New paintings and regular art updates.
I like this, the way everything seemed to line up. The wind spinner, lilies and the chair, and I like the colour combinations. The copper colours with the greens and browns. The cloud cover seemed to enhance the shadows as the sun crept out from between them. The calla lily infront of the budda.
Bit busy but just took quick photos of some flowers in the garden. Used my phone on magnification.
The hanging baskets were fine last week but when we came home two of them were upside down on the ground. The screw they had been hung on had given way under their weight and with heavy rain they had collapsed down onto the ground. Now they are hanging forlornly lower down the fence. They might grow and recover. I’m feeding them and watering them. Anyway the photos are of the growth of the other ones. Some are doing better than others. I really need to dead head them (take off dead flowers). It will have to wait till I feel better.
Here’s some patterns I did from them…
When you go out in the evening at the coast everything can look great. When the sea is a flat calm and the flowers of wonderful plants shine in the light. Then you forget the cold wet, windy, miserable weather you get for the other half of the year.
Just a couple of views from my windows.
See that?
It’s plants and trees
Green stuff
To help us breathe.
It’s made of wood
Or green leaves
Flowers too
To frame the view.
Inside and out
On sill and in pot
My view is enhanced
By all these plants.
This is how I avoid hayfever in our garden. By completely eliminating a lawn. Luckily I don’t have an allergy to tree pollen. Over the years the trees have grown big, but I like having my own personal forest glade with bird life and small mammals like hedgehogs and of course cats who patrol the garden and mug my hubby for fresh cat food. At least that stops them getting interested in the birds…. Tweet tweet tweet pounce! I’m sitting here with a busy road just yards away and although I can hear the traffic it’s not as loud. I can hear the tsee tsee tsee of birds singing. The flap of wings as they look for bird food in the garden. The rustle of vegetation. At the moment I’m sitting on a bench in warm dappled sunlight. I guess this type of garden is good for capturing CO2 and for feeding the birds. We got very few cherries this year but the blackbirds are gobbling the ripe ones up high in the tree. In previous years we’ve made the effort to climb step ladders to get them but this year we are being generous!
A few years ago we rented the garden from the previous owner of our house. She then decided she wanted to build on it, and while she sought planning permission we were not allowed on it except for a four foot strip of path alongside the house, she even painted a line along the length of the path to show where we could go! Luckily she was refused planning permission so after three years we bought the garden off her. But the damage was done. Everything had grown enormously and out if control. We have struggled to get it back to some sort of tidiness.
I’ve been very busy with the election and the mystery play over the last two months so I haven’t been able to sit and chill. But today is dry and sunny, came and ate breakfast out here and since my WiFi seems to reach this far I thought I would write about the garden. No sneezing, my eyes are not running and I don’t feel like I can’t breathe, bliss.
Later I will do a bit of pruning. There are a few stray Ash and Sycamore saplings that need removing. Also I want to try and let a bit more light through.
Gardening, never-ending……
There are plants growing out of tyres in the town centre, next to a car wash. They are part of an arts project started last year to green the town, I think by Art Stop Stoke? Other plants that are growing up include tomatoes and a courgette outside a Chinese takeaway. I’m interested in the fact they are clearly being looked after even after this length of time.
We tried putting a few plants in infront of an advertising hoarding. But the plants that were growing were killed off by weedkiller. Now the area is covered by persistent weeds. We may sprinkle some poppy seeds on it or nasturtium seeds. Long may the project continue.
X
My back yard, fern at spode, carnations at spode.
Just a few plants I saw today. The ones in the yard are mostly in hanging baskets that are billowing out in great waves of colour. The fern is a shuttlecock fern I think because its fronds radiate out from the centre and it looks like the shuttlecock used in badminton. The third picture is of carnation flowers planted up with a blue grass. These last two were taken at the Spode Site at Stoke. There are plants that are planted up by our stairs that soften the edged of the semi derelict buildings there. I love plants.
I took these photos a couple of days ago outside the studios at Spode. Su Hurrell is an artist there and she works with urban garden planting. She works with other artists and uses objects like washing machines, old chairs, a chest of drawers and other objects.
Other places are being greened in the town centre. There is Spode Rise garden by the China Halls in Kingsway, Stoke, and then some wild planting along London Road and Hartshill and in Lonsdale Street.
I enjoy seeing these plants, it’s great to see people using planting in exciting new ways.
Looked out of a friends window at the weekend. I decided to take a photo. I love the delicate frame with thin wooden sections to allow more light in. Shrubs and perennials surround a neat lawn. Mature trees grow up on the boundaries of the property. The large spiky leaved plant is Gunnera I think.
I’d like such a beautiful view (apart from the cars). I would love such a beautiful house. It will never happen though. I could never afford anything like this, but I can dream.
X
Mallaband-Brown