Sunflower Love

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to stop by and sit and relax for a few minutes with a cup of tea and relax while I share with you the inspirations for my art.  So far my small space garden is thriving during our California drought with watering the allowed twice a week and supplementing with gray  water from the kitchen and shower and so far we have managed to keep our water reduction down by 35%.

Most of my flowers are planted in containers and  the Sunflowers do well in containers - they just do not grow as tall as those planted in the ground.  They are always available at the Farmers Market year round and if I don't have any growing  I like to purchase them from our local farmers to use in my paintings.

Let's join Bentley. my Studio Assistant, in the garden to look for Sunflowers to paint.

One of my customers asked  me to paint one of my  "painted words" with Sunflowers for a birthday gift for one of her special friends.  This arrangement was the inspiration for the painted word painting below.

The larger arrangement of Sunflowers was used for the larger painting below.

Thank you for stopping by. I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those who follow my blog.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings, Erin


                     "With God are wisdom and strength; he has counsel and understanding."  Job 12:13

Painting Geraniums and Using Less Water

Welcome.  I am so happy that you topped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax for a few minutes and relax while I share with you the inspirations for my art.  I recently shared some of the things we are doing to reduce water consumption during our severe drought conditions in Southern California and at the same time have enough water for our flowers.  I recently received my water bill for the last 2 months and am happy to report that it shows a reduction of 35%.  One thing I have done is replace some of my thirsty container flowers with water wise Geraniums and they are doing just fine with twice a week watering.

Let's join Bentley, my Studio Assistant, in the garden to share with you some of our Geraniums that will end up in a painting.

I use a bowl in the kitchen sink to catch rinse water and  pour it into a watering can outside the kitchen door to water the kitchen garden . 

                         I like to use the white trellis in the background of some of my garden paintings and love the way the mirror reflects the Geraniums.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those following my blog.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings, Erin

"May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance."  Jude 1:2

My Little Secret Garden

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  Today I am going to share with you a very special place that I call my "secret garden". This is where we will have tea together.

Bentley, My Studio Assistant, is waiting in the little path that leads to the secret garden.  This is where I grow  kitchen herbs and Nostrum for salads.

The path leads under an arbor with red Mandavilla vines growing on it off the kitchen.  I painted the "faux" flagstone path last year.

The French doors open from the kitchen onto the secret garden.

I move the potted plants around when I paint and use the little French bistro table for setting up flowers for a painting.

Sometimes I set the table for tea parties and change the cushions for different looks.

Sometimes I use the table for growing flowers in this sunny location.

Sometimes I sit and read and relax in the secret garden or enjoy a cup of tea and it it one of my favorite places in my small space garden. I found the vintage duck family at a flea market for $5.00 and move them around the secret garden as well as change the pillows for different looks.

Thank you for stopping by.  I sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those of you following my blog.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings, Erin

Therefore I tell you, do not worry."  Matthew 6:25

Favorite Places In My Garden

Welcome.  I am so happy that you stopped by.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax with a cup of tea while I share with you some of my favorite spaces in  my small space side garden that bring me joy every day.  I will also share how we are maintaining the garden with emergency water conversations in Southern California.

Bentley, my Studio Assistant, is waiting to assist with our little tour.  He is standing by our new Geranium flower bed that we planted with drought tolerant flowers.    

Martha Washington Geraniums in the bicycle basket need very little water and I love the way they grow and spill out  of the basket.

The side garden is 60 feet long  and narrow and  divided into "rooms".  I removed the grass in the side garden and added pea gravel, brick sidewalks and a concrete patio and left grass in the front yard.   I use containers for seasonal color. At least half of my containers are now planted with drought friendly Geraniums in white, pink, red and mauve and they seem to thrive with less water and fit well with my cottage style garden.  

The garden gate opens into the side garden - the mirror reflects the garden and adds dimension.

Due to the drought we are under a tight watering schedule for grass, trees and shrubs and are allowed to water on Tuesdays and Saturdays for an allotted number of minutes.  So far we have been able to keep the flowers in containers watered and healthy by using "gray" water from the kitchen and shower -we keep watering cans in the shower to catch rinse water and in the kitchen sink to catch water used to rinse fruits and vegetables  etc.- take short showers, turn off the water when brushing  teeth, use economy wash in the dishwasher and only wash full loads of laundry - it is amazing how precious water can be and how much water one can save when motivated by a drought.  

The red dutch door is one of my favorite things and it opens onto the little seating area. The shutters beside the front door are part of a wooden gate that I salvaged from a house being torn down - the tulips were already cut into the gate panels.

The seating area is opposite the front door - flag pillows and  bright vintage fabrics come out on Memorial Day and stay until Labor Day - the rug is an in/outdoor and most of the cushions are indoor/outdoor fabric that I switch around to change the look. The furniture is painted white to give a cottage feel and flow from one outdoor room to the other.

I painted the "faux" flag stone path to wind past the seating area to the potting area and reading nook. Blossom my vintage dress form overlooks the  nook - she likes to change her look on a whim. I also try and go vertical wherever I can to add interest and space in our small garden  - the stand with ivy is an example and I also use ladders and chairs for plant displays.

Blossom is now wearing a new hat and apron (courtesy of The Goodwill) and heart necklace made by a special friend. The mirror reflects the garden and adds dimension to the small space.

The faux flagstones lead to the back "Secret Garden" off the kitchen garden where we grow herbs for the kitchen.  I did not plant any vegetables this year due to the drought and wanted to save our water for the flowers and herbs.  I will share the secret garden with you on a later post.

                                


Thank you for stopping by.  I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, e-mails, comments and those who follow my blog.

Have a lovely week.  Blessings, Erin

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God."  Matthew 5:9