View From my door May 2016 Pen and water colour pencil
The move has occurred and I have begun to settle in and even found enough time from the unpacking to do a quick sketch. It is so good to be back in Castlemaine full-time, (will almost I still go to Melbourne two days a week for work) and I can finally get to play in my garden. Lots to do and lots to plan. Next to my art, creating gardens is my favourite thing and at the rate I move around, creating gardens is what I end up doing, rather than watching them age and mature.
This is the view out of my front door, of the old pepper-corn tree with the bird feeder and elk-horn plant. The crimson rosellas are frequenting the feeder again as I am able to keep it topped up for them. It is so lovely to have their flashes of colour in the garden. There are also blue wrens hopping around and I will be drawing them in upcoming works.
I like to think of gardening as drawing and designing in 3D, with the added bonus of scent. The garden will be a major inspiration for my art, so dear readers you will be seeing the creation of the garden along with the creation of the art.
I have done lots of researching on sustainable gardening techniques including permaculture and have found that you can make straw bale gardens. You use strawbales and start them decomposing and then plant into them. They will last about 12 months before they break down too much and you use them as mulch. I am going to use some for the vege patch and others for an annual flower garden. I will share the results with you. Lots of pretty flowers with an abundance of gorgeous scent.
Start of the strawbale garden
So hopefully I will be making pretty things and getting enough sleep. The recipe for a happy life.
Karen
Karen Bailey Studio 
So much potential! Do you have a fireplace for the cold season ahead?
Thanks Julie. No fireplace, after years of open fires and wood fired heaters I didn’t add one into this little cottage. Not enough room and too much mess.
It looks like you are living in paradise! So glad you are done with the move and can enjoy the beauty in your garden.
Thanks Cathe, not quite paradise, you only get the best view and a little artistic licence greened everything up. But it is wonderful and will be a little paradise when the gardens get established.
It must be a relief to have now completed the move. Now its all looking to the future! I can see you will have fun with your garden – I’m looking forward to seeing it grow!
Yes lots of exciting things to do! Just settling into new routines and getting the studio sorted out. All the things I didn’t know where to put have ended up in there and it all needs to get sorted so I can renovate it. Karen.
How interesting about the bales, Karen – welcome home! I too am gardening and like your 3-D perspective about the art of the garden. Your view looks wonderful and I adore your sketch.
Thanks so much, the straw bales are going really well, will start planting them tomorrow. Can’t wait to have all the flowers to draw.
Beautiful! I am so excited to see how your garden comes along and how it will influence your lovely art!
Thank you Annie, so am I. Just finished sowing 10 packets of flower seeds in the new garden bed, can’t wait till they sprout, let alone flower. Karen