Morning Peeps.............advance warning this is a very picture heavy post...........but I thought I would share a few photos of some of the shrubs and trees that are in bloom around the garden and paddocks at the moment as well as my mid month Penny Black share.
I also have a card for the current Butterfly Challenge and Snippets Playground. It's been really full on with TL and DT work the last couple of weeks and I have pangs of guilt that I never got time to make anything the last couple of challenges so as I am not at work this morning decided to have a 'me time' play. Andrea is the Guest over at the Butterfly Challenge and has chosen Aperture and/or Apricot to go along with Mrs A's Butterflies, so I set about using up some snippets of apricot colour Trimcraft paper and made an aperture card using Tattered Lace dies. I stamped the Lavinia fairy onto a Pan Pastel background and added some flowers and trailing ivy which are also Lavinia, a spray of flowers and some TL Butterflies.
My Penny Black card above has a Brusho background, Penny Black Sentiment and Divine stamps and after bleaching out the colour from the flowers painted them with the same purple Brosho.
Now into the garden starting with the early Clematis Montana above which has been glorious this year and this particular one by the side gate has entwined itself into one of the Lilacs and the two together look absolutely stunning. not to mention the beautiful aroma.
A close up of another one of Lilacs
The blooms on this lilac are huge as you can tell from my hand - pure coincidence that this fortnight my nails just happen to be a perfect match
One of the Ceanothus - and a labs bum
Choisya Aztec Pearl, it's got a wonderful scent
Plenty of blossom on the fruit trees this year
The Harvey Tree - why the name, well when it was just a small tree one of the horses called Harvey (a Palomino) leaned over the fence and chewed it to the ground, amazingly it survived and is taller than the house now. It's some type of Prunus but known as the Harvey Tree
Viburnum Opulus - it's not full out yet but so many blooms
Another Choisya
The girls, from left Lily, Daisy (sisters from the same litter) Pixie, Holly (the baby) and Poppy - the gap, well George the black lab was otherwise occupied
Heskey - who needs a good grooming after rolling around on the straw
Gentle Ben
The top hedgerows are full of May bushes (Hawthorne) and although they are still not fully out it seemed sensible to get some photos as rain is forecast which so often ruins the blossoms
I always think the May flowers themselves are absolutely beautiful
Another Ceanothus, not sure on the variety of this one but the flowers are much larger than any of the others we have. The Garrya alongside it has some nice catkins forming
Thanks for taking a walk round my garden with me, I hope you enjoyed your visit.
65 comments:
WOW - you sure have got a wonderful looking array of flowers/shrubs in your garden. Delightful pic's of the dogs and horses too. I was also admiring your beautiful sparkly purple thumb nail too! Oh to have nails like that!
Your cards aren't bad either! * Snort! *
The Lavinia aperture card is so pretty in the peachy colours, and WOW, the Penny Black Brusho card is divine.
Have a great day.
Hugs, Sarn xxx
Firstly with my GDT hat on, thanks for fluttering by Mrs A's Butterfly challenge with such a beautiful aperture and apricot card. Love the wonderful stamped scene and fabulous dies.
Gorgeous colours on the Penny Black card and super photos of your garden and animal family too xx
Beautiful cards and I have to say your flowers are alsobeautiful. More like a walk round a park than a garden. I can almost smell the lilac, one of my faves
Beautiful post. Nature is the best Art ever.
And the most relaxing place to be in. Your
garden is wonderful.
My hubby works with horses so I took some
photos of the Icelandic earlier.
http://lotushealthdiary.blogspot.se/2016/05/en-dag-i-stallet.html
Hope the springweather will stay so we can enjoy the warmth and sun
as much as possible.
Hugs
Sussie
Your card is delightful Brenda and I feel very honoured that you have stopped work totake the time to be the first entry into the new challenge and what an entrance it is too. I love the Lavinia fairy stamped image looking through the aperture. We have a lovely lilac in full bloom too. It is not as big as I have bought bush lilacs and they are planted in big pots so they will stay miniature. I say pural because there is another but it bloomed in February (got totally confused by the climate changes) and is now dead as a door nail.
I'm hoping it will recover but I have my doubts. Thankyoy for fluttering by my aperture/apricot challenge where your card will be put into the draw twice. Hugs Mrs A.
What a wonderful garden you have, I love the fruit trees! Your dogs all look very happy. Great cards as well. Have a great day and stay dry. :)
Awesome garden brenda. Love the beautiful photo's. Beautiful animals too.
