The Garden of St Erth

March seems to be the time when many Victorian country gardens are at their flowering peak. The Garden of St Erth in Blackwood, (not far from Trentham) was ablaze with rich autumn colour on the weekend. Mass plantings of sedums, dahlias, salvias and perennials provided some lovely colour combination inspiration!

A box of goodness

The other day my Dad walked into my studio carrying a box bearing my name and address (as I live in a remote rural location the mail is delivered only three times a week and all packages have to be picked up and signed for from the local general store). I couldn't recall ordering anything on-line of late, so this was quite a surprise. 

The lovely Mona from Cottonbox had sent me a sample of all of my new designs for Cottonbox Kids. 

Herbie and Bonjour the cat were my volunteer but very camera-shy models!

Aviator bed linen by Cottonbox Kids. The watercolour textures of my artwork have been faithfully reproduced on a kid friendly cotton base-cloth.

Secret Garden by Cottonbox Kids

Secret Garden cushion and bed linen

You can visit the Cottonbox website here!

http://www.cottonbox.com.au

Tallerack

A section of my Tallerack or Eucalyptus pleurocarpa design, painted in gouache and ready to put into repeat in Photoshop. A project for the weekend!

Banksia, Bells and Bottlebrushes....

 .....and an array of Australian native blooms from the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra. The bookshop is worth a visit too, with lots of great botanical related publications from the Australian National Library.

I think the Flannel flower might be next on my painting list - I love the soft greenish grey foliage.

The Australian Botanical Gardens are just a short 30 minute walk from Canberra's CBD.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/index.html

Feeding the sheep

As soon as the ute pulls into the silo, Dad's 'ladies' make their way to the paddock gate for a morning feed of oats.

Loading up the feeder.

Patiently awaiting.

The rams join in the queue.

 Job done. Hopefully the autumn rains will come soon and transform these dry sun-baked paddocks into green pastures.

Happy St Pat's Day

Whilst it's a completely unrelated specimen to the Irish good luck charm, I think the Australian native clover 'Nardoo' makes a pretty good stand-in. Happy St Patrick's Day!

Inspired by.... Lambley Nursery

The Lambley Gardens and Nursery are located a few minutes drive west of Creswick in central Victoria.  I visited on a hot, hot Autumn day, but stepping into this beautiful green oasis set within a landscape of dry windswept plains was instantly refreshing. The temperature seemed at least a few degrees cooler.

I think a sedum flower textile design will have to go on my to-do list.....

The Dry Garden is a low-water use garden, surrounded with traditional English hedging.

                           

The old brick and stone farmhouse.

The vegetable garden.

 A richly coloured clematis.

Vibrant zinnias planted in raised garden beds. 

The cutting garden.

I love delphiniums but so do the rabbits in my garden. 

Hopefully I will have better luck growing these next year.....

The Lambley Gardens and Nursery are the work of David Glenn and the artist Criss Canning. An inspiring place to visit!