Taking Inspiration from Nature - Creative Garden

Do you ever feel that you are creatively blocked? Then you should look no further than your own garden, green space or local park! 

We can find a wealth of inspiration when we take a walk in our gardens or green space, and there are so many ways in which we can look to nature and produce beautiful creative projects. 

Here are 5 tips for using the natural world to unlock your creativity:

1. Allow it to guide your art - Look at the kind of things that you might find to add that inspiration to an art project. It could be the twist of a branch that inspires a brushstroke, or the texture of bark or rocks recreated with modeling paste or gesso. Step outside your comfort zone and see where the natural world takes you.

2. Choose Your colors from natures palette. Nature offers a vast and vibrant range of colors. Observe the color combinations of a flowers petals, the contrast of a cloudy sky, or the variation of greens and browns that you find in a garden.

Choose colors that evoke the emotions and feelings you want to convey in your art, and let them be your guide. This plant is called the paddle plant and I love the color combination. I would never have thought to use it in my art.

To Read More - Join me as a FREE member on Patreon HERE

Gardening on a Budget - Trimming the Trees

I managed to get some of the trees trimmed in the garden.  They have been growing happily but can become a problem if you allow them to grow too tall.

I got our guy who cuts the grass to cut them back for me and now there is a lot of branches and leaves to make use of throughout the garden.

There are many things that you can do with the cut branches which once laid on the beds will help the plants overtime and is a cheaper way that having to have a dedicated compost bin, this helps to keep all the moisture in the beds and stops the plants from drying out.  You can also use some of the branches and seed pods in creative projects in the studio.

Here is what the pods look like on the trees, and once the pods are dry they split open and each can contain between 8 and 13 seeds.  

Come and join me in the garden, you will get to see how some of the plants are doing and may be share how you are doing in your green space, however big or small.

Before You Go

Check out my Website and Art Work - Click Here or scan below

Creative Garden Expansion - Budget-Friendly Garden Projects

 

I've embarked on a new garden project, and while it feels a bit overwhelming, I'm embracing the challenge. Despite working on a tight budget, I've gathered some helpful tips over time for gardening economically.

Gardening isn't just a hobby; it's a therapeutic journey that occasionally presents the daunting task of starting from scratch. To tackle this, I've learned to break projects into smaller tasks and celebrate each milestone.

Creating a beautiful garden doesn't always demand a large bank balance. In fact, some of the most satisfying transformations can be accomplished on a limited budget. Let's explore some cost-effective ways to enhance your garden:

• Repurpose and Upcycle: Before rushing to the store for new pots or garden decor, take a look around your home for items that can be repurposed. Old buckets, tin cans, or wooden crates can be transformed into planters with a fresh coat of paint. Get creative with unconventional containers to add character to your garden while saving money.

• Propagate Plants: Instead of splurging on new plants, why not propagate your existing ones? Many plants, such as succulents, herbs, and certain flowers, can be easily propagated from cuttings or seeds. Not only does this save money, but it also allows you to expand your garden while fostering a deeper connection with your plants.

Join me on Patreon

You can check out an Additional 3 ways on my Free Patreon post - You can check it out HERE

So, come and join me in the garden I will be taking small and steady steps to achieve what I imagine in this new space. Happy gardening!

The Wonderful World of Curry Leaf Gardening: A Green Adventure

Welcome to the Creative Garden! Today, I'm thrilled to share the story of my amazing Curry Leaf tree that is growing in my food forest.  You can check out the video below.

I originally brought a small Curry Leaf plant, and it's grown into a thriving tree that can grow up to 20 feet, whilst I don't want mine growing that tall here are a few things I noted:

1. The Unexpected pests

When I first got my Curry Leaf plant, it was a tiny sapling.  I currently face some challenges when it flowers and it gets attacked by the small black fly which then attracts the ants, they have this symbiotic relationship.

I had to make the difficult decision to trim it back quite hard and wondered how it would respond. To my amazement, it bounced back stronger and healthier than ever. 