Gr, Elly
Gorgeous cards Brenda. Your pics are wonderful, that is what I do miss, living here, all the wonderful plants. I did used to love my garden but , alas now I probably couldn,t manage it anyway with my arthrytis, xxxx
Fabulous pics! I really love the colour tones of the first card and the sentiment on the second is beautiful. Your dogs look adorable, beautiful horses too. Love the lilacs and your nail polish lol! Creative Blessings, Tracy x
Your cards are just gorgeous and your garden is stunning! What a beautiful view to see every day. I just love your animals...the little dogs are my faves as I have two also. Lots of hugs, Robin
FOR ONCE - know this is so very rare - I could duplicate your cards! I have almost the exact dies used in the first card, love, love that window! And I have the sentiment and similar flower to no. 2. Beautiful and definitely makes me want to play. <3
Your cards are beautiful. Love the sponged scene with the Lavinia fairy. Can't wait to receive my pan pastels in the mail this Friday! Your flower card is really pretty too. Great idea to bleach out the blooms so you can color them differently.
You have so many wonderful blooming trees and hedges in your garden. Definitely going to have lots of fruit! And your animals all look so happy and enjoying the sunshine! Thanks for sharing all the photos. Love seeing garden pictures!
BEAUTIFUL...THE WHOLE LOT FROM THE CARD TO THE NAIL POLISH MATCHING THE FLOWERS....Brenda this is one beautiful post...love those blossoms...xxx
gorgeous cards and designs Brenda, and fantastic flower pictures, and super sweet dogs
Gr Karin
Hello Brenda. Two gorgeous cards today. The frame on the first card is beautiful and I really like the background of the second card.
Your garden looks stunning and you nails are a great colour, I am very jealous. My fingers are red raw at the moment and extremely itchy. Lots of E45 required me thinks and a break from soil and inks. Great picture of your doggy and horse family.
Take care
Lesley
First of all Brenda - your snippets/butterfly card is just fabulous! The colours and design follow Mrs A's briefs to the letter (oops, I mean brief of course)!! AND I adore the purple flowers one too - I keep asking you if you ever make a bad card, doubt it!
Wonderful photos of your garden and wonderful animals. What a treat we're having, a good old nosey at beautiful flowers and pets - what could be better on a damp afternoon. Not a lot!
Great to see you in the Playground!
Hugs
Di xx
Oh Sweety.. what wonderfull and amazing flowers around your home **** LOVE it, it must smell such great
Your cards are also stunning as always *smile
Got my first lavinia stamps this week, hope I can use them soon
LG hellerlittle
Sorry for my absence Brenda and all will be explained very soon.
Your cards are just gorgeous and your floral pics are stunning, some of my favourite flowers there. Lovely pics of the dogs and horses too so thanks for sharing.
Fliss xx
Non riesco a smettere di guardare il tuo post, Brenda!! Non me ne andrei più dal tuo giardino... Non avresti un posto per la mia tenda? :D :D
... Mi sembra quasi di sentire i suoni della natura e il profumo dei fiori.... mi sembra di poter accarezzare i tuoi splendidi amici pelosi.... e capisco dove trovi la tua ispirazione, sempre così dolce e magica!!!
Hai delle piante meravigliose e degli amici pelosi stupendi e molto tranquilli. Il posto dove vivi è proprio speciale!!!
Le due card di oggi mi hanno lasciato a bocca aperta... Me ne sono innamorata e le ho pinnate tutte e due! :)
La passeggiata nel tuo giardino mi ha lasciato con il sorriso in faccia... grazie!!
Un grande abbraccio
I'm green with envy over your garden, it looks beautiful! So do the dogs! With a garden that size and all the animals I'm surprised you find time to make your gorgeous cards!
What a wonderful phost Brenda, I love the photos, your animals are fabulous, I love horses,as well as dogs so it was a delight. Beautiful tree and shrubs, your garden must be heaven to stroll through.Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
Your card are gorgeous, lovely designs and colours, love them, Kate x
Two beautiful cards Brenda but drooling over the PB one it is gorgeous.
Sad to say that I have this stamp and the stencil that goes with it but not sure if I have used it. What am I like???
Warm crafty hugs from Shirl x x x
ShirlsCards.
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOOWOOWO, you have co mutch lilac, I love them and since my neighbours mouve the new one cut them out :( Youre flowers are great!! and horses, and cute dogies!! Wow, oh yes, and great cards :)
Love the first one, the sentiment is great and butterflyes are great!!
♥Hugs Valentina♥
Such beautiful flowers and animals. The cards are not bad either.....lol
Gorgeous cards Brenda, and your garden looks amazing. Love all those pretty shrubs.
We have a couple of gorgeous lilacs in our garden and two bare patches of grass....one for the bowler the other for the stumps!
Lorraine x
Beautiful cards Brenda, particularly love the PENNY Black one - my kind of colours.
