:: rosa chinensis 'mutabilis' ::

 

This beautiful rose has a lovely progression of colours from bud to blowsy, fully-mature bloom. It begins with a deep crimson glimpse of petal as the bud begins to open, which turns an apricot-orange, then as the flower opens it changes through coppery-pink then lastly to a deep pink.

It is a wonderful rose along a fenceline as it will make a stunning hedge with an almost constant supply of flowers from Spring through to the first frost.

:: cynara cardunculus var. scolymus ::

Some things take a lot of will and persistence to bring into being. 

This is one of those things. 

I have tried since 2014 to get seed to take of these purple artichoke. Finally, germination failure after germination failure, I got 4 plants this Spring! 

The joy! 

The happiness! 

Even more amazing is that they are flowering already this Summer - I imagined I'd have to wait until next Spring for that. 

Only small flower heads - a little bit smaller than a tennis ball, the largest, but purple artichoke flowers they are. And, again another edible perennial for the front gardens. Happy days.

:: hydrangea ::

It's late and I don't have anything to say other than the admiration of this beautiful pink beauty.

:: cactus ::

Making an entry each day here has been a bit like this cactus flower.  Rather brilliant and yet prickly and a bit lonely, too.  Who'd want to approach that gorgeous bloom nestled irrationaly amidst the multitude of spiky prickles? Hmmm...not me.  

Making the time for me and focusing on something I love is the gorgeous bloom bit.  The prickles are all the obstacles that get in my way of doing the blog each day. 

Currently, apart from the commitment I mentioned earlier, this blog is about building a new habit each day. And, so far, I've managed to keep it up, which feels great.  

I still have no idea what I'm really doing here. One thought that I might be writing again popped into my head...and I kind of am...just very basic at this stage...no judgements! ;-)

I just need to keep my focus on how great it feels for me to view that vermilion bloom each day and not notice the prickles as much.

:: diplotaxis tenuifolia muralis ::

That's a really long name for a variety of Arugula or Rocket which is labelled secondarily as 'Italian Wild Rustic'. 

I have been enjoying the few flowers that have popped up here and there - we have lots of this arugula/rocket growing in various spots.  

I appreciate that it has not bolted as rocket tends to do in the Summer. 

Then there is the colour of those tiny flowers - a softer colour than mustard flowers, but of the same family of brassicas...pretty and perky!

:: helianthus annus ::

I know, I know, I know - I already did the sunflower on the 1st.  Which answers one of the questions slopping around in my brain these past couple of weeks.  Am I allowed to repeat a flower type? OF COURSE I CAN. I can do what I like with MY blog :-).  

Doesn't this look like an almost painful birth? So scrunched up. So tight. Spring-loaded? So spiky-looking. Such an incredible transformation to the fully-opened bloom just days later. 

I think I hold images of flowers as the final product of a newly-opened bloom and forget about the stages before and then after...why is that? Those stages are just so fascinating and the newly-opened bloom such a fleeting moment, just like all the others.  And yet, at a flower's apex of development is mostly how they are depicted. Weird. Or interesting? hmmm...

:: taraxacum officinale ::

Dandelion, from the French 'dent-de-lion' (lion's teeth) is such a sunny, happy flower to me.  I have such fond memories of blowing on mature seed heads and watching the tiny, delicate seeds flutter and float off to new homes.

Even though it is commonly thought of as a weed and often one that is removed with passion, I see it as the glory of sunshine energy embodied in a plant. Its very gesture is strongly upward-thrusting to the sun. I like that the dandelion helps strengthen our bodies, should we choose to eat a few bitter leaves or enjoy a coffee from the roots.  I like that it is a perennial, so regenerative and generous. 

:: phaseolus coccineus ::

The plan is to have these vibrant perennial scarlet runner beans planted the length of our driveway fence between the espaliered apple trees, making maximum use of a narrow space by growing food vertically and...perennially!

So far 5 plants have taken and one is producing really well in its second year, covered in these cheerful sprigs of bean blossoms.

I can just imagine what it will look like when there are 7 or 8 plants all bearing just as many flowers each Summer...and how wonderful it will be to have a full freezer of beans for the Winter and extras to share with neighbours.

:: floral contemporary ::

Almost like a ritual on Fridays there is a visit to the library and the subsequent wrangling inside of many more books than a human can really possibly want to read in a week.  

I try, I really do.

Borrowing all these books means I have to sit down in the days that follow and do something bordering on...stillness...

...hmmm...yes, it is one of those things I actually find a challenge - to sit and just be.

A book I've thoroughly enjoyed my short browse through this past week has been Floral Contemporary, The Renaissance in Flower Design by Olivier Dupon. 

dahlia, rose, fuschsia, yarrow, calendula

It has drool-worthy photographs and wonderful stories from many and varied places around the world that can only but inspire.
And inspired thus, I have plundered my little garden and created what I think is a wonderful arrangement in the living room...