Sunday, November 20, 2011

About the Blogs

Reading


If you visited other parts of my site, you already know that I have different blogs.
I post updates of my artwork and photography on the Artwork and Photography Blog.

The Garden Journal is for comments on varieties I grow and places I visit.
New pages and changes to ArtistGarden.net are also posted in the Garden Journal.

That leaves my first blog, this one.
Here, I will now share my other interests.
For example, I love to read, and I recently purchased a Kobo Touch eReader.
Right now I am reading a Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer Series.
The first book I've read in this format is The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen.
I'm looking forward to the next one.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Contessa Double Lavender

 Work in Progress


In early summer, I visited a local garden center for the first time.
There I found a Contessa Double Lavender trailing pelargonium.
I already had the Double Pink.
When the flowers start to open, they look like tiny roses.
This gives the pelargonium an old-fashioned and elegant look.
When the brushwork is finished and uploaded in the Portfolio, I will post it on the Blog.

P.S: I've done a bit of research and it turns out the label was wrong. My pelargonium is a Colorcade Lilac.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Free soil amendment

Autumn Leaves

The weather today is perfect for raking leaves.
Shredding them allows me to store more bags in the garage.
Some are set aside for protecting the roses and clematis.
I won't be using white cones this year because of the turkeys.
Garden blankets, and jute worked best last winter.
I do have to wrap the shrubs with flexible fencing material first to support the cover.
The blankets go on the shrubs only when the weather stays below zero.
Since my garden is surrounded by a forest, I need to be more creative.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Garden Chores

 End of the Season


Now the bulbs are all in the ground.
The only garden chores left are covering the roses and bagging the most leaves that I can.
This gives me more time to sort through all the photos I've taken since early spring.

My yearly visits to the Ottawa Experimental Farm begins when the magnolias are blooming.
This year, I remembered to photograph the name plates.
I did plant a magnolia in my own garden a few years ago.
It died after the first winter.

This year I am testing the hardiness of Blue Moon, a wisteria macrostachya.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Dahlia Brushwork

Water Lily Dahlia

Firepot is now finish.
The brushwork was done in Corel Painter.
The fireblend shade is unchanged.

See more in Portfolio