Thanks for taking me on a stroll around your beautiful garden, I always love spring bossoms.
Avril xx
What a fantastic garden - it looks huge!
Love both of your cards today
Wow, what a fabulous garden Brenda and love the photos of the dogs and horses too.
Your card is lovely too
Joan
OMG Brenda I have had so much pleasure walking round your garden it is incredible so much beauty I love the dogs and horses, the shrubs are awesome so are your two beautiful creations, you have made me so very happy thank you for sharing Brenda
hugs
Lorraine x
Hi Brenda, thank you so much for a tour around your beautiful garden, what an amazing ray of colours, I can see where you get your inspiration of colour from when making your cards, I love your little K9 family there so adorable, beautiful ca dos as always..
Hugs Babs x
Two fabulous cards, and wow, what an amazing garden you have! Stunning photos all round!! (Love the purple nails! :o)
beautiful beautiful cards brenda - but I loved having a nosy around your garden - its amazing - so much colour and so much variety - perfect! Hugs rachel x
Beautiful cards Brenda, and the photo's are lovely the horses are very handsome
Kevin xx
Your cards are fabulous, and your garden is absolutely blossoming, beautiful.
Happy crafting
Tracy x
Two absolutely beautiful cards Brenda. I really like the way you have stamped the silhouette in brown rather than black and the TL die frame is beautiful.
You have some lovely mature shrubs. It must be a real pleasure to walk round your ground with all the lovely smells. What a lovely photo of your dogs. We still miss our Maggy two years on. Finally, I am envious of your super nails. I really enjoyed your photos. Barbxx
Oh my goodness are all those doggies and horses yours?! Now I'm jealous! What a stunning garden too! I see sparkly pink nail varnish aswell hehe!
Wow that card is truly beautiful! Love the peachy colour and design! And the second card is so pretty and effective too!
Lucy x
Your garden looks amazing. Love the photos of the animals.
And your cards are beautiful too!!!
Hugsss, Gaby
When I was walking up from the yard at the weekend I wondered when we were going to get our annual meander around your beautiful garden and here you are...perfectly coordinated nail colour and all!! Your garden is so far ahead of ours, our cherry blossom has been and gone but we have just one or two ready to burst on the apple and pear trees and as for the clematis...nada!! Great to see your lovely furry family too ooh and the cards were a bonus!! xx
I had a wonderful walk through your beautiful garden thank you Brenda...good to see the "May be out!" I agree there is not a lot which beats May blooms, it's a shame they are so short lived but as it means summer is nearly here I don't complain. Your furry pack are gorgeous...our son's dog Bear would love to play with them in all that wonderful space and your dear horses.....ahhh,such sweethearts. After all those lovely photos we also get 2 wonderful cards...perfect,I especially love the apricot one.Enjoy your blooms, hugs xx
Oh my goodness, Brenda. The two cards are both beautiful as always...but the horses and the gardens steal the show. You are going to laugh when you see my teensy back garden in my last post. It is very teensy and sadly does not house any horses.
I loved the pictures of the blooming shrubs and the May blossoms at the end...they were so lovely!
I am trying to get back into blogging and visiting. My Mum is in congestive heart failure at the mo and keeps getting pneumonia, so life has been very busy with travelling up so see her as she lives 5 hours away. Eldest daughter had ankle surgery at the same time frame and is still 3 or 4 weeks away from being weight bearing...which means we are helping her out as well. Seems no time to craft lately!
I had a walk through your garden and menagerie with a smile on my face, such a beautiful place and one that you obviously enjoy! Loved your cards too and not a bit jealous of your perfect nails, if not broken mine tend to have ink stains!xx
Love the walk through the garden and further that you let us make with the beautiful photos! O dear wish we had a bigger garden; but then maybe I hadn't enough time to spent in it :) Here in the front- and back garden there is something blooming all year , yea, even in winter! And from narch on you can smell different flowers every season/month. Took me a wile, but I know the peaple walking by and the postman (usually a woman here) take a deep breath and smell as they go by our garden :)
Love how you gave the fairy a window so it looks see is outside; looks beautiful! And beautiful the grungy-look of your watercolouring! Can almost see the fun you had making it? Enjoy your week and hopefully some sunshine to enjoy the garden! Hugs, Gerrina
Well Brenda, I can honestly say that I've thoroughly enjoyed my walk through your garden which looks absolutely amazing. What a wonderful time of year this is to see everything blossoming, and what an bountiful crop of fruit you'll have at the end of the Summer, lucky you. It made me smile when I saw the perfectly matching nail polish to the Lilac, that's what I call a crafter, perfectly co-ordinated :) Your animals are adorable and you much have such a busy life taking care of them all. It's a miracle that you have any time for card making but I'm so pleased that you do, which takes my onto your cards............... The first one looks wonderful with it's Autumn colour palette. The aperture and surrounding die cut frame your image beautifully. Your stamping is so delicate and the layout is just perfect. I really like the butterfly die cuts too. I also really like your colour choice on your second card and I really must get myself some brushos sometime soon as they always look so good when you use them. Thank you so much Brenda for sharing your wonderful photographs with us and I wish you a happy day. Warm crafty hugs, Sandra :) xx
Waaau wat een schitterende kaart.
