2nd April

Dreaming

Nurturing of one's inner spaces is as important as making your outer spaces a reflection of parts of who you are. I treasure time to be introspective, listening to your inner self and the natural wisdoms we carry with us. Time for music and memories of beautiful places, and reminders of the things we hold precious within us. It is good to be wholly at ease with yourself from time to time, without the voices of critics within or without, no urgent  demands or explanations required. I find Autumn a great time for this state, warm enough not to be tense, the air calm for a change, and the light all golden as the sun gets lower on the horizon. Perfect for reflection before the darkness of the winter makes us sleepy and less comfortable in our skins.

29/3/10

Storing Up Outside Days

A beautiful Autumn day with a warm northerly, blue skies, and the garden calling out for some attention! I am also a bit behind with several other things, including these little pictures, but I decided that time in the garden before the bad weather sets in is probably more important for my spirits, and I don't want to end up with yet another bunch of flower plants dying in their plastic bag before I get down and into the earth. Being out under the sky is so important for me, I will hate it if I am ever unable to put my toes in the grass and my hands in the garden soil. I may not be the world's most effective gardener, but I am one who is most appreciative of the process!

28th March

Last of the Autumn Flowers

I went around my garden this morning looking at the last little splashes of colourful flowers as the leaves are starting to fall from the trees. A handful of nasturtiums, a lace cap hydrangea, and a couple of harebells was pretty much it. I always mourn the end of the paintbox coloured nasturtiums once the first frost arrives, they seem such childlike flowers, full of optimism as their vines climb about the garden, and seeding in the most unlikely places. This year a couple of ambitious plants climbed up the fence and through a rosebush by the clothesline and amused me by nodding at me against the blue sky as I hung out the washing. Flowering where they find themselves, and bringing a brightened moment to whoever notices.

21st March

On Just Sitting

Autumn seems to be the most meditative season of the year for me. Golden light, still days, the slightly melancholy feeling as leaves slowly change colour and start littering the ground. Things feel a bit slower, as the earth puts on her leafy cloak and all the creatures store as much as possible for the coming winter. I find myself staring into space more, and dwelling on where I am heading and where I have been. A bit of planting in the flower garden, putting in a few more daffodil bulbs and some soft yellow tulips so I have something to look forward in the spring, and a check on the camellias to guess how many buds are forming for their flowering in the winter are all part of this time of year. A reminder that things are still ticking along despite the bare earth once winter reaches us.

16th March

Geraniums

Autumn is well and truely here with cooler air in the mornings and evenings, followed by beautiful golden sunshine and still air. The garden is a bit tired but the colours are intensifying and this little bunch of geraniums caught my eye on the way down the path to the studio. They glowed in the sunshine and as I picked them their green fragrance engulfed me, transporting me to my childhood gardens. I seem to have grown gardens ever since I was a young girl in one form or another, collecting plants from relatives. I have lots of stories from my paternal grandmother who used to be one of  those naughty old ladies who carried her secateurs in her handbag and snip off cuttings as she walked around the botanical gardens. She knew all sorts of names of plants, common and latin, and loved her garden with a passion.

15th March

Studio Window

My studio is a converted shed at the bottom of the garden that Steve altered for me more years ago than I am prepared to say! He put some old windows in to improve the light, which have wonderful old latches. They make me smile and think of Dr Seuss who accompanied me both through my own childhood and my own children in theirs! A whimsical left over from the updating that was done to our house in the 70s. Anyhow, they caught my attention while wondering where today's picture was going to take me, contrasting against the green and sunlight through the window.

12th March

Winter is on the Way

Persephone is contemplating summer's beauty and the inevitable return of winter. Autumn has a melancholy about it in the midst of all the harvest and the bright, sunny weather that wraps itself about you as the days change and get cooler. We have the promised southerly change here today, with a spot of rain and a chilly temperature. I don't enjoy a lot about winter, though it does have its own particular charms, and I find myself sorry to see the back of Summer's skirts as she leaves the stage. It is necessary to build a little cache of memories to draw on when the days are dark and cold, something to pull out and turn over in my hands, hold up to my face to catch the faded scent of to remind myself of the summer to come.

6th March

Autumn is Here

For the first time for several years I have no sunflowers in my garden. I am missing them sadly and find myself peering over fences and around the edges of buildings as I pass someone else's joyfully glowing sunflowers. I have attempted to capture the hot, slightly hazy feel I get when standing in the garden surrounded by tall, pollen laden sunflowers, with the buzzing of heavy bumblebees in my ears. Next year I will have to be more vigilant and make sure I don't miss the moment to grow them. I am a bit surprised that there were no seedlings from last year's crop, but the birds were very busy last autumn and maybe they ate every last seed.