Erica Spinks

Gardens, words, quilts, creativity

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In My Garden: January 2021

13 January 2021Leave a Comment

Ooh! My latest garden column has been published in my local newspaper – such a thrill. We’ve had plenty of rain here over the past month – 291 ml since the beginning of December, according to our rain gauge. That’s helped many plants look lush (including the weeds) but hasn’t been good for my roses. […]

Let’s do the bossa nova!

7 January 2021Leave a Comment

It’s easy to fall in love with a plant that has blossoms as pretty as this Begonia boliviensis ‘Bossa Nova’, with its white flowers tinged with blush pink. I think they look a little like large fuchsia flowers, don’t you? It has a trailing habit and looks fabulous in a hanging basket, so that the […]

Stepping gently into 2021

3 January 2021Leave a Comment

We’ve slipped quietly into another month, as summer progresses. Thankfully, there is no blistering heat here, just plenty of gentle rain. My garden sends its thanks by thriving. Growth is luxuriant and we are surrounded by green. Simple acts sustain us. Tending the garden, recording the levels captured in our rain gauge, reading, watching stories […]

My book of the month: December 2020

31 December 2020Leave a Comment

I do enjoy the ‘Vera’ series of stories by Ann Cleeves. The TV adaptations, not so much. I think it’s because the books leave so much room for me to interpret the characters and savour the prose, while the TV series has it all laid out for me. I always like to feel I’m a […]

Summer solstice

20 December 2020Leave a Comment

When we live in cities, we sometimes don’t notice the rhythms of the earth and our seasons. Today is the summer solstice here in Australia – the day when the sun’s track across the sky reaches its highest point – and commonly called the longest day of the year.  It is also the start of […]

Kelcie Bryant-Duguid: three questions

19 December 2020Leave a Comment

Welcome to the sixth in my Three Questions series, where I ask makers about their creative practices.  I became aware of Kelcie’s work through Instagram and I have followed her with interest for some time. In one of those ‘isn’t it a small world’ moments, we discovered recently that we had both attended a workshop […]

Every day is different

10 December 2020Leave a Comment

Sometimes, it seems as if the endless stream of days blurs into a single continuum, especially this year. The sun rises, the sun sets. Another lot of routines are carried out and another day is ticked off the calendar. Suddenly, we look up and realise another week, another month, has passed by without us really […]

Summer means hydrangeas

4 December 20204 Comments

I’ve been told that hydrangeas are making a comeback in gardens but, in my opinion, they’ve never gone away. With their beautifully-shaped, serrated-edged leaves and huge balls of flowers, why wouldn’t you like them? The flower heads are composed of small fertile flowers surrounded by larger sterile bracts. The bracts can last on the plant […]

My book of the month: November 2020

29 November 2020Leave a Comment

For some inexplicable reason, I haven’t been able to read books at my normal rate. Whether it’s distractions from the outside world, anxiety about things I can’t control, or just because I’m doing more sewing and gardening, I haven’t been able to focus on many novels in the past few months. How’s your reading progressing? […]

Online events? Yes please!

22 November 2020Leave a Comment

One of the beneficial side-effects of travel restrictions and the desire to stay home as much as possible is that I have attended many more events than I would have pre-pandemic. Have you taken advantage of this? I’m grateful to the many organisations that have redesigned their programs for digital participants instead of in-person ones. […]

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