Category Archives: creatures

he was wanted after all

Just a little update on my lovely lion who I mentioned in another post. He was left behind on a childhood afternoon fossicking through treasures at the Army and Navy Stores and I rediscovered him a year later; in between feeling very happy to be holding him again, I remember wondering why nobody else had taken him home. Because, as you can see, he was a real little sweetie…

Liony the lion

Well, I just got the full story from my mum… I was convinced that I’d left him at the park. We retraced our steps but couldn’t find him anywhere. I cried… and then moved on.

Meanwhile, he sat on the shelf at the Stores… and apparently many children wanted to take him home but the lovely men working at the Stores kept him, just in case I came back. And, the next winter, I did.

I now feel very happy to know that, all that time he sat on the shelf, he was wanted after all… and that he got some interim cuddles. But I’m even happier that they were kind enough to hold onto him for so long so that we could be reunited. Really, how lovely and generous to do that!

australian garden

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After a few days lazing about at home (not camping as we had hoped but, instead, watching beautiful films and knitting) we actually managed to catch the final day of the Eucalypt Festival at the Australian Garden in Cranbourne today! I’ve been meaning to get back there after visiting with uni just before it opened- and, in my book anyway, any festival celebrating trees is a reason to get out into the sunshine…

Buds

Opening

Unfurling

Uncurling

Full glory; riotous colour

The garden is an ongoing project within the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne (the arm of the RBG dedicated to all species native to Australia) and will eventually cover a huge total of 20 acres- all exploring the hugely diverse and striking flora of Australia. That is exciting enough in itself but what makes this project even more exciting is the format for the garden; it is one of a number of gardens here (like the Children’s Garden and Wigandia) that I find really beautiful and intriguing, not only because are they completely in keeping with our larger landscapes, but because they are engaging, innovative and adaptive.

Entry to the garden; the big red heart of the continent

Stage 1 of the garden was opened to the public in 2006 and marks the beginning of the visitors journey through the garden, encompassing the red desert that forms the heart of Australia (in a giant piece of art comprising of red earth, saltbush and curving sand dunes) and the birth of a river in the gorges and caves of the desert and its journey towards the coast and ocean. The garden is grounded in the plant world but is also full of metaphor, history, culture and education, which I think makes it accessible and enjoyable for many more people than just plant nerds like me ; )

Allusions to desert salt lakes and scrub?

A hundred thousand plants, from over thousand species, were planted just in Stage 1 alone, including a thousand mature trees, the oldest of which- Xanthorrhoea or grass trees– have been alive for nearly half a millenium.

Grevillea flowers

Yellow Kangaroo Paw; see bottom right for likeness to its namesake

Senna artemesioides

Acacia cardiophylla growing its little flowers

Leptospermum fruit; 12mm diameter

Banksia sp.; amazing geometry

The numerous different areas within the garden are divided quite formally and tap into themes of innovative and interesting uses for Australian plants, water management, our human need for gardens and what they represent to us and Australia’s botanical history, both before and after white settlement.

Although the design incorporates strong, straight lines in parts, my overriding impression was of curves; the shapes in the garden remind me a lot of Roberto Burle Marx‘s work- a pleasure for me because I really love his gardens.

Curves of grey foliage

Lovely hedge shapes

In the four years since my last visit, the garden has grown up a lot! The trees have started to enclose and divide different areas and create shade and shelter, and most plantings have established themselves successfully, although the fluctuations in temperature and rainfall has meant that a few areas are in need of some rethinking. I was amazed to learn that one person was (is) responsible for the enormous job of plant selection- wow.

Stage 2: BIG construction site

Stage 2 is currently under construction and should be completed by early 2012. I can’t wait to see what they’re creating in there…

We also had the good fortune to meet some wee creatures….

Bearded dragon

Thorny belly; foot in pocket

One juicy stick insect! See her vestigial wings crossed over?

I have never worked out if I am a ‘big picture’ person or a ‘details’ person… but writing this blog is gradually bringing to my attention that I almost always notice and take photos of the small things. I guess I must be a ‘details’ person after all… so I apologize for the lack of perspective shots of this incredible garden- you’ll just have to visit the garden yourself : ) And I’ll try to remember to step back a bit next time I visit.

Beautiful eucalypt buds

craftcamp, bothwell and knitcamp 1 and 2

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A change in fortune and schedule has led me to make a couple of small trips in the last little while… I was lucky enough to be invited to one of the lovely Sooz‘s craftcamps with a contingent of women who completely blew me away with their respective talents and capacity for laughter, storytelling, pattern writing, pastry-making, abstract patterning, multi-tasking, frog-catching and producing incredible amounts of beautifully sewn garments! I was humbled by the experience. Thanks to you all!

And last weekend, my friend Kylie had a stall at the Bothwell Spin-In and I went along to help sell her lovely hand-dyed yarn and fibre. Held in the tiny highland town of Bothwell in Tasmania, this biennial event has been going for 33 years and is a lovely meeting and merging of small-scale fibre and yarn producers, craftspeople, farmers interested to see what sells and (excuse the cliche) husbands tinkering with handmade gadgets designed to make crafting more enjoyable ; )

We were blessed in being invited to stay with the Downie family at Dungrove, the original developers of the Cormo sheep!! Man, what an amazing honour. They were incredibly generous and patient, answering all our questions about the breed and its development in the late 1950’s, and graciously held back from teasing us about how little we really knew about “tender” fleeces, wool classing and sending fleece to America by Australia Post!

Cormo sheep, Dungrove, Tasmania

A staple of Dungrove Cormo fleece

We took some of their fleeces to the Spin-In to show the attendees, because, despite the fact that the Cormo was developed ten kilometres up the road, many had never heard of the breed or tried spinning or knitting with its fibre… in fact, most Australians haven’t. The softness and spring that are characteristic of the Cormo make it very popular in other parts of the world- so most of the Downie’s fleeces are shipped out to be turned into socks. We should be using it here… so Kylie is working on a plan. Keep an eye out on her website!

And another trip coming up in a couple of months is our inaugural Knit Camp! After my friend Amy and I went to the UK Knit Camp in Scotland last August, we kept wondering why Australia didn’t have its own knitting camp… so a few of us have organized one! Just a little one for 22 people. No teachers this time- just skill-sharing and time out to knit together. It is already full- and so we are planning another, all things going well! It is going to be big and beautiful. And without all the chaos of the UK version. So keep an eye out and save your pennies because we’d love you to come along…

new things

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A new year (I am always a little behind) and several new explorations begun- including this place here which I hope will be a way of keeping focused on the rest of them…

The first is a little difficult to show here but possibly the most important- health! I am jiggling things around to try to get my energy and fitness levels up and some clarity in my outlook. At times, I have found these things intangible and temporary and am hoping that working actively with people in the know will help me to ground myself in the daily activities needed to bring them about. I anticipate that I will be asked to do unexpected things, but I think my health and happiness will stem from such things as being out in this:

On the Mousa ferry, Shetland

and amongst these:

Grass of Parnassus, Loch Katrine hills

growing and eating wholesome food:

Plump florence fennel from the garden

and through other my explorations: mucking around with some lovely textures in the hands and on the machine, and hoping to take steps towards doing more:

Harlequin scarf

recycling beautiful tweed into beautiful, warm things:

Harris tweed #376195

playing apothecary and making soap from, among other things, the milk of these little beauties:

Handsome goats, Daylesford

and, of course, spending time with loved ones:

Walking and laughing

I look forward to it all!