Brickwork

This was the view from our bathroom window on Saturday morning. Still some scorched leaves but looking beautiful just the same. All the big trees that were originally in the distance on the boundary of our property are no longer there unfortunately....all have had to be chopped right back or removed.

....and this was the view from our kitchen window on Saturday morning. Bill had just finished mowing the rose garden.

On Saturday I dug up two clumps of tulips and replanted them after splitting them up. I am hoping they will flower more profusely now that they are not so crowded. 

This morning it was time to take up the brick paving from the back door area where our new room is to be built.  The boys did a fantastic job. Thanks for your help Luke and Ryan. It was very much appreciated by Helen.

Ryan has obviously been given strict instructions from Bill re the placement of bricks! They will be used in some new paving around our new room.

Luke took Jenga to a whole new level!

Thank you too little pumpkin boy!

I was desperate to sneak in some sewing before we headed off to Mum and Dad's again, so these....

...and these...

have turned into these.....some more Belle blocks. I love their warm, colourful Wintery look. I didn't swap these around as much as last time.

Precious little man!!!

Lovely little lambs

It's a three hour trip each way to Mum and Dad's. We are getting to know the roads very well! This week these delightful little creatures were frolicking in the paddocks as we drove by. I always feel sorry for them being born in such cold , miserable weather but somehow they seem to survive.

Dad made the most of the glorious Winter sunshine sitting outside on his Winter work bench. He had a visit from Bert, a volunteer who has been matched with Dad to be a fishing buddy once a month. We have been so grateful for the services that have been available to them.

....and Mum fed her magpies that are starting to return now that she is home. She is still using her crutches but is becoming more and more confidant on her feet. 

Mum's lovely friend Olwyn brought in a selection of grey leafed foliage plants from her garden for us to propagate....including a tin of wormwood cuttings that she had taken (I think it is also called artemesia). There are a number of varieties. This one will just be known as Olwyn's. The rest are not familiar to me but I will watch with interest as they grow.

Tobes just enjoyed the fresh air and kept me company while I planted and propagated.

Last weekend when we were home, I found the perfect pattern for Belle. 
You start by selecting four 10 inch squares (the auditioning process is always the bit I love).

Place them on top of each other and make two cuts.

Rearrange the pieces 

Sew them back together to form new blocks and stack them on top of each other again. Turn them 90 degrees and make two cuts again.

Rearrange the pieces again and re-sew as before.

These are the finished blocks........

I can't wait to sew my next lot.

Mmmm... and I may have sneaked in a matching mug (or two) for my little jug.

Our project manager is coming on Monday. 
We will be going back to Mum and Dad's on Tuesday. 
Our horse fences and perimeter fences are completed and look fabulous. The rose garden fences will come later. 

 It's freezing here!!!!

Wood splitting, lavender and Belle.

Bill braved the chilly morning and took himself out to do some log splitting. Check out the size of them! We kept a couple for.......mmm I wouldn't have a clue just yet, but they seemed too good to chop up. This is our BIG TREE....It was on the fence line next to the garage. It has shown no signs of life at all. We were worried that it might eventually fall on our new shedding/garage, so sadly it needed to go. Our woodpile has grown again!
If it shoots out of the remaining stump then that would be a bonus.

We think it might be time to dispose of our special garden sculpture......it keeps looking at us !!!

It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon here today and a perfect time for me to finally remove the dead lavender plants. There were 3 that survived . I dug this one up and took cuttings today. 64 in fact. I have no idea whether they will strike but I am giving it a try.... hardwood cuttings of course. I have covered the pots with plastic bags and put them on the eastern side of the house.

I even dipped the stems in honey as an extra encouragement. Wouldn't it be amazing if they all survived. 64 would be perfect for the 2 lavender walks.

I stumbled upon these sweet pea seedlings poking through the rubble that is still out there. I had planted them along the northern side of the stable/potting shed a few years ago and they just pop up again every year........including this one. I dug them up and relocated them to the rose garden to climb up the wire fence in there.

Does anyone else get excited by what appears to be two dead sticks that arrive in the mail?  I can't wait to find a spot for these two sticks tomorrow.

 And the anticipation of what they will become is also very exciting.

They are both new plants for me..... 

 Persimmon and Wintersweet.

Here is a look at all the completed granny squares so far. Not sure how many I will do but I want to start something new. I'll probably have both on the go at the same time.

I  found this bundle in my sewing cupboard ( fancy that!!!) and it will be perfect for a Winter quilt.

 I won't mention how many times I will need to sort though it and gaze at it before I even start anything!

 It is called Belle by Amy Butler. 

Cyclamen,strawberries and the White wedding.

Michelle, your cyclamen is still blooming it's head off as though you dropped it off here yesterday! It has been such a welcome pop of colour at our back door. Thank you.

Now we know how Sam felt when he was doing FIFO (fly in fly out). 5 days on and 5 days off. We have had another visit to Mum and Dad's.
They still require full-time care at the moment. It has been just over 4 weeks since Mum's operation...May 12. 

The completed ramp looks fabulous and it makes their lives so much easier.
We stayed outside at every opportunity to make the most of the glorious Wimmera sunshine.

This is Olwyn.
She invited us out to her place to dig up some strawberry plants......there was a huge patch of them.
I wore her gumboots and immediately felt right at home. Can't fathom why I don't already own a pair of my own.
 She has a very productive country garden about 8km from Mum and Dad's.  She shares her produce with all the townsfolk. Strawberries, oranges, lemons, passionfruit, tomatoes....
She then invited us in for pikelets and tea. 
A very kind lady.

And some more Bali wedding photos..........they all make me smile. 

Mulberry Jam

I  have a penchant for pretty sounding names and I keep singing the praises of salvias, so buying one of these delightful plants was always going to happen.

It's name is salvia involucrata 'Mulberry Jam'.
It grows to a metre in height and produces these gorgeous dark pink flowers from January on into  Winter.

It arrived in the mail yesterday from Lambley Nursery.
The arrival of a box of new plantings is food for the soul....for me anyway.
There was also....

  
......this beautiful primrose yellow foxglove (there's that pretty sounding name thing happening again!) with claret speckles in the throat.
I bought 3 of those.
I will need to make sure I plant them in dappled shade  if I can find some.  I have tried foxgloves in the rose garden before but it always seems too hot for them and we end up with droopy foliage.

This is  Mandevilla laxa or Chilean Jasmine.
It has giant jasmine-like flowers with a delicious fragrance. Can't wait to smell it for the first time. Unlike other mandevillas this one tolerates frost....we shall see. 
Better be mindful of where this gets planted too. It's a climber just like jasmine.

I am very excited about this one. It will be a new plant for me. I love that it can grow to 2 to 3 metres tall. Another way of adding height to the garden.
The pale yellow is a perfect foil for the pinks and greys and mauves.
It is called Verbascum olympicum Greek Mullein.

They all arrived yesterday in a box packed heavily with newspaper....

And after a drink they will be as good as gold.

My garden wanderings tonight showed that these hellebores are blooming happily. They really are the most exquisite little flowers.

Amy bought this for me from a secondhand book stall. (thank you darling) Some more food for the soul if the front cover is anything to go by.........can't wait to start turning the pages. Couldn't think of anything nicer on these cold nights.