“For some of us, a hobby is a wonderful way to pass the time. For others, it quickly curdles in the sun of our curiosity until it becomes a disease.”

~ Helen Razer on hobbies (The Big Issue 8 Nov)

This is rather relevant to my arid plant hobby, quickly becoming an addiction. I’ve got six weeks off work to help with the little bear, and seem to spend every spare moment hunting rare, old or unusual arid plants.

The finest bonsai have many, if not all, of these virtues. Instead of trying to represent every tree in a forest in their intricacy and detail, they suggest the landscape: the vital, ideal form, with a little moss, a single rock. Instead of being perfectly symmetrical, the best bonsai are balanced, but irregular: a harmony of differing angles, masses, shapes. They are not allowed to become overgrown or messy – they require constant pruning and training to acquire their evocative simplicity. And, while they’re kept alive, they give the impression of age: trees subject to the wearying flow of the decades, and to the cycle of the seasons.

The bonsai can be a craft, an artwork, and a meditation aid. It offers a brief chance to let go of anguish, false hope, and all the leaden accoutrements of the psyche. And it fits on the porch.

People who read this blog would know I am a big fan of Damon’s writing, particularly on gardening and mortgages.

“…gardens are one of the last, great bastions of the amateur. From computers, to cars, to the sharemarket, our daily life is dominated by experts. This is why they sometimes spend more daytime in our homes that we do. But like sport and cooking, gardens are where we can proudly, clumsily, happily be amateurs – and benefit into the bargain.”

Well said.

Click for larger images.

Photos by Kitty.

A couple of months back my very thoughtful sister-in-law gave us a succulent similar to one I commented on at their place. I decided to plant the succulent in the swam two weeks ago and since it has begun flowering. It’s a visual delight.

Bonus points if you can name the type of succulent.

We’ve spent the last few nights at Venice Beach in California. It’s definitely an odd place, like nothing I have experienced before. The great thing here is, amongst the craziness, there are some hidden gems.

Like this place we went for lunch: Mao’s Kitchen, a Southern Californian style Chinese restaurant. The food was amazing and the interior and staff were really cool. Kitty had this amazing ‘Stassen’ brand Ceylon jasmine tea. We ordered too much food but got the rest take-out and had it for dinner.

Another cool thing about Venice is the canals. They’re all small and quaint and the houses on them have really cool gardens. They’ve got paths and bridges and so you can freely walk around and over them.

There are lots of cool succulents about.

I went to the most amazing garden store this afternoon called Big Red Sun Gardens and was completely blown away.

There’s also other general coolness around.

We fly back to Brisbane tomorrow. I sorta can’t wait to be home.