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The Garden Curator

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25.01.2022 The roses are the current garden queens wearing velvet skirts and sweet perfume. As they fade there's a bit of "off with their heads " as spent blooms are snipped away to make room for new ones. My favourite way to "deadhead " is to cut big bunches to bring inside, the falling petals are as beautiful on the table as the bunch in the vase. Otherwise when deadheading, I usually cut just above the first set of five leaves I find beneath the flowers, (you'll see the first leaves... just below the flowers are in sets of 3, further down you find 5). If the branch is leggy I'll cut them lower. Where there are plenty more flowers to come I just pinch away the old blooms to give the new ones some elbow room. When done you're left with a basket or barrow full of crepe paper petals in a wash of aging colour. Beautiful Now what to do with such a bundle of loveliness! See more

25.01.2022 The studio this morning, is gradually nestling again into the garden, shaking off bare bones and pulling on spring clothes. The roses are covered in fresh bronze leaves, and the Wisteria on the cottage verandah is about to unroll a curtain of blue. Amidst the cool days this week we're longing for the weather to warm enough for lazy verandah evenings, the kind that involve one shared plate and no washing up, the boys throwing a cricket ball on the lawn, and the dogs wriggling with excitement at having extra company. This year la niña is joining us on the verandah, bringing green hills to share. Such a welcome guest, I hope she stays!

24.01.2022 Back in the studio making feathers. Some finished, some not. Tiny feathers, big feathers. Sleek feathers, fluffy feathers.

23.01.2022 The simplicity of the five petaled white roses Silver Ghost (top right) and Wedding Day (bottom right), is a vast contrast to the voluptuous blooms in my last post, but every bit as lovely. Wedding Day rambles over our chook pen, giving them shade in summer and an annual flush of blooms a little like poached eggs, vivid white with a yolk coloured centre. Silver Ghost is new to the garden this year, 10 planted on the front terrace with the intention of replacing the Japanes...e wind flowers that I adore, but collapse in the heat. I chose them for their beautiful circular petals in crisp white and constant masses of flowers. They're babies, but already smiling. Interestingly though the wind flowers are standing their ground, loving the spring rain and pleading to be retained. I'll let them mingle with the roses and see what happens. The Campanula on the left is Boule de Neige. icy white with a flush of green atop rigid upright stems. It's also on the front terrace, just settling in after scraping through the drought. I'm glad it survived, it's quite lovely. White flowers are a bit like the white linen of the garden, fresh and timeless! See more

21.01.2022 Beginning the week pondering the beauty in imperfection. It's funny isn't it, so easy to see in the natural world around us, but such a challenge to accept in ourselves. Blemished and withered, words rarely associated with beauty, but every mark tells of a moment, and the collective moments tell a story. There's beauty in that, for sure. Let the week begin!

18.01.2022 There is as much plant beneath the surface as there is above. The unseen anchors, feeds and is the lifeblood of the seen, quietly going about it without the accolades of the fanfare above. Without that life beneath the surface, life above would simply not exist. Quiet achievers.

13.01.2022 An wander in the early spring garden in evening light, dogs in tow, in an effort to clear a head stuffed with an end of season bug and cotton wool. A day of sunshine and an evening chorus of birds and lambs is the perfect panacea. I've treated myself to a new whizz bang Nikon digital slr camera but I'm yet to take it out of the box. It seems complicated and I'm a little scared of it. I'm hoping though that mastery will mean capturing evening light like this, which is always so much more beautiful in person. I will unwrap it, and I will master it.....any tips??

12.01.2022 A morning moment with the roses and the birds. The deep purple blue ground over is Veronica spicata, commonly known as Speedwell, masses of cheery spires in late spring and early summer. A favourite given to us by Mum years ago, travelling with us through a few moves and now happy here. These mornings before the heat settles are bliss!

12.01.2022 Do you ever have those days/weeks when you feel you're peddling like mad but making no ground? This past couple of weeks has been spent in circles. Ironically I think it's at these times when we feel we're behind that we need to stop, to pause and regroup, in order to begin again. Interestingly the subject of my work this week, the pieces over which I've lumbered, have also been those which have by their nature encouraged the pause. This jumbled collection of unfinished feathers and nests are only slowly coming together. And that's the point. They must be handled slowly and carefully, otherwise they end up tossed in the bin. Isn't the bird on the nest the perfect representation of gentle care and patience, the feather the perfect blend of strength and fragility! Hand in hand, ebbs and flows. On we go.

12.01.2022 Why is it that the best time of day to be outside in the garden is the same time that dinner needs to be cooked, washing brought in and things coordinated for the day to follow? At least the clothesline is in the garden, the kitchen window looks over it, and the family gathers around the kitchen table to discuss the day.

