Welcome to Life Images by Jill

Welcome to Life Images by Jill.........Stepping into the light and bringing together the images and stories of our world. I am a photographer, writer and multi-media artist.
Focussing mainly on Western Australia and Australia, I am seeking to preserve images and memories of the beautiful world in which we live and the people in it.

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Sunday 3 December 2017

Summer in my Garden

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first week of December! I don't know about you but I feel like the year has rushed by in a blur. I have been busy yes, but can it be December already? There is so much going on this time of year with school concerts, end of the school year, break-up parties for work places or groups that we belong to, Christmas shopping, Christmas festivities, get togethers with family and friends, perhaps preparing for a summer holiday (summer holidays here in Australia anyways). 

So amongst the rush towards the festive season, I thought I would bring you a few pics from my garden and share some quiet places with you. We need a quiet place to sit to prepare ourselves for the weeks ahead don't you think? 

I only have a relatively small suburban garden, but it always puts on a beautiful show in December, putting on its festive colours - yellows, reds, greens, purples -  though I must say the yellow daisies are flowering a little earlier than I would like. What a love about my front garden is that a lot of the plants here basically look after themselves, except for a little pruning and weeding from time to time. I don't like gardening in the heat of summer, so I am happy they are happy to do their own thing.




So here are some photos from my summer garden.

The bees are loving the yellow daisies, and there are a few summer roses too. 


 The native Australian hibiscus - Alyogyne hakedolia ; agapanthus, and hydrangea





The agapanthus with a backdrop of red coral bush


 The parrots have discovered in the last few weeks that my green and yellow kangaroo paws are great for nibbling off. So I asked my husband to put some stakes in and I strung Christmas tinsel around the plants to try and frighten the parrots away. I thought it was working until this morning when I was in the garden taken these photos a parrot flew in, swung on the silver tinsel for a moment, and then flew off. I don't know if it was the tinsel or my presence that made him fly away.


 We have rather odd weather during November, but my small back garden where we grow a few food crops seems to be relishing in the wet and warmth. 

Here you can see clockwise from LH top corner.... sage, my parsley has partly gone to seed, I gather a small handful of blueberries every few days, the grapes are filling out quickly, my orange tree is already starting on next winter's crop, the lemons are hanging big and juicy, we have bagged our apricots to hopefully keep off fruit fly attack, and the basil is looking fantastic companion planted with the tomatoes which are starting to fruit.


 I discovered this lady bird beetle this morning, the lavender is putting up long spikes, the rosemary is looking lush, the Tropicana Canna from my aunt in Denmark our our south coast is finally producing big colourful leaves, a strapping flowering plant that grows along my side wall, a now empty and discarded little bird's nest, the frangipani is shooting new leaves, a beautiful pink-red pelargonium, and the two hoyas in hanging baskets which I inherited from my parents have more flowers on them than I have seen before.




My patio garden is lush with green plants, a small fountain, two hanging chimes made by my children years and years ago, a few collected rocks, and a Chinese bell. 
And I hope my garden brings with it some places for quiet contemplation as we try to balance the pieces of our lives. 



I hope you find a place for quietness in the ruse of the next few weeks.Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.


You might also like -
 Allowing time to sit in my winter garden
Harmony through flowers 
Down in the woods today 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Green kangaroo paw

Life in Reflection

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24 comments:

  1. Your garden looks so verdant and flourishing. I bet it's liking the rain today too :) Loved your photos, and the spot for quiet contemplation looks very alluring.

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    1. It is looking especially lush and green at the moment Jo. I think it is this weird weather we have been having.

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  2. What a lovely garden you have, Jill! Summer must be an explosion - not only all the flowers, and Christmas and New Year, and vacation time - wow! Agapanthus and hydrangea are two of may favorites, and you have lemons - I could spend some time there - many thanks for sharing it with All Seasons1
    Like you referred to in your comment, every season has something pleasant:) Enjoy your summer week!

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  3. Fantstic shots of flowers so new for me!

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  4. Gorgeous, Gorgeous, and more Gorgeous!

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  5. Beautiful garden. Wonderful photos.

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  6. I am happy to see your Aussie garden it's looking blooming marvellous, to me a garden is such an important part of a home and I love your area of zen calm! I could copy this couldn't I when I need a bit of Aussie Zen, I will find three pebbles next time I'm at the beach!
    Happy Days
    Wren x

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  7. So many beautiful images. The hydrangea is my favourite. :-)

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  8. A beautiful garden filled with so many textures, colors, and variety. I love the idea of quiet spots for reflection.

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  9. Hello, Jill! Beautiful collection of flowers. Lovely images. I like the scenes from your garden, looks peaceful and Zen like. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day and new week!

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  10. What a beautiful garden! My favorite pic is the agapanthus with the red coral bush in the background. It's gorgeous!

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  11. I'm sure your beautiful and colorful summer garden brought some sighs and smiles from people on this side of the big pond! We're in subtropical Florida now, so aren't going through the start of bleak winter -- but I remember it!! I really like your peaceful cairns -- we all need places of serenity these days (again especially for all of us on this side of the pond). Thank you for all of your lovely images!!

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  12. Oh so lovely. Gorgeous garden.
    Thanks for joining us at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-explorer.html

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  13. Beautiful photography!! Love the vivid colors.

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  14. I am fascinated by the notion that you are having school's end and Christmas at the same time and moving into your summer...just as we experience the closing of our gardens and white blankets of snow here in Canada! Our planet is amazing!
    And your photography is too! I love to see which plants we have in common so thank you for listing the names.

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    1. And in the heat of summer hear I LOVE seeing winter snowy images. Thank you so much for stopping by.

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  15. It is amazing how quickly this year has gone. I love seeing your summer garden ... all the beautiful blooms! Happy Monday!

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  16. So lovely to see your summer garden with it's fruits and flowers. Love the green collage with the bright pop of lemon and the last image with the quotation is very calming and peaceful. It's good to have a place to go when life gets hectic.
    Sorry it's a flying visit from me this week but I still haven't shaken this cold.
    Happy MM.

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  17. Jill, I know that I will always see summer photos from you during my winter. Love the purple flowers. Thanks for sharing. Have a great week. Sylvia D.

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  18. Oh Jill all of these shares are absolutely stunning! I had wondered where this post was as you had it on FB. I saw the one before it and finally got to Monday Mosaics to be able to enjoy it. It didn't show up on my scrollbar for you. I love all of the colours in this post...makes me happy and everything here is all brown~ Hugs

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  19. You're right - we all need quiet places, even if it's in each other blogs! For a small suburban garden, you have a terrific collection of flowers! We had a dusting of snow today, with more in the forecast, so it was delightful to see color in your photos!

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I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I read and very much appreciate every comment and love hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return.