New Website

I am so excited with my new website. My daughter has done a wonderful job. It's not finished yet, still a couple of things to figure out.
The button above right will take you there if you would like to take a look. We have mohair for sale and some gorgeous acrylic fur will be up soon too. Just have to take some good pics.
The mohair is Schulte and lovely quality.
The acrylic is French woven fur usually used for the fashion industry. We thought we would give it a go for bear-making and it was very successful. Being woven it does not stretch when filling and can be clipped back for muzzle detailing.
Take a look and tell me what you think.

Floral Friday

Happy Friday Everyone!
I thought I would start my post today with some Garden 'Dreamtime' pics.

This first one is from my old garden. I worked so hard at creating a little oasis in the sad barrenness of my dry garden. This was part of one little area where I grew Acanthus and watered it from my small tank. It created a lovely tropical feel.
I don't know what the little plant in the pot is but if I see another I will get it. It was lovely.
In the background is a metal duck ornament which I stood in a bowl of water under my large white Daphne. The birds would come to bathe and drink from the bowl on the horrible hot summer days.

**********
Next are a couple of pictures from the amazing Allendale Gardens in North Western Tasmania.
http://www.allendalegardens.com.au

This is my dream garden. (Trouble is I should have started at least 10 years earlier.)
All the pictures are so beautiful and well worth a look
If I'm ever lucky enough to go down that way again a visit is definitely on my 'to do' list.

How delightful would morning tea be in this glorious setting. Ahhhh....
What do you think this next one is?

I'm split between White Banksia Rose or White Philadelphus.
This next picture just takes my breath away. Utterly gorgeous!
Now just one more for good luck - and your enjoyment. Please share with us any of your favourite garden or flower pics. We would just love to see them.

ps: I was just reminded of the one thing I don't like about gardens when I discovered a Hunstman Spider in my plastics drawer in the kitchen!! Holy Cow!! The bubba had been playing in the drawer yesterday. Ewwwwwww - It is now coated in Mortein (very brave of me) and hopefully very dead!

Tuesday Treasures

I love chooks!
I want chooks!
I'm still waiting for my chooks!

There is nothing like the taste of fresh eggs and the knowledge of exactly what they have been fed and most important of all that they are Happy!
That they are free to roam wherever they want and bathe in the dust!
That they are warm when its cold, cool when it's hot and that they are loved!

This picture was taken from the internet but isn't is just precious. The little chick looks a bit ripped off. There's no room to snuggle under Mum with the great lump of an imposter stuck under there.
I don't have chooks at the moment but I am talking the boss around.
We had chooks before we moved here but 'he who wields the hammer' hasn't had time to build a chookhouse as he's been a bit preoccupied building 'our house'.
*****

I have seen some extraordinary chook houses and don't want to settle for an ordinary old 'shed' like we had before. So I went looking for some ideas and here is what I came up with:

Now this one definitely has potential. But may be just a little small. I like the wheels so it can be maneuvered around the yard.
*****

How about a Dutch Cottage?
Not bad.
*****

Now this one has potential too.
But maybe a few too many windows to clean.
*****

Then there's the 'Barn' style
Practical yet elegant, with plenty of shelter.
*****

Then there's Zany!
I like it! It's very cute and loads of fun.
*****

Here's the 'What the?' Chook penNot too sure how you're supposed to clean it.
Perhaps you just make sure there aren't any chooks in residence then just let the gurney rip?
*****

How about this absolute gem with a window box.
Love the idea of the girls being able to have breakfast in bed!
*****

Hey now THIS is what I'm talking 'bout!!
Isn't this absolutely fabulous. I can almost hear the groans of agony issuing from 'he who wields the hammer' when I show him this picture. I can see him coming over all unnecessary, having fits of the vapors and ending up completely apperplexic!
BUT the bottom line is THIS is IT. This is THE ONE!!
This is the Taj Mahal of all chook sheds is it not?
Before I show him all these pics I'm going to put on the red slippers, click my heels together 3 times, close my eyes and say "I don't want a shed, I don't want a shed, I don't want a shed"
Wish me luck!

Thanks Melody for hosting Tuesday Treasures
Why not take a trip over there and see what other treasures are on show this week.

Floral Friday

Click on any on the photos for a close-up look.

Winter ColourHello everyone and welcome to my garden.

It's getting cooler by the day and winter is begin to whistle around our ears so I am very happy to see that there is still quite a lot of colour still in the garden.
The Pink Hebe above is a favourite with the bees who are finding it difficult to get enough pollen to fill up their cells with honey.Next is a 'Honey Dripper' Grevillea. These flowers are huge, 8-10cm long and are loved by all sorts of bugs, bees, birds and botanists. The plant is still relatively immature but has a number of buds and the promise of winter colour and tucker for the wee beasties.Then we have the Red Penstamon. I love this plant whatever the colour but the red one in particular is wonderfully showy and laughs at wind, soggy soil, horizontal freezing rain and blistering summer heat as well. The bush spreads nicely without being invasive and is very easy to propogate. LOVE it!Next is my Alyogne or native hibiscus. This flowers for much of the year and is so pretty. The leaves are pinnate and lovely in their own right. It is covered in buds at the moment so will be flowering well through June. I am considering a large hedge of these if the two I have growing at present do well in our unusual growing conditions.Ah, here are my Blueberry flowers. They are so delicate, like tiny pink bonnets AND to think that they will be delicious fruit in the Summer - yummy!Finally is the last of my roses. (Which were very disappointing this year). This one is called 'Pierre de Ronsard'. It is an old world Delbard rose. It lasts well as a cut flower and is a repeat flowering climber. I can't wait for him to climb all over the wall where he is planted. The display will be a real jaw dropper - I hope.

