Camelia bud...

Lovely creamy white camellia bud...

Bird House Gourd...

When the rats decided my gourds were delicious, a lot ended up a bit holey!

So I used the ones with bird sized holes to make birdhouses. 

First I painted the inside of the gourd white, then the outside a lovely yellow.

I love butterflies, so there was no question what to decorate the outside with...

a pretty blue butterfly on a leafy branch.

#Gourdart #Gourds 

Banksian Rose...

What a stunner...

I never prune this rose so that the canes grow up through the cherry tree and camelias.

A perfect picture against the pink of the other flowers.  

This is a Banksia Rose in double white - 'Alba Plena'.

Morning Star...

The prettiest little star flowers....

and would you believe growing in the top of a large rock.

All I did was get the chisel and hammer out,

 and chipped away at the rock until there was a small pot size indent. 

'Morning Star' is a Rhodohypoxis....

and has been happily growing in the rock for the past two years!

#rockplants #morningstar 

Joy Cushion...

I LOVE Christmas, and I am starting to think about what creations need creating for this years display...
Not sure where I first saw this cushion idea, (may have been on pinterest)...
but here is my version...

I love how this cushion fits into the red and white colour scheme of my sitting room. You could use a red cushion with white felt if you prefer.

I went to 'Bed Bath and Beyond' and bought an off white cushion (sale price $8), and some red felt from the fabric store (cost $2). The word joy letter template is off the web.

 

Cut out the template letters.  Pin to felt, cut out felt letters.

Lay out double sided fusing, and draw around the outline of the letters using pencil. Do an mirror image of the J. 
Use a hot iron to bond fusing to the felt letters. Trim edges.

Peel off the backing paper from the double sided fusing... Remove cushion inner from cushion and place felt letters in the centre overlapping the letters slightly.  Hot iron and fuse in place.

Top stitch with white cotton (red if your felt is white) around the letters using a sewing machine. Embellish (sequins, buttons, etc if you desire), but I chose to leave mine plain.

And there you have it...a joyous Christmas cushion, that's quick and easy to make.

Joy word template

Look At This!

I could not believe it when I saw this...
a self-seeded camelia in the garden that is about only a metre high, but the left side has varigated flowers, and the flowers on the right side are solid colour.
It is like a line has been drawn up the middle of the shrub with diffferent colours on each side.
I think I'll leave it be and see what it does as the tree matures...

The Best Gerbera...

Shocking pink in colour, 

this gerbera has been in Mia Bella Gardens for about ten years. 

It flowers from early spring to early winter, 

and is great for picking.

I have bought many modern gerbera varieties over time,

 and all seem to be susceptible to mildew disease. 

Actually, I hate to think how many I have managed to kill!  

None have ever compared to this 'nameless' shocking pink gerbera, 

which has never had a day of mildew disease in it's life. 

Aqua Blue Beaded Gourd...

 I went through my gourd growing stage a few years back...

Amazing plants to grow, but  you do need a huge amount of room if you grow more than one plant. 

We had gourds coming out our ears! 

  

Every shed roof at Mia Bella Gardens had gourds on top drying...

even the trampoline was covered in drying gourds...

 Friends and family got decorated gourd gifts, people found out we grew them and wanted them for their own crafts or cultural uses.

 A lot got given away, and then the corn field was harvested, and the hungry rats decided they were delicious too...

so that was the end of the gourd growing era. 

I may try again sometime, maybe just one plant on a trellis....

This gourd was painted a lovely aqua colour, 
and decorated with beads and cord.

#gourdart  #gourds

Ella...

Ella is a mixed breed moggy....we are sure she has British Blue in her as she has a big round face and tiny ears.  She's just like a big teddy and has the most stunning green eyes.

She is best friends with Tucker dog...they do everything together.

Very cute to see them sleep together at night, and sunbathe on the driveway on hot days.

Ella smooches Tucker too. 

Dendrobium Orchid...

A cute wee orchid 

with the most powerful perfume you have ever smelt.

This is 'Dendrobium Delicatum'.

Geranium

Wow, what a beautiful geranium. 

Soft whitish pink outer petals with a shocking pink centre.

In my moment of gardeners madness 

I bought four geraniums from the garden centre....

with absolutely no idea where they would go in the garden.

Mia bella Gardens is 'chocka block' so I have to say it took a few days, 

and a few pots brought out of the storeshed to find homes for them all. 

This geranium is 'Zonal Geranium' - Flower Fairy White splash.

Jade...

My name is Jade.  I am an Indian Ringneck Parrot.

My favourite thing to do is tease the dogs.  I whistle to them to come...

I wolf whistle too. 

I can meow like a cat, say hello, how are you...

I live on my own as I don't really like the girls, they stress me out, then I sulk and I won't talk.   So I am really happy on my own, because I get all the treats and lots of delicious food.

Blue Collection

I just love this blue...and when teamed with white is just divine...

I added a few pieces of aqua glass...

and a stamped art picture in black and white...

I love the detail of French Country style pieces...

I'm very tempted to give the old cabinet this collection sits on a makeover...

distressed white of course.  It's on the 'maybe' list.

Pink Leptospermum

Leptospermum 'Aussie Blossom'.

This is Leptospermum scoparium x Leptospermum flavescens.

Leptospermum scoparium is native to New Zealand and Leptospermum flavescens is widespread along the eastern seaboard of Australia .

