Art for Heart's Sake

Yikes, What a Day!

Hi there, it's Tuesday morning, oooh last day of September!  I had an ''interesting'' day yesterday - the morning was great, I got quite a lot of seeds sown and did other things.  Just after lunch I was messaged by one of my friends on Facebook asking me if I'd started up another page because she had a friend request from me.  NO was my answer and yes you guessed it, it all rolled from there.  I soon realised my page had been hacked by some rotten person.  This threw me into a bit of a spin because I could see that I could report it but I had to find the page to be able to report it!  Luckily my gorgeous niece Jess send me a link and I managed to do it, my other friends reported it too so I got a message from the support team telling me the page had been deleted.  Phew but still ick!  Not a nice feeling at all especially as they were sending odd messages to my friends. 

This morning I also got an email from Linked In (a professional business networking site) to say that ''Philippa'' had viewed my profile.  This really creeped me out I have to tell you!  Hopefully they're not also reading my blog but who knows!  The life of cyber-space I guess.

Today I'm meeting my ex-boss' daughter, Brie, for coffee which I'm really looking forward to, she's such a honey!  I must fly out the door or I'll be late.  Smiles..

My Latest Gift Tags

Hi, it's Monday morning and my nursery is open so I need to get outside pretty quickly.  I've been for a walk this morning and am going to try to go for one every second morning at least, to keep my hip fit, fit fit!  It's very easy for me to just concentrate on gardening but my hip needs to walk!

Here are my latest gift tags.  The first two are my largest size 16.5cm high x 8cm across (6.5'' x 3''') and the third one is my medium size 13.5cm high x 6.5cm wide (5.2'' x 2.6'').  The first one I've made for Mum's birthday this week and I'm really happy with it.  This one and the smaller one have fabric backgrounds and Mum's one has a fuzzy feel to the slightly raised part of the fabric.  Just lovely to touch.

More tomorrow honeys.  Smiles..

Daylight Saving (Summer Time) is Here!

Hi, yawwwwn... yes daylight saving is here again.  We put our clocks forward an hour last night (well this morning actually, giggle) so today is going REALLY fast.  I love daylight saving in a way but I always find I'm tired for the first week after we put the clocks forward or back (in Autumn).  Our ducks are certainly confused this morning because as far as they're concerned we're doing everything one hour too early!

I do love the extra light we have at the end of the day and I am going to make an effort this year to really make the most of it by doing more outside after dinner.  I say this every year but I do still tend to find myself collapsed on the couch in front of the television at night.  Humphhhh this needs to change!

Today it is still raining every so slightly (we had 35mm overnight, about 1 1/4'') so I'm quite happy for the rain to stop now!  I need to finish weeding the main perennial garden this week so I can start all over again!!  The kitchen garden is also growing weeds like mad, so much for my hoeing it every week.  Aaaaggghhhhhhhh, smacking myself on the forehead!

'Today I'm going to pot up some of my tomato seedlings and also work on some gift tags.  I need to finish one for my Mum's birthday on Thursday.  I need to get her gift in the mail on Tuesday.  Time to get started.  Happy day/night wherever you are honeys!  Smiles..

Shabby Chic Market

Hi on a slightly damp Saturday afternoon!  This morning I took my lovely friend Janet to a local shabby chic market.  It was such fun and there were some lovely treasures to be oggled at!  I managed to get a very cheap little shelf-thingy that will be perfect either in our bedroom or in my studio, I'm not sure which!

I have been asked to have a stall at this market on 29 November so it was also good to see whether my plants, gift tags etc will fit in and they definitely will.  Such a thrill to be asked to have my plants there too.  I'm going to work (along with John) on finding a 'point of difference' for my actual stall too.  I see brainstorming one evening soon!

It has just started to rain and I think the rain is going to last until tomorrow pm.  It's also forecast to get heavy at some stage too.

I think I might head out to the farmshed or the studio for the rest of the afternoon.  Smiles..

Squeeeeee Trillium Heaven!

Hi, oh and squeeeee look at this!!!

This is Trillium luteum, a trillium (wake robin) that is hard to get here in NZ. I am very lucky to have two pots of it.  This is the first time it has flowered for me since I bought them 2 years ago.  I love it - the foliage is special too.

I also took a couple of photos of seedling Geranium phaeum in my garden yesterday.  I love the markings in the centre of these flowers and the colour is lovely too.

Yesterday I spent most of the morning getting plants ready to go to Bay Landscapes - only 16 of them - but by the time I've done the packing slip, invoice, hand-written labels and writing and laminating colour photograph/description labels for them, at least 2-3 hours has gone, crikey!

In the afternoon I sowed some more seeds and also put an wholesale order in with Egmont Seeds for some tall cosmos, tall sweet william (beautiful!) and a few other things for me to grow in punnets for Bay L. 

This morning I woke up with a very sore neck.  I think I was lying scrunched up some how and oh boy from my shoulder right up into my head is sore and I can hardy turn my neck to the right.  Humppphhhhh, poop!  John has just rubbed a natural anti-inflammatory cream into it and it's burning just nicely right now!

I'm off out into the garden to plant a few seedlings before it's due to rain tomorrow.  I also need to do some more weeding - sore neck be darned!  Smiles..

It's Done!

Hi and oh boy what a rushed morning I've had today.  I've been sorting out plants, printing labels, laminating labels, handwriting labels to take to Bay Landscapes tomorrow.  I seem to be taking an average of 15-20 plants there each week which is fabulous!  I have some punnets of different flowering plants coming on too which is great.  They have enough vegetable plant suppliers and I am so happy to be growing what I love - flowers!

