Welcome! This is the place where I prattle on about stitching, gardening and anything else that takes my fancy! Please say hello from time to time. I am always happy to answer your questions. If you are looking for something in particular, the search box should get you there!
On my good days, I philosophise with myself about how we arrive in this world with nothing, and will leave with nothing; that houses and gardens are just the 'stuff' we accumulate in between. I lecture myself about materialism, and force myself to refocus on what I have, rather than what I've lost.
Read MoreI get my best gardening done when I'm stressed! Our wheat crop is due to be harvested any day, and it is my job to deal with contractors, organise trucks and generally make it happen. One of the things I do to calm myself is to pop outside into the garden and pull a few weeds.
Read MoreA favourite plant in the garden right now is this beauty: Salvia involucrata 'Bethellii', which I purchased from a plant stall at Ballarat Botanic Gardens a few years ago.
Read MoreI have been keen to dig up my Brunsvigia josephinae clump for several seasons now, but have been procrastinating. The bulbs are rare and I don't want to risk losing them.
Read MoreA winter garden is often dull and uninteresting because so many plants are in dormancy. Over the years, I've intentionally searched for winter-flowering plants to brighten up the dull spots and challenge the gloom.
Read MoreOn closer inspection, we found the most perfectly formed nest, carefully constructed on the ground and complete with three pretty speckled eggs.
Read MoreI spent the long weekend dilly-dallying in the farm garden, basking in gloriously sunny, winter weather ...
Read MoreThe garden is not at its best after a very wet summer. We have lost plants to fungal diseases, the roses are covered in black spot, and the pests and bugs are having a grand old time! So I have to work a bit harder to see the beauty!
Read MoreI love to take macro shots of my flowers, but I thought with these photos that I would also pan back and give you a sense of place - some context as to where each of my flowers sits within the garden. Enjoy!
Read MoreWe are accommodating and catering for twenty-five across the Easter weekend, including a small army of children, so the last week has been a flurry of activity. I sneaked a quiet walk around the farm garden before the family descended and the rowdy fun begins!
Read MoreThis is the final post of my farm garden tour. Today we'll wander about the side of the house, and to the vegetable garden out the back. Last post, we walked along the front of the house and turned left at the silver birches. If we take a right turn instead, across the stepping stones, we head down the eastern side of the house.
Read MoreI am glad so many of you are enjoying our walk through the garden. Thank you for all your kind comments on my last two posts. Feel free to ask questions as we walk! Passing across the front of the house, you look left over the front lawn to a stand of lemon scented gums.
Read MoreI left you, a week ago now, stranded at the front entrance to our farm garden. I'm sorry - my garden tours are never speedy.
Welcome! On your right is the first of a few Manchurian pears, beautiful in spring bloom ...
Read MoreLet me take you on a little tour - it could take a few posts! We'll start at the front-drive. Chinese liquidambers are planted either side of the drive, to eventually create an avenue that you will drive through. I use strawberries as a groundcover down the drive - pretty and productive! There are rows of agapanthus behind the strawberries.
Read MoreWe are expecting rain and temperatures are slowly dropping, so I thought I should get some bloom photos in before they pack themselves away for winter. These are some of my treasured & unusual plants at our farm garden.
Read MoreThe roses are blooming away happily in our farm garden, oblivious to the impending cold ... and the autumn leaves are starting to colour.
Read MoreYes, I probably need to get out more! But I was very excited to find, on a quick trip back to our farm garden on the weekend, that my Josephine's Lily (Brunsvigia josephinae) had shot up two wondrous flower spikes for the first time.
Read MoreBack to the farm for the weekend for the baptism of a nephew, so an opportunity to check on my garden. We managed to catch the Taiwan flowering cherry (Prunus campanulata) in full & glorious bloom. It only flowers for a week so we were fortunate to be there just at the right time.
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