Beautiful busy bees in my blooming lavender

A little early but aren't these daffodils beautiful

Autumn in the Southern Highlands of NSW just shines

The colour is stunning this year. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Burrawang Hotel


My garden in Robertson



Bowral
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The first day of autumn and a big wet arrive the same day in the Southern Highlands of NSW

Wheels within wheels: photo of the day

Bee keeping course with Small farms network and Bruce White

Day 1 of a bee keeping course in Berry was wonderful.

Howard bravely held a frame teaming with bees! He didn't get stung but I did. Youch. It hurt but I've had worse I guess.

Fabulous frame covered in bee brood - or baby bees safely cocooned in their cells. I marked some drone bees, the ones that mate with virgin Queens, with a red whiteboard marker. Learning about bees is quite scandalous in mixed company! 

Honeycomb! Yum. Worker bees making honey. How gorgeous.

Just a taster - more tomorrow.

Guerrilla knitting Melbourne style

Guerrilla knitting Melbourne style. I loved these knitting and crochet covered trees in the heart of Melbourne.  Guerrilla knitting is one of my favourite public art forms. It enhances the natural elements of the urban environment, its colourful and creative. It an be recycled. And it is not destructive.

Love it.

Pink grasshopper

Can anyone identify this pretty pink grasshopper? 

Gorgeous potting shed practical and so cute!

Ah how cute is this! I have the nicest, most homespun potting shed. I am so, so happy with it!
For weeks I have been researching photos of potting sheds on pinterest for inspiration.  I scoured op shops for bits and pieces to make it even cuter.

Then in just one day, Howard and I turned it from the dumping ground under the verandah:

to this organised and pretty potting shed.

Howard chopped the top off our old entertainment unit to make me a new potting bench. It was a lovely piece of furniture in its day: retractable doors to cover the TV, a glass door to cover the stereo. But in this day of flat screen TVs it was redundant, heavy and bulky. It has a new lease of life here as you can see. The shelves on the right were here when we moved in: a steel frame with vinyl covered chip board shelves that were all swollen and disgusting.  Howard fit left over, recycled flooring to make shiny new shelves.

I washed all the pots before replacing them, organised by size, on my new shelves. I know exactly where everything is for the first time in gardening history. The blackboard is an old picture frame I bought for next to nothing without glass and painted with chalk board paint. 

The quote is from the sublime Audrey Hepburn: Those who garden believe in tomorrow.  

The tray holding gardening tools came from an op shop, the tea pot with succulent from the lovely Laura. 

I bought new galvanised bins for chicken feed. Originally I misguidedly bought plastic ones but the local rodents ate right through the lids. Take it from me, go steel and ensure the lids fit tightly.  

The rest we had, just cleaned and recycled.

I love gardening so much more now that I have a space to potter. I potted up some seedlings after dinner one evening. I can even clean and trim vegetables before bringing them up to the kitchen. 

A little planning, a lot of recycling and a lot of courage and look what you can do.

I now believe in UFOs

Isn't this an amazing cloud! There was a bunch of them floating over the paddocks of Bowral but this was the most spectacular. I believe it is called a lenticular cloud, but come on, surely this added to the UFO legend.

Delightful photos from the Bundanoon Garden Ramble 2013

This weekend we went to the Bundanoon Garden Ramble.  Bundanoon turns on an event so well - they had a plant market, a scarecrow competition and a courtesy bus driving between each garden. Town was packed with people.  Some intrepid types cycled between each garden.

Here are some highlights from one of the most astonishing cottage gardens I have ever seen.

Stunning spinebill in Robertson garden

Stages of a waratah coming to bloom

Waratahs are the most magnificent complicated flower. They thrive in Roberston. 

The flowers start from a tight bud like a lotus that forms months before opening.

As they open they turn from green to pale pink and eventually to red.

When finished a new branch springs from the centre growing at least 50cm before forming a new flower next year.

Crimson rosella comes a visiting

Isn't it the most divine bird! These crimson rosellas call our garden home. I call them my flying opals!

First trip to Adelaide, South Australia

My first impression of Adelaide is that is a lovely small city, very foodie, has a bit of gritty underculture, lots of students and a mix of old Colonial buildings and ultra-mod glass.  I've been here the last few days for a work conference.

I'll come back with Howard and explore the hills, the wineries and the coast.

Day one of my homespun bliss week: where do I start?

Day one: where do I begin? Its sunny, but windy. The chooks are scratching around in the yard. The dogs are under my feet, the cats are sleeping in their favourite sunny spot. I got lots of housework done on Saturday but I didn't quite finish it. So I suppose I'll quickly round up the rest of the vacuuming, laundry and sorting. I have a small bag to go off to charity: I think there are a few more things to go in there. 

Once that is done I'll feel I have more space to be creative. 

Oh what a wonderful feeling a week at home is! Homespunbliss ahead.