Autumn in New Zealand

 

Autumn in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Today I finished working on a paper cutout of a vase of Autumn Leaves.

Most of our trees are not deciduous so these are a mixture of fallen

leaves and twigs from exotic trees with a few late garden flowers.

Autumn Leaves

Some are from willow trees which grow around the wetland and

the creek and some are from grasses and wild plants.

Last night it began to rain and it has hardly stopped today, the

creek is rising and there are no birds to be seen.  The following

photo was taken at a small park in central North Island, I could hear

a noise like rustling paper as these leaves fell from 

oak and lime trees.

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2026

 Anzac Day in New Zealand

It is almost Anzac Day again,  April 25 when we remember family who we have lost in wars.  I always think of my two great uncles Felix and Archie who both lost their lives in France during the first World War.

Here is a photo of them during happier times before the war when they have been helping on great grandfather's farm in Norfolk England

These two were brothers in law, and met through my grandparents, Felix on the left was the brother of my grandmother and Archie of my grandfather.  Both were greatly loved by them and they talked of them fondly.  There is a story that on the day Felix died in September 1916 in France the family dog went to sit by his motorbike at home in the barn in Norfolk and would not leave it.

Here is a photo of Felix on his motorbike taken in Norfolk in June 1916, he is wearing the uniform of the Royal Norfolks.  Archie died in July at the battle of Gommencourt in July the same year.

 

In memory of those who died to preserve our democracy it is important to remember how precious it is and how it is constantly under threat even today.  

Many of my family fought in both WWI and WWII and in memory of their bravery and suffering I have made a cutout paper work in Autumn colours.  It is called 

Orchids and Chrysanthemums.

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2026

 

A Seed Once Sown

I am posting a new blog, this is something of an achievement for me.  

In 2024 I spent three months in ICU at Wellington hospital and another month in rehab

recovering from surgery for aneurysms.  So here I am, so pleased to

be alive and so grateful to all who cared for me over that time.

While recuperating from  this I have been working on a knitted work about

the importance of the garden in sustaining our ecology, a subject which I have

often talked about before.  My own garden had grown a good crop of grass while

I was away and with the wind and storms we have had this Summer it is not

in the best of shape.  I have however been able to enjoy the blooms which our daughter 

has produced in her garden, she is the dahlia queen!

 Dahlias

'The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies' is a quote from Gertrude

Jekyll (1843 - 1932) the English gardener who first developed the wild garden from her

herbaceous border designs.

This photo is taken from the walled garden at Lindisfarne, Holy Island with the Jekyll

walled garden in the foreground.

A Seed Once Sown

copyright Frances Jill Studd 2026