Do you have any Winter Flowers to share? I would love to see them!

Tuesday Treasures

Thanks Melody for hosting Tuesday Treasure -
Take a look at some more treasure at Melody's blog.

Today I have some treasure from the walls of my home.
First is my Cuckoo Clock.
We saw this clock in the town of Titisee in the Black Forest in Germany and fell in love with it. It was much too big to bring home with us but we sent for it and it arrived on Christmas Eve. It was so exciting to unwrap and assemble it. Then we hung it up on the wall and held our breaths while we waited to see if the cuckoo and music box had made the long journey unscathed ....
and they had!
It plays 'Eidelweiss' and 'I love to go a wandering' alternately on the hour.
We are so used to it now that a whole day will go by with me not even hearing the songs.
It is always such a favourite with the children that visit our house. Such excitement preceeds the Cuckoo's emergence from behind his little wooden door. Then as the music plays the dancers under the cuckoo dance around and around as the water-wheel down below turns.

Next are two prints by Robert Ulmann. He was a very talented artist who lived at Warnambool. We visited there on a trip down the coast and bought some stationery. His prints, water colours and paintings were spectacular but a little expensive.
We dropped in again some years later only to discover that he had died very suddenly a year earlier and that his widow had only just opened his studio again. She was selling off the last of his work so we just had to buy something and got these two water colours.
My husband chose the giraffes and I chose the owls.
I love them both. They take pride of place in my living room.

The Owls - Singapore

Serengeti Giraffes

Thorpdale Quilt Show

Saturday May 21st 10-5pm Sunday May 22nd 10-4pm
Thorpdale Public Hall, Johnstone Street. Thorpdale Victoria 3835 Thorpdale is 10mins south of Trafalgar (which is on the Princes Hwy)
Admission is $5.00 with funds raised for the Thorpdale Mechanics Institute Inc. Browse among the numerous quilts on display and explore the stalls by local quilting and craft shops. Light lunches available along with morning and afternoon teas. Vote on your favorite quilt and entry into our 12'' block competition

Flowers from London

I thought you may like to see a couple of pictures that my daughter took while she was in London.
First are some tulips in a park garden which looks very cottagey, wild and wonderful. I just love the lilac pink colourAnd she couldn't resist taking a picture of these delightful window boxes. She said the streets and gardens were an absolute picture all done up to their very best for the royal wedding.
I love the mix here of deep pink, purple and white violas with the trailing ivy against the black cast-iron.

Floral Friday

Sorry for being so late but the Blogger was down yesterday and today was messy but we made it eventually. So here is Saturday evening's Floral Friday:

Useful and Versatile Plants:

I have just noticed that I have some flowers on my teeny tiny Blueberry bushes. I'm so excited and I can't believe that they are going set fruit which has to hang on there all through the winter until January when they ripen.

But I digress from my original plan to show you some of my favourite and useful garden plants.
Firstly these happy little Johnny Jump-ups. Aren't they just marvellous. I don't have any in my present garden but will fling some seeds around and hopefully they will be flowering in the Spring tra-la.
To digress a little again: For those of you who are not Gilbert and Sullivan fans; reference was made in The Mikado to 'The flowers that bloom in the Spring TRA-LA, have nothing to do with the case!" Now my Mum, who was a gardener and botanist extraordinaire, was also a G & S fan and the Mikado she knew almost by heart. She took me to see it when I was about 12 and I was an instant convert!
She would go about the house singing "Three little maids from school are we."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXWkIZUPmDY&feature=fvwrel

and "A wand'ring Minstrel I. A thing of shreds and patches."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN6S8g1QrqU&feature=related

So Mum could never, ever refer to the Spring without adding the 'tra-la' from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbYaCD8xYZ0


Nasturtiums! They come in yellow, orange, red and white and assorted combinations and make such a useful ground cover. They are a very old fashioned plant but making a comeback I'm happy to say. I remember them climbing over the garden gate.
Wisteria - How versatile is wisteria. It can flop on the ground, climb up a wall, over a pergola or an old clothesline or be trained as a standard AND they are all totally gorgeous!

Please join us and put your link in below so we can all see your gorgeous blooms.

Lucky Me!

Well now, being the Mum of two ladies who recently won a trip to London AND this event coinciding nicely with Mother's Day and my birthday (how convenient) resulted in me having a very lucrative trip to Melbourne this week.

