Although this blog is about roses, gardening and vegetables I have added a new category – “Fresh from the Garden” which is already proving to be very popular.
It’s all about my own family recipes – tried and trusted recipes that I use personally to create mouth-watering dishes from the fresh, organic vegetables and fruit produced in our garden.
You may have seen one or two already – for example, my family recipes for pumpkin fritters and creamed spinach – directly from the garden to the pot. There can be no better flavour than using such fresh organic vegetables. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: family recipes, fresh from the garden, fresh from the garden recipes, home recipes, mulberry pie, tried and trusted home recipes
“ My desires are like seeds left in the ground. They wait for the right season and then spontaneously manifest into beautiful flowers and mighty trees, into enchanted gardens and magic forests” The Vedas.
“Enchanted gardens and magic forests!”
What a magical and inspirational quote! If you nurture the scene in your mind you can create that same ambiance on the ground.
I have always been a secret admirer of magical gardens and enchanted forests. And I have always had a secret desire to have one of my own because I am a self-confessed gardening addict.
I find that I am renewed, sustained and revitalized by a garden. And it doesn’t even have to be my own garden. Any beautiful garden has the same effect on me. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: enchanted forest, enchanted garden, fresh from the garden, magic forest, magic garden, organic vegetables, recipes
I have gardened for many years but I had never seen a real live clematis till recently. I had seen pictures of different types of clematis but I had never seen a real clematis in bloom. That is – until we came to live in Gauteng.
We used to live at the coast – and clematis didn’t seem to be top of the list there.
Then one day at a garden display I saw this exquisite clematis plant with three of the most heavenly blue plate-sized blooms.
Suffice it to say that I was blown away – and of course I had to have it.
So I bought this very expensive clematis plant. It was very young and delicate so I looked after it with the greatest of care. I watched every leaf bud open. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: black frost, blue flowers, clematis plant, huge clematis flowers
A curved design
Designing cards with pressed flowers is very easy. Once you have pressed your flowers they are so pretty that half the work is already done for you.
But that being said there are a few little tips that can help you get the best from your pressed flowers.
It’s important for pressed flowers to look natural in a design. Because don’t forget, pressed flowers are flat and one dimensional.
Curved Leaves
So it’s important to create an impression of depth with curving lines.
A clever little trick I have discovered is to use elegantly coiled tendrils and curled leaves in my flower designs.
It gives them the natural flowing look I want and the designs soon take on a curved and even three-dimensional appearance.
Designing with Leaves and Greenery Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: designing cards, designing with leaves, pressed flower tips, pressed flowers
A spray of pressed flowers
If you love flowers and gardens, flower pressing makes the most perfect hobby.
It’s both stimulating and therapeutic and it will give you all the scope you’ll ever need to express your creativity.
And you’ll be using the loveliest materials that nature has to offer.
Pressed flowers can easily be sourced from your own garden.
And you don’t need to plant anything special either.
Your garden will provide you with all the material you need.
You can learn how to press flowers quickly. And once you know how, there’s no end to the variety of ways in which you can use your pressed flowers.
Artistic collages of pressed flowers and greenery make the loveliest greeting cards and wedding invitations. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: flower pressing, from your garden, how to press flowers, pressed flowers
Orchids had never captured my interest before. I always thought that orchids were hot house plants – fussy about their environment and difficult to grow.
It just shows what prejudice can do to your decision-making faculties. Because nothing could be further from the truth.
I have been growing orchids for about a year now and I can quite understand how people become obsessed with them.
With every new addition to my orchid collection, my interest in orchid growing expands. It’s a great new hobby and I’m just loving it!
I read somewhere that a good hobby is defined by its ability to provide visible results in a short amount of time. Well, orchid growing fits the definition to perfection. Because with very little effort, you can get stunning results quite quickly. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: growing orchids, house plants, orchid collection, orchid flowers, orchid leaves, orchids, phalaenopsis orchids
