I am working on a blog post which is consuming a lot of my word power.
I need a break; a refreshment of the mind, a stretching of the senses.
I thought you might like to enjoy it with me.
Here it is; a floral interlude.
- Interlude 1
- Interlude 2
- Interlude 3
I love this time of year in my garden. Sweet, fragrant flowersΒ abound; posy-ready and ripe for gathering.
This spring my eye is drawn to the purples everywhere. Are the purple tones taking over, or is it just an illusion created byΒ the post I have been writing?
Here’s a teaser of what to expectΒ when you next hear from me. Who is she? I am sure some of you already know. π
You are an extraordinary gardener Gallivanta – these arrangements are gorgeous and has made my day. All elegant, purple is a favorite color of mine.
Thank you, Mary. My garden is a blessing, especially as it grows well without much help from me. π
Thank you for the purple and flowers. Two things that automatically lift my spirits.
I am glad the flowers have worked their magic on your spirits, too. As for purple, I made myself very happy the other day with purple nail polish. It was a very uncharacteristic action on my part (to get purple painted nails) but I keep looking at my nails and smiling.
Itβs the little things. π
π π
I will take a floral interlude at any time! Hour no object! π Our leaves have all dropped and the mornings bring frost in the grass – we’ve had our first skiff of snow as well. So all the flowers you can spare will be very welcome here!
Happy to oblige, Melody…….. will this do for starters?
Now let’s see if I actually managed to upload an image!
I did! My skills are improving. π
That will do nicely!! The wind is howling and it’s trying hard to snow out there. Time for a hot cuppa and some pink flowers to while away the afternoon!
Very sensible plan. π
Thanks for the refreshing floral interlude! You presented it in such a lovely way I really enjoyed it.
So pleased to hear it, Melissa. Fiddling with flowers always brightens my day.
Indeed, mine too. For awhile I worked for a nurseryman who had flower on the side, and working with them was heaven.
Oh that would have been wonderful. π
π
Myrtle … π Love those flowers
Thanks Julie. For the sake of the bees and other critters, I try not to pick too many flowers, but sometimes I can’t help myself.
A lovely lift this morning. Thank you! I have purple and yellow pansies now outside our living room french doors. Hoping they will last a while. We are finally getting some chilly temperatures.
Pansies are perky, and I particularly love the purple ones. I hope things are a bit perkier in your household now; no more hospital visits?
Ah, I just read about Myrtle and how she came to be via Andrea Stephenson’s blog! I wholeheartedly support #loveyourshell campaign and I think your purple flowers are divine!
Thank you, Kate. Andrea’s post/review of Myrtle is wonderful. Andrea’s writing is always beautiful but this piece was outstanding.
Awesome bouquets! I love the purple mood!
Thanks Alex. Purple is a good mood. π It feels well-balanced.
Well, I have no idea who that turtle is, and I’ve never seen her, so I’ll await your explanatory post with high anticipation. As for the purples: I was in the process of compiling a little album of all the beautiful purples I was finding among the wildflowers when my camera stopped working. By the time it came home from the camera doctor, Harvey intervened, and I never got back to it. I do have some photos, though, and really should put them together somehow. Once a routine is disrupted, it’s hard getting back in the flow.
I do agree that purple (or lavender, or lilac, or any of the other colors in the family) are hard to photograph. I have trouble with them seeming washed out, especially if I’m photographing in the shade. I’m sure there’s an explanation and a remedy, which I could find if I put my mind to it.
I do have a turtle story in draft, myself. I have a photo of him, too — but he’s not purple.
And I await your turtle story with high anticipation, too. Turtles of any hue are most interesting. I am also keen to see your purple flower collection. When I was perusing information on the colour purple, I came across the story of Mauveine or Perkin’s mauve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauveine, and learned that mauve is the French word for mallow. It amazes me how much I still learn every day (not that the information is always retained for long. π¦ )
splendid floral interlude – sounds and looks poetic… β€
* * *
I'm a fan of "mauve-lilas"(lilac-purple)… π
MΓ©l@nie, Lady M, I was out for a walk last week and came upon the most beautiful deep mauve lilac bush. The fragrance was sublime. I don’t see lilacs much anymore. I think they must be considered unfashionable by modern gardeners. The one I saw was a relic from an old garden I think.
A lovely interlude and the colours are very appropriate for your coming guest star π
I agree, Andrea. That little turtle is purpleliciously purpureus. π
what a gorgeous breath of fresh air – thank you!
Happy to oblige, Liz. You must be missing that beautiful fresh air of the isles. π
Quite a lot of βfresh airβ here in Edinburgh today with a mega storm on its way!
Yes, I have been watching your mega storm via BBC. Probably good to be back in Edinburgh for that. You certainly wouldn’t want to be on the water or near the coast.
