Shades of Autumn

Here are some photos from around the garden and farm yard today. Hopefully a few rainclouds will venture over this part of Northern Victoria soon!

A few more guinea fowl have been added to the flock over the past few months. They are loving the grasshoppers in the neighbouring paddocks.

Sunflowers and dahlias

Grasshopper watch

Autumn burn-offs are happening all around in preparation for the sowing of winter crops.

Every creature seems to love the sunflowers, including the wandering lambs who managed to chow down on at least 10 of the freshly blooming flower heads!

Red Box Eucalyptus Leaves

A watercolour design featuring the heart shaped leaves of the Eucalyptus polyanthemos, 

commonly known as Red Box, a eucalyptus found throughout central Victoria and NSW.

The bush in bloom

Over the next few months the Box-Ironbark forest around Rushworth, Whroo and Gobarup puts on a wonderful and ever-changing display of wildflowers. The jet black, fluted trunks of ironbark, rising like columns from quartzy ground provide an attractive contrast to the many colourfully flowering shrubs such as Grevillea, Acacia and Hibbertia species - and a wealth of terrestrial orchids. Time to get the sketchbook out!

Rosy Heath-myrtle Baeckea ramosissima

Whirrakee Wattle Acacia hakeoides

Small Crowea Crowea Exalata

Cypress Daisy Bush Olearia teretifolia

Spiky Guinea Flower Hibbertia exutiacies

Fairy Wax-flower Eriostemon verrucosus

Dainty Phebalium Phebalium festivum

Pink Beard-heath Styphelia ericoides

Prickly Cryptandra Cryptandra tomentosa

Mint Bush Prostanthera denticulata

Twiggy Bush-pea Pultenaea largiflorens

Fringe-myrtle Calytrix tetragona

Wax-lip orchid Glossodia major

Yam-daisy Microseris scapigera

Cypress Daisy, wattle and box gums

Misty morning

The farmyard was shrouded in a fine mist that lasted until midday. Winter has arrived!

Early Autumn blooms

After a long hot summer (and a wandering ram with the munchies) the flower garden is slowly moving into Autumn mode.

Thinking Pink

Making patterns with Opera Pink and Winsor Red watercolour paints.

Summer Reds

Another textile design in progress - this is the New South Wales Christmas Bush
(Ceratopetalum gummiferum) painted in gouache.

A very leafy jacquard

I have been well and truly M.I.A around here of late but here are a few images of my jacquard leaf bed linen design named 'Folair' that has recently appeared online at Target Australia. 

Summer blooms

So far we have had a pretty mild start to summer, but there is a heat-wave in Perth right now so I don't think the air conditioner will be idle for much longer.... The garden has provided lots of drawing subject matter over the past month, hopefully I will be able to show some of the floral designs I have been working on in January!

I'm slowly filling up the flower beds along the front pathway with dry tolerant lavenders, salvias, pelargoniums and daisies.