Green Fingers

This weekend I visited an amazing garden as part of the Open Gardens Scheme. Behind an ordinary looking house we discovered an exotic wonderland full of bamboos, banana plants and palm trees. By now you will have gathered that my OH and I are both gardeners and love plants in all of their shapes and forms. I love the way that gardens feed all of our senses. As we sat in that garden on Saturday I was struck by how tranquil it was even though we were right in the centre of a town. The wind was sighing through the bamboo plants and everywhere we looked were vibrant colours and shapes. It had been raining a little bit earlier in the day and I could smell damp earth and scent from the flowers. My only dissapointment was that there were no herb or vegetable plants. I really believe that no garden is complete without at least a small herb bed, but obviously that is just my opinion!

The landscape architect Russell Page once said that "Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart". I do hope that is true.

Flowers fascinate me and I have tried over the last few years to interpret them in my beadwork. This weekend when I wasn't wandering around gardens I was trying to create one in beads. I have been working on a collar for the last two weeks. At the moment I have just been experimenting with shapes and textures but my aim is to completely cover the necklace with flowers, leaves and tendrils. I might also include a butterfly or insect as I am enthralled by them too and they have their place in every beautiful garden. For once I have decided not to plan it too carefully but just to let it evolve. I can't wait to get home every evening to work on it. I will post more pictures as it evolves.