Brie Anne asks us this week
“So what’s your muse — what subject do you turn to frequently, more inspired each time?”
This is so easy for me to answer. I am surrounded by “my muse”. Every day I walk round the garden noticing the changes, marvelling at the beauty and colour, seeing flowers slowly fade and new ones take their place.
This morning I took my camera for a walk with me, as I often do, and these are just a few of the things I noticed.
This apricot poinsettia has been flowering for weeks and shows no signs of wilting.
The sun throws vibrant shadows of this crucifixion orchid on the new fence. Below it a new bud is opening to take the place of the slowly fading flower.
As the flowers come and go the foliage, in many shades and hues, fill the garden beds with colour the whole year.
The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.
These ants are only about 1 centimetre long and they were covering the flower buds on this jade plant. Do you see that other strange-looking spiky caterpillar? It is so small I only noticed it when I downloaded the photos.
Finally I went round the corner to say hello to our blue tongue lizard as he lay draped over the rock sunbathing.
He was almost camouflaged among the bromeliads and rocks.
The glory of gardening:
hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.
To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.
gypsy life 
beautiful flowers Pauline.. and I bet those ants can give a nasty nip!… Loved each and everyone of your photos.. Many thanks for sharing You can find I added some of our home garden Begonias which have been lovely this year on my Dreamwalker’s Garden blog.. Nothing like the exotic flowers you have although I have plenty of nasturtiums that are climbing against my clematis this year.. 🙂 Many thanks for sharing..
Hugs Sue xxx
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Thanks Sue for that lovely comment. I love nasturtiums they are real survivors and are coming up every where, great ground cover and the colour is so beautiful, orange and yellow is my favourite colour.
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i love them! the nasturtium winked at me, as if it knew that i’d been painting a similar ‘swiss cheese philodendrom’ yesterday. yes, our gardens definitely connect us to mother earth!
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I love the way the nasturtiums twine their way around all the other plants. They are real survivors just re-seeding themselves every year.
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Lovely photos and the Alfred Austin quote is perfect. How wonderful that you managed to include some creatures that enjoy your garden as well.
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When we initially planned the garden, 17 years ago, Jack incorporated pipes behind the shrubs and under the rocks for the lizards to hide in and make into their homes. They eat slugs and snails so are very welcome visitors.
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And what a beautiful garden it is, Pauline. I feel privileged to have strolled through it in person. A labor of love you have created. Beautiful!
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Thank you Jane it was such a pleasure to have you visit us. We really enjoyed your company.
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Amazing Pomme – you must work on it every day to make it so beautiful! And I love the little critter at the end 😄
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!7 years ago it was a full time job establishing the garden. But my vision was to have it almost self sufficient with the shrubs and plants filling all the spaces and now the major work is pruning a couple of times a year and dead heading. Not much weeding so I “potter” in the garden when I feel like it, but it is not a full on every day job any more.
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Oh, your photos of stunning and your garden gorgeous! I wish I had a green thumb. Wondering where you live–looks fairly tropical. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. I look forward to following your posts!!! Hope you are having a lovely Monday.
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G’day Kathryn, does that give you a clue as to where I live??? I am lucky to live in Australia in the sub tropical south east corner of Queensland. Welcome to my world. I have had a lovely Monday and the sun has come out again after 3 days of rain. I loved your new house and in a way envy your space. We live in a very small one room granny flat, with a big garden…
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Love your garden and glad Terry and I had the privilege to see it with The Garden Club.
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Pleased to hear from you. It has been a good year for the gardens
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What a beautiful and healthy garden you have. I can see many flowers that my mother has grown in her garden over years.
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Yes I have a lot of the old fashioned plants.
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A beautiful profusion of flowers and colours Pauline . I can see quite rightly how you garden is your ‘Muse’ You must have missed it on your trips away ….
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I always look forward to getting back home and the first thing I do is take a look around the garden… 🙂
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Oh wow, I have a couple of quite big Jade plants but I’ve never seen a flower. Your poinsettia is much nicer than the horrid bright red things we get here at Christmas and I love the exotic things we can only have as house plants!
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That jade plant is about 10 years old Gilly and in a pot and this is the first time it has flowered. Those red poinsettias are all in the nurseries over here at Christmas time too. I have a pale pink one, very delicate, but it is just starting to colour up.
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I absolutely love your garden, Pauline! It’s also great when you take a shot and don’t realise something is there (like the caterpillar!) Well done 😀
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Thanks Dianne for that nice comment. I wondered what sort of butterfly that caterpillar will become, it was very small.
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I’m not gardener, but I love other people’s gardens, and yours is a beauty. Watch out Monet! That rescue chair and the blue tongue are particular favourites … But so a all the flowers … And leaves … All manifestations of your loving attention.
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Thanks Meg. I really should have a go at doing a painting or even a sketch. Maybe the chair and the big fruit salad plant leaf…
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Yes!!!
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Wow! It’s a beautiful garden…I think you must have put your heart and hard work in it .
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Thank you I appreciate your comment. I do love my garden.
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Such a privilege to walk in your garden, Pauline! I’ve never seen an apricot poinsettia- it looks fabulous! And I love that palm with the ancient chair. I was so busy looking at the flowers I didn’t notice the ants till you pointed them out, but I definitely saw that cute lizard. 🙂 Thanks for a lovely share.
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You are always welcome to walk with me in my garden Jo. I also have a pink poinsettia but it is not flowering yet. That chair was found at the rubbish tip we like the stressed look so didn’t repaint them. That lizard earns his keep eating all the slugs and snails
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great pictures !!!!
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Thought you would like them Gwennie… 🙂
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you know me well !! 😀
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Your garden is so lovely PP, even in winter it keeps on giving 🙂
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We don’t really get winter as you know it Jude.
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Your apricot poinsettia is astounding, and I love the “old style” coleus variations – thank you so much for the tour of your muse! 😍
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“Old style” coleus, I like that description Del.
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