The Dawnmist Garden - Always Cool for Cats

Our garden is an important place where we can relax with friends and cats, spending more time out there than in the house during the warmer months. The lower garden is partly roofed over to allow us to enjoy the sunshine, do pottery and other projects even when it is raining. In the winter as with any garden it is quite cold and bleak out there in full shade but in the summer months a joyful place to spend time and to ponder life, watch the toads and newts in the pond and grow potted plants.

It all began way way back many years ago when Fluffball was still just a kitten (awwwwww, isn't she cute!) and Heather had a little too much wine one evening, got tipsy, fell in the pond and said "Let there be Mud" and suddenly there was mud, lots of it and all wet; well, ceramic artists all begin their journey here in the primitive swamps of mother earth. Gradually over the years Heather added to it bit by bit, and also took some away too but we think she is almost happy with the design now.

As an inventor Natalie will often dabble with new projects in the garden in the warm months while Heather creates her latest vase or statue on the wheel nearby. The design of electronic circuits might be of priority or perhaps ceramic glaze recipes that grow natural crystals during the firing.

Each year Heather likes try something new and to develop themes she has liked from the year before. The garden gradually evolves and matures. Last year (2008) she bought one of those little bird cages which seem to be in fashion and it looks nice hanging there under the vines with a candle inside it. Candles are another important part of garden ritual here. The Clematis plant Heather chose has 4 petals to each flower head which she found more striking to the eye. It is also highly perfumed and smells a bit like vanilla and while the bloom looks lovely, the vines do grow very fast indeed and need constant pruning.

The pumpkins were grown several years ago for halloween and were inspired by Heather's visit to America when she witnessed a Pumpkin festival in New Hampshire where thousands of pumpkins were on display. One of them she grew to 18 inches across which was not bad for a first attempt; even Maeve was impressed and tried to shred her way inside to make a nest but 18 inches was not big enough for her cos she's a huge cat, a proper beast!

In the late spring when the apple tree is in full bloom the cats like to sit on the seat there while the petals fall. Heather grew this tree from an apple core that she planted a number of years back. We watched it grow into a mature tree and each year now we get lots of red apples although they are not the best for eating but might make good cider. Kitties like to hunt the apples when Heather rolls them down the lawn.

Heather has a habit of growing trees from seeds and will always plant Traditional English acorns. At times she has planted several of these and nurtured them in pots eventually growing into trees although they take a while to get big. In 2008 when she decided to have a go at making wine for the first time she chose "October Wine" which is an unusual recipe using oak tree leaves! A year later when sampled the wine was amazingly nice and tasted like a rich sherry (Recipe to be added later).

As an artist Heather will often look to nature for inspiration sometimes capturing ideas that can be woven into her ceramic designs or drawings. These aphids laying eggs on a blade of grass had arranged themselves into a cluster which caught her attention. Their positioning suggests the nurturing of a flock with parents giving birth, children helping with the babies and another wandering off.

The sounds of bird life is also varied with pheasants, robins, blue-tits, pigeons, green finches, sparrows, magpies and also bats. A few Tawny Owls and occasional Buzzards also visit and in the winter flocks of geese pass over. One day Heather hopes to blend these sounds into the music she composes.

From time to time our kitties do bring mice back from the wild. One year they brought back a baby which we kept as a pet because she was too young to let go again... she lived for more than 2 years and her story is covered on our pet page which you can read. Most of the mice that survive are given bed and breakfast and then let go again. Over the years we have had a number of fluffy visitors.

There are plenty of cats living in the area and plenty of trees also that they like to climb and scent-mark. The following observations may be made...