2. A Bounty of Seeds and Saplings

Once the Curry Leaf tree blooms and produces flowers, it also starts to produce seeds. These seeds are not only edible but also give rise to an army of tiny Curry Leaf saplings. I discovered several mini plants surrounding the mother tree! They all sprouted from the fallen seeds.

Some have even grown into sturdy young plants that I've carefully transplanted to different parts of my garden. However, propagating these saplings from seeds or cuttings requires a delicate touch, as they don't like to be disturbed.

3. Cooking 

The Curry Leaf tree is native to India and is also found in Australia, Barbados and other places around the world. It's known for its aromatic leaves that are widely used in Indian cuisine, adding that unique flavor to curries and other dishes. I often use the leaves in cooking, especially stews and soups, it adds a lovely flavor to the dishes.  

4. Gardening Hacks: Pest Control and Bird Partnerships

In the world of organic gardening, pest control can be a challenge. One of the most effective ways I have found to keep pests at bay is by attracting birds to my garden and other garden friends to help - such as the lizards, frogs and toads.  There are also a number of natural ways that you can deter pests in your garden such as Neem Oil, picking the pests off by hand, soapy water and other solutions depending on the pests.  

5. Future Plans and Maintenance

As my Curry Leaf tree continues to thrive, I have plans to shape it so that it can stay at a manageable height, around six feet or so, to ensure easy harvesting of the leaves. Pruning and occasional spraying with neem oil will help maintain its health and shape.  Additionally, I'll be relocating some of the young saplings to better spots in the garden.

That said some great tips for the Curry leaf plant.  If it is not something that you are able to grow, think about how being out in your garden space or outdoors positively impacts on your health and well-being.  Here are a few reasons to spend time in the outdoors:

Here are some Benefits of Gardening on Health

Gardening isn't just about growing plants; it also has health benefits as well:

1. Stress Reduction: Gardening provides a calming environment that can reduce stress levels.

2. Physical Exercise: Tending to your garden involves physical activity, helping you stay active and fit.

3. Fresh Air and Vitamin D: Spending time outdoors exposes you to fresh air and sunlight, essential for good health.

4. Mental Wellbeing: Gardening can improve your mood, reduce symptoms of depression, and boost overall mental wellbeing.

5. Healthy Eating: Growing your own fruits and vegetables encourages a healthier diet, rich in fresh, organic produce.

My Curry Leaf tree has been a great addition to my garden.  If you have any questions or want to share your gardening experiences, please leave a comment below. Let's grow together!

Until next time, happy gardening!

Creative Garden - Creating a Bird-Friendly Haven in Your Garden

Creating a Bird-Friendly Haven in Your Garden

Welcome to my garden, a sanctuary where creativity meets nature. One of my primary goals is to provide a comfortable environment for birds, allowing them to thrive and build their nests. In today's video, I'll take you on a tour of the birds favorite spots. 

One of the key elements in attracting birds is offering trees of varying heights. By doing so, I provide them with options for nesting. The diversity of trees in my garden ensures that different bird species can find their perfect nesting grounds.

Apart from providing trees of varying heights, offering a plentiful food supply is another crucial aspect of attracting and sustaining birds in the garden. In my garden, the tall pomegranate trees have a unique purpose. Some of them have split open, rendering them unsuitable for human consumption. However, these fruits make perfect feeding stations for the birds. Their high water content makes them a refreshing treat, especially during hot days we have been getting - with more to come!.

Observing the birds enjoying the environment as they build their nests is also a fascinating process, and you can witness some of the materials birds use from the garden. They incorporate cotton and grass, both of which I have intentionally placed in various spots and every so often they find some strips of fabric that are also added to the nest. 

The birds also aid in insect control. Birds are natural predators, and their appetite for insects helps maintain the balance in the garden. I am grateful for their presence as they munch on insects, keeping their populations in check. Without them, I would likely encounter more issues with pests in my garden.

