A couple of pics from my walk home from camp. The dahlias are wonderful this year, as usual. I just love the abundance of flowers! I love the fact that when one batch finish, the lilies, then come the dahlias and phlox and black eyed susans. Sometimes it seems flowers are the most fantastic gift, blooming just to be amazing. I live in a predominantly Portuguese neighbourhood and the grammas and grandpas have the magic touch when it comes to dahlias. I need to find out their secret!
August 13, 2014
October 26, 2013
well hello!
Hooray! This month the 2014 nominees for the Forest of Reading were announced and to my surprise, Willow Finds a Way was nominated for a Blue Spruce award! I had assumed it was past eligability as it came out in 2013! I really am thrilled and honoured to have been chosen!
Another map recently, Parkdale!
I was contacted by the Neighborhood Arts Network here in Toronto, who give out an award yearly to..." an arts organization that has made a significant
contribution in Toronto by working collaboratively with culturally
diverse communities, youth and community groups that create
opportunities to access, and contribute to, arts and culture." Its a great thing! This year the award went to this group - Mammalian Diving Reflex . It was fun to make this map because it, coincidentally, is also my neighborhood. I even added my house, my favorite cafe and of course the library.
Im lately loving this show - Around the World in 80 Gardens. It thrills me to listen to people chatting about plants with such enthusiasm! It is so refreshing and so uplifting somehow. I can't explain it any other way, I have always adored gardening and I know many others do as well, but to hear it on TV, well it makes me so happy. Perhaps it is something in the way the host describes things! Wonderful. Something for ME.
Which makes me happy to have rediscovered Helen Lehndorf again all the way over in New Zealand. I "met" her way back in the olden days ( 2005?) when she had a blog called Stripey Sock Studio and nowadays she writes alot about (among many other things including her fantastic writing), gardens and plants and again, I love it! Every now and then I get a momentary thrill thinking about the joy of discovering a new interest in life. One you never really paid attention to before but was there in front of you all along. How freeing to realise, suddenly, it is not the same old routine, there are plants and they look brand new for some reason.
I've just finished reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and my goodness I could not put it down! It was a wonderful read and again, about a garden and about women's lives. I am always hunting and digging for details about other womens lives, about how we all do it. It is a research project as part of my very fabric, as part of not wanting to feel alone in this journey.
May 08, 2009
tulips
Something interesting is happening to my tulips....
tulips May 2009
They are slowly turning red!
Tulips May 2007
tulips May 2009
They are slowly turning red!
Tulips May 2007
When I planted them three years ago they were all yellow!
:)
Have a lovely weekend!
March 27, 2009
friday
Oh Friday!
I needed a little break from drawing so I walked to the grocery store and look what I spied in my front garden. The very first tiniest little crocus! I planted these last year all around the tree hoping for an early spring treat and voila.
And then look, I could not resist these snapdragons at the shop.
I decided I deserved a treat on this friday after a stressful week.
Have a great weekend!
We have nice things planned- A day trip to a far off value village, brunch sunday with good friends, and potentially a hairdressing date with Teddy, my neighbors cat. He needs some matted fur trimmed since he is too old and frail to groom himself- aw. I also want to start clearing the leaves off the front garden beds to see what else might be sprouting!
June 02, 2008
the little things...
It really is the little things, like those times when I can putter at my leisure, over at the garden center for an hour. Pick up plants and put them back until I settle on my new garden! I even treated myelf to some perrennials, which I was too mean to buy last year since they are a bit more pricey. They include: two Dahlias( - I hope they will survive in my partially shady yard, as I see them thrive is sunnier places), two more Lily of the Valley's to add to my one from last year(- I know they spread but it takes a while!), a scruffy pot of Forget Me Nots ( I was assured they woud be ok if I picked off the dry bits, they had them out in the sun!), and some periwinkles to hopefully spread. The some Impatiens, Allyssum, Lobelia and Marigold to fill in the blanks. BLISS - to spend a few hours digging and watering and moving things around. A few weeks ago, I put in the tomaties, basil and chard in the back garden. Testing a new theory I read about in the paper- To keep away slugs, I have put a loop of copper wire around each chard plant. It apparently has a small electrical charge which slugs dislike. Will keep you updated on results.
Some coasters I glammed up with a stamp I made a while ago. I found these along with three cork circles for putting hot pots onto- what are those called? From the leftovers of a garage sale.
Also, on Friday after work , we popped over to check out this crazy race and Paul took this neat picture.
It seemed very Euro, to have a bike race right downtown! It got a bit hairy when a couple of the guys crashed and got all mad at each other, instead of being concerned if anyone was hurt! I realised then it was not for fun , but to WIN WIN WIN! shudder. We went home and watched Northern Exposure ( I just got the 6th season from ebay!) and ordered Thai food- perfect night after all.
Tecchie update- I find I can now post pics if i use firefox. I guess typepad does not like safari. So glad thats sorted out - back to our regularly scheduled program.
This post brought to you by a sneaked cup of coffee. My brother is in town and we are in my studio working away and a coffee just seemed appropriate.
It seemed very Euro, to have a bike race right downtown! It got a bit hairy when a couple of the guys crashed and got all mad at each other, instead of being concerned if anyone was hurt! I realised then it was not for fun , but to WIN WIN WIN! shudder. We went home and watched Northern Exposure ( I just got the 6th season from ebay!) and ordered Thai food- perfect night after all.
Tecchie update- I find I can now post pics if i use firefox. I guess typepad does not like safari. So glad thats sorted out - back to our regularly scheduled program.
This post brought to you by a sneaked cup of coffee. My brother is in town and we are in my studio working away and a coffee just seemed appropriate.
February 07, 2008
When snowed in...
...one's mind turns to the spring! You all know that I am nuts abut the library. I recently found this book while looking through the shelves. The funny thing is, I took out the exact same book at the same time, so I had 2 copies with different titles and cover pages. Peculiar. Anyway, I love this whole idea because I already do it. I had impatiens in a blue and white stripe teapot, basil in a yellow enamel one and cherry tomatoes in a tin bucket I found in the trash.
I especially love this picture because our well used brown betty teapot at work has finally given up the ghost. Her handle is cracked and will soon pop right off, so rather than risk a dramatic episode with hot tea all over, I have retired her to my future garden where she will be happy amongst the plants.
I am also enjoying Pocket Gardening, lent kindly to me by one of my knitting neighbors. All three of us have "pocket" gardens meaning gardens so small and dinky that the neighborhood stray cats think ieach are their own personal litter boxes. Mine happens to be mainly concrete with a square of dirt, so containers appeal. Needless to say, I have been favoriting pictures like these pretty ones-
hello!
