Finding joy in the everyday

Today is the second of September and spring is just around the corner (thats perhaps a little optomistic). After what feels like a very long cold and damp winter it is nice to look at some pretty colours of spring and imagine the warmer months, summer frocks and sitting in the sunshine reading.   These photos are all from my garden in past years. My garden currently looks rather sad and in much need of some warmth. The frosts have given it quite a battering but in a month or so it will look so much happier and in full bloom.  No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. (Hal Borland) I have been mulling over why I blog (perhaps because the winter has been cold and dark and I have been indoors far too long and had three colds in two months!) — sometimes it doesn't seem to make any sense at all, writing away to myself hoping that someone else finds it all as interesting as I do!! In fact sometimes I think I should stop and not put so much time and energy...

There is nothing better than wandering through a rose garden on a summers day. On Sunday that is just what I did and was rewarded by such beautiful, not just for the eyes but also the nose with all the perfume in the air.  Gardens are such peaceful places and this one is in particular, I love the large space with the many "rooms" and the fact that it is surrounded by walls. A little like the secret garden.  “If you look the right way,  you can see that the whole world is a garden.”  ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden This garden is called the "Senate Rose Garden" as it is part of Australia's first Parliament House (the white building below). This particular Parliament House has long since been replaced by a much grander building further up the hill - this one is now used as a museum.  I like the idea that whilst government and politics is ugly business, the building is framed by these beautiful places of refuge.  They we...

Tulips The tulips name comes from the Turkish tulbend , "turban", which the flower is said to resemble. In the 16th century tulips reached the Austrian court and were much admired and propagated, becoming so popular in Holland by the early 17th century that an extravagant bulb trade developed. At the peak of tulip-mania in March 1637, a single tulip bulb sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. The buying and selling of tulips in the 17th century occurred on the stock-exchange just as we do today, they even had a futures market!  By 1636 the tulip bulb became the 4th leading export product of the Netherlands. It was big business. But like all good things, the economic bubble went pop and the market collapsed.   Today the Dutch export 1.2 billion bulbs annually.  In Persia, the tulip was an emblem of perfect love or a declaration of love.  These photos were all taken at a local flower exhibition where 1000's of tul...

We lived in the tropical north of Australia for 14 years and one of things I missed most was the inability to grown roses - they don't like humidity (and nor do I). The first thing I did when we moved south to cooler conditions was to plant roses.  I wasn't successful with some, but others have flourished very well.  Here are a few of my favourites in the garden.  Five or so years ago I cleaned out a section of my front garden that had become overgrown, an area I hadn't touched before.  In the process of removing all the plants I found a tiny thin rose bush, a foot in height - hard to call it a bush as it only had a single stem and a few leaves. It had been hidden from sunlight and water for many years but had not given up and was struggling to live. I dug up the rose and planted it somewhere sunny with better soil and gave it water and fertiliser . In the first year it grew a little but no roses to be seen. The second year it produced one small ros...

After a leisurely start to the day (with breakfast in bed with my book), my husband and I drove into the city and whilst DH went off to a meeting I walked around Floriade (spring flower exhibition) and enjoyed the flowers.  Being school holidays it was very busy and as usual people kept getting in the way of a good photo!!  But I did manage a few that do not contain many people!! Poppies - one of my favourite flowers - gorgeous creams. The colours were just beautiful this year (and haven't been damaged by wind or rain) and most of the tulips were in bloom, creating this glorious carpet.  I love bluebells and each year this is always a beautiful and peaceful display. As I was walking along the lake I was surprised to see this black swan sitting on her/his nest. It was a beautiful sight to see and the swan didn't seem to mind me standing and watching, must be use to people.  The black swan is a native to Australia and like the white swan...

The weather is glorious today, the sun is shinning, the sky is blue, the birds are singing and the blossom is everywhere so I thought it was  a perfect time to give my blog the touch of spring.  Some hyacinths in my garden I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and can enjoy some beautiful weather like I am enjoying.  Cherry Blossom 

Link Today is National Wattle Day - the first day of Spring. And for those who may not be aware, the Wattle is Australia's national floral emblem and it appears on our Coat of Arms.  Whilst I am a fan of wattle - it looks so cheerful and happy at the end of winter - my husband can't stand it as it gives him hayfever (it has a very distinct smell).  So he won't be celebrating Wattle Day!! Wattles by Valarie Alice Crawford

W hilst our winters are cold and frosty , the days are generally sunny with lovely blue skies. With a few sunny weekends, I have been able to get out into the garden (one of my favourite places) and plant our winter veggies.  I haven't done much winter veg growing in the past, so this is a bit of an experiment for me, so far everything is going well (if only the cat stops lying on top of the veggies).  My dad is my advisor, so when not sure, I get on the phone and ask.  And thanks to dad, I discovered that snow peas grow very well in winter so I planted lots of them and so far they are doing very well.  This was taken just before I covered the bed with sugar cane mulch to keep it warm. I use spinach all through winter, both in soups, pastas and stews but also as a salad veg - I have planted lots of this and can't wait to use it regularly.   I grew spinach last year and it did very well - this time I have tripled the amount!! One can never have too much...