Miniature gardens

I recently read “Jane in Winter” by Elizabeth Wix who many of you may already know from “About New York” Elizabeth grew up in England in the fifties but now resides in New York. Although the book was originally written for the 8-12 age group I found it fascinating, a sort of escape into a slightly disconcerting fantasy world with fifties nostalgia. It is both cosy and scary in equal measure and I know that I would have devoured such a story when I was young. It reminded me very much of Edith Nesbit.

There are many things to love about this book but for me it was being reminded of childhood pastimes, some of which I still have not entirely grown out of; that of making gardens in miniature. When I was a girl this was “all the rage”, in fact most of my childhood pastimes involved lots of imagination and no expenditure! We used mirror pieces for lakes, stones and rocks to create paths and mountains, mosses and small plants became gardens, fir cones became forests. I dare say many of you will have done much the same thing?


Today my miniature gardens are in shallow bowls rather than trays, I still make use of pebbles, shells, and pieces of ceramic, whatever takes my fancy. One of my favourite plants for such environments is a clover -Trifolium Repens “Purpurascens Quadriphyllum” which was given to me by a gardening neighbour. It has reddish/purple leaves edged with peppermint green and white flowers. It can be invasive so living in a dish suits it fine! Interestingly Judith Glover has a similar plant featured in her garden notebook, see post below.

An artist's garden

click for a close up.

I would very much like to pretend that the beautiful, well kept garden above belongs to me but I am sure you know better, having already confessed to a multitude of gardening tasks to attend to. It actually belongs to the artist and gardener Judith Glover.

Judith opens her garden for charity and this year raised an amazing £1,100 as part of the NGS Open Garden scheme. Her garden is the source of inspiration for the many delicate, detailed watercolours she produces, many of which are reproduced onto greeting cards and stationery. You can see more of her work and read about her inspirational garden on her website.

And now, if you will allow me to indulge in a bit of maternal pride… our son James has written the music for her latest e-card called “Toy Box” and I have to say that it is my all time favourite. The music and images are a perfect match, please have a listen and see if you agree by following this link. I have watched it umpteen times and it makes me smile on each occasion. He has written music for some of her other cards on the site including Little Angel and Little Snowman but I think I like this one the most.

Spring Fair.

QUICK UPDATE THE BUMBLEEES WON HURRAY!!!! 11th Feb.


First of all let me thank you all so much for voting for the Bumble Bees, the voting closes at midnight tonight so fingers crossed! Also for all the thoughtful comments that you left when I had a break, it has not been an easy couple of months and I was very touched by your concerns.

The Spring Fair is now well on its way this week in Birmingham at the NEC and I went over to the show to see some of my licensees and meet up with friends old and new. The show is huge so comfy shoes are an absolute must, so too is a pack lunch because the catering facilities leave much to be desired. I managed to see some of my products, some of which I have never seen before, so that was quite exciting, including some tablemats and trays.


I also saw some of my Easter egg shaped metal containers on the Elite stand, I have two designs with them, one is an Easter Bunny and one is a Duckling design. The idea is that you fill the egg with goodies such as handmade sweets, small toys or soaps and give them as Easter presents. I decided to order some for my shop but alas was too late for the Bunny tins as they have all sold out! When I get the ducklings tins I shall let you know.


I met up with fellow artist Judith Glover who tells me that she has a new Valentine’s Day e-card to send. (See little dog illustration with hearts). You can preview all of her cards on her website and I can highly recommend them, they are quite the nicest I have seen to date. The animation matches the music perfectly; they are a joy to behold.

On the whole the show looked like a success, it was certainly busy and there was a genuine buzz about the place, maybe spring is on its way after all?

Christmas Enchantment.

Judith Glover is an artist/designer and garden fanatic, whose work I have admired for many years now. I have purchased dozens of her calendars in the past and cannot bring myself to throw them away! Her work has been translated onto many products including greeting cards, fabric, ceramics, stationery, dated products and tinware. In October 2005 her first book 'In a Zen Garden' was published and in October 2009 her first range of animated, musical e-greetings was launched.

Now, I have a good reason to encourage you to visit her site, where you can preview and play her delightful and unique e-cards because our son James has composed the music for two of them! One is the “Little Snowman” and the other is “Little Angel”. Do go and have a play, they are enchanting.