Inspired Moments of Quiet Reading

Inspired Moments of Quiet Reading:

I have today opened the pages of the latest Country Style magazine which arrived in the mailbox this morning - such a lovely read in which to immerse oneself.

One of the articles by Annabelle Hickson struck a chord for me - she quotes the wonderful words of Constance Spry, the renowned British society florist in the 1930's and 49's on working with flowers....

"How much richer your everyday life becomes.  It becomes richer because every hedgerow and field, every garden, little or big, every street barrow, flower-shop window, holds the material for your art or hobby or whatever name you choose to give it, and your imagination is fired and feeds on things that perhaps before you never even noticed".

This is so true for me and it reminds me of why I always have my seceteurs in the car with me, and, as I have mentioned in a previous post, how I drive always with an eye on the road and an eye constantly roving looking at shrubs, bushes, weeds and flowers on the side of the road or in gardens to store in the back of my brain for future reference and picking!  

I have even been known to knock on people's doors and leave notes tucked in their mailbox to ask if I could come and cut some greenery from the garden - I haven't yet been told that I cannot do it or perhaps they are So surprised that they have no opportunity to say no!   Mostly though the gardens are overgrown with shrubbery tumbling over fences and they are more than happy that someone actually wants to cut it back for them.

Even this morning I have stopped on the side of the road and snipped a few branches of a tree - just to see how it would keep in a vase or go as a hanging piece of greenery - the jury is still out as to whether it is a goody worth keeping or to continue the hunt.

As Annabelle writes, "the greatest gift of all this is the way all this picking and arranging helps me to notice what is around me, the changing of the seasons, the colour of the gum leaves" and brings a delight to me to be playing with what Mother Nature provided to create beauty inside and bring joy to the soul and others.

Next time you are out and about, notice the tiny things and the changes in the seasons in the foliage and the colour of the sky as Autumn creeps towards winter.  Oh and maybe keep a pair of seceteurs in your car!

As the summer season edges its way to Autumn how lovely are the blowsy blooms of the hydrangeas?  Gone are the colours of the blues, pinks and whites and quietly along comes the subtleties of spotted blooms, ageing pinks and smudgy greens.  I love that they can stay in the vase till the water runs dry, the blossoms are like fine paper and yet they still hold their shape until a decision has to be made - to keep till they gradually are taken over by dust and tiny spider cobwebs or ditch and just have a memory of their gorgeousness.  Right now mine are still giving me joy in their vase - although many would say their beauty has gone I beg to differ.   What is your penchant for the faded bloom to have and to hold or to ditch?!!

A fresh start to blogging after a long pause....

Well it has been quite some time since I put up a blog and today is the day I just felt it was time to come back to the social media circle/circus - not that I am expecting anyone to take notice of any of my musings but rather a place to just think out loud - after all isn't that what a lot of bloggers do?

So I will just potter about adding bits along the way that take my fancy - a kind of log of 2016 which has had a busy start already and I cannot believe how quickly January has moved on and the days of February are slipping by and with it the summer season.

Just a hint of Autumn coming in the garden - some of the trees around are beginning to colour as the days start to shorten.  I am always on the lookout as I drive around for good foraged foliage for any of my floral arrangements - have to be careful to watch the road - my kids think I am a terrible driver because of it!  So far I haven't hit anything - fingers crossed.

Excitement ahead with a wedding in the family in March so I have constant plans going around in my brain - mostly about flowers - are other people as obsessed as I seem to be about how to put flowers together.   I have had a lovely time today with my daughter checking out local flower growers and working out what types of flowers we might like to play with. So far we have a kind of white and green theme.... Roses, freesias, hydrangeas if they are still around, dahlias, lilies, alstroemerias, lisianthus, magnolia greenery, jasmine, viburnums, may, gladioli  and on and on it goes. So many gorgeous blooms to choose from.  Decisions to be made but oh how lovely to be playing with flowers again for a wedding.

Next post, once I can work out again how to add photos, I will revisit some weddings where I have done the flowers. Till then to you and to self, take care and have fun xx