Birds aren't the only garden helpers - we have lizards, toads, and at dusk the bats come out. Lizards also play a vital role in insect control. I'm fortunate to have a diverse array of lizard species residing in my garden. They diligently feast on insects, including moths, contributing to the overall harmony.

I am privileged to host an array of bird species, including wood pigeons, hummingbirds, parakeets, and several other varieties. The bird song creates a symphony that resonates throughout the garden in the early hours of the morning.  It's a joy to witness these birds in their element, congregating and making themselves at home.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I look forward to sharing more delightful moments from my garden with you in future blog posts. Until then, remember to take a moment to appreciate the beauty and diversity that surrounds us in the natural world. Happy gardening, and may your garden become a thriving sanctuary for both humans and feathered friends alike.

Tropical Black Sage - In my Creative Garden

Welcome to the garden! I am wearing my creative gardener hat today and we are going to look at my Tropical Black Sage - also known as Varronia curassavica. Its journey developed from a simple plant cutting to a full-grown tree.  I have it growing within a tyre in the garden and whilst I wasn't going to let it grow into a tree by regular pruning - I am glad I did as it has got a really lovely shape to it. 

As the tropical black sage was growing, it encountered various pests that I have had to deal with. One such pest was a small moth with a lilac color that liked to feed on the tip of the shoots and lay its eggs on the undersides of the leaves. At first, I thought they were cute, but soon I realized they were a real problem and have drifted on to other plants.  Over time I tried different natural solutions, such as spraying soapy water and oil, and even made my own neem oil, and the ladybirds also help when they can.    

In addition to dealing with the pests, I have allowed the tropical black sage to grow in different areas of my garden and it seems to love it, I keep them trimmed regularly to reduce their size. The birds are the ones that have dropped the seeds in different areas and depending on where they are growing some of the leaves have been really large in size.  I use the leaves in tea and for cooking and also create smudging sticks.

Check out the video of the Tropical Black Sage Plant above

Another interesting aspect of the tropical black sage is the wood. It's a fairly strong and semi-hardwood that I'm still experimenting with in terms of creative use. I will keep you updated on what I come up with.  

Also check out some of these gardening resources:

The Backyard Homestead 

Medicinal Garden Kit 

Garden Freedom Micro Course

Creativity and the Garden

 

One of the things that I love doing is spending time in my garden.  I have been creating a 'Food Forest' for the past 5 years and have a range of trees and plants.

I try and spend time on a daily basis to take note of what is happening, how plants are growing and check up on the birds that call my garden home.

We have around 7 species of bird in the garden and the main ones that seem to build their nests in the trees are the 'Banana Quits'.

In the video above I share with you the different families that we currently have boarding with us.  Check out some of the other videos I have on my channel HERE.

Foam Stamps

I am also on day 53 of the 100 Days of Foam stamps and they too happen to be a series of birds that I am sharing over the next week or so.

Here are the birds that have been shared over the past few days

If you would like to see the stamps daily you can check out my Instagram HERE

I am also taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge and you can check out the posts HERE

DAY 5

********************************************

Mixed Media Art Courses to Check out

SALE - Enjoy $10 OFF all courses until 30th April Click on the image to see the course.

Use the Code at the checkout - create2

Agrofest - Yearly Agricultural Event in Barbados

Agrofest is an annual agricultural event held in Barbados

Join me in the video below and check out some of the other videos available if you would like to start 'Growing Your Own on a Budget.

I only got a snippet of Agrofest as my main focus was getting some plants which I did.  Namely - Breadnut, Pommerac, Red Ginger Lilly and Sea Grapes.  All apart the breadnut is doing well - (those pesky slugs)

Recycling initiative taking place

Lots of different animals and plants on display and it is definitely well worth visiting over the 3 days of events.

Come and check out some of the other videos that I have available HERE

Creative Gardening - New Posts - What are you Growing?

