Horticulture Parks and Gardens certificate 3 - complete

What a strange feeling, I walked down the stairs to cross the Village Green at Ryde Tafe for the last time this year and realised how different my life now is. It is sad to not have had the opportunity to say good bye to my class mates for the last three years. But how exciting to have come so far, to have started my own business, stuggled against my lack confidence.

I'll be back at Ryde next year for the Diploma course and hopefully some of the people that I studied with will also continue.

Drawing Frank

I have to be quick, about 3 minutes and he kept biting me. Such a naughty boy.

The Everglades - Leura

I got lucky and was asked to visit this garden for work to see if it was a suitable venue for a lunch I need to organise next year. There was no view from the lookout as the mist had rolled in and filled the whole garden. Everyone I met apologised for the weather but it made the garden more beautiful.

 

 

Vegetables in bags

I've had many failures in my small courtyard over the last five years however I refuse to give up.

I've always felt that my tomatoes have failed due to lack of sunlight, short days. However this year I'm going a lot better and raised the height of the tomatoes to at least hip high and have been planted in to stock feed bags filled with my home made compost and cow poo. My real problem in the past really may have been lack of water and low humidity which encourages Tomato Russet mite. They also get wilt (soil borne fungus) when grown in commercial potting mix.

As soon as my seedlings were planted out, I dusted them with sulphur for mites and other fungal problems that I usually get each year as they are more vulnerable at this time when establishing their roots. So far no problems, my plants are huge and healthy and the recent abundance to rain proves my ealier point. Wetting the leaves not only prevents mites and but also white fly. Planting strawberrys on the side of the bag was a bad idea and I'll move it in the next few days.

I'm also experimenting with water pipes for growing herbs, this one is a bit too shaded but I can move it. They are a bit awkward as it takes a long time for water to reach the bottom. Jabbing a long piece of bamboo down the back of the pipe helps. Next time I'll insert a piece of irrigation tube in the middle of the tube and make up a more airy soil mix to make watering a bit easier.

Grow bags look great and I'm thinking of using them more often instead of lots of pots, you can also cut holes in the side for smaller perennials. Those large hessian coffee bags would look great out the front, no one could run off with them either.

Floriade 2010, Canberra

I went to Canberra on Friday (1 October) and as I'm saving to go overseas decided to just go down for the day. Couldn't really afford to stay overnight. I also visited the National Gallery with its new entrance and  fabulous new gallery of Indigenous art.

Floriade seems to have got smaller but was still very bright and colourful.  I took many photographs and hoped to do some drawing but just didn't seem to get this going. Too many people walking around meant that I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing and should be able to do some drawings from the photographs taken.

Riding a bike to Sydney Airport,  I never did find the bike rake which was meant to be in Fifth Avenue and bike access is very scary.

Possum

I haven't drawn a lot of animals just a few of Amy and this little fellow from photographs. The eyes and wattle leaves need some work. A bit more practice needed to become more confident with these details, upscaling might work as well, this is on the last of my basic Derwent paper, A4.

Magnolia 'Vulcan'

I felt that it was ages since I did a drawing, the stamens are not quite right. I realise now I should only have about three or four values and need to decide where to use each before rushing in.

Some of my recent watercolours

This is my most recent, this is my first real attempt at wet on wet. I was really trying to come up with something bright and colourful. One of my favourites.

 

This was just an exercise but I like the blue background at the top of the painting.

 

My own idea, would love to be able to paint poppies. Needs some work. An finally my first real attempt, more pastel then watercolour.

Frank caught a rat

Frank left the present on the kitchen floor for me to find yesterday evening when I got home from work. He had biten its head off and left it next to the body for me. We are so proud of him.

Pears drawing

Another completed drawing. I found a conte' crayon and did some studies first, to get the shading right and work out a composition. Just graphite on a Derwent stetch pad, suprisingly it holds up quite well to reworking for cheap student grade paper. I like my little A5 Strathmore pad but it's a bit small.

Getting a bit more confident and it's easy to see that I've improved on my first drawing of Amy.

What a great tree

I saw this tree while I was out walking over the Easter break. Its the biggest and oldest Camphor Laurel tree that I've ever seen. They are considered a pest but it lives because it's such a significant tree.