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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PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO GO TO MY RED BUBBLE STORE.
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 December 2025

It's starting to look a bit like Christmas

 Hi everyone. I hope you and yours are well. 

It is starting to look at bit like Christmas over in our part of the world. Though there is no snow - it's summer! If you want to learn more you can click on the blue underline links to read previous posts. 

In the bush the Candlestick Banksias (Banksia attenuata) are looking like giant Christmas candles, the purple/blue Jacaranda trees are flowering (they came to Australia from South Africa), the Western Australian Christmas trees (Nuytsia floribunda) are bursting into yellow, and the red flowering gums are popping Christmas red. 




Down in Manea Reserve the summer flowers are putting on their summer show - clockwise from top left - orange stars. red bottlebrush, Western Australian Christmas tree, busy boronia, native broom, purple fringe lily, yellow starflower, holly leaved banksia, and in the centre the candlestick banksia.  

and the unique slipper orchid (Cryptostylis ovata) 

In my garden the mauve-blue agapanthus and yellow coreopsis are looking brilliant, the honey-eating birds are being attracted to my green kangaroo paws, and my hoya which grows in a low hanging basket and is climbing up the hook, is looking amazing - so many flowers this year! 




In my back garden the grape vines are starting to make grapes and the apricot tree is covered in white bags to keep off the parrots and the fruit fly. The quince tree is covered in fruit - picking time April - we've netted it to keep off the parrots. And the lavender is pushing up their flower heads. 


It is nearly time for me to make the delicious little Christmas puddings that everyone loves and other Christmas baking..... and fresh cherries are in the shops and bursting with flavour.



The dragon boat season is in full swing for our sons and their team and it's time for the beach! 



And summer drinks by the water


It is also time for Christmas markets - and I attended one last weekend at the
Stirling Street Art Centre with my eco-printing, cyanotypes and photography products. Thankyou so much to everyone who visited, chatted, admired and purchased from me. 



It's also time for the harvest in the grain growing area. And my nephew and his team are in full swing getting the grain off before any more unwelcome summer rain comes. My grandson is working at one of the wheat bins in the wheat-belt for the harvest. It's very tiring but great income for him while he is on summer break from university. 


Unfortunately it is also the time of year for bush-fires and there has already been bush fires raging across Australia with homes and properties lost. This photo below is from a couple of years ago, taken from my front yard - thankfully it didn't come too close though we had to evacuate. 


However the joy of the Christmas season arrives as people and businesses decorate their homes, businesses, and streets. And there are Christmas street parades in our cities. I put up my Christmas tree today. 


So that is that from me this week. It is a busy time from now till Christmas. 

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. 
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!

If you are looking for a translate button - it's there near the top on the right hand side. 
   

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
Until then, enjoy your day...Life only comes around once, so do what makes you happy, be kind, and be with people who make you smile. 

Monday, 11 December 2023

Colour in my December summer garden

I love my December summer front garden. Every year it blooms glorious colours - 
red, yellow, pink, bluey mauve - and best of all these plants come back year after 
year with little maintenance. They bloom, I water and clip them back a little, 
and next summer they bloom again. Beautiful. 
So today I share some of them with you.  (My apologies for this post apearing strange 
on mobile phones. - I don't know how to fix it. Sorry)

Mauve-blue agapanthus, against the backdrop of the red coral bush, and along 
the bottom my wild hibiscus - an Australian native 




Pinks and mauves of the hydrangea - I must admit that the ones along the top 
row - the bluey mauve ones - are in my neighbour's garden

 
Roses, though they have finished their first glorious flush
The yellow Coreopsis daisy that is a wonderful border plant that comes 
back every year, frangipani, and the yellow rose bush

 
Last year a glorious new frangipani flowered in my garden - a cutting gifted to me 
by my friend - It looks like it has buds on it again - so fingers crossed. 




Native yellow and green kangaroo paws - the honey-eaters love these. 



The Australian native red bottle-brush
My Hoya is flowering in my shady patio garden


In my back garden we are picking apricots (a month early this year - looks like I 
will be making apricot jam later this week), the red and green grapes are looking 
fabulous along the side fence, and the tomatoes are coming on. We also quinces 
on our tree which will be ready in autumn. 
The apricot tree has bags all over it to firstly guard against fruit fly, and 
secondly to keep the birds off when the apricots are ready to pick. The parrots
love apricots too! 






Some of the native trees are blooming too. Everything seems early this year - 
you can see some of them on my previous post here - 
Trees are blooming for Christmas. Below are the candlestick banksia (they remind
me of giant Christmas candles), purple jacaranda (not an Australian native), 
the yellow Christmas tree, and the red flowering gum. So vibrant. 


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. 

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!

Monday, 6 November 2023

Eco-printing and Coreopsis

Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are doing well. 

This time of year - November and December - summer - the Coreopsis in my garden comes alive. I love it.  The bees love them too. 


But as well as making a fantastic bright border plant in my front garden that I have to do nothing to other than cutting off the dead heads, and which comes back year after year - even in winter the green leafy plants are there - coreopsis is fantastic for eco-printing. 


The last few weeks I have been busy getting ready for Art in The Garden artisan markets for Christmas at the Stirling Street art Centre in Bunbury - it's on the last Sunday in November - less than three weeks now - so I don't have long to finish. 

