Picture this - Gardening Gone Wild Contest

This is my favourite shot when I was on holiday in Beautiful New Zealand. Of all the fabulous photographs I had taken of majestic mountains, gushing geysers, lovely lakes and stupendous spring flowers, I choose this image to submit to this Gardening Gone Wild Contest. We happened upon this orchard where we could just leave our money and buy fresh, crunchy jazz apples on our journey down South Island. It was pure happiness for me, someone from the tropics who had never seen an apple tree, to be at this peaceful, serene orchard. Here, I offer a shot that captures the genius loci, the special atmosphere of the place; you can sense it, without it being intrusive, but it is there in the blurred background. The half-eaten apple in the foreground is of course expressive of this photographer's delirious first  bites of the (un)forbidden fruit. I shall always cherish the memory of that moment of exhilaration, of having a simple but real pleasure for me .

Stylish Blogger Award

My very first award. Wow! My thanks goes to p3chandan (http://gorightinmygarden.blogspot.com/)and Malar (http://mypottedgarden.blogspot.com) for presenting this award to me. I am deliriously happy that you think I deserve it. I would also like to thank the person who created this award!Great idea. 


                                                                         


In accepting this award, these are the things I have to do:

1.Post linking back to the person who gave me the award.


2.Share 7 random thngs about myself.


3.Award 15 recently discovered bloggers.


4.Drop them a note and tell them about it.


Here we go, then. I am trying to keep to the rules by selecting new bloggers, and by that I assume those who started blogging at about the same time I did...last year. I am also trying to scan whether they have already received this award. If indeed I have made the mistake of bestowing them the same award, then take it as an added honour. The following (in no particular order) are the stylish bloggers whose blogs I have had the pleasure of getting to know:


Donna from Garden's Eye View
Fer from My Little Garden In Japan
Rebecca from The Garden Roof Coop
Betty from Great Arquitect
Donna from Garden Walk, Garden Talk
Bonnie from Here A Garden, There A Garden
TS from Casa Mariposa
Cat from The Whimsical Gardener
Laura from Patio Patch
Carolyn from This Grandmother's Garden
skchris from Garden Sense
Lily from The Suburban Gardener
Beth from Plant Postings
Larry from Conrad Art and Gardens
William Wallace from London Is Cool
Tracie from D.O.M.O.






As requested, here are 7 random things ( really random) about myself:


1. I love ballroom dancing, and enjoy the cha-cha and rhumba most.


2. I won't swim in a pool unless it has no deep end!


3. I love swing and standards and light jazz, so among my favourite singers are Sinatra, 
    Laura Fygi, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, Patrizio Buane...and many more singers from 
    the genres I like.


4. I would love to be able to sing in French, Spanish and Italian perfectly, but this is a 
   dream that is probably going to remain a dream forever, as my singing skills are 
   laughable and I don't speak those languages.(Sigh) 


5. I truly relish my cup of coffee, and relish even more having coffee and cake with 
    friends.
   (Two more to go...hmmm, what can be considered random...?)


6. I have a pair of slippers which have sparkly, golden sequins.


7. And wait for this - this is my favourite thing to share with others about myself - I just 
   adore anything hot and spicy- hot curries, spicy Thai food, chilli-laden Hunan (a province
   in China) food, Malay food with aromatic chilli-paste, wasabi...you name it, as long as it
   is hot, that's my kind of comfort-food!


I had great fun putting together these images of what I like to have around me...to share with you:

A Chinese New Year Greeting

    To all my friends,

                                     

               Wishing you a happy

             and  prosperous 

          Lunar New Year.

           May the year of the Rabbit

              bring you abundant joy

            and perfect health.

Hunter Valley Garden

This visit to Hunter Valley dates back to December 2007, long before my venture into Bloggerhood. This was also the visit that got me falling head over heels for a  Botanic Garden! If your genie could grant you only one visit to a botanic garden in Australia, wish for the Hunter Valley Garden. Seriously!


I had seen two other gardens in Sydney just days before heading for the wine country to stop at certain vineyards and taste the locally produced wine. The Hunter Valley region is famous for its deep red shiraz, we were told. It was actually a last-minute decision to visit the Hunter Valley Garden, but I'm so glad we didn't give it a miss.


There were lots and lots of lovely thematic gardens to see in Hunter Valley Garden. You would feel like a kid in a candy store. We walked more than 8 kilometres along the walkways leading from one 'garden room' to another.

The Formal Garden is splendid

Sunny weather for Santa here Down-under.

I like this look so much that I've got some ducks to place near my new border in my garden.

Now this I wouldn't be able to recreate in my garden!

At the Rose Garden...just luv-er-ly!

There were thousands and thousands of roses...all as pretty as this one.

Look at how fresh the roses look in the summer sun.

These plants must have had the best care in the world...healthy leaves, perfect blooms

We are of course in Story Book Garden.

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Familiar nursery rhyme?

            

She has a familiar pose...

So serene...

This is my favourite view looking out from the cafe where we had a fine lunch.

The variety of native plants...

The vivid colours...

A splendid lake view...

A quiet summer gazebo...

There are just too many favourite photographs in my Hunter Valley Garden album that I want to share with you. Can't post all of them so I'll just drag myself away now. Hope you are inspired to add a feature or two or an idea for your garden from the photographs above.

Mosaic Monday-Hot Stuff!

My super-hot chillies. Lovely to look at, but they are not purely ornamental. Chilly-lovers beware! There's a zing to these tiny colourful chillies that might make you give up wasabi and switch to these home-grown specimens.





For more mosaic pieces, visit Mosaic Monday. The link is at the bottom of the page.