Gardening without the plants

As we two wandered around some of our local gardens as part of the garden safari I was reminded  that truly beautiful gardens reflect the personality of their owners. These outdoor rooms reveal quirky and intriguing features often made from what's on hand - a seaside garden with a whale tail carved from wood, a painted owl hiding in the trees, a water feature with metal lilies rising skyward.

 

I loved the ripple effect (of course!) of using dark pebbles and light pebbles as part of a garden path. And from her position in a large pot this slender lady welcomed us to her garden. Her dress is made from fabric and buttons and sealed to withstand the elements.

 

I immediately went home and put out a bowl of water and honey for the wax eyes and silver eyes that occasionally visit.

 

 

 

  

What's Important to You?

Last week took on an unexpected turn as Daisy Ripple obtained tickets to the Kerikeri Garden Safari and the two of us tripped delightedly round as many gardens as we could reasonably take in for a whole day.

The sun came out and scorched us and we bounced opinions backwards and forwards between us. One of the main topics up for animated discussion was "What Is important to You?"

This came up because the gardens we saw were so varied and there was not a single one which could be distinguished for lack of passion or commitment, they were each and every one exceptional.

There were grand gardens and water features and small gardens and ingenious inventions, there were commissioned art works and home made works of art. We peered into each hidden corner and saw evidence everywhere of creativity and originality.
What makes a garden special? What makes it important to you?  Somehow each gardener had imbued their own magic into their garden by following their own tune. If we could bottle that we would sell it as a "fix-all" tonic for use in times of need!

Happy Seeds

Yesterday the Sun burst out and the wind dropped. I left the housework to fend for itself and busied outside to take full advantage of the bright day. With grandiose images of a flourishing cutting garden in my mind, I wanted to plant a mass of flower seeds.

Unusually for me I got everything organised before I began opening up the packets and flinging seeds around.

This may have something to do with the fact that most of the flower seeds I planted last Spring disappointingly failed to materialise, the result of slinging the seeds onto the soil and labeling them, and there ended the TLC!

Now the seed trays are planted with minute care and attention and sitting tucked up in the cold frame. I have everything crossed for luck and perhaps I will have some flowers to cut in summer if not on quite the same scale as I dream about. Still it's amazing what you can cram into a garden if you really want to!

-Blue-

Never never...

I often have bits of fabric and ribbon left over from larger projects. And what about those random buttons - some that look rather plain but coupled with an amazing fabric or used to decorate a photo frame or birthday card, they come into their own. Never never throw them out!

In this piece I raided my fabric box and selected shades of blue combining eclectic patterns to add life to my well loved go-everywhere bag. Sewing these on by hand is rather therapeutic and the end result is both unique and stylish.

So - never never throw out those little bits - they just might come in handy one day.

Small Stock-taking

Today I was doing my usual start of the week Small Stock-taking where I mentally list all the things that have made my heart sing in the past week. Mostly these are minature things that make me smile and don't take up much time, sometimes they are just a small part of a bigger project and sometimes they are just ideas.

It all adds up...

Sometimes though a week or weekend comes along and everything falls into place. This lovely long sunny Labour weekend, I  organised and weeded my vegetable garden, spent a morning working in the community organic garden and helped the small people make a homemade rabbit feeder. We were also lucky enough to have a feast of seafood - scallops Mr Blue had dived for, snapper from a fishing expedition and to top it all some delicious oysters from a friend.

 We took the oysters to Daisy's house and celebrated in grand style, and the scallops I made into a risotto using veggies from the garden. Bliss!

Hidden treasures

Like much of the world, I love finding items from yesteryear and bringing them back to life or simply re-homing them. Not only do you get some great bargains - you can also create your own style. I hope too that it teaches my small people about value for money, consumerism and creativity (wishful thinking?!)

For sometime I've been hunting for a small side table - you know when you need somewhere to put your cup of tea so it doesn't get spilt, or that book that you were in the middle of reading but had to stop when someone spilt that cup of tea!

I found this old wooden beauty for a few dollars at the local op shop. With a light sand, tickle of paint and some pretty paper I can now put that cup down. Score one for the mother!

 

Love them or hate them?

 

Well I would be lying if I said these creamy local delicacies were harvested from the sea with my own two hands - let's be honest! More like a leisurely walk to the Farmers Market on a sunny Sunday. Between sips of wine, my other half had them shucked in no time - revealing the biggest oysters I've ever seen.

 

Back to the good old Edmonds Cook Book - I looked up a recipe for Crispy Batter. I found it worked best if I dipped the raw oysters in flour first and then into the batter and finally into the hot oil (tip - use your BBQ element if you have one to save on cleaning up.)

 

 

I've never really been a big fan of oysters (which seems sacrilege living so close to the sea). But deep fried they are heaven on a plate - and yes it's true - they do taste like the sea. Yum!!!

On rushing around.....

 I have learnt that in the happy busyness of school holidays I need swift impromptu projects for moments stolen when the small people are intent on other things. Often I have to pick something up and put it down many times and perhaps it is the haphazard nature of completing them that adds to the feeling of well-being that comes over me!

So today I sewed a lavender bag to send a friend by snail mail, each stage was completed separately - choosing the Liberty fabric from my stash, finding thread and scissors, checking I had some dried lavender, cutting and stitching. I hope she likes it. It will arrive in her own whirlwind of school holiday rushing around.

A splash of colour

From a wee seedling, and against the odds my tamarillo (aka tree tomato) has finally born fruit. With any luck my second plant will follow in its foot steps (roots?). I only need two dozen red orbs to make my friend's tamarillo chutney - an original recipe from the NZ Womens Institute 1934 (2 doz tamarillos skins removed, 1 pound apples diced, 2 pounds onions, 2 pounds brown sugar, 1 pint vinegar, 1 ounce salt, 2 ounces mixed all spice, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper. Combine all ingredients and boil for one hour before bottling in sterilised jars).

So while I wait on my tamarillos the small people and I made brilliant sticky red toffee apples - perhaps not the best idea after a trip to the dentist but so very delicious!

The toffee apple recipe is from The Edmonds Cook Book.