Friday 21 March 2014

for the love of dahlias

Beautiful bright dahlias are colouring our world!  These images represent the small handful I have growing, to be added to in time.  
Wherever they sit in the house they look delicious  - in the kitchen... 
 …  living room, looking out to the back garden...
 … or just sitting on the tiles catching the afternoon sun...
 Hope they brighten up your day too!
PS.  This was meant to be a much longer post, but this little man has been on my lap demanding cuddles and kisses - how could I refuse?!

Friday 14 March 2014

last of the summer roses and an amazing rescue

I'm enjoying the last flush of roses, picking them as often as I can and wondering what will replace them in the winter.  It's been such a treat to have my own flowers to cut when I like - simple pleasures!  It's been unexpectedly quiet in these parts - we've been knocked by the cold and flu pre-season.  I did remarkably well and had a nasty cold followed by an even nastier sinus infection - it completely knocked me, making me wonder why I've been wishing away the end of summer...
Minnie has been elevated to hero status, having alerted me to a red bellied black snake outside yesterday.  Scarily enough, it was just near where Jono and I had been gardening only about ten minutes beforehand.  Jono had been in bare feet and I'd been pruning and moving a few plants into a new section of garden bed.  I shudder to think where the snake was at this time…  Anyway, Minnie saved the day and has walked away unharmed - I don't know how she didn't get bitten as she took on a very formidable opponent.  Needless to say, there's no doubt in my mind now that she was the best dog we could ever have - three cheers for Min!
One last rose!  Isn't it just divine!  It was in the orphaned plant section (my favourite, love it for the bargains!) looking very sad and sorry for itself.  It's done fairly well this summer, but could do with moving in the autumn to give it more air and light - it's a bit crowded in currently.  A mystery for me as it was marked as being 'Lady Ophelia' but when I google the images, it looks nothing like the pictures that my search returns.  It looks more like some kind of David Austin rose to my uneducated eyes - perhaps someone out there might know?!