One Year

I have lived in this beautiful Victorian house for one year today. I am still besotted with it. Everyday I drive home with a flicker of joy, I wake up relieved that I am still here, and I relish in each step I get to take here.

When we first came here and I heard how the sunroom, which was to become my studio, had been built to help a girl recover from a life threatening illness I was hit by a sense that God was bringing me here to heal too. Not from a physical illness, but from something. At that point I didn't know what. Barely a week after moving, I received my first wound.

It has been a difficult year.

But this house, this garden, these rooms, the fire, the flowers, and the views have comforted me and reminded me that seasons pass and regrowth comes. I'm not quite healed yet. I still have grief and heartbreak, although they are fading well now. I am fighting new battles right now, or rather, learning to let God fight for me and to stand firm whilst the rage rolls about me.

Our new house is still being built, so we are hear a little while yet. It will be a sad day when we leave, but I know that I was brought here for a time, and I can't hold tightly to it. God provides in unexpected ways. Adventure awaits.

So here we are, four seasons on...

Wildflowers

Did you know that 97% of British wildflower meadows have been destroyed since the 1930's? That is an alarming statistic! But, think about it, when was the last time you frolicked through poppies and cornflowers as high as your waist? If you're my generation, you won't have even thought about this being strange, because the possibility has never been available to you.

This is largely due to changes and the increase in farming. Before the Second World War, we needed to grow food for around 16 million people. That has now grown to over 40 million. That means a lot of meadowland, woodland, and other countryside has been put under the plough. Pesticides, and other such chemicals, haven't helped matters either. We can't go back, and leave people starving, but these changes have come at a cost.

There has been a huge knock on effect for our wildlife. Without their natural habitats much of our flora and fauna are disappearing. For example, more than 20 species of bees have already become extinct, and wildflowers are vanishing at a rate of one species per year. This means trouble for us, as around 70% of our crops are reliant on bees for pollination. Without them, we'd be pretty hungry.

Agricultural schemes encouraging farmers to leave borders and spaces for wild plants and life are helping turn around the decline, but you can do you bit too by sowing wildflower seeds, planting lavender (which bees love) and growing pollinator plants in your own garden. 

I've spent a few beautiful sunny days lying out by our small garden meadow drawing these colourful flowers. They bring a smile to my face every day. And they are now covered in life, including all sorts of bees. The honeybees seem to like the cornflowers best.

I'm going to get these made up into some greeting cards, so check back soon for prices and availability.

Useful links:
Plantlife
Countryfile
Royal Horticultural Society
Great British Bee Count
British Bee Keepers Association

Summer Garden

If I had my way, it would be summer all year round. Ok, so I would miss snow a little bit, but I'd sacrifice it (after all, I could always go on holiday to see some) for these long, warm, colourful English summer days. 

These are a couple of sketches I've made in the garden this week. And some photo's to show off how lovely it is here at the Farmhouse too. When we arrived there was a barren wasteland by the front door where weeds had been dug out. It was an eyesore, but as we're only here for a year we don't have time to re landscape the garden and put in expensive plants. So my mum planted these wildflowers instead; they grow quickly, look pretty, but also, a major benefit is they attract bees.

I was worried at first, because although the flowers were crawling with insects, there weren't any bees. But finally, just yesterday they arrived. No honey bees from what I can tell, but lot's of different other types. I'm glad to see them. And the butterflies too.

We've also been making the most of our greenhouse here. We've got plenty of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and even some aubergines. American's call them eggplants, which is 50% right. But really, they're aubergines, sorry.

I drew the tomatoes because I love the pop of colour they bring to the greenhouse. And they taste delicious.

I am definitely taking to the country life. Remember to follow me on Twitter for more news #fromthefarmhouse. 

Coat Hangers

Sometimes, when people know that you're creative, they ask you some pretty random things. Such as, do you make coat hangers? Erm... not so far, but I'll give it a go!

These are a few quick designs I've done for a lady who recently commissioned me to make six decorative and practical coat hangers for a guest room in her holiday house which is too small to fit a wardrobe in. I quite like them. Sadly, she preferred to have padded coat hangers so we won't be using any of these ideas, but if anyone else would like to commission me to paint a wooden coat hanger for them just let me know!

Remade

 How painting furniture is like God's work in your life.

My new dressing table. Follow the jump for the story behind it.

Update

Those of you who follow me on Twitter (@herwhitehart) will have noticed a lot of my recent posts are tagged #fromthefarmhouse  Why? Because we have moved!

My family are building a brand new house on a plot of land we own, but to afford to do so we had to sell our beautiful Edwardian house in the town where I have grown up. It took nearly six months to exchange and move out, which didn't help my artistic productivity as everything was a bit up in the air, hence few updates since the summer. For a while I really did wonder if we were going to become homeless, as there was nothing to rent in the area that we could either afford or fit in. Then, two weeks before we had to be out of our house, a beautiful Victorian farmhouse just outside of our town appeared on the scene. We moved in at the end of March. Here's a preview:

It's amazingly quirky; it has a lot of good sized rooms, a huge, if somewhat wild, garden, outbuildings, a resident ghost (Eloise, she left her name in the airing cupboard as way of greeting),  but best of all it has space for me to finally have my very own studio. And what a space it is! I'll do a separate post soon to show you all around.

I'm finally getting things in order, and have been having loads of fun buying some new pieces for my (extremely large) room. I've got a few posts planned to show you all what I've been up to so check back really soon. In the meantime you can follow my interior updates on my Pinterest boards, where I post inspiration and recent photos of the two rooms:

Follow Hannah's board Rental Room on Pinterest.Follow Hannah's board Studio on Pinterest.