08.01.2022 I've been nurturing a big barrel full of sweet peas through winter, watching their fabulous tendrils twirl to wrap like tentacles around the climbing frame. These peas have been grown from a gift of seeds from a lovely follower, and bloom in luscious rich velveteen colours. But a few weeks ago a gusty storm flattened half of my precious peas and they turned to straw. Defiantly, the few remaining alive continue to climb, scrambling through their lifeless friends. It's not the plump pot I'd imagined, but nevertheless a few determined blooms are beginning to appear. Sweet peas are romantic and nostalgic flowers, easy to grow, and fascinating to watch. Next year I'll endeavor to gjve them more shelter, but for now I'll admire the beauty and tenacity of this years slim pickings, and save the gift of their seeds for another day.

08.01.2022 Hydrangeas are blooming in the studio this week, and just about to pop in the garden too. Did you know that in Victorian times Hydrangeas were thought to represent vanity and boastfulness due to their big showy blooms and lack of seeds - all talk no action? Thankfully we've moved on and these old fashioned flowers are loved for their voluptuous blooms. Here the Annabelle Hydrangeas are budding up on the front terrace, along with a few of the traditional H.macrophylla. They...'ll be flowering their socks off by Christmas, surrounded by the fabulous twisted spires of Lysimachia clethroides ( see image 2, taken last summer). I do love them, but they are a bit precious when it comes to needs - in our climate protection from afternoon sun and hot wind is a must, and they demand plenty to drink. The few here are tucked beneath the canopy of a Chinese Elm on an east facing bank and I just managed to get them through drought. This year they'll repay the care with flowers for our Christmas trestle tables. They've lived to boast another day! See more

04.01.2022 Our cool climate garden takes a while to awaken after winter. It spends most of September yawning and stretching, peeking out from beneath the covers, before smiling at the welcome sunshine. The first wash of colour here to follow the gold of the late winter bulbs is rich with blues and pinks. Crabapple blossoms, dutch irises and bluebells, crimson Loropetalum, deep blue Ceanothus, and a haze of sky blue forget-me-nots. The Old fashioned but sweet Aquilegias, affectionately k...nown as granny's bonnets or columbines, are about to burst too. It's a romantic season in the garden, soft, sweet and pretty. A little shy at first, but gaining confidence by the minute. "Old fashioned" garden plants often have a gentle character, as though wise with age and experience. They can teach us a lot about gardening, persistence and patience. They're in it for the long haul, unfazed by fashion, and quietly comfortable in their own skin. Twee? A resounding no! See more

04.01.2022 Bee heaven - how good would it be to spend every day among thousands of flowers, flying bloom to bloom, plunging your whole self into the petals and drinking the nectar. In reality the life of a bee is a challenging one, but it does sound romantic, don't you think! There are currently clouds of white pear blossoms among the branches, and the Viburnums tinus and burkwoodii are completely cloaked as though snow covered. The pleasures of spring. The next letter of The Garden Curator is flying to inboxes this weekend, and within it, my all time favourite blossom tree. Not so common but oh so beautiful. To join the bunch for the monthly letter containing tips, things to do, to read and listen too, and musings from the garden and studio, pop over to the website link in my bio. See you there xo

02.01.2022 After torrential rain today the sun squeezed through the cloud illuminating all. I could watch changes in light all day, the way it shifts and fragments, casting violet shadows, brightening and mellowing in a constant change. Against a stormy sky following rain the colours are sumptuous and velvety. Utterly ephemeral and so hard to capture, it's best to be outside in it, to experience those blissful moments before they disappear. I can see how the pursuit of capturing light drove many artists to obsession and madness. In a way gardening is painting with plants, rich colour and bold texture here, delicate strokes and gentler tones there. Though unlike a finished painting the palette shifts with the seasons, hours and minutes, the final brushstrokes dictated by the light. One of the great joys of gardening!

02.01.2022 Getting washing off the line and soaking up the evening. Verdant green and sorbet sky, It's a good one.

02.01.2022 Some lovely things have been arriving in the post lately...a new seed tin from the fabulous @gingingardenclub, pots of new plants, dahlia tubers and seeds from mailorder nurseries. Exciting! The September The Garden Curator letter is also soon to arrive in virtual mailboxes. A little about plant collecting, favourite blossoms, new reads and things to listen to, and a wig wearing man named Carl ....curious? It flies tomorrow, so you just have time to sign up to the mailing list via the link in my bio. I love this community of art and garden lovers, thankyou to new and old subscribers, you make my day. Thankyou!

01.01.2022 With a new phone and new camera in my nervous grip it's technology central here, and for someone more comfortable with gumboots than reboots, I'm craving a day in the garden. My antiquated phone was certainly due for an upgrade, a job I'd been putting off dreading the tedious changeover and mind-numbing payment plans. I've escaped to finish these little paper nests, a cosy subject at least that reminds me of the great quote that's been circulating lately .... Imagine iftrees gave offwifisignals, we would be planting so manytreesand we'd probably save the planet too. Too bad they only produce the oxygen we breathe.