Today and one day last week I have been printing with my coreopsis. Here's a few pics for you to enjoy.

These are on cotton up-cycle shirts - 


They are also fantastic on silk and wool scarves - 


I'm going to make some tote bags - but I haven't finished making them yet so I will have to come back later with those. 

Just a short post from me today - busy busy!

Do you know about eco-printing? I have blogged briefly about it before here - Eco-printing- magical absorbing art. I've learnt a lot more since then. There are some complicated processes, but I like the simplicity of printing with my coreopsis. 

There are lots of websites where you can find out more. too much for me to tell you even the basics here! I've been doing it for a few years now, but still have lots to learn. 

I continue to be heartbroken by the tragedy around the world. My friend has just returned from one of the war zones - thankfully safe. 

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. 

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!
   

Monday, 2 November 2020

October 2020 - Covid photo a day project

 Hi everyone, my goodness it is November already! Can you believe it! Less than 2 months to till Christmas! I must tell you I've spent a while this morning scrolling on the internet looking for paper Christmas decorations. Amazing how quickly time goes. I've found a few I might fiddle with over the next few weeks with papers I have left over from making flowers.... once my wrist is feeling a little better. 

Anyway, here I am with the October edition of my Covid Photo-a-day project. 

1 October 2020 - Thursday - Blue Lady Orchid - Thelymitra crinita - Manea Reserve, Bunbury. I didn't expect to still be doing this project in October!!!


2 October 2020 - Friday - Jarrah blossom - along the Miller's Creek walking path

3 October 2020 - Saturday - Kangaroo at our son's block in West Dardanup. I think she is a mother carrying a joey


4 October 2020 - Sunday - Carbanup King Spider orchid

5 October 2020 - Monday - Cathedral Avenue paperbark walk, Australind

6 October 2020 - Tuesday - doodling with ink and botanical paints over an eco-print leaf print on paper


7 October 2020 - Wednesday - Moonstone - one of the weiroes we are "bird-sitting "for our grandsons. 

8 October 2020 - Thursday - cooking afternoon - lemon butter and savoury muffins. I did the one handed jobs like stirring the lemon butter.  Rod is the king of the muffins

9 October 2020 - Friday - we went for a walk along the Leschenault Inlet while our son was at afternoon dragon boat training


10 October 2020 - Saturday - we netted our apricot tree to keep the parrots from destroying our apricots

11 October 2020 - Sunday - through the paperbarks along the Collie River in Clifton Park

12 October 2020 - Monday - A day trip to Perth to see our finance adviser and then a lovely lunch at the Secret Garden Cafe in South Perth with friends. - it really is a lovely place for lunch, good serves, and very reasonably priced. 


Tuesday - 13 October 2020 - drying protea flower heads 
from a bunch of flowers I was given a few weeks ago

Wednesday - 14 October 2020 - our quince tree is blooming beautifully and we are looking forward to quince season


Thursday - 15 October 2020 - we have little baby birds. ps sadly a few days later they were taken before they were ready to fly.

Friday - 16 October 2020 - beautiful scented sun orchid along the trail in Manea Reserve. I had not seen this colouration before. Stunning.


Saturday - 17 October 2020- Sea eagles have nested along the Collie River. We could hear the baby squawking. One parent is sitting on the edge of the nest and the other in the tree. Unfortunately only place I could get a photo was straight into the sun and I didn't have my proper camera with me, only my phone..

Sunday - 18 October 2020 - Tassel flowers in bloom in the Harvey hills. I had never noticed their tiny stars before - Down in the bush today


Monday - 19 October 2020 - the drying protea heads are opening their cones

Tuesday - 20 October 2020 - Leopard Orchid - Manea Reserve. We hadn't seen these at Manea before.


Wednesday - 21 October 2020 - just playing with camera blur and swamp grasses

Thursday - 22 October 2020 - my latest article published in Caravan World magazine

Friday - 23 October 2020 - digital swirling in my garden


Saturday - 24 October 2020 - an orange rose from my garden


Sunday - 25 October 2020 - The Busselton waterfront was bustling in the burst of summer weather when we went down to have lunch with friends.- not that you can see it's bustling in this photo but there were people everywhere. We bought fish and chips for lunch and were lucky to get a picnic table in the shade.


Monday - 26 October 2020 - pink roses in my garden

Tuesday - 27 October 2020 - Back down to have afternoon tea with my sister and brother-in-law at the Equinox Cafe in Busselton. We sat and watched the rain roll in. So different to last Sunday.


Wednesday - 28 October 2020 - We bought two punnets of dwarf sunflowers - they are a colourful burst of sunshine in our back garden

Thursday - 29 October 2020 - Out of the splint and into physio and exercises for my broken wrist which is very stiff and not much flexibility. I need to be diligent with my exercises.



Friday - 30 October 2020 - just a few dry eucalypt leaves

Saturday - 31 October 2021 - making a start on making Christmas cards from botanical eco-printed scrap papers.


So there you have my October in pictures. I hope you and yours are doing well. Please take care and stay safe.  Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and gave me words of encouragement last week. Now that my cast is off I am feeling more positive. I have a long way to go, as my wrist is very stiff, but if I keep up my exercise regime I know it will improve. 

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.  

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!