Garden Corner

At last! progress: Come with me for a short visit to the walled courtyard.

  Here we have the utility area, paved with limestone bedded on gravel. A little grotesque cheerfully 

guards the potting bench and shelters under the hygrangea petiolaris.

 He is sitting so quietly that moss is beginning to grow on his seat. 

 The gardener is trying to revive a little plant inherited from a friend. The pots await transplants while the birdcage,

 partially concealed, continues to rust away.

You can see one of the decorative garden balls placed in the old iron planters. 

These decorations divide the flower garden from the work area. 

On the architectural plinth is an old bee skep with a honey label. The bright colour of the everlasting flowers attract the bees. A little birdhouse is almost concealed in the growth of the climbing hydrangea. The mirror was crackled and the surround of the mirror is trimmed to compliment the windows of the house.

A closer look at the climbing vine. This was reconstructed from a small scale ornamental ivy
vine. Leaves were chosen for their smaller size and most repainted. The flowers were a brilliant find received from Elizabeth www.studioeminiatures.blogspot.ca

I had been working my fingers to the bone punching out little circles in the attempt to make the flowers. The photo below shows the vine climbing over on to the other side of the wall.

Stepping back a little we can watch as a bird tries to find a mate in the crackled mirror. The pathway and decorative garden ball ornament is reflected as well.

A closer look at the bee skep - simply made by wrapping string around a clay pot and topping with a toggle button and label.

Above:  An overview of the flower garden - representations of agapanthus, hydrangea, chartruse green chrysanthemum, spires of bugbain and black mega-mondo grass contained by a finely trimmed boxwood hedge.
I purchased the agapanthus some years ago at the Seattle Miniature Show but made the other plants. The chrysanthemum leaves are made with an oak-leaf punch to cut painted water-colour paper.  Leaves were shaped and applied to paper-wrapped wire. The flowers are a little plastic daisy that you may find at a craft store like Michaels or Joannes in the U.S.

The daisies are trimmed to various sizes and painted. The black mondo was sea grass for an aquarium - painted and trimmed. The hydrangea - once again I used the ivy leaves painted a more consistent paler green, the flowers are from a floral pic. The bugbain (to attract bees) can be found at most craft places as well. The ornamental balls are from the dollar store - 12 for $1. The grotesque was the top of a stamp.

Below is another view that can only be seen when the garden is detached from the wall. Yes! I must paint the back of the architectural salvage. The soil was made from a mix of dried coffee grinds and tea bag leaves. I thinned white glue and mixed the "soil" then applied it around the plants that were each held in place by a small piece of foam. That was a messy idea. Wonder if any of you have found a better way? Fortunately the hedge held everything in place.

You can see that I have only worked on approximately a fifth of the garden space. When I started I felt it was not large enough to fit the things I had planned to put in it. I am happy now with its size and I know I still have a lot of challenges ahead - which of course is the pleasure in working on a project like this.

Below is a final look at this part of the courtyard garden, in place against the house.
It is great to be able to detach this area as it is much easier to work on it than it is to work inside rooms of the house.

I hope this look at the utility area is of interest to you and that some of the information may be helpful. If there is anything you would like to know don't hesitate to ask and I will try and help.

I had been doing a lot of thinking about this area and seemed to be dragging my feet in getting to the foliage. Once I began I was so inspired and enthusiastic I could hardly leave my work area to concentrate on real life. It made me feel very happy!

I hope it makes you happy too!

Regards Janine

Spinning through 2012

Greetings All. Best wishes for a healthy, happy and safe 2013.

Ah, that quiet time between Christmas and New Year. The fireplace burns non stop, I read or play non stop - I hardly manage to get out of my pyjamas.  Anyone in the house gravitates to the fridge and the great assortment of left overs or baked Christmas goodies.

This morning two of the Grandchildren woke me to tell me they were going to play quietly and not wake me up!

The sun was an orange glow escaping between the skyline and a heavy blanket of grey cloud. That narrow skyline is still visable. Mount Baker and the surrounding ranges are magnificent in their winter coat of snow.  The bay still hosts migrating birds although many have wisely headed south. We will follow them in a couple of months.

We have not had snow, whereas Vancouver, just half an hour away, had quite a fall last week.

The year swirled past - or did I simply advance through time - not sure. Welcomed a precious gift of a new Granddaughter, worked on our garden and cruised the scenic seafood-filled waters of the Broughton Archipeligo with friends. Four of us onboard Nautica our 26' Nordic Tug.... and we are still friends!!

Home again to tame the prolific production of my vegetable garden - tomatoes, beets, greens, peas, beans, garlic, peppers.  Harvested blackberries and made jams and syrups, picked blueberries in the nearby fields - stacked jars of B.C. peaches and pears. Satisfaction personified as the leaves turned yellow, red and orange.

Then the winter storms, waves top dressing the lawn with seaweed, carex grasses and Tamarisk trees yielding to the wind. Snow geese and trumpeter swans from the Arctic descending exhausted like giant white kites onto green water-soaked fields, snowy owls fluffed, ever watchful, resting on silver grey driftwood trees.

Thoughts turn to Christmas, missives to old friends, crafts with excited youngsters, concerts and ice skating. Baking and eating shortbread, making leek soup - from garden to table in a few hours.

Christmas Day - deferred in its entirety to Boxing Day as we love to all be together but understand the out-laws love to do the same so we give them the gift of Christmas Day celebrations.

So another circle of time has brought me back - the clocks ticking, the fire burning, lights still glowing in the Christmas tree. Small remnants of Christmas ribbon, a corner of coloured paper and glitter in the carpet.  A quiet moment to be remorseful for time that passed without due attention, for friends not acknowledged and loved ones taken for granted.

Hope you enjoy this peek into my life in Canada.

A New Year, look forward.

All the best Janine