Friday, April 27, 2012

In The Eye of the Beholder.......

Hello there, we're being engulfed under a sea of late season Zinnias......
It's time for them to be pulled out but I don't have the heart to do it.
 The bees are still collecting pollen and the plants are still doing their best to flower, albeit smaller, daintier blooms but they are looking tired and it's time.....












So.....I donned my new gumboots I do feel rather stylish wearing them, hehe..(Target jobs)found a pair of secateurs and picked a hoooouuuuge bunch.

 I'll wrap them up share the love and give them away to a few friends, then I won't feel so bad about pulling out the spent plants.
The garden will look awfully bare, but it needs a rest. I haven't saved any of the seeds as they self seed and even as the weather is cooling down, little seedlings are popping up here and there.

I hope I have encouraged some gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere to give these beauties some room in their garden.
Please let me know if I have.
I would love to see some pics...✿✿✿



It's been a little while since I posted so here's a quick catchup on what's been going on here in the SBL household...
I had my usual stall at the Bright market last Saturday.
 
It started off extremely foggy, a right 'pea souper' and as I dawdled along the road barely able to see 3 metres ahead of me I did wonder what on earth I was doing up at sparrow pop instead of being tucked up in a nice, warm and cosy bed!!

In fact, I think my subconscious was trying to tell me something, as I had dreamt I had the dates wrong and the market was cancelled hehe!!



The day turned out to be a stunner and by mid morning all the stall holders were peeling their layers off as the temp. headed towards 24 deg.

I was more than happy with my new Brooch stand and although sales were just average it was still a lovely day out (despite the early start!!)





After the market finishes and I've packed up my stall I always head up the main street of Bright. It's particularly pretty in Autumn and the two op shops are open till late afternoon, yippee

There's always the hope of finding a forgotten treasure and I was happy to spy another vintage sewing box tucked away on a high shelf. 

I'll show you this little beauty next time.........




 A row of trees along the back road between Porepunkah and Bright.
Beneath each tree a circular carpet of fallen leaves. 
In the mid afternoon light, the colours are delicate, everywhere you look the Autumn colours just take your breath away......  !



Back home and someone has forgotten to check on the Feijoas in the back orchard.....ooops!!





✿✿ Hellebores ✿✿


A wedding anniversary pressie for my hubby........

We celebrated 19 years on Tuesday.....where has the time gone?

He would like a carpet of Hellebores under the Silver Birches in the 'Wild Wood', so I thought they were the perfect thing.

(I just deleted the pic of the other plant, arrrgh! which is a Pink spotted Hellebore.)

He does like the regular varieties but I thought these were quite striking.....










The weather has cooled down quite a bit in the last week and the wood heater has been making things nice and cosy in the evenings.

 Along with the shorter days and cooler temps, Milo or hot chocolate with marshmallows starts to make an appearance with
Brambly Hedge mugs marking the change of seasons....

A short break with a warming drink before I start dinner makes a nice end to Autumn days.





Tig's favourite spot to enjoy the late afternoon sun.....

-----✳✳✳✳✳------

There has been a subtle shift in blogging and crafting here and I'm trying to figure out what's behind it......

I won't be doing any markets in May due to time away so I will be  able to get out into the garden and give it a good tidy up which is well and truly overdue.

A nice drop of rain last week has given the weeds a new lease of life...... At least the ground won't be rock hard when I try and pull them out.

Before starting this post I armed myself with a coffee and a slice (or two) of cake. I was worried that I was going to have all sorts of issues after reading of other bloggers frustrations with the new  blogger interface.......

But, I have to say despite having a trial run a few weeks ago which caused me no end of frustration I have surprised myself and found it relatively easy to use today plus there are some great, new features.

I am not keen on changes to routine etc. but it gets the thumbs up.....next time, well, we'll see hehe....

Thanks for popping by for a visit despite my sporadic posting.

I hope you are all well and I wish you a wonderful weekend.....

We're off to Mt.Beauty Music Festival, No. 1 is playing and it's his 21st. birthday tomorrow....

Someone asked him if he was having a party for his birthday and he replied "party, hah, I'm having a whole festival" yep, he's excited......

Till next time....

