Sunday, March 29, 2015

KEEPING COOL


Happy Monday!
Over the weekend we flew off to see Pocket Farm Garden, the location of the Qld Plant Fair through Open Gardens Australia.


Pocket Farm has a beautiful country cottage garden, established in 2003.
It is a wonderful example of how to create a cottage garden effect in a tropical climate.  







Dodging showers, we enjoyed one of the guest speakers, Noel Burdette of Radio 4BC, on the 'best plants to begin a cottage garden'.


The Red Cardinal garden was created by a previous owner, in a cottage style.
It was overgrown and challenging when we came here, and we have struggled over the years to get it into some semblance of order.

At the moment, with the help of the hot and wet summer, it is looking quite good.  There are flowers, and the grass is green.  
Some years this is beyond achievement!


There were lots of stalls at the Fair, and we bought new salvias and geraniums, and a couple of African violets, resisting the allure of the orchids.



We were so inspired, we gardened up a treat on Sunday...



Went to choir practice on Friday...
It was so hot, I looked along the row and everybody had fans.
My two neighbours in the Alto line posed for this pic..


I love culottes...
Made them and wore them, back in the day.
Pretty sure I had this pattern once.



Definitely wore a jumpsuit with long wide flares when I was about 21.

Well, they're baaaaaack...




Style Arc patterns have released Erin Woven culottes..


and I produced these...
Cool rayon, graphic print from Spotlight, nice and easy to wear..



Finished purchasing your Easter confectionery yet?

Have a lovely week

XXXX








49 comments:

  1. Love the Queensland cottage garden effect, Patricia. You have such lush flowers and vegetation. I remember and indeed wore culottes and jumpsuits many years ago, but they are long gone. Not sure I have the legs for culottes nowadays. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like the tropical cottage garden - it can look lovely, but gardening during the summer heat isn't easy! Another culotte wearer - they were quite the thing, weren't they? Everything comes back eventually...

      Delete
  2. Your culottes are really lovely. I love them.. also wore them when I was young and made several pairs all worn to death. Wish I could get some polka dot rayon to make some now. I'm a non gardener as my yard will attest unfortunately.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Summer. Another culotte wearer from the past :) I adore polka dots, and think they would make great culottes. Hope you find what you are looking for, and thank you for visiting my blog.

      Delete
  3. Beautiful gardens! I had a pair of green corduroy culottes several decades ago, I wore them until they fell apart. I don't think that I will get any like that again! The idea of a loose cool pair for summer sounds great to me! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Green cord culottes sounds like the sort of thing I wore too, Amy. I like the summer ones that are in the shops here now, and would like a white pair too. They are lovely and cool to wear. xx

      Delete
  4. It is very seldom that we need to use fans even in the summer let alone in the autumn.
    Your culottes look so comfortable and cool and very fetching too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Rosemary - Brisbane is one place where a souvenir fan from an overseas jaunt can certainly be used! I have a few from China and Japan, and a pretty one from Spain. I keep one in my music case, one for church, and so on. Thank you re the culottes - a fashion I always liked, as a more ladylike type of trousers!

      Delete
  5. Lovely your orchids are doing well - mine have not flowered all summer. I think it has been too hot for them - they will probably get on with it while we are overseas. I remember the gauchos - had a black velvet pair with gold trim. Diana used to wear them as I recall.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A lot to think about in this post. I remember my Mum used to buy those patterns. And Pocket Farm is a strange and interesting name - is it a very small farm or does "pocket" mean something else, I wonder! Lovely, lovely pictures. ANd fans - what a great idea. next time I go somewhere hot I will take one. (Although at the moment it feels as if I'll never be anywhere hot again!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought Pocket Farm an attractive name too - its location is in a 'peninsula' formed by a loop in the Brisbane River, which is the 'pocket'. Fans are very useful in hot climes, and they did look pretty fluttering away in the front row at choir prac!

      Delete
  7. Patricia, beautiful flowers, and nice job on the outfit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda - hope to see a few more pretty flowers now a hint of Autumn has finally arrived. Thank you re the culottes :)

      Delete
  8. You flew over the w/e? By plane? I have understood that plane flights are routine in Australia, as it is such a vast country.
    Very green and colorful at the farm. Your own garden looks good as well!
    And out from nowhere you present your cool looking culottes!
    The only Easter- y I have bought are two packages of white feathers to be used as decoration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, being fanciful again - flying as a pair of red birds. The Pocket Farm garden was a short drive from our place, with a similar climate, hence our interest in their gardening techniques and choices. We bought a ticket in a prize draw to win 5 hours of gardening by an expert - fingers crossed to win that one!
      I spent a couple of weeks on the culottes, as I wanted to get it right, and I really like wearing them. White feathers are a wonderful idea for Easter decoration. Your granddaughter will enjoy the Easter atmosphere this year!