Come and check out what I get up to in the Garden - my Tropical Garden

The New Normal

Things are looking very different for many around the world, how is this impacting on you.

What Food are you growing

Now might be the time that you consider growing your own food regardless of the type of space that you have, from a garden to a plant pot.

Stay blessed and be a blessing

Happy New Year - New 31 Days challenges!

 Happy New Year 

to You and your family!!!. 

I hope that your dreams and desires for this year are realized.  As you break all the tasks down and take small steps every day before you know it you will have achieved what ever it is you are striving for.

This month I will be working on a new YouTube channel called - The Creative Gardener, which looks at all the plants that I love growing in my garden and the tropical environment (which means that everything grows so much bigger).  

I want to share my journey of starting from scratch in the garden to developing a tropical paradise, and I am also keen to learn about the medicinal and nutritional properties of plants.  The artist in me has to come out as well and I will and will also be sharing a few outdoor creative projects.

The other thing I will be doing for this month is sharing with you my 31 Art Studio Essentials for creativity.  

It can be hard to find time for some creative play and over the next 31 days I will be sharing with you some of the ways in which I manage to find time, and they are very easy things that you can incorporate into your day as well.

Look forward to seeing you on this journey.  I will be sharing the first posts later on today!

Blessings await for 2018!!

Mixed Media Art Painting - Transformation - Dala

Transformation Series  

Welcome to the series, it is great to have you back again this week to see what else I have in store for you.  This week we meet another character, with her own story and we meet her in what looks like a snapshot of her life..

'Dala sat in her garden surrounded by red flowers and blue skies, and at that moment she felt at peace gazing at the flowers she breathed deeply trying to soak in everything that her senses could pick up.  The delicate aromas, the breeze that made the hairs on her skin dance, and the warmth of the sun that made her feel part of something so much bigger'

A week doesn't go by where I create a painting on what looks like a scrap of paint spattered paper, card or fabric.  I guess it is part of the challenge for myself to be flexible and work with what I have.

It is important to spend how ever long you have creating, whether you pick up a paint brush, or just sort through some supplies, it is a good idea to make a regular practice that feeds the creative soul.

Finding that quiet space that you can get lost in the creative process, and not worry about what something will look like, or as you are creating what unfolding before you.

I play with textures, colors, and when it feels right I stop, or I take the painting in a different direction.  If you check out some of the videos on my youtube, you will see that some start out one way and then totally change.  Feeling comfortable and not getting too precious over the painting helps the flow.  There have been times that I looked back at a video and thought I loved the painting before I totally changed it, but that is all part of the growing process.

She sat in her garden surrounded by red flowers and blue skies

I hope you enjoyed watching the video, check out my others when you get a chance.  Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Gratitude's and Celebration - Week 58 - Seeds

You can count the amount of seeds in an apple, but you can't count the amount of apples in a seed...Anonymous 

I love getting out into the garden and working with the soil, clipping back plants, perhaps moving a plant to a new location.  I find spending time outdoors a really relaxing activity.  Even when I didn't have access to a garden I had a lot of houseplants and would regularly nurture them with a song or two - there are studies that show that plants respond to touch and sound.....

The thing I enjoy most with gardening is finding a new plant the seeds of which find a good location depending on where the bird has managed to drop it as it has flown past.  These little surprises brings with it a new variety of plant.  But the key is where the seed falls which will determine it's success.

We also have to be mindful about where we plant our seeds - the words we speak to others, the gifts and talents that we have within us.  We have to not only be encouraging but make the most of each and every opportunity, building up the lives of others rather than tearing down. Are we sowing on good ground, nurturing and watering to ensure growth?

I am grateful and celebrate the gifts that I have been given to share, and I am thankful for the growing confidence to step out each and every day so that I can be an encouraging light for someone else.  

What type of seeds do you have within you and what type of soil are you sowing in?

I look forward to the journey and hope you come along and join me. Why not start your own journal, keep it as simple or complex as you wish, but do something!