Prachtige foto mooi met de bomen en de honden .
Groetjes Gerrie
Gorgeous cards Brenda, but I admit I was distracted by all the amazing flower images!! So many beautiful blossoms and I'm so glad you included the names of each! What a lovely family of fur babies you have, so glad you shared your photos today! hugs :)
Gorgeous posting, so fabulous cards and as I've said before your garden is stunning.
And your fur family is lovely too;-))m
Wow!! Your garden is very beautiful Brenda!! Beautiful flowers!! I love your nail color :) Beautiful card!! Love the brusho background!
-Berina
Moxie Craftie
so pretty cards!
and wonderful images!
love all yur furr friends!
lots of hugs!
Bad Kitty's Craftroom
I certainly did enjoy my visit....a feast for the eyes for sure xxx
Your cards are wonderful. I love the fairy and purple flowers. Thank you for sharing all those beautiful pics.
hey B....I too like you have crossed not one river, or two or three but up to 11 or more, walked a few bushes, and mountains as well, they keep coming and coming in the end I just stop and go onto the next one and nothing...wonder if it is the set up of the blog...google or other...frustrating...
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing those photos. Judy x
Aaaah simply gorgeous cards as usual hun and i'm loving all the piccys of the flowers and friends too, Luv Sam x
Hallo liebe Brenda
ich bin total begeistert von deinem wunderschönen Garten,wie alles bei dir so schön blüht und die Tiere sich so richtig wohl bei euch fühlen,aber auch die beiden Karten sind wunderschön gestaltet,die 1. gefällt mir besonders gut,
glg ulrike
Loving the apricot butterflies (love the way you've done the aperture and the texture on these butterflies too). Great colors to show off the pretty imagine inside. #2 equally lovely with the fab brusho background and the lovely flowers. Your garden is simply breathtaking. Can just image the wonderful fragrance you get to enjoy along with the fabulous floral displays. Quite a menagerie of animals to care for...what beauties they are also. Loved the blondies' fur...so pretty. They look very sweet tempered as well. I'm impressed at your knowledge of all the plant names too! TFS & I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures of your garden. How relaxing it must be to have coffee outside with Mother Nature. Hugs
Beautiful cards, Brenda. I especially love the aperture one with the lovely Lavinia fairy. TFS all the other photos - the flowers are fabulous. xx
Oooh what a beautiful garden !! SUperb photos my friend ! Adorable shots of dogs and horse too ! ♥
Fabulous pics and your garden must smell amazing-lovethe cards too lol great aperture and beautiful dies and great brusho background on the second one
Carol x
Wow Brenda, your garden is so so beautiful! I love all the May flowers and you've captured them so perfectly. I see why you were inspired to create your fairy in her garden. Such a lovely card and the sparkly butterflies are gorgeous! That Helen Keller quote on the next one is a personal fav' of mine. Beautiful card! Hugs, Wends x
Beautiful flowers and photos. Love the cards too - especially the purple!
Lynn x
Card is gorgeous and got totally lost in your flower garden, so beautiful and way in front of us for some of mine. And the end of your post, just adorable, dogs and horses, mans best friend when the chips are down, would be lost without mine. So enjoyed my visit over my coffee Brenda. Carol xx
Oh my goodness--I want to walk in your garden, Brenda! Love your pictures--thank you so much for sharing! The puppy dogs are darling--can't believe they all stayed in line for you to take their picture! Wonderful cards--I adore the first one!
What a glorious photo-laden post. The cards are wonderful - love the zingily coloured one especially - but it's your garden which steals the show here. Stunning lilacs (my favourites) and the fruit orchard looks like just the place to settle down with a blanket and a good book on a sunny spring day. Perfection!
Alison x
Oh wow, thanks for taking us through your garden Brenda. So wish this computer had a smell button as those flowers are just stunning. So lovely to see all the pet family too. Oh and the two cards at the start … beautiful as always. Have a lovely weekend.
BELLISSIMO Heskey MIA FIGLIA CHE ADORA I CAVALLI NON LO MOLLEREBBE PIU'.
TI AUGURO UNA BUONA GIORNATA
CIAO DA ALE
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