Art for Heart's Sake

A Beautiful Autumn Day!

Hi on Thursday afternoon.  It is a gorgeous autumn day here today.. there is a slight breeze which is cool, the sun is shining and there are clouds here and there.  One of the things I love the most about this time of year is the way the light changes.  We no longer have the very harsh light that we get during our New Zealand summers.  Everything is softened by a sort of golden glow, it's so divine!

This morning I went and posted the gift tags to Pete, then I bought some socks (so exciting I know, giggle!) and headed to Bay Landscapes to deliver my plants.  I spent some time tidying the plants that were there and ended up bringing home all of my lettuces (around 24 punnets worth) unfortunately because they hadn't sold and were too big.  I hate having to do that but it's just the nature of things at this time of year.  I only took 4 fresh punnets of lettuces in today because they were the only ones that were ready so chances are EVERYONE will want lettuce this weekend!  Bah, giggle.

I need to prick out a lot of plants this pm before I head off to ballet in a couple of hours or so, so I'd better get cracking.  Smiles..

MORNING!!

Hi, it's Wednesday morning and it's been a busy one so far.  I've gardened for my neighbour for an hour and since then I've been writing plant labels and now I'm about to label the plants for Bay Landscapes which I'll deliver tomorrow.  I'm feeling a little demoralised at the moment because even though they were really busy during the Easter weekend break, I didn't sell many plants.   Never mind, I will grow a lot less for March next year because at the moment I'm having to throw too many lettuces and other things out.  My flowers aren't selling either but I'm hoping that will change in the next few weeks as people look for colour for winter.  

That's the thing about my line of business, you never really know what people are going to want to buy and in what quantity so it's a bit of a toss-up really.  

I'm a bit annoyed at myself because I have managed to strain my left achilles tendon slightly this morning.  I was leaning too far forward to get some gooseberry plants in pots when I ought to have moved a whole lot of other plants to get to them.  Grrrrrrr... Murphy's Law!!  It's not too bad but just makes me think ''NOOOOOOO'' when I've got ballet tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning.  It is a tiny bit sore when I rise up onto demi-pointe... darn it!  I've put some liniment on it so hopefully that will stop it getting worse.  Grump, grump, grump.. silly me!!!

This pm I am packing up my gift tags too so I can send them to Pete tomorrow.  It's only a few of each size but it will help until I can get the rest done.  

Crikey I'd better get going!  Time is moving fast today!  Smiles..

Blasted Mildew!

Hi there, it's Monday morning and I am in the process of cutting back the foliage on my ''just saleable size'' pansies and violas.  I checked them yesterday to see which ones were ready to take to Bay Landscapes this week when, to my absolute horror, I noticed some mildew on the foliage of quite a few of them.  Dang and blast it!  The weather last week was very humid, especially just after the heavy downpour we had on Wed pm/Thursday and that was enough to start it off.

I don't spray so definitely don't want to use a fungicide on them (ewwwwwwwwwwwww) so my only chance of saving the plants is to cut the foliage right back, feed them and wait for them to regrow.  I am also going to mist them with a mixture of baking soda and water which is a natural way of inhibiting the development of mildew.  There's no point on doing it before I cut them back because the seedlings are small and I'd have trouble getting under the leaves.  Needless to say my lovely early supply of pansies and violas is no more!  I got a bit upset but realistically I can only do what I can do so I just have to try to save the plants and not stress!

I have more seedlings ready to prick out so I think I'll put them in the tunnel house which hopefully won't be too hot for them. 

I remembered how to embed a video now so here is the video of the kitchen garden.  Password is Geranium.  This was taken before I slogged in it over the weekend!  I'm off to ballet practise this pm, yippeeeee!  I worked so hard in the garden over the Easter break that I'm really looking forward to dancing.  Smiles...

Kitchen Garden from Philippa Foes-Lamb on Vimeo.

 

A Video - Kitchen Garden!

Hi there, it's late pm on Easter Sunday and I'm exhausted!  I've been working in the kitchen garden again, plus doing ''cutting in'' on the hallway walls while John was using a roller to paint the walls white.  It looks AMAZING!  Our hallway is narrow and short so the white has lifted the area and made it seem wider - not a ''cold'' vibe in sight! 

Here is the video I took of the kitchen garden yesterday morning BEFORE anything got composted or planted in one of the big rotational beds.  I've also weeded the artichoke bed today so it looks so much better.  I will take an ''after'' shot tomorrow.  I hope you enjoy... be warned YOU WILL SEE WEEDS!! Giggle....  

Oh bother I can't remember how to embed the video.. will do this tomorrow when I'm

 

 

Happiness is.....

....slogging it totally in the kitchen garden!!  Yesterday while I slipped out to go to ballet practise with another class member, Julia (there was no Friday ballet class because of Good Friday but I just HAD to do it) John started rotary hoeing one of the two main rotational crop beds in the kitchen garden.  

After lunch I headed out there and started forking it over, removing lots of couch and other weed roots.  It is so lovely to have it rotary hoed first because it makes turning over the soil and weeding it SO SO SO much faster and easier.  Having said that it is still quite a long job.  

Today I'm going to compost the bit I've done and plant/sow some things.  I love doing it this way because I feel as though I'm instantly accomplishing something rather than waiting until I've turned over the whole area.  I've taken a video which I will post later or tomorrow but beware YOU WILL SEE LOTS OF WEEDS!!  My poor raspberry patch looks horribly neglected so that is next on my list, as is my strawberry patch!  EEEEEK.

