Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Mystery Rose


When we first moved into our house ten years ago it had been empty for over a year and the garden was completely overgrown. Bit by bit we reclaimed, replanted and re-organised it. There was one corner that remained elusive as it was difficult to get at due to a large grevillea that was growing there.
Last year during one of the big storms the grevillea simply snapped under its own weight and that was its undoing.
Somehow, underneath it a lonely rose bush had managed to survive. I have no idea what kind it is as I know absolutely nothing about roses. Any that I have ever planted have failed miserably.
This mystery rose, which had a magnificent scent, has thrived now that it has more sunlight. It flowers abundantly and appears immune to aphids, blackspot, yellowing leaves and all the other usual rose hazards. I am in awe of its abilty to survive against all the odds and to be so perfect.
If only we could all be like that too!


Monday, September 27, 2010

Out in the Garden

Last week I posted a photo of the buds just starting to open on my wisteria creeper. Since then we have had a week of sunshine and blue skies and suddenly the wisteria is in full bloom.

Unlike most wisterias in Perth, mine is a white wisteria, although I'm not sure I actually knew that when I first planted it!





I love the totally undisciplined way that wisteria grows, but most of all I love the scent.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

New Norcia





This weekend we went for a drive to New Norcia, which, for the benefit of my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, is the only monastery town in Western Australia and was built by the Benedictine monks.

The monastery still functions but unfortunately there are now only nine monks, following the death last year of the monk who tended the olive groves for which the monastery is famous.

This year the virgin olive oil produced by the monks won 8 prizes at the Royal Show but you can only buy it in New Norcia. There is nothing like a chunk of crusty New Norcia bread dipped in their olive oil. We came home with both, so there are no prizes for guessing what we had for an afternoon snack!


Thursday, September 23, 2010

Powderfinger

I went to the Powderfinger concert last night in the Supreme Court Gardens and I can honestly say it was one of the best concerts I have ever been at. They had erected an amazing tent roof which reminded me of a giant circus tent and which created an almost intimate atmosphere (if that is possible with a crowd of over 10,000 people!)

We were quite far back, but with my camera on full zoom I managed to capture a few shots over the heads of the crowd.




This was the farewell tour for the band, who are at the peak of their performing, but hopefully Bernard Fanning, the lead vocalist, will continue to pursue his solo career so we can continue to enjoy his amazing talent.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

You know Spring has arrived...

When the big fat buds on the wisteria creeper are bursting open......

When the mother swan takes her cygnets for an outing on the lake...


and when the grapevine is suddenly green again.


Saturday, September 18, 2010

Orange





This week I have orange flowers in the kitchen so I thought I would go with an orange theme for today!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Office Space

If you work in an office (even part-time, like me) it is worth making the effort to customize your office space so that you enjoy being in it. That's not hard to do if you are a collector like me, with no end of things to fill the space. The trick is not to overcrowd it, as clutter is unproductive. Just pick a few interesting things and group them together.

You can also use your pin board as a decorating space, not just a place to pin telephone messages!





You should also change things around once in a while to keep the space interesting.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A Cup of Cheer

Enjoy!

I had some of these for sale at Unwrapped, the Marketplace at the weekend and people loved them. This one, however, I made for myself as I really like the pattern on the cup. If you have any odd cups lurking at the back of your kitchen cupboard you can use them to do this.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Blue and White








Blue and white (with a dash of red) are the big colours for Spring 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere. There is something lovely and fresh about blue and white so I am starting to stock up my wardrobe.


Monday, September 13, 2010

Doors and Windows






If you take a stroll around your neighbourhood I can guarantee that you will notice interesting doors and windows that you don't really see if you are driving.

I took a stroll around East Fremantle at the weekend and couldn't help taking photos of some.

They all have a really "cottagey" feel.


The Art of Letter Writing

When is the last time you got something really interesting in the post?

I think we are all forgetting how to write letters so I have decided to make a real effort to write to people sometimes and not just rely on electronic communication.

I know, for one, that I am always excited to see an envelope in the letterbox with my name handwritten on the front.


Sit down and write a note to someone in your life today.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Let's go Nautical

More from down south - this time with a nautical feel.

There is nothing like a walk on the beach to make you feel thoroughly refreshed. This is the beach at Bunbury. It was quite a windy day and yet this gull had no trouble balancing on his pole.




At the far end of the beach is a lighthouse which still operates. I liked the chequerboard effect of the black and white against the clear blue sky.




I'm in the final stages of my preparations for the Unwapped markets at the Urban Orchard on Sunday. You can find out more about Unwrapped at www.unwrapped.com.au. I will try and take some photos on the day so that I can post them next week. Fingers crossed for a sunny day!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Hidden Gem

We were down south for the weekend and drove across to Nannup - a place we have never really explored before. What a hidden gem it turned out to be!

It has a sleepy old world feel about it and is in a very picturesque setting.

A lot of the buildings are quite rustic and weathered, which made for interesting photos.








I wiil definitely be visiting again.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Bird in a Bottle

I'm getting organised for Unwrapped at the Urban Orchard which is taking place at Perth Cultural Centre as part of the Perth Fashion Festival program on Sunday 12 September.

I participated as a stallholder last year (which was the first year Unwrapped had been involved with the Perth Fashion Festival program) and had a wonderful time. Although the main emphasis of Unwrapped is on discovering new design in the fashion/jewellery field there were a few of us whose design concepts strayed a little outside fashion and more into homeware/art.

This year I will be roadtesting one of my new ideas - paper birds, paper butterflies and paper boats in bottles.



I hope people like them!

Green is Good

In Western culture the word "green" has several meanings and is most often used to describe someone inexperienced or envious, however, in other cultures "green" denotes growth, revitalisation and fertility. It is closely linked to the Old English word "growan" meaning to grow.

Green is also a very calming colour and works well as a colour for a feature wall or just as a splash of colour.




And of course, nothing beats a fresh lime to liven things up. This year we had so many limes on our tree that I made lime marmalade and gave it to my friends.

Green is good.