My Garden

I certainly haven't done much art since my last blog almost a month ago as I have been too busy with my garden and my flowers.

 As well as taking care of the flowers in all the pots and in the garden, this year we decided to enlarge the shade bed in the front yard. We get mostly moss and weeds in this area because of the lack of sunlight and the fact that it is very close to the forest. I think it will look super once it is all finished.

We also added more gravel to this side at the back of the house and for the same reasons. I still need to get some perennials in both of these areas but that will probably wait until the fall.

A lot of people may wonder about all the gravel but I find that it really cuts down on weeding and it keeps water away from the walls of the house. And, it makes a nice backdrop for the flowers in the pots.

We still have a number of jobs to do outside so it will be a while before I get much art done but I am rather enjoying the 'holiday'.

I really like to hear from you so please leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flowers in my Garden

No art today, just some photos of some of the flowers in my garden. Most of the annuals haven't come into their own yet but the perennials are doing just fine.

I often wish that many perennials would bloom all season instead of just in the Spring. It would be lovely to have the colour and the scent of Peonies all summer long.

I bought a few Fuchsia at the garden centre this year. I liked the pictures on the info cards in the pots but was still surprised when the plants started to bloom.

It is hard to tell from photos but the blossoms in the first two pictures are huge - what a surprise that was! You can get an idea by comparing the buds but I just picked the different types because of the colour.

And, finally, a few pictures of the only rose I have left. When we moved here there were four or five roses in the gardens; I have managed to kill all but this one. I guess they just aren't my thing.

Now for today's quote!

                                         If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

They do not know who to attribute this saying to but think it might be from the Roosevelt or Truman eras. It is thought to be a southern US saying but the first 'recorded' use was during the Nixon administration. I know I heard it long before then and it is one of my 'go to' phrases to this day. I use it or think it often: when they change Facebook or the layout at the grocery store, when the product you have used and loved gets 'new and improved' and isn't. I know there are many instances that I think fit this phrase; what are some that fit for you?

Thank you Sheila Delgado for nominating me for the Three Quotes in Three Days challenge. This is day two.

The rules are simple:

    Thank the person who nominates you
    Post one quote per day for 3 consecutive days
    Nominate three new bloggers each day

As I wrote yesterday, I will not be nominating more bloggers as I just don't know enough that are not already doing the challenge.

It would be great to hear from you - Thanks for stopping by!

All Ready for Planting!

It is always a chore but I finally have my garden and my pots ready for planting.

waiting for the annuals

most of my pots all ready for plants

in the greenhouse

more in the greenhouse

I think I will have enough plants!

So everything is ready and I hope to start planting tomorrow even though there is still snow on the mountains. Our weather has been pretty good and the forecast is for more of the same so I am going ahead in spite of local lore saying we should wait. I have some arthritis in my hands and I can only work for less than an hour so it will take a while to get the job done and by the time I am finished the snow will be gone  - I hope!.

With all the garden work, I haven't done much art in the last few weeks but I did manage to do a bit of quilling. I am continuing to work with the alphabet and have completed the B, C, D, and R. The R was done for my sister who wanted the B and R for a wedding gift.

For the D, I was thinking about something boys might like, hence the dark background and the skull. I have to come up with more parent friendly images, like soccer balls and trucks - lol.

A few weeks ago, a local artist friend had a give-away on her blog. Win Dinn is a fabulous mixed media artist with a passion for colour. She is well know in our area for her unusual style and fun filled workshops. At any rate, back to the give-away - I won! I almost never win anything and I was thrilled to get one of Win's recent pieces.

The New Hood by Win Dinn, 2018

Win's 'wonky houses' will join two other paintings by her that I am lucky enough to own.

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from you so please leave a comment.

30 Paintings - Day 12!

Today's painting is another experiment that was going wrong. Fortunately the work was on watercolour paper so I slapped on more paint and cut off the really bad parts.

#1077 - Dark Garden - 7 x 10 acrylic on watercolour paper

I was just going to throw the whole thing away but thought I would try it with a mat first. Who knew? It almost looks like it is worth keeping - lol. I think I will set it aside to grow on me.

Here is the link to Leslie's Blog where you will see close to 200 other artists' work.

Thanks for stopping by - please let me know what you think of today's painting.

30/30 January Challenge #29

Although I do have two paintings done, I am going to share the one done just for the challenge. The other piece was painted as a demonstration for one of my students and will be saved for another day.

#1007 - Teddybear's Garden - 6 x 8 watercolour

This is so not my style! I picked up a bunch of old art tutorial magazines at Art Club last week and thought I would give one of the reference pictures a try. I don't think that stuffed animals will ever become a subject I want to paint again although it was an interesting experiment. I think this piece is too much like a cartoon but, it is a pretty good fit for the oval mat.

There is only one day left in Leslie's 30/30 Challenge and the month has been another great opportunity for artists to share their work and to find other artists to enjoy and follow.

Now, the question remains - "What am I going to do with 30 more paintings?"

Thanks for visiting - please leave a comment.

More Summer Color

I don't just get my summer color from painting, I get it from the world around me. My home in the country is surrounded by forest so every day I see the bright greens and the dark shadows of the forest as the sun moves across the sky and the patterns change.

my front yard

In contrast to the forest, my yard is filled with flowers in pots and gardens giving me a show of vibrant colors and offering birds, bees and butterflies natural nectar.

the view from my kitchen window

I start most of my flowers from seed I harvest every fall or purchase from seed catalogues.  Once summer hits I spend about 2 hours every day watering, deadheading and weeding. I try to get all the gardening done before the weather gets too hot.

self-seeded poppy

This style of poppy has been in my garden so long that I don't know where it came from. It seeds itself every year but when I harvest the seeds they never seem to 'take'.

a salvia

I will harvest seeds from everywhere; friends gardens or flower pots I pass in the town of Creston. The small pink flower in the above photo was harvested from one of the town's pots. I don't know what it is called but I think it is a salvia. I have it in red too and the hummingbirds love them.

In my courtyard

 From spring to late fall my gardens are a constantly changing delight - lots of work but worth it to me.