Claire ✿✿✿





21 comments:

  1. I love the flowers I'm going to look for a packet of seeds if I can find them... also love Tigs how cute is he!

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  2. Hi Claire,
    Have a great time at the music festival. A nap in the garden...the cat has it all figured out! Karen

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  3. Firstly Happy anniversary.....we have had a very gentle change of seasons here with a 31 C day yesterday...the garden still needs a lot of work doing though...the trouble is where to find the extra hours in the day.
    Have a great weekend with family xx

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  4. Hi Claire,
    Firstly a big HAPPY 21ST to No. 1. What a away to celebrate his birthday at the music festival. One big party. :)
    I love those zinnias and it does seem such a shame to cut them and pull them from the garden. I hate pruning back despite the straggliness in the garden when the bees are still going for it. Great gumboots! :)
    What great name Porepunkah is. I love some of our Aussie town names. A couple of my favourites from Western Australia are Wyalkachem (whyalcatchem), Mukinbudin (muckinboodin) and Bungulla.
    Bright is so pretty in autumn. Hubby and I went there for a few days away 5 weeks before Charlotte was born 'cos we knew it would be a long time before we had the opportunity to do so again with a new born. Memories.
    Have a wonderful weekend,
    Anne xx

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  5. Have a great time at the Music Festival. There are some really excellent performers there I see. I particularly like Geoff Achison, Tom Richardon, and Halfway to Forth. Have fun Claire.
    By the way, I love those Zinnias, must have a go at growing them next season.

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  6. I've loved seeing all your zinnia pictures and I'm definitely thinking of giving them a try in my garden. I understand your reluctance to pull them up, I remember my Mother always being the same about the summer bedding, we used to end up with a house full of flowers.

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  7. Hi Claire, Happy Birthday to number 1 !Love your Autumn pictures and the pic of your wellies and Zinnias is just gorgeous !!
    Your stall looked really pretty ....your owls are just lovely.
    It's still raining here :0)
    Jacquie x

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  8. What a great expression to have a whole 'festival' not just a party...love it. Eldest is going to be 18 next month and se is planning something similar :-)
    Love all those flowers and your stall looked fabulous Claire. Lovely to catch up.
    Posie x

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  9. OK, I think I'll buy some zinnia seeds next time I see some. They do look beautiful in your garden.

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  10. What a great post! So much to see!!! Your stall looks so pretty - I love your 'Sweet Birdy Love' banner! :-)
    Carly
    x

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  11. Hi Claire! Fabulous zinnias and gumboots (can you have gumboot envy, hehe??!). Your stall looks fabulous - glad you enjoyed the day out. Happy Anniversary and Happy 21st Birthday to your son - wow, lots of milestones - enjoy them lots and lots :) xx

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  12. Your friends would love their bunches of Zinnias - they're so pretty.
    Love your owls on your market stall.
    May your husband's hellibores bloom just as he envisages them :D)
    Really enjoyed your post Claire. Cheerio for now, Susan

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  13. That looks like Zinnia Nirvana to me. :-) A whole carpet of hellebores sounds lovely too. Happy 21st birthday to your son!!

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  14. I grew zinnias for the first time last year after seeing them on your blog and loving them. I've just noticed today that the bed I grew them in is under about four inches of water at the moment with all the rain we've been having over here.

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  15. Hi Claire,

    Thank you for your birthday wishes! Your stall at the fair looked really beautiful. It must be fun meeting all those people and talk to the other stall holders.

    I love Zinnia's too. Just put some seeds in the ground today. It will be another 3 months before they will be in bloom. Yours look absolutely beautiful. Your friends must have been pleased!

    Happy new week,

    Madelief x

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  16. I hate driving in fog too, Claire. But it's nice when the sun breaks through.Our spring has been very winter-like the last couple of days. Congratulations on your 19th wedding anniversary. I love hellebores. They would look just beautiful under the silver birch trees.

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  17. Claire, I wish I could grow Zinnias, but its too cool here near the sea. I do love them though. Your boots are darling~ what fun to wear those grubbing around the garden, well though not looking too grubby in such boots. Happy anniversary! YOu must share that carpet of hellebores when it grows , which with your gardening prowess I have no doubt it will.
    xx
    julie

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  18. I love zinnias and have a package ready to plant. Waiting till Victoria Day till the seeds go in and hopefully no more frosts. Still cool here but the days are getting longer and soon warmer. Still below freezing at night. But I got my peas in on a nice day in March and they're up. Ahhh, spring!

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  19. Your zinnia's are so pretty. I have just planted a bunch in my garden. This year I am trying out a type called 'Zinnia Giant Dahlia', they are suppose to produce large (ish) flower heads (so I'll see how they turn out).
    Have a great time at the music festival and Happy 21st to your Son :)
    Magie x

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  20. I love that picture of the zinnias and the gumboots! You are so busy, hope you are keeping up! So hard to imagine you are going into Autumn and our Summer is just ahead! We just started a blog hop party at Sall's Country Life - "Farm Fresh Friday". Your homemade and homegrown things would fit right in!! Would love for you to stop by and join in! Have a great day/night whatever it is there?

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  21. Oh, I do love your boots, they look so fashionable! I also like the owls in the basket and of course the fejoas: it has been a long while since I last ate them. Missing the taste.

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