Happily it ended up being fine here, but you are right – it would have been pretty hairy on the west coast.
π π
I’ve been posting a lot of flowers and other flora on my facebook page to give people a break from arguing about the decaying state of Western politics.
A good strategy. I wonder if all the flowers we see at international meetings or events help to keep everyone feeling calmer and more diplomatic. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Kate+Middleton/Prince+Philip/State+Visit+President+People+Republic+China/wOSw7i6pK4D
Purple turtles, or at least that one, seem to have taken over my WP feed these days! The flowers are lovely–you really have a way with arranging them.
Thanks Kerry. It’s been fun putting together a few posy-like arrangements lately. I hadn’t made any in a long while. Yes, that little purple turtle is popping up everywhere. π As for real turtles, do you see any in your area?
Beautiful flowers and arrangement; a lovely interlude for all of us.
Thank you, Su. And guess what…..the bees were in the cavolo nero flowers today. They must have heard me worrying that they hadn’t come to partake yet.
Yay! Great to hear.
π
I also want to say that you offer so much to others, Gallivanta, that I hope your generosity isn’t eating up too much of your word power.
I offer as much as I can, dear Sally, because I receive so much from everyone. π
Love the floral interlude…and thank you for your ongoing attentiveness to my blog as well. I hope your word power is revitalised. xxx Tantalising!….Who is she?
My word power is reviving! Or should I say coming together again? It gets a bit scattered sometimes, especially if I am tired. The little turtle is a sweetie. If you can find the widgets on the side of my WordPress page you can find out more about her. I particularly love her #loveyourshell. π ( I think the widgets only feature on laptop or computer view. I haven’t noticed them the few times I have used a mobile device for WordPress.)
Queen Gallivanta of the Powerful Word
Teehee; I am imagining my crown. It would have to have my favourite amethysts. π
Definitely amethysts. And other jewels which form beautiful powerful words too.
Just for fun, because it’s on topic in a roundabout way, here’s a post I wrote about jewels https://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/precious-jewels-a-showcase/ Words both ugly and kind, and friends, are an important part of that little purple turtle’s story.
Every time I see a post with someone’s beautiful garden flowers featured I think to myself I must make sure I do some gardening. Of course, something else happens and I don’t get to it. We’ve just returned home from a wonderful road trip to visit a friend for his birthday and he gave me some dahlia bulbs and some others of unknown origin. I will make sure I go out and plant them today. Thanks for the inspiration. π
Ah, I hope the planting was achieved. A friend gave me some dahlias to plant a few months ago. I haven’t grown them before but I am hoping they will flourish in my garden. This particular dahlia has lovely sunset tones. I love it .
It’s been raining for most of the day, but I did manage to get out between showers to put the mystery bulbs around the border of my rose garden. I need to dig over the soil and add some fertiliser before planting the dahlias.
Looks like you have made a very good start. π
I’m the opposite. I like apartment living because I always over water or under water plants, hate mowing the lawn and other yardwork, and would much rather hang out in a city or state park for my nature needs.
Apartment living is certainly a good option. I have lived in several apartments over the years, and enjoyed doing so. However, I have had my own little garden for 17 years now and I would find it hard to live without it. It’s a reasonably low maintenance garden, and the plants don’t seem to mind a bit of neglect.
Well, I don’t do the mowing and yardwork – I leave that to Mr ET. But I do like tending my roses and picking the flowers.
Picking the flowers and smelling the roses are the parts I like best. π
Me too. π
Your floral arrangement are filled with energetic colors and perky array of flowers.
Thank you, Sally. I do wish you could smell their fragrance. The lily of the valley and the phacelia are particularly sweet.
How lovely…the interlude and the subject of your next post!
Tiny, I don’t know how long it will take me to finish the next post but at least it is in draft form, and almost ready. I have had a few distractions this week with my wee Jack straining a cruciate ligament. He’s not allowed to go on walks for 2 weeks so he’s getting a little stir crazy. But better stir crazy than causing more damage and needing surgery.
Oh dear, poor Jack! I hope his patience doesn’t run too thin… this too shall pass. Dylan sends his best β€
Jack says thank you to Dylan. He says that at least he gets a few extras treats for his troubles, so being at home isn’t all bad.
Beautiful flowers! I do love the purple shades and of course I recognise that purple turtle! I have some of that purple shampoo to make my hair shiny too π
It’s good stuff isn’t it, Clare? I am not sure how it works but it does; like the blue rinse which used to be put in the white laundry wash. That used to fascinate me when I was a child. And I was sure you would recognize the turtle. She’s ever so lovely, just like her family of origin. π
My hairdresser tells me not to use it every wash or my hair will turn blue like those old-fashioned blue rinses popular in the 70’s for ladies of a certain age!
