Pukekura Park

Pukekura Park Lake

I wish I could find the images of Edwardian ladies in their white lawn dresses and parasols and gentlemen in their day suits wandering around Pukekura park that are on display at this wonderful place. The best I could do was this postcard on Pukekura park's website www.pukekura.org.nz. I didn't have very much time this morning to take in the entire park but what I did see was impressive. The wet greens and towering tree ferns trimming the lakes and lawns were such a delight and I was surprised to discover such a large park in the center of this little city. I was told to seek out the fernery and it wasn't long before I came upon the series of glass houses connected by cave-like tunnels dripping with ferns. Within precious flora vie for dominance like too many jewels in a glass jewelry box and anyone who knows me knows that I can never have enough jewels! I can't wait until all my things arrive so I can go down and do some sketching. I'm sure the white orchids with their bright purple stripes and strange blue poker flowers will all make an appearance in my next collection of works.

Our New New Plymouth House

Sometimes you don't realize how much you love a place until you can't be there anymore. For my whole life I had taken New Zealand for granted. Growing up in such a beautiful place had in many ways blinded me to its charms but seven years ago I moved to Perth and suddenly I experienced the most severe homesickness. That feeling never really went away but recently we were able to move back and what a wonderful homecoming it has been. I can't explain the joy I felt to look out the window of our motel and see the waves crashing along the beach, the sky in a constant state of turmoil and the lush green of the New Zealand bush.

Next Friday is settlement for our new home in New Plymouth. I can't believe how lucky we were to be able to own the incredible Victorian villa. Many villa's these days have been so transformed inside that they look like they have come straight from an Ikea catalogue.  The period features have been ripped out and it seems these places have lost a part of their soul along the way. Luckily this house still retains much of it's original features. It is groaning with Rimu, even the skirting boards are 30cm high! The garden is enormous compared to our last house and it boarders onto a park. I can't wait to start working on the interior and Nik is excited about the prospect of many garden rooms!

Our House In Perth

We loved our house in Perth so much. It was our first house and a blank canvas on which to experiment with our garden and interior. It was incredibly hard to leave this wonderful oasis, each colour, plant and piece of furniture was painstakingly chosen to bring harmony to the overall scheme. It took five years to transform the house from an everyday 1960's brick and tile to a little slice of heaven in the heart of the city. We are very proud to have come so far with our knowledge of gardening and decoration and can't wait to move into our next house and see where our inspiration leads us next.

Front gate before

Front gate after

Front garden before

Front garden after

Patio before

Patio after

HOUSE INTERIOR

Living room before

Living room after

Kitchenette Before

Kitchenette after

Dinning Before

Dinning After

Bedrooms before

Bedrooms after