this beautiful garden of eden, snake and all

Hi Caitlin!....yes my studio is is an extraordinarily beautiful and peaceful space to work in. That view   overlooking the pond I showed in the previous blog is taken from the deck of the studio, heres another photo  of the same view taken standing inside the studio doors - ain't it glorious!

Outside my studio doors, March 2012

Rodney and I have worked very hard to transform the garden from a neglected thigh high tangle of overgrown weeds into a lovely meditative space of growing things. The "pond garden" area outside my studio comprises approximately the bottom quarter of the whole yard and I wanted it to look like a tropical garden - hence the Bali style bamboo gazebo. I found it a bit challenging trying to select plants in that theme which would survive in a temperate climate! We get a few mornings -8C most winters and old timers maintain that snow falls every 2-3 decades! In the beginning I lost heaps of palms! Fortunately tree ferns, grasses, canna lilies, arum lilies, flaxes, mondo grass, achilleas and phlomis varieties have proven robust.

I found this wonderful nursery in Victoria which has a similar climate to this area and a few times a year I mailorder 20-30 plants from them -  www.lambley.com.au.

The front and side of the house have been planted in a more traditional cottage garden theme and there the plants are mostly daisies, geraniums, salvias and roses. Rodney put down the pebble paths just a few weeks before we got married last year and it finishes the garden marvellously. We still have many years of work to develop the middle area of the yard! You can see many more pictures of the garden that rodney has taken throughout the year by clicking on the link down the side bar of the blog.

The snake is no more! we found it lying dead in the grass yesterday afternoon not far from the woodpile. It was dead, through Rodney put the spade through it, just in case, because we were too cautious to touch it otherwise. I think it must have eaten a rat or mouse that had taken poison that we put out in the laundry. Rats had eaten through the rubber pipes of the washing machine! I found a huge rat dying in the garden the day before seeing the snake. The snake measured about 85cm.

Just a reminder and some encouragement to come forward with comments! If you are a subscriber and receive the blog by email notification you'll need to come to this website to use the comment button at the bottom of the blog -  www.pearlredmoon.com.

I was dubious about starting this blog in November last year and have surprised myself in keeping it up this long! It really has become an aspect of my art practise where I can reflect, focus and maintain a flowing narrative about my art and life. As a person who is not naturally gregarious, rather insular and solitary in fact, a thing I have learned with some difficulty about my life is that there are absolute benefits for me in interacting with people and seeking feedback. As a person with Aspergers Syndrome I have to overcome extreme anxiety and discomfort whenever I'm in the presence of others. This internet communication is a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to present myself in a way where I feel calm and without the confusing over stimulation of discerning what is happening, what is expected and trying to appear "normal"!