bed that has a red currant and my boysenberry (on a frame at the back of the bed) so at least I know the ducks won't eat the tomatoes!  Oooh I also FINALLY fan-trained the boysenberry, cutting off a lot of the new growth.  I've ended up with a complete triffid for the past three years so am happy I managed to train it at just the right stage of its growth.  There's hope for me yet!

Today I am going to weed the strawberry patch out in the kitchen garden.  It is horrendously weedy around the weedcloth I've put down and as I harvested our first very tasty! strawberry the other evening I think they deserve a bit of tender loving care.  That is really early for a ripe strawberry!

Okay I'd better get out there or the day will have gone.  Big smiles and think of me happily gardening....

A Busy Day and Long One!

Hi there, this is just a fairly quick post today because I'm under pressure to get the fish compost off the back of the ute and I still have to weed some of the kitchen garden beds.. aaagghhhh..  It is going to be a very LONG day today as the Rugby World Cup Final between the All Blacks and France is being played at 9pm tonight and we are off to friends, out for dinner and then back to their house for the game.  I am taking my art journal and art supplies to create while they watch.  I just can't handle the stress of these games.  Here are a couple of photos for you.  One is the poor tree with the torn branches and also two photos of clematis.  One is Clematis montana ''Elizabeth'' (the pale pink one) and the other is montana ''Marjorie''.  I just love them!  Enjoy and more tomorrow.. sorry this is so short.  Smiles...

A Lovely Day Today

Hi, crikey and heavens to mergatroid (ermm I'm not sure if that's a word but it comes from a cartoon ''Schnagglepuss'' I used to watch as a child and it stuck for some reason) what an afternoon we had yesterday, weatherwise.

The wind I mentioned yesterday got stronger and more gusty as the day went on and by mid-pm we were having the most horrendous swirling gusts.  One of big macrocarpa trees at the top of our paddock (in a fairly sheltered position) had two big branches torn from its trunk.  John heard a noise like rattling plastic and when I went out to the kitchen garden to check on my plants a bit later I realised I could see a branch down on the ground on the other side of the tree.  I felt so sorry for the tree when I realised it was two big branches and such a nasty tear down the trunk.  I've taken a photo but as per usual it is still on the camera!  I will get it on here in the next day or two.

I felt totally demoralised at one stage, watching all of my gorgeous perennials being smashed around by the wind.  One or two of my large, lush cranesbill geraniums' foliage is looking worse for wear and I just hope they recover in time for the Iris thingy in two weeks time.  Nothing we can do about the weather, I know!

Today it is drizzling and cool which is pure bliss after the heat of yesterday.  The forecast said the rain was to clear early this morning - so far not and it's 10.45am.  I don't really mind if it carries on all day because the garden needs it after yesterday.  I went out this morning and planted a few more plants in the main perennial garden and now they are being watered-in nicely.  I have quite a lot of vegies to put in the kitchen garden but that can always wait until tomorrow.  I don't have a lightweight waterproof jacket and gardening in full, heavy wet weather gear is not my idea of fun!

I have almost finished the ''stand-up'' art pieces I've been making so I will photograph them later on today.  Have a fabulous Friday night or Saturday wherever you are.  Smiles..