Let me start with the most beautiful China trio set I have ever laid my eyes on!
They bought this set at Windsor CastleFirstly is the plate. Notice the 'V' in the centre. It stands for Victoria (as in Queen Victoria - naturally) The colours and design are absolutely stunning. WOW! just doesn't cut it!Secondly is the saucer, again with the 'V' but with a different design in the same beautiful colours.Lastly is the outside of the cup.
I just love it, just in case you hadn't already picked up on that, and hope you enjoy looking at it.
Here is a transcript of part of what is written on the card which accompanies the set:

This design is inspired by English fine bone china commissioned by Queen Victoria for the Great Exhibition in 1851. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) succeeded to the throne aged 18 and reigned for 63 years over one of the most remarkable periods of growth, change and discovery, whilst the British Empire was at its peak.
.......... Made in Staffordshire using traditional methods which have remained unchanged for 250 years, each piece of this exclusive range of English fine bone china is skillfully finshed by hand using 22 carat gold.
............

Next is my Harrod's apron! Isn't it cute.
And, of course, some wedding memorabilia:This is an enameled fridge magnet about 6cm in diameter and is very shiny which is why I had to take the picture from the side so there was no reflection from it.
(My DH said we now have a Royal Fridge - The disc looks like it is part of the fridge door)

This is a bit 'shopping channel' -
But wait there's more!!
There is more and I will post more pics soon.

Floral Friday

Everyone loves roses! Some love full high petalled roses, single roses, climbing roses, old world roses or red roses. Some love painted roses, perfumed or silk roses.
To me it's simple I just love them all!
So here's a little rose-fest with some of my own garden roses and a few other bits and pieces too.
I hope you enjoy my

Glorious Roses:Hybrid Tea: Tiffany

from:
The Year of the Rose
by
Algernon Charles Swinburne

From the depths of the green garden-closes
Where the summer in darkness dozes
Till autumn pluck from his hand
An hour-glass that holds not a sand;
From the maze that a flower-belt encloses
To the stones and sea-grass on the strand
How red was the reign of the roses
Over the rose-crowned land!

The year of the rose is brief;
From the first blade blown to the sheaf,
From the thin green leaf to the gold,
It has time to be sweet and grow old,
To triumph and leave not a leaf
For witness in winter's sight
How lovers once in the light
Would mix their breath with its breath
And its spirit was quenched not of night,
As love is subdued not of death.

*****

Hybrid Tea: Oklahoma (top left) *Double Delight (above left) & *Tiffany (above right) ....
It's really hard to choose favourites but if I could only have two roses *these are the two I would choose. Double delight, for those who don't know her is simply magnificent. She has a lemon centre and cerise outer petals which darken later in the season. Her perfume is fruity and completely addictive. I can hardly drag myself away from the bush.
Then there's Tiffany. Wow she is a stunner! She has so many flowers and they are frilled and so magically pink and perfect and smell absolutely divine. If you don't have this one you should give her a try, you will not be disappointed.

Next is Leonardo DaVinci, a David Austin rose. What a lovely thing it is. This picture is of one of the many, many flowers on my bush although it looks like a 'tag' picture. Each bloom is just perfect. It is perfumed too and quite a small bush.


This is my Floribunda: 'Painted Rose' I hope to be able to get the name for you, apologies if I can't find the tag.
This rose is planted over our dear Miska; our 11 year old Hungarian Vizsla who died in July 2009. Seems like yesterday!
She was a beautiful dog and just loved chewing the rose prunings, would you believe! So we had to put a rose on her grave. I think I have watered this rose maybe half a dozen times in that, almost 2 years, it has been there and it has flowered and flowered

Just to completely 'gild the lily' here is some rosey china.

Firstly is a tiny tea-set. The teeny cups only just fit on the tip of my little finger.

And last is this gorgeous sugar and creamer set. It didn't cost much as it is just a print but is definitely one of my favourites.
Join in today with any of your garden delights, especially roses.

Tuesday Treasures

Precious Pets:
Thanks Melody for hosting Tuesday Treasures again and for the opportunity of showing off our much beloved 'babies'.

This is my Kanga puss. This is her baby picture. She was my Christmas present from my DH 2009

Next is a series of pictures where she is very interested in the contents of this box which just happens to be my 8 year old grandson. They both had a lovely time, the boy giggling his head off and the cat trying every which way she could to get to him.

Kanga is a wonderful 'country' cat. She is a terrific ratter and mouser and had one rat and two mice (as far as I saw) today. She even once brought us a LIVE teenage black snake. Fortunately she dropped it before she reached where we were all sitting outside.
She follows me around when I'm gardening, resting in my shade when I stop to pull up weeds. She comes for walks with us down to the creek. She always answers when she is called - I have never had a cat that did that before - it's very cute. I'm sure she thinks she is speaking English.
She helps me hang out the washing, loves a trip in the car and often sleeps on the tractor seat in the sun.
There is no doubt that I dearly treasure her and (most surprisingly) so does my DH - and that is really saying something.