Orchids Update 2020

January 2020 

New Ones

Well we went to B&M in Chippenham to get some new kitchen stuff and came out with these two beauties!!  

Our Gardening Year February 2020

January 2017

Number One

January 2018

A little bit bare but tidy.  This was what we started with once Green Square had chopped down our trees at the bottom and a fence consisting of wood panels with concrete posts put up. 

Number Two

We found that we had about another 6 to 8 feet of ground that had not been touched for over 40 years.  Image Number Two shows the strip of land that runs from left to right along the back of the garden.  Right hand side is the path laid by Dave's Dad when he was here on holiday in 1972, made from pieces of limestone dug from the strip of soil in the middle of the image which covers the drain buried underneath it which carries the over spill of rain from Little Battens Park. Left hand side is the path started in 2017 after the fence went up. Top left hand corner shows the rise of the last piece of the reclaimed land just below the fence.  At the top of the image is the Buddleia which was planted between the trees which were chopped down and had been stood on by the workmen.

Number Three

Image number three, shows the same piece of land from the other side.  Left hand side is the path laid by Dave's Dad middle has the bird bath in the middle right hand side the path laid after the fence was erected and the concrete footings and wood panelling of the fence itself.  At the bottom of the fence was placed pieces of surplus wood which came from the roots of the Christmas tree which had been pushing up the concrete slaps visible 3/4s of the way up the image. 

2019

Fast forward to January 2019:

2020

My Orchids Update

My Orchids Update:

All the Orchids are doing fine much to my amazement!

This is the one that started it all in October 2015. Last January it looked like this:

No buds but nice and glossy!


Then in July we had a great surprise.

Some Buds!!


Finally what I have waited for, from 2015

Growth and!!

Flowers!!!

Update: Orchid Number 1

Still in Flower this January 2019

2020

2019 was a very difficult and busy year.  We are now back.  the orchids are beautiful and thriving!  Hope you like them.

More Tips from The Novice

It is Tuesday the 3rd July 2018 not only orchid watering day but also the first tuesday in the month so it is feeding day!!!

My rescued one:

My Pride and Joy:

Tips on Expressions

Expressions

Everyone has a great smile finding it however is a different story, it can be anything from a broad one to the slight touch of an uplift of the lips.

Sometimes the transition gives a few quirks in the middle. Practise in front of a mirror.

Here are a few example all three come form one body pose:

Straight

tilt head use arms alter lips

head tilted opposite 

Orchid Tips from a Novice

Orchids

Yesterday I posted an image of my pride and joy a Moth Orchid which was bought from my local Garden Centre for a fiver.

there was such a lot of feedback along the lines of how did you manage it? I decided to post this blog.  Because I still am a novice (even after a couple of years), I asked for help from my cousin Cath who has successfully had these beautiful flowers for a long time. Her advice was pick a day and once a week on that day give your plants a spoonful of water allow it to drain away, place then in a good spot, feed them once a month and ignore them!

Now up until now my family have known me to be the devil incarnate with potted plants, and cut flowers have always had to short a lifefor me.  Orchids on the other hand seem to flower for ever!!

Today Tuesday is my designated orchid day.  I decided to have a go at this video lark to show off my collection and maybe help others with the orchids they have been given as presents!

Number One 

White Moon Orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis)

Number Two

Pink Moon Orchid (Phalaenopsis Blume)

This was it when I rescued it.

Orchid number One Update

It has been a hectic last few months but getting settled again and have an update on my number one orchid. It has bloomed lost the blooms and is now back in bloom.  I re potted it as it had outgrown its 17cms pot and is now in a 19 cms one.  

Make Up Tips

Make Up Tips

A clear skin helps the photographer and the client who has commissioned the shoot as there is no need for post production.

If there is no designated make-up artist and you have not been given a brief, follow these tips:

Cleanse tone and moisturise

a flat foundation to match your skin tone, no shine or shimmer

Contour under your cheeks to give a faint shadow

Highlight the cheek bone to catch the light

Neutral blusher just under the highlighter on your cheekbones

Go over with a light powdering of flat powder

Mascara and false eyelashes to compliment your look

Whatever colour eyeshadow that looks natural with your colouring

Dark eyeshadow at eyeline lightening and merging towards eyebrows

Eyeliner again to compliment the look you are going for

lip liner, around lips keeps lipcolour from bleeding into the surrounding skin

add a little highlighter above the bow of your lips, adds a little younger look

fill in with your chosen colour of lipstick and gloss

There are some marvelous tips for makeup ideas from this link:
 Eddie Funkhouser Cosmetics


Also you might like to follow this young lady:
Katie Anne Westall