Yesterday I finished inputting/updating my online nursery catalogue (my sister blog).  Here is the link - www.artforheart.typepad.com/perennial_nursery/.   I hope you'll have a look and tell me what you think.  Let me know if it needs improving, I'd really appreciate that!  The one hitch I have is if I want to add plants they can't be added in alphabetically which means they will just be the latest posts.  I guess that doesn't really matter, it will just feel weird to my ex-secretarial/PA organised brain.  Yes I have a section of my brain that is really particular about things being ''just so''.  Unfortunately that doesn't apply to housework, dang it!  Giggle.

My nursery is open today and I need to sow loads more seeds too.  I must get outside.  Smiles.. oooh Monty no longer has his e-collar on so he'll be going out in a couple of days.  Yay for him, boo for the birds!  Smiles..

Blowing Like Crazy!

Hi on a VERY windy Wednesday morning.  Oh my goodness I'd forgotten what strong winds are like - rather LOVELY!  We don't get a lot of really windy days but when we do they are just magical in a way.  There's nothing like a strong wind to blow the cobwebs out of your brain.  Having said that I'm going to try to stay out of it today because I still have this head cold and wind in my ears - even if it's a warmish one - is not a good idea!

Yesterday I got my plants sent away safely and came home via the library and a quick stop at the supermarket.  In the afternoon I planted some vegetable seedlings in the kitchen garden (hopefully they haven't blown away) and checked on my seedlings and seed raising trays in the glasshouse.  I really wanted to keep gardening but I know I was better not to in terms of getting better. 

Today I will spend some time sowing seeds in the farmshed and working in my studio.  Oooh an update on the swallows - they are still waiting for the nest to dry out but they are filling the inside of it with lots of goodies including goat hair I've put out for them and sphagnum moss.  I can't wait for them to nest.

I have a customer coming round this morning to visit my nursery so I'd better get outside and make sure all is looking as good as it can be!  Smiles..

Plants Away!

Hi, on this very sneezy, wheezy Tuesday morning!  Bah!  Enough not said about that!  I've just packed up two lots of plants ready to send them overnight courier to their new owners.  It's really funny - I always feel as though I'm sending my babies away from home.. crikey!  I pack them with tender, loving care because I need to shake most of the potting mix off from around their roots, wrap them in damp paper towel, then newspaper, into a bag that is rolled down at the top and secured with tape.  I wrap them in bubble wrap, pop them into the postie bags and then tuck them in with straw.  Plants are just amazing the way they can survive stuck in a dark plastic postie bag for a day or two.  I'm not sure I'd do that well, giggle.

Yesterday I worked on my online catalogue and I have almost got it done.  I'm just adding some of my other treasures (as opposed to my hardy geranium collection) and then I will update the availability of the hardy geraniums I entered ages ago and there it will be.  It's going to be so much easier to keep it up to date.  If you'd like to have a look here's the link:

www.artforheart.typepad.com/perennial_nursery/

I hope to have it all updated by the end of this week, then I'll start contacting nationwide garden groups too.

I'm off to post my plants, go to the library for much needed books and a couple of other errands.  Smiles.. achhhoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

ACHOOO..... OH POOKIES!

Hi there on this very sneezy Monday morning!  Ugh ugh ugh, yes I have a head cold and my face feels as though there is a brick and cotton wool behind behind it!  Eeeeek, urghle..  Out vile bugs!

I am off to see my surgeon for my six monthly check this pm and I'm not going to cancel it because it could take weeks to get to see him and I have a few things I need to run past him about my leg.  I am getting odd pains in my femur and I want definite reassurance that all is okay with my replacement.  It's a bit frustrating to be having discomfort at this stage when all was going so well about 2 months ago!  I'm hoping it is just I have been doing more gardening than walking and my hip needs more walks!

It's a gorgeous day today but there is a nasty cold SW wind blowing straight off the snowy mountains.  Most of the country has been plunged back into winter for a few days although on Wed we have 19 degrees C predicted, crikey!

I am about to upload some more info to my perennial nursery page www.artforheart.typepad.com/perennial_nursery/.  I'm hoping to get it completely done by this time next week and have all of the availability information updated too.  I can't wait until this is finished because it will be so quick to update on a regular basis, yay!

I'm sending my first two plant orders off this week and will be organising the paperwork for others in the next week or so too.  Crikey, I'd better get started.. ACHOOOOOOO.  Smiles..

 

Another Busy Day, Sniff!

Hi there, yes you guessed it, I have John's head cold, or the beginnings of it anyway.  I'm hoping to give it away REALLY soon, giggle!  I don't have time to have a cold, just too much to do.  It does explain why I've been feeling so tired at the end of the day for the last couple of days though.  I was brewing it!

This morning we headed out to Motueka's sunday market (20mins drive) and got some beautiful lavender hand and body lotion I'd been told about.  Our local husband and wife team that used to make their beautiful hand lotion has closed down which is so sad.  The good news is this new hand cream seems to be just as good and smells more strongly of lavender, just perfect for putting on before sleep.

I also managed to get some beautiful, very healthy vegie and flower plants which I'll plant in a day or two.  We are predicted to get frosts for the next couple of days so I don't want to plant them yet. 

Here is a photo John took this morning when he was walking the dog.  This was taken from the subdivision across the road.  We walk the dog up the hill and the view looking towards Nelson is just lovely.  The photo is a bit grainy because it was taken on his iPhone.  You can see our paddock bottom right.. the green area with two big trees in it.  More tomorrow honeys.. Smiles..