There is a bit of high cloud today thank heavens and I hope it stays around all day.  Yesterday even though the humidity had cleared it was REALLY hot in the sun.  The kitchen garden is so sheltered  because of the hornbeam hedge.

Well I'd better get gardening.  Smiles..

A Quick Post!

Hi, it's almost 3pm on Thursday afternoon and I'm about to leave for ballet class.  We had oodles of rain from yesterday afternoon through to this morning so there has been a bit of traffic mayhem.  It's also the start of the Easter weekend too so I imagine the traffic coming home around 5.30pm will be HORRENDOUS, well in terms of usual Nelson peak-hour traffic that is.  

This morning I went to the farm shop early and then to Bay Landscapes to take some plants in and tidy up the existing ones.  I've finished 5 gift tags and have a few more almost finished.  I'm going to send Pete a few of each size next week so I'm pleased with my headway so far with those.

Well I'd better fly.  More tomorrow.  Smiles..

Squeeeeee It's Raining!

Hi, this is my favourite headline at the moment.  We haven't had any real rain to speak of since that huge downpour in mid-February so today's rain is really welcome.  It is meant to be very heavy at some stage, maybe overnight which I hope is right because the ground needs time to soak some of the gorgeous moisture up first.

This morning I gardened next door for an hour and then my friend Janet called in for a cup of tea.  I revised a short editorial for John and then started writing my plant labels.  I've just finished labeling my plants and am now about to start working on a few gift tags.  I'm going to send Pete a few of each size to tide him over because they are getting very low on stocks of them - yes they are selling well which is just SO SO SO lovely!

Here is another short video highlighting Nicotiana ''Perfume Delight''.  These gorgeous annuals are well worth growing - they have the most divine evening fragrance and look so pretty.  They also handle sun or semi-shade and almost any soils.  When I have some of my gift tags finished I'll video them for you too.  Smiles..  Password is Geranium

Nicotiana ''Perfume Delight'' from Philippa Foes-Lamb on Vimeo.

 

 

A Video!

Hi there, I woke up feeling irksome today but luckily that seems to have passed!  I haven't slept soundly for the past three nights because it's been a bit too hot and it makes me so tetchy even though I don't want to be!  This morning I went round the garden with our video camera and I've uploaded it to Vimeo so I hope this works.  I walked around the main perennial garden so you could see how it looks now I've finished weeding it (for now!!!).  The password for this video is Geranium.

 I'm off to ballet practise this pm so I'm madly pricking out seedlings again.  Smiles..

Humid as Heck!

Hi, oh my goodness this humidity is killing me!  It's been humid for about 3 days now and I've had enough, so there - make it go away please!!!  Giggle.

Yesterday I managed to get some more weeding done in the woodland garden area so I'm making really good headway which makes me happy!  Oh brother the weeds are growing like, well, weeds in the main perennial bed again though!  I may have to re-weed it earlier than I thought I would have to!  Surely the weather has to cool down soon!!!!!

This morning I went out with my friend and neighbour, Robyn, to choose some embellishments etc to go on my black tutu skirt.  Bless Robyn's heart she is going to do the sewing for me.  We got some gorgeous magenta tulle and small soft pink flower sequins (some white, silver and soft green in the pack too but we'll probably just use some white ones for highlights).  We had coffee and then went to Jellicoe (where I used to work) to see if they had any motif type things that would be suitable to use too.  Oh my goodness we found the most DIVINE!!! fabric - it's sheer very pale pink net with the most gorgeous ''antique'' gold motif patterns on it.  It truly was a squeeeee moment when we found that!  I also got a few more bits of gorgeous lacy fabric that I can use on my gift tags too.

This pm I am madly pricking out punnets of vegetable seedlings.  I have a lot of flowers to prick out too over the coming days but the vegetables are the most important because they stretch very quickly.  

I'm having a cup of tea at the moment which is why I'm typing this.  I'm also rather irksomely fighting a sore throat.  I noticed the left-hand side of my throat was a bit sore when I swallowed during the night on Saturday so I am tossing Echinacea down my throat and I'm sure it will ward it off!  I don't have time for it!  Back to my seedlings I must fly.  Zoom, zoom!  Smiles... 

Chook Update & Photos!

Hi there, it's Sunday afternoon and we've just finished lunch so I'm letting it go ''down'' before I launch myself back into the garden.  

This morning we had a lovely chat to my sister-in-law in the UK and Ruth mentioned that I hadn't updated how the chooks have been going now they are in the same chook run/house.  The good news is no feathers have been flying!  Sometimese Louie (rooster) chases Gertrude especially if she gets to close to Filigree and Lace but then Gertrude chases his girls so I'd say they are pretty even.  I was a bit concerned at first that Gertrude might not be able to get to the food easily but this seems to have worked well too.  I started with a separate dish in a different part of the run, as well as the chook feeder in another spot.  This worked well but I soon realised Gertrude was taking food from the main chook feeder too so I stopped being concerned.  

I love going down to the chook run around 6pm and I sit in the run on the ground just watching them.  I usually take a treat for Gertrude (the others are too young for sunflower seeds yet) and the others eat their chick crumble out of my hand.  Too cute!  Here is an updated photo of them and one of Gertrude too.  They don't generally stand together in a group so I had to take Gertrude separately.

This morning I've been spreading compost on the bit of woodland garden I weeded yesterday, plus throwing sheep manure pellets around (I bought more on Friday).  I've also continued to weed but the sun is on that area now so it's a bit too hot.  The rain we were supposed to have hasn't eventuated.  There is a big High pressure thingo to the East of the country that's stopping the rain from reaching us from the Northwest.  Such a pain!  Rain dance please!  Smiles..