Yes, Myrtle’s family of origin are so lovely!
I am glad you told me. My daughter would love me to have blue hair but I am not quite ready for it!
Me neither!
Sometimes on my FB page I post three shots of flowers taken from different distances, one of them usually including the whole bush.
Your approach to flower photography reminds me of the way some Botanical artists approach their work, as in this old print. http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/papaw-02-l.jpg
What gorgeous bouquets from your side of the world! Love those two chickens – look like they’ve had too much fermented seed…
Those two chickens make me smile every time I look at them, which is often because they are on my kitchen window sill. I love your explanation for their bellies….fermented seed! Good one. π
A beautiful floral interlude, Gallivanta! I look forward to all the spring posts and photos from your part of the world. π
I am working on it, Lavinia. Camera at the ready. π And lots of ideas for when time permits.
What beautiful flowers π My world seems to be surrounded more with yellows and oranges just now as the foliage is starting to change and pumpkins are appearing in front of everyone’s doors. I do have some late blooming cleome (not sure how to spell them) and they are a beautiful light pink!
The splashes of orange in my garden are provided by the calendula. The nasturtiums will be next. But, of course, that is no where near the overwhelmingly orange/yellow tones you are talking about. How good of the cleome to provide a dash of pink into the mix. Are they fragrant still?
Your garden always sounds so lovely. No, the cleome are no longer fragrant. We just planted the daffodils for the Spring this morning!
Hooray for daffodil planting. Do you plant them directly into the soil or bury them in little baskets? My bulbs are in the soil and, over the years, they have wandered.
We plant them directly in the soil. We already have some planted from previous years but are adding to them.
Excellent. I may add some more next Easter, which is about our planting time.
Somehow the park near where I live is mostly turning shades of gold.
Autumn offers such a variety of hues. Where I live, the pin oaks make autumn a very scarlet affair. π
Shades of gold, how lovely.
π π
I love purple tones and in Spring it feels even more fresh and fragrant. You floral interludes are so beautiful. thank you for bringing a bit of Spring to us!
My pleasure, Ute. It looks like parts of the UK are in for some rough autumn weather with ex-hurricane Ophelia. Keep warm and dry. π By the way, I just noticed there are strong purple hues on the weather map for Ophelia…..http://www.express.co.uk/news/weather/866959/Hurricane-Ophelia-path-update-UK-weather-action-Met-Office-warning-Ireland-latest It makes an awful storm look very pretty. π
We just had the most bizarre light today. At about 2.30pm the sky got darker, the sun was an orange ball, you could look straight into it, it was not like a normal sun. And then it got really dark but with a yellow red tint in the air. It looked like the world would end….. funny . Now at 6 pm it got a bit brighter again. I have never seen a sky and the world like that. It felt even a bit scary.
I am sure it was a bit scary. It reminds me of what the sky was like once when we lived in Cairo. I really thought the end of the world was upon us. Glad the sky brightened towards evening.
Me too π
Glad we are both still here! π
Lovely flower arrangement you have! I think the purple tone is just a perfect tone here.
Thank you, YC. Purple, in all its variations, is a very fine colour. But I find it a very hard colour to photograph accurately.
Such soothing tones, Ann, though am tickled by those hilarious chickens. Perhaps we have entered the age of purple – the colour of nobility after all π
The age of purple; I like that, and judging by the number of purple haired women I saw today it could be true. Purple’s time has come for the masses. As for the chooks, they were a gift from my sister. A gift which keeps on giving because they make me happy every day.
I think many of us are in need of a breather. I am planning one at the end of the month when I’ve scheduled some computer maintenance, so I’ll be off-line.. Whoa – will THAT ever feel strange!!
I am afraid I get quite frantic if I am offline for too long (like a couple of hours). That’s if I am stuck at home. It doesn’t bother me so much if I am away from home, or on holiday. Enjoy your break. Not long to wait now.
I am almost done with harvest season here, GP, and then it will be easier to keep up with all of you. We had the first hard freeze last night.
Frost! the idea makes me shiver. We could still have a frost here yet, though. Enjoy the harvest.
We’re still in the high 80’s, so I keep forgetting just how late in the season we’re getting to be.
Well, it’s a cool 60 here, so your temps sound quite good to me. Wouldn’t want to get to the 90s though.:)
I’m much happier reading less news.
Yes, I try not to let news dominate my life. π Much better for my well being that way.
I knew she was Myrtle, but thought of Dr Seuss – didn’t know she was purple.
I had forgotten about Dr Seuss’ turtle. He was blue and was brought down to size by a burp. A great story.