Gratitude and Celebration Journal

Friday Feeling....Out and about

Well hello, It has been a lovely day weather wise,  and I am really enjoying my time both in the studio, hot though it is at times, the sunny weather always seems to bring out an increase in ideas and techniques to try I will show you a few images later.  Equally I have been spending time enjoying the garden without having to dig up anything or weeding.

Honeysuckle plant

The colours are coming together in the garden, I went for pinks, purples, lilacs, 

Lavender

The lavender not only gave a lovely scent when you touched them, but the colour was very pretty as well

Lavatera

My lavatera has grown into a tree, it has a tendency of growing a bit wild, but I made sure that after the last winter I cut it back a third, this helped it and the flowers are out in abundance, attracting bees and butterflies,  it is a shame that it doesn't have a scent as well

Sweetpea

 The sweetpea come out year after year, and I haven't yet trained this plant to grow along the fence so they tumble down around the other plants.

Daisy

 The giant daisy is another one that comes up each year and is spreading, I might have to dig some of the clumps up and plant in other parts of the garden to break up the purples and pinks

Bindweed - flowers are lovely

 Another plant that while is a nuisance, has some very pretty flowers, and this is the bindweed, it wraps it self around other plants and can be difficult to separate, but I like the trumpet shaped flowers that it produces

 ......and so I allow them to grow and then remove in places where I want to keep it free from the bindweed.

Plums are also something we get to enjoy from the garden, and the fruit are beginning to turn purple, so over the next few weeks they should be ripe to pick.  I will have to think about some recipes to make with the plums as well as hand some out to the neighbours.

I appreciate having the outdoor space that enables me to get away from it all and stop and think about the life that continues to happen without my input.  Things grow and die down, they change and adapt, and I allow myself to reflect on my life, my relationships that are so important.

We want like the blooms and the plums to be fruitful in our own lives, to be a blessing, and encouragement and support to someone else and we need to make sure that we invest in ourselves.  This could take the form of exercise, eating the right food and spending time being creative.  That said, I did a couple of new pieces, and will have more to share over the next few weeks.

I made a decision to get more work complete before I go onto the next idea.  It is always a joy to see the ideas grow, and what was a splodge on the paper, grows into something totally different.

 In this painting, I was imagining myself on a boat, and the feeling you get as you know you are going forward, but you have your eyes closed and you can feel the sea breeze on your skin, and the feeling of freedom as you imagine yourself flying or spreading out your arms like Kate Winslet on the film Titanic

The hat was the first thing that was formed in this painting, and I was thinking about someone is a rice field, - then the staff appeared in the painting and it brought back memories of the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and there is a particular scene where they are chasing each other through the trees, it is beautifully shot, and I recommend it if you get a chance to see it.

Next Friday will see the return of Gratitude's and Celebration, and I will continue to use it as a reminder of all the things we should be thankful for, as I spend time creating a journal page.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Tomorrow I will be sharing a recycled project, so remember to pass on back this way.

Blessings!

Cat ....at the end of the Garden

The Painting starting out

My neighbors cat for some reason prefers to sit at the end of my garden, and he brings his friends along to sprawl under the palm tree, as if they are having a conference!. 

Every morning he strolls across the grass, after spending the night chasing mice and other things and gazes at my plum tree where I have the hanging bird feeder, hoping that one of the many birds that feast on the nuts and seeds would slip up and provide him some breakfast - as he waits to pounce on them.

He switches his tale backwards and forwards, until I open the garden door to shoo him away, surprized he makes a bolt for it to his own garden, caught in the act.

Other times you will find him stretching out on garage roofs, climbing walls and darting in and out of the hanging plants chasing the butterflies. 

But every now and again he sits on his window ledge, watching the world go by, I think that he secretly has dreams of making his escape much further afield than my garden and into other neighborhoods. But there is no time to dawdle evening comes round and the day dreaming takes a back seat to the coming adventures that await his night time pursuits.

Cat - Mixed media Painting