A very pretty small shrub that grows to about 1.5 metres tall.

Evergreen, with flowers from late winter to spring.

'Upside Down' Cymbidium Orchid

What a gorgeous Cymbidium orchid this is.  I had it in a pot and when it flowered the flowers were hanging upside down on the spike.  It just didn't look right at all as you just could not appreciate the beauty of the flowers, so now it has been potted into a hanging basket. 
The flower spikes hang down now, and look just perfect.
A lot of my orchids  have no records of names, as they were bought from yard sales, or from garden centres, and had no information attached. 
I've never seen another 'upside down' cymbidium before, so if anyone knows more - please share...

Borage...

Blue and beautiful...

Blue borage flowers are a stunning colour, 

and the bees just adore them.

In fact blue borage honey is one of my favourites.

The borage self-seeds freely in the garden. 

For a special touch to summer drinks, 

the little blue flowers look fabulous if you freeze them in icecubes.

The young leaves have a cucumber taste.

If grown near tomatoes, the borage is meant to improve flavour,

 as well as being a bee magnet which is great for pollination.

Choc Cake

Delicious Chocolate Cake...

Very easy to make, secret is to avoid overcooking so cake is a little moist.

Preheat oven to 180 celsius.

In a large pot melt together:

150 grams butter

1 cup cold water

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon of Baking Soda

2 heaped Tablespoons of cocoa powder

Bring to boil, stirring, until mixture froths and doubles in size.

Put aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Whisk in 2 lightly beaten eggs and 1 1/2 cups of self-raising flour.

Pour mixture into a square paper lined tin, or a round greased tin with a removable bottom.

Bake for 30 -40 minutes. It is cooked when skewer comes out of centre clean. 

When cold ice with chocolate icing of your choice.

I use this recipe for many variations...

Omit cocoa for:

Ginger - 1 or 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger. Ice with ginger icing.

Orange - Add 2 tablespoons of finely grated orange rind. Ice with orange icing.

Coconut - Add 1/2 cup fine desiccated coconut. Ice with raspberry icing.

Red Camelia...

I love camellias (but then I love all flowers!).

A lot of people hate them, because they are messy.  

But I think the floral display they have is worth every bit of mess. 

This camelia is a Japonica variety.  

It is called 'Pirates Gold'.

Stunning Azalea...

This azalea is stunning with the brightest pink edged white blooms.
Now growing in a large pot situated on a sunny deck.  Probably not ideal conditions for it, but it's very happy and has doubled in size since last summer.
I don't know the name of it, as it was an impulse buy from the supermarket plant stand. And it just had a label that said 'azalea'!
Don't you just hate the way they position that stand of flowering plants just as you enter the supermarket.
I always seem to have a plant in my trolley at the start of every grocery shop!

First Iris bloom

Yellow Iris ...

The first Iris is blooming...

I love these flowers. 

Incredibly beautiful to look at and so much fun to paint. 

Butterfly Table Top...

 

What fun was had in the creation of this mosaic...
the old oak table had seen better days, so I drew the words and butterfly in black marker pen, then beside it left containers of broken tiles in various colours, old bread and butter knives, and tile glue....
My friends and I chatted and did mosaic over coffee, the kids friends all stopped by to mosaic a bit here and there...it took months and months, but this was the end result.
This table has graced the covered deck for many years now, with wonderful memories attached.

Pink Clematis...

Gorgeous pink blooms...

this variety of Clematis montana is called 'Elizabeth'.

Shanti-Rose

Meet Shanti-Rose...

Shanti-rose is a stunning red Burmese.  Age 4.
Pedigree name: Killishandra Quite A Gal.
More commonly known as 'The Terrorist'.  
Definitely the boss of the seven cats who reside at Mia Bella Gardens.

Art mash...

This is what I call an art mash (or collage)... using about five different pieces of my art that just weren't right...to evolve into this lovely picture.

Textural bits are washi paper, which is paper made from flax fibre.

This artwork reminds me of New Zealand - sun, sand, sea, flax, koru's, nikau's and kowhai's.

Stamped Heart Picture...

Some time ago, I saw a picture in a magazine of what was possibly a screen-printed framed heart.  This got me thinking about how I could use my Stampin' Up stamps to create something similar.

I used a small patterned stamp and other smaller stamps in various designs, red paper and white ink.

Using the long heart template, I cut out the centre of the heart. You could use another shape - maybe a circle, star or square...

With the template taped in place to keep it stable, the stamps were randomly stamped using the red card as the background.

Carefully remove the template when dry.  With a white colour pencil lightly define the outline of the heart shape.

 I framed the design in a white frame.

It now has a special place in my red and white sitting room.

Long Heart Template - copy and enlarge to print.

#diyart

Azalea

What a stunning azalea...

 (unsure of variety) It has been in the garden for 15 years. 

Halved in size by a storm a few years ago, 

but has recovered well. 

Clivia

A lovely shot of orange in a shady spot in Mia Bella Gardens...

Clivias are native to Africa and Swaziland.

Common names include Kaffir lily and bush lily.

They are evergreen plants, with green, strap-like leaves.

Individual flowers are more or less bell-shaped,

 occurring in umbels on a stalk above the foliage;

 colors range from yellow through orange to red.
The Clivia is a shade loving plant.
They thrive in drier spots that most other shade loving plants struggle with.


#shadeplants #Clivia #floweringshadeplants #garden