Room with a view.

I am so looking forward to being able to move into our new home.

The image I captured for today's entry is the view from my bedroom.

Red hot pokers are in full bloom in the foreground and the Waikato River lies beyond.

Out of the scope of the image and to the right the mountains can be seen as well.

We had a lovely trial run in our new home and I can't wait until we return permanently.

Mum and I are staying in our new home for this coming weekend.

Today we took Mum there a day ahead of me and she went into her new bedroom to take stock of things.

Almost instantly, Kaiser, the Burmese was there, hopped up on the bed and made himself at home with Mum.

What better welcome could she have hoped for.

We were so glad Kaiser was willing to stay the distance so the moment could be captured.

Frozen in time.

I know I posted about roses yesterday and did not intend to post about them again so soon but this morning I was in the garden early and this rose caught my eye.

To me it was as though it had been frozen in time - not closed like a bud nor in full bloom but somewhere in between and for all the world it looked like it might be frozen in time and stay that way forever.

Just about the nearest thing to perfection.

I had indicated that the rest of the roses had not started to bloom but with a couple of days of very warm weather here it is all happening.

I have no idea what type of rose this is. My brother bought it for this garden three years ago and this year it is really flourishing so I think we are in for lots more roses yet.

As the flower opens it will take on more of an apricot tinge before the petals are spent.

Although I don't consider there to be enough blooms on the rose bushes yet, I could not resist, after seeing this rose, and cut some more to place in a crystal bowl which I have set on the kitchen bench to enjoy close at hand.

My knowledge of flowers and gardening is minimal compared to many but I do know that I love roses.

Always have done. The queen of flowers for me and if they have a strong perfume, even better.

I am told that the Dublin Bay is one of the best and so last year I planted this climber at the front of the house and I am impressed.

Can't say it has much of a perfume but the blooms are just beautiful and they last and last.

It has done quite well in its climbing efforts and this is only its second year of flowers so there will be much more to come from this delightful plant before its life is over.

I had previously planted a clematis in this spot but after appearing to do well it curled up its toes and died. I would like to think this plant will fare better. So far, so good.

We have two more rose bushes in the garden but they are yet to come into bloom. It will be nice when they join the party with Dublin Bay.

The Livingstone Daisy as a singular plant could get lost amongst other flowers in the garden.

Planted in closed proximity to each other, when they come into flower, they take on a collective life of their own.

The warmer the day, the happier they are. The flowers close up overnight but once the warmth of the sun hits them they open right up.

With an occasional clean up of the spent blooms their life is extended for weeks and weeks.

This cluster of the daisies has pride of place in our front garden.

November is the month for poppies in New Zealand and we have them in adundance in our garden at the moment.

I have been waitinng for the red poppies to burst out of their buds and this week it has been happening and there's masses of buds yet, so lots more enjoyment to come.

The fern beyond the poppies makes a lovely backdrop. It is in its third year and with lots of rain in the early spring it is doing really well.

The cream poppies volunteered themselves in parts of our garden this year. I transfered several to the front garden and they have blossomed and blossomed during November - the rich creamy yellow of the petals is just a pleasure to behold.

No more room for cat napping in this part of the garden and Boris seems to have accepted that this is what really should be the purpose here.

The New Guinea Impatiens have been planted and I hope they do well in this part of the garden.

They should be warm but without too much direct sunlight and as long as I remember to water them..................

I remember, many years ago, when I was first married and certainly knew even less about gardening than I do now, I bought a New Guinea Impatiens and thought I could grow it as an indoor plant. Silly me, it did not like it at all. I hope I do much better with these ones outdoors.

We are moving house!

It has been fun developing and learning about gardening where we are now, but we have an even bigger more lovely garden to move to.

In some parts of Taupo the rhododendrons are looking a bit tired, but where we are moving to the blossoms look so fresh, I just had to get my sister to take some pictures.

This particular rhododendron tree has lupin growing at the base and the combination just sparkles.

I am so looking forward to moving to our new home and enjoying all that it has to offer us.

One of the ladies in a quilting group I belong to recently lost her sister to cancer.

Some of our group have decided to make 'healing heart' quilt blocks for her in her favourite colours, blue and yellow.

I don't always take up the call to do this, even though I think it is a lovely gesture for anyone going through difficult times.

When I do make them, I like to incorporate a touch of crazy quilting into the traditional quilting blocks.

Many years ago I created a crazy quilt block in foundation piecing for a heart shape and it is an all time favourite for me. I have used them on many greeting cards as well and they are always a pleasure to make.

More of a cat is a cat and that is that.

Just when I had all my heart blocks ready to be photographed Bella came inside and sat right on top of them all.

Good photo opportunity, I thought. Not me, says Bella, the eyes close and she refuses to co-operate.

A few minutes later she was gone - back into the world outdoors.

A cat is a cat and that is that.

Yesterday I looked out the kitchen window and there was our cat, Boris, having a sleep in a corner of the garden.

I had only just removed a plant from this spot in the past few days and was contemplating what to put there in its place.

Boris obviously was several steps ahead of the game here. If his owner had created a spot in the garden, surely it must be for his benefit and no one else's and what better thing to do but curl up and have a sleep.

I can think of other uses a cat might have for a freshly dug up spot in the garden, but Boris had more respect than that and chose it for a bed.

I bought some New Guinea Impatiens plants today so napping time in this area is strictly limited.

In the days when I only did crazy quilting I used to say that the only weeding I did was with the fabric that I worked with.

Now, it seems, I have exchanged the fantasy world of crazy quilting for the real thing.

I have only taken up gardening in the past three years, am still very much a novice and still naive enough to be fascinated with the process of the seasons in gardening.

Spring is a delight in the gardening world. Plants that have lain dormant during the winter months suddenly spring to life again.

The local nurseries abound with fresh seedlings to tempt and there you are, all the colours of spring emerge once more in freshness and vibrancy.

Certainly helps one to feel good about life.

My photo for today is of a dahlia which is yet to surprise me again this year. I really had begun to think it had succumbed to the very cold winter we had just had. Just when I was about to give up hope I saw those lovely fresh shoots peeking up from the soil.

This dahlia has bottle green leaves and they are offset beautifully with the bright orange colour of the flower - nature, again, in its perfection.

Perennial cornflower - during 2008 my sister and I took our Mother out for the day.

We stopped at a roadside stall and bought some unmarked plants at bargain basement prices.

When we got home I planted them all in the same pot and they duly blossomed and produced some lovely flowers during the summer and spring.

I was unfamiliar with the perennial cornflower and enjoyed the process of its growth.

Winter came and the plant died off but come spring it has come back to life, more prolific than before and is making more of these delightful blue and purple flowers for our pleasure.