Money for Jam

I love this phrase.

It perfectly describes my little farmshop.

It's been such a joy having so many flowers to share with others because of my "flowers for a summer wedding" project. The fact that people are happy to pay for them is just a bonus.

Just when I start to think that all possible flowers are gone and it's time to shut up shop, something new pops up like this gorgeous Hakea Laurina which has burst into bloom this week. 

And because my brain has been overloaded with flower possibilities I've even started to dig up clumps of bulbs and pot them up to sell in Spring.

 But of course that involves pots and potting mix and keeping them alive.

 Not sure if I really want to go down that track but this lot will be a good test to see if I can be bothered.

Grape hyacinths and mauve star flowers.

The pots came from the tip shop along with the rusty old door frame ( thank you Sam ) and just needed a hot soapy water wash and they were good to go. 

But then I noticed the clump of beautiful cherry coloured achillea that needed cutting back and  found myself digging up a clump of that too! (There is no end to this.....the more you do, the more you do).

Lo and behold the liliums were next. They were a mass of blooms last summer and I'd made a note to dig them up and separate them after the foliage had died down. 

Three bulbs had been planted in this patch in 2012. 

And this is what I dug up! 

80 of them and lots of little ones.

Farmer Bill had already converted his original potato patch bed ( highly unsuccessful, luckily for me ) into two new raised beds for left over jonquils, daffodils and tulips ( it was hot work).

So next to that, a new pallet construction took place for the said lilium bulbs ( thank you Sam and Bill). 

Next time ( heaven forbid ) I'll probably have to learn how to make the bed myself.

Around the garden path.

Lots and lots and lots of cutting back. Irises are the worst. So many bits going this way and that.  

Ornamental grapevine looking gorgeous across the garage.

These delightful little straw flowers are still blooming their heads off.

A pretty little geranium called Rozanne.

I couldn't believe my eyes when these little seedlings started coming up. They are from the cottage salvia plants. Can't wait to see what else self seeds.

The vegie patch is a plethora of bulbs. 

Needed to label them to remember what was where.

The ranunculus are already poking through.

Can't wait!

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The accidental trap.

Bill had tied a supermarket bag around some golden delicious apples on the tree to stop the birds getting them. One had fallen into the bag and started to decay and ooze juice. One day I noticed the European wasps going in and out of a gap in the top of the bag. We subsequently used " the bait " and made our own trap.

Success!

Sew and sew.

Nothing to show for the last few weeks but it hasn't stopped me thinking about it and dreaming up some new possibilities.

My very first quilt was paper pieced.

I have had this pattern for years. It seems like a nice project to do in the middle of winter on the couch at night ( if I can see properly). Apparently you can even glue the papers to the fabric these days. Who would've thought.

And this gorgeous French General charm pack has been added to my collection.

And just for you Janne.....my Farmer's Wife Quilt in the middle of machine quilting....still deciding on whether to hand quilt each block.

Our precious babes.

A five year old's take on Anzac Day.

Helen and Amy's wedding has been featured in a magazine that has global distribution. A huge honour for them and their lovely photographer Ali.

A picnic at the pools seemed the perfect way to spend some hours a few weeks ago. Catching a fish would have been a bonus.

Mmmm, I've got the first one and the third one covered.

Still need to work on that second one!

Oh, and this made me smile......

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

We had 15 mm of rain here last night. Can't believe it.

The art of getting started

BLOG has been written on my things-to-do list for a few weeks now and I just keep adding it to my tomorrow list.

I think I may have been suffering from bloggers block!

I'm wondering whether I've reached the end of my blog writing days.....

It was hedge cutting and divert-the-water-day at Amy and Helen's house in Kyneton last weekend ( it is currently tenanted ).

The morning was rounded off with delicious Italian coffee and wine next door amongst the dahlias and dogs and talking local fishing spots with their lovely neighbours.

This dahlia flower ended up coming home with me.

It is gorgeous. May be I do like dahlias after all......the ones that look like this anyway. 

It felt like I was in the sand pit making roads as a kid when I got to work in the Ruby Garden. The channels are for sprinkling seeds of Billy Buttons, strawflowers and Blue Lace flowers in early spring. And the bigger mounds are for the dozen native tubestock plants I bought a little while ago which I will also plant in Spring when the frosts have passed ( I think ) even though I'm really keen to get them in now. Bill got two trailer loads of native mix from a nursery near here so that we could build up the planting holes. Natives require good drainage and we have clay. That's probably why a lot of the plants currently there don't seem to be doing as well as they should be.

A clutch of claws.

It's a miracle to me that these claw shaped corms....

..turn into these....

Bulb planting has been put off because it's been so hot, but it'll be all systems go here over the next few days. Some in pots and some in the potager to replace the veggies planted by Amy and Helen. 

I just can't seem to get as excited about veggies as I do about flowers.

This parcel of goodness and joy arrived today from Tesselars.

So much to look forward to.

Bill has been helping with cutting back all the dead foliage of the perennials in the rose garden. It will be put through the mulcher ( thanks Sam ) and then go on the compost heaps. This is one load of many that will eventually be removed.

We have been very lucky to have Sam staying with us over the last few weeks. He is currently turning the load of wood that was dumped out in the paddock into a seriously good-looking wood stack ( see if you can spot the supervisor ). Bill has named it our Mexican Wall.

We recently had a get together at Minyip.

Mum enjoys us all being there but I'm sure she's just as glad to see us go. We all talk over each other and the noise level just keeps rising!

Tas, the pooch, has replaced Bill in the family photo.

There was the usual argee bargee with Uncle Bill.

Each visit sees Ned testing his height against me. 

Oh dear.....I think by the look on his face he knows that this is the history making moment. It was only in January at the wedding that we had our previous measure up.

There's obviously been a growth spurt!

Autumn has been such a disappointment this year. The leaves have decided that enough is enough and it seems as though they've chosen to skip the colouring phase. They must go into panic mode when there's not enough rain.

I've still been able to pick flowers for my farmshop but they too, are starting to finish blooming.

Sew and sew

This is my winter collection of heat packs for Jacqui's shop. Nine altogether.

And a whole new lot of 100 Modern Quilt blocks to add to my thirty already completed. 

Couldn't help getting a few more bits and pieces to add to the stash.

I've started machine quilting my Farmers Wife Quilt. Still considering whether I may even add a bit of hand quilting to each block. That might be a Winter thing ( mmmm, I'm already detecting a bit of procrastinating going on there too).

And just because......

A new quilt for the lounge room.

These precious babes.

I love this quote.

Gosh we love a bargain don't we. I have been an op shopper for years and I'm constantly amazed at what can be found there. 

I came home with these two books today. One for $3 and one for $2. 

I'd love to read this one too....a recent publication.

The front cover and title conjure up all sorts of wonderment in my brain.

It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to Amy's campervan Bertie.

She has been sold to a good home and is going to be given a makeover. 

We will continue to refer to the shed up the back as Bertie's shed. 

It seems like a perfect planting day out there today. 

80 ranunculus and a punnet of stocks were nestled into their planting holes late yesterday. Now to get started on the rest......

We're thinking we may have to start demolishing that Mexican Wall tomorrow and light the fire. They're predicting a top temperature of 14 degrees here!