      Delete
  9. What a lovely day - I love gardens, especially cottage gardens - just wish I had time to visit them or tend one. One day. The culottes are gorgeous and just the thing for this sort of outing - smart but practical too. I just read that Betty Churcher has died, she was a person I so admired.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can imagine that you would love a nice garden, Sarah Liz - you are that type of person :)
      So sad about Betty Churcher - I found out from your comment. She was such a wonderful art historian, and an inspiration. Love her last book!

      Delete
  10. The cottage garden looks wonderful....it is so good to see what can be done isn't it...and providing so many ideas to try out ! I to remember culottes, I had a silky pleated pair, in an animal print....and I loved them. I'm not sure I could get away with them now though. Jx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Janice - another culotte fancier! We could start a club...
      Love the sound of the silky animal print. They are classic - I'll bet you get some soon :) x

      Delete
  11. Pretty garden, I like the things you planted too. The culottes you made are so attractive. I'm another who wore them back in the day. If I could find them in the stores here I'd certainly try a pair again. Haven't seen them yet though. I always thought they were perfect for warm weather.

    Darla

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hoping the new culottes catch on, and find their way to your place, Darla. I think they are perfect for a warm weather casual look, without wearing shorts too.

      Delete
  12. I like culottes too, and skorts! I used to wear skorts all the time when I was a teenager. You could look cute without having to worry about sitting like a lady at all times, ha. I love the cottage garden, such beautiful flowers. And that photo of the gate under the arbor, I love that. Gates always capture my imagination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, skorts! I remember them, really they are short culottes. They deserve a re-run. All members of the blog should unite under a banner :) The gate was my favourite bit of that garden, with its outlook over the countryside. Been wondering how to incorporate one into our quarter-acre!

      Delete
  13. I've always loved the look of a country garden. You bought some beautiful plants to put in yours! I used to wear culottes all the time when I was younger, too. I had no idea they are back in fashion. Yours look wonderful on you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Waving the flag for the return of culottes - let's hope they are not a minor quirk, but get back into the mainstream. We all love them! A country garden has always appealed to me, and was a major reason we bought our present house and its well-laid out, flowering garden. We do our best to maintain it, despite weather and predators!

      Delete
    2. Oooo, I love the country cottage garden! Mother Nature has very vivid colors, none more beautiful.

      On the day that I made cinnamon rolls, I put half in the freezer, to be eaten on Easter morning. I have found that homemade breads stay fresh and maintain their tastes if freezen, if done immediately. So that will be my Easter confestionary.

      I've goon back to using fans, myself. They work very well.

      Delete
    3. I should have typed: I've gone back to using fans.

      Delete
    4. Happy Easter Debra! Cinnamon rolls on Easter morning sounds wonderful...a good idea to use the freezer. I don't know how my mother managed to raise a big family without a freezer.
      Fans are great - for keeping cool, and for flirting :)

      Delete
  14. I've always liked the look of cottage gardens .... a homely feel to them somehow.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've always liked the look of cottage gardens .... a homely feel to them somehow.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you love flowers, cottage is the way to go!

      Delete
  16. So lovely and uplifting to see all thsse flowers!!! Beautiful! And your sewing work looks great! Happy Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you very much for sharing information that will be much helpful for making coursework my effective.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi there,

    Thank you so much for the post you do and also I like your post, Are you looking for for Buy Misoprostol Online in UAE? We Buy Misoprostol Online, Misoprostol in Dubai pharmacy, Abortion pills for sale in Dubai, Where i can buy abortion pills in Abu Dhabi, Abortion pills price in Dubai, Abortion pills for sale in Ajman, Where i can buy abortion pills in Dubai, Where i can buy abortion pills in Sharjah, Buy Mifepristone and misoprostol online UAE, Abortion pills cytotec available in Dubai, Buy abortion pills in Dubai, Cytotec pills in Dubai, Cytotec price in Dubai, Cytotec pills in Dubai, Cytotec price in Dubai, Abortion pills in Dubai, mifegest kit in UAE, Pregnancy termination pills in Qatar, Abortion in Dubai, pregnancy abortion pills in UAE, Mifepristone and misoprostol available in UAE, Cytotec medicine in UAE, How to get abortion pills in UAE, Abortion pills available in Dubai, Where to buy cytotec in Dubai, Abortion pills in Qatar pharmacy, Dubai online shopping tablets, Abortion clinics in muscat, Where to buy abortion pills in Bahrain, Abortion pills in Ajman, Mifegest kit price online order, Vimax pills in Abu Dhabi, Where can i buy mifepristone and misoprostol in Dubai, Can you take birth control pills in Dubai, Abortion pills in UAE for sale,the well price and our services are very fast.
    Click here for " title="Buy Misoprostol online | Misoprostol in Dubai Pharmacy | Abortion in Dubai | Abortion Pills in Dubai">MORE DETAILS......

    CONTACT US:
    Phone : +1 (443) 718-9645
    support@healthsbiopharma.com

    ReplyDelete