Dianthus, lots of flowers

I have waited a long time but I have been rewarded.

Mum gave me a packet of seeds.

They are often referred to as "Pinks"

each plant is a slightly different pink colour

I do have some losses with my companions always looking for somewhere comfortable to sit while I work.

So sweet,

 like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!

I am also very excited with two new rows,

 already planted with Dahlias and Calla lillies

They were really neat with leaf mulch between and straw on the rows.

That was until the wild weather this week

There is even a spare row for something new!

Camel tea pots

I made this one day when I was encouraging a student to make a novelty teapot.

The saddle lifts off to add tea leaves and hot water.

I am always quite nervous adding colour to my pots.

It can "make or break" and there is no way to fix it is it does not work out...other than start again.

 was on a bit of a roll and decided to make some book ends.

My husband was horrified when I cut this sculpted camel in half.

It made sense to me.

I have some old books that I prefer to display with the camel...."A girls own adventure"

The finish on this one is cast iron paint. A paint thick with iron filings and a product called instant rust.

I thought I would put a few traditional RAKU pots in as well.

They are fired to 1000degrees Celsius and then removed from the kiln and placed in a bin full of sawdust. This provides the carbon to make the unglazed bits of the pot black, and encouraged black cracks called crazing. Raku is my favorite for of pottery but it does make the work very fragile and no good for using with food.

The glaze is a copper based glaze and if handled right it can range in colour from this Egyptian blue to metallic red. I will confess I was aiming for red so these are abject failures from an intention point of view.

But quite beautiful for failures.

Cherry Blossom

I spoke of losing my Cherries last year from a heatwave.

This year there will be more than ever to make up for it.

The trees have been freed from their bird proof cage for the winter but as spring marches on the bird mesh will have to go back up.

To think that each one of those flowers represents a yummy cherry, mmmmmmmmmmmm

We will also have a few apples....they are pink ladies.

I am looking forward to eating some of these mullberries very soon.

The tree is starting to seriously droop with the weight of the fruit. It's one of the Australian mullberries, not as strong in flavour as the English Mullberry, the fruit is longer.

Last year we got two summer crops off this little tree....the last of which was picked by Lou after Easter. 

You have to feel sorry for the chook that laid this enormous egg. It weighed in at 104 grams

Does not fit in an egg carton very well, deffinately a double yolker

Spring is here!

Spring is here

Its an exciting time in the garden and the paddock.

I think the quince blossom is the prettiest blossom of spring.

Old trees can look a bit tortured due to the heavy fruit forcing the branches to droop.

Mine is a young tree but it has had its fair share of tortuous droop and heavy fruit.

Note the large branches from a red gum tree that were used to prop up the drooping branches.

All fruit blossom is beautiful but I particularly like Nectarine blossom also.

Blossom keeps the bees busy

The promise of yummy fruit is almost guaranteed given water restrictions have been lifted.

I lost all of last years cherries in a heat wave.

I won't ever let that happen again.

The Lilliums are coming.

Thankfully between Skittles and myself the rabbits have not destroyed my Lillium patch.

I am looking forward to picking flowers for the market.

I have also been busy clearing and weeding.....an endless task in a garden.

I put this photo in to show you the slope I had to rectify to flood proof this garden.

I am planning to plant cucumbers against this retaining wall fence.

Oh and a trip or two to a nursery to spend some of my market money on flowering shrubs for market flowers. What a good excuse!

Not a very good photo however it does show you the dwarf diosma in the background.

I just love the blue dampier?

Very hardy apparently. It will have to be in my yard.