WELCOME TO COTY FARQUHAR'S STYING GARDENS IN THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS OF NSW AUSTRALIA

My garden blog filled with beautiful flowers and trees, seasonal fruits and vegetables, clever ideas and tips and just wonderful gardens. Like so many I adore gardens, however I am not a garden expert, this garden blog is purely for pleasure showcasing beautiful gardens that I am lucky to explore. I would like to share with you a small part of my life living through each season in many lovely gardens in the Southern Highlands and country areas of NSW, Australia

Robertson, Southern Highlands - A beautiful Private Garden with a croquet court.


 Some of you may remember from my earlier blogging days, that when Andrew and I first moved to the Southern Highlands 18 years ago we lived in a little country town called Robertson in a lovely old two story sandstone home with very similar views to this home, but we couldn't see the ocean. 
I really don't know why we ever left, What was I thinking?.. it's such a special place.
There is something wonderful about Robertson and there is something wonderful
about having a long view from your home and garden.
 .....a view to the sea whilst living in the the country.....
.....it's the best of both worlds

This is a beautiful home just on the edge of Robertson, I posted this
on my main blog last month.  The garden is amazing!!
Complete with a croquet court, gorgeous hedges, topiary trees,
stone walls and a rain forest.


















What a very special place this is, you know there is even a fabulous artist studio.
An ideal place to create!!    I don't think I would ever want to leave.

Wishing you a wonderful week
......Namaste xxx Coty

If you want to know more (yes it's on the market.....it's been a wonderful family home for over thirty years but the time has come for the owners to down size) 
 click here to talk with Estate Agent Judy Fisk at R.J. Mackey Real Estate in Robertson




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Southern Highlands Homes and Gardens in Autumn


     

As I have mentioned over the last couple of weeks
I have been out and about almost every single day photographing and styling for my book and blog.
 Here are a few snippets of some of the lovely homes and gardens
that I have been photographing and some special people that I have been working with.





The beautiful house and garden above is the home of my 'new' friend Bee Smith Gilbert and her family.   Bee, who is also a stylist and blogger came into my studio last year when I first opened and we talked for hours (still do most days).  A couple of weeks ago Bee dropped in again and she was talking about her selection of jams 'Bee Bon Belle' that she makes and sells at her shop at Dirty Janes in Bowral and she said that she was about to pick some quinces .  Well...that was it!!  the beginning a beautiful friendship.  I said, Bee...let's do a shoot and I'll photograph you and your quince jelly - from the tree to the table.  When I arrived at her home to pick her up, I drove into her amazing old property and I said, forget the quinces today, I think I need to photograph your home and garden.  

The light was amazing as it flooded in through the french doors into her living room on a beautiful, beautiful Autumn morning.   There's more to come...Bee and I will be setting up a wonderful table setting next week and shooting it on her patio under her Japanese Maple tree, it's just about to change colour.


Bee's blog - "Bee Bon Belle"



A couple of days later we finally went off together to a gorgeous old farm in Berrima (above and below) to pick the quinces and to my delight the farm was gorgeous, old slab buildings, stone walls, lovely old trees and it also needed to be photographed.   Look at the all the wind flowers in front of the house and the colours of Autumn.  I have so much more to show you over the next couple of weeks on this property. 







  As well as the quinces I have been photographing and working with so many of our Autumn fruits and berries, so much so that when I came into my studio yesterday I had a fruit bug breakout.  I have been picking and styling still lifes with these beautiful fruits that I completely forgot to check them.  Every thing's fine now...




Last week I had a call from another friend, Real Estate agent Judy Fisk who called to say, Coty, come and have a look at a property that I have for sale in Robertson, it's just Divine and the view is breathtaking.  The owners of this home have lived here for over thirty years and it's hidden down a country lane on the edge of the town with views from the top of the Southern Highlands escarpment to the Coast.   I will share this story with you next week, it's fantastic!  The topiary garden is so pretty and there is a croquet lawn as well....The owner is an artist and what a wonderful place this is to create and paint.



Then one afternoon a couple of weeks ago I photographed a small home
filled to brim with old wares and antiques
It's a stylists dream cottage......anything and everything you could possibly imagine is in this home,
 He is the one that the dealers drive to the Southern Highlands to buy their wares from.

 More to come soon on this home soon..............





Then back at my studio I have been working on some Autumn still life shots. 
It really is a magical time to collect things from the garden.  I have boxes of pines, baskets of leaves, sticks, raffia, feathers and more. 



It's a wonderful world that we live in........Mother Earth is an amazing
xx Coty


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Beautiful Greens, Seasonal Changes and some open Gardens in the Southern Highlands this weekend - The Southern Highlands Botanical Gardens


As many of you in the United States and Europe head into the warmer seasons of the year,
we here in the Australia are heading towards Winter. 
As you may know, I'm out photographing gardens
and homes most days and I am especially noticing the changes
in our wonderful shady trees that are changing right now.

So I decided this morning that I would celebrate the
 wonderful colour green,
ever changing green gardens, fabulous green glassware and china,
 green vintage paintings, green interiors,
and just the sheer inspiration
that we get from the colour green.


















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Open Gardens this weekend

Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens

There are some very special and beautiful gardens open
this coming weekend here in the Southern Highlands. 



The Gardens

 Bruce Rosenberg's beautiful property, Yarrawa in Burrawang (above)
(I have photographed Bruce's garden for my book and garden blog...coming soon)

  Carisbrooke in Bowral
  Linden Cottage in Bowral,
 Vine Cottage in Burradoo
 Quindalup in Sproules Lane, Bowral
 Prittlewell in Bodycotts Lane Fitzroy Fall

Rain or Shine......It is well worth the trip to see these gardens,
 even if you can jump on a plane from Sweden or New York...come along.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend,
x Coty


Southern Highlands Botanical Gardens website click here
(Entry $20.00 per head for all six gardens or $5.00 individual garden)


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and a little more green.........just because I love it so..
one of my very favourite clients to have worked with over the years 
and such an incredible company
Hermes Paris
Just look at these fabulous green ads, wow...isn't it wonderful what green can do!




and click below to see my latest post on my Styling Blog 
Styling an apartment in Bowral



Old country gardens, wonderful stonework, beautiful old trees and new buds. Ponds full of fish and floating flowers.

Wonderful colours and shapes throughout the season, gardens filled with blooms, gardens filled with colour.

Seasonal blooms, flower work, inspiring garden designs, fields full of flowers that makes person like me what to go and pick every single flower and fill lots of old baskets.

Some of my artwork, I love to paint flowers and gardens and I always paint on huge canvases, this painting I worked with charcoal and paint.

Lots and lots of interesting ideas and images throughout each season.

Great garden tools, clever gardening tips and links to makers of fine tools