I think purple tones are taking over everywhere – I bought some lovely purple irises yesterday – will post a photo soon…
I love purple irises. I look forward to seeing your photo. Perhaps Pantone’s colour trend forecast has something to do with the purple tones everywhere. I see Ultra Violet features in their report for Spring 2018 . https://www.pantone.com/fashion-color-trend-report-new-york-spring-2018
Naming a visible color “Ultra Violet” seems to fly in the face of physics, given that our eyes can’t see ultraviolet light. But then probably no one expects those in the world of fashion to adhere to science.
Fashion colours seem to have their own rules but fashion, or more accurately textiles, would be a lost cause without science; I am thinking of Burberry https://youtu.be/hkLCAlTtX10 for example, and Charles Macintosh (Mackintosh). I don’t know how much the promoters of fashion think about science, though. π
You’ll see how unfashionable I am when I say I’ve never heard of the company called Burberry nor the person it’s named after. I had, however, heard of Macintosh and the mac that came from his research. American English doesn’t refer to a raincoat as a mac, but the Beatles’ song “Penny Lane” probably introduced many Americans to the word: “And the banker never wears a mac / In the pouring rain, very strange…”
The terms Mac or mackintosh aren’t used here very much anymore. We use the word raincoat, or parka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parka . And across the ditch in Australia, they have the driza-bone. To quote from their website:’ Our story began on a ship in the 1890s when British sailor Emilius Le Roy conjured the image of an indestructible wet-weather jacket made from recycled ship sails that were treated with oil. From here, the oilskin legend was born and would later become the famous wet-weather coat and an Australian workwear staple.’ And, while I know of Burberry, I haven’t ever owned a Burberry.
Never heard of Driza-Bone till now. I see the name originated from the phrase “dry as a bone.” Nor had I heard of cagoule, which your linked article led me to.
‘Cagoule’ is a new word to me, too. Also new to me was the story of the discovery of Perkin’s Mauve and the subsequent development of the synthetic dye industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauveine
If Wiki is correct, it would seem that the giant German chemical company, BASF, had its foundation in Perkin’s discovery. Oh the power of purple (aniline).
I’m impressed that Perkin made his discovery at age 18. I couldn’t help noticing that Perkin set up his factory to make purple dye in a London suburb called Greenford. I searched in vain for a town named Purpleford.
Ha! I didn’t pick up on that detail. Thank you. How remiss of the world not to have a Purpleford.
The purples are taking over! Oh no!
#love your shell!
Crikey, I even wore purple T shirts this week. Purple rulz.
Made me laugh! I wore purple gym slacks.
What’s next? Purple hair? Dare you!
Haha!
I did have some sort of purple shampoo stuff put in my hair last week but that was to make my hair look shinier and more silvery.
Yup. It’s a purplicious, turtlicious week!
Turtally.
OK, you win word of the day. Turtally!
Teehee!
I know who that turtle is and I just love her! I wish I had a young child to buy her for……….. Your flowers are a delight. I have none! I have not even planted yet – never so late before! I’m blaming the weather but really I just haven’t quite gotten out there into it yet – though I have done the winter clear up (I say that just in case you think me a completely useless gardener π ) I have finally put a post out though today – feeling relieved about that!
Dear Pauline, I haven’t planted yet either. The flowers in the garden are all self starters. So obliging of them to reappear without any help from me. As for the young turtle and her story, I am also a bit short on young ‘uns to give her to. So I may just keep her all to myself. π Loved your post; it was worth waiting for!
Yes, that is just as good a thing to do with that delightful purple turtle. My eldest collects children’s books even though she has none herself – perhaps I should pick up a copy for her π
I think she would love that! My sister collects children’s books for my mother. As an ex-kindy teacher my mother has been in love with children’s books since forever.
What beautiful flowers. Thank you Gallivanta, I needed some refreshment too. The turtle is a mystery to me – are you working on a children’s book?
Juliet, I noticed on Facebook, that your new book is now with the designer, and that you are enjoying a breathing space. Glad I could provide some extra refreshment for you. The turtle does belong in a children’s book but not a book of mine. π If you are using a laptop or computer you may be able to see the links to this lovely turtle on my sidebar. π
Well I got that half right! The book looks delightful. Yes, you are up with the play regarding my book. The designer is doing the layout now, and I have to write a blurb for the back cover but have no words left. So I’ll just enjoy your lovely flowers and take a walk.
Yes, half right! I am looking forward to your next book. You put so much thought and work and art into their production. I think my favourite, so far, design wise is Celebrating the Southern Seasons http://www.julietbatten.co.nz/product/celebrating-southern-seasons-rituals-aotearoa/?doing_wp_cron=1507957126.9436790943145751953125 Enjoy your walk. π