Here we go again. A much more challenging colour to spot. Of course there are plenty of pink flowers and a few did make into the mix but I also managed to get a other pink things snapped too.

This little vase of flowers are all home grown and there are five different variety of plant. Stocks, cornflower, nicotiana, salvia and sweet williams. Perfect that the five of them bloomed for pink week!

Play along? Go over here or here for the original inspiration.

So what’s next? Come back and see next Monday.  ; )

This idea had been bubbling around for weeks ever since the success of the London scavenger hunt. Didn’t have time to print pretty pictures this time so I just searched the wonder that is Pinterest for nature hunt items and wrote them, in fancy colours, on a sheet of A4 paper.

H was thrilled at this idea and when I told her she only had ten minutes to find them or photograph them she was off down the garden.

I knew her enthusiasm would wain and she’d resort to her usual tactic… getting Gav to help her cheat!

Here they are conspiring.

Really think I need to teach her how to focus……

Still looking for a ladybird.

And finally all her bounty.

Then the two of them set me one…….

Such fun and not to sound v.boring but teaching her a little something along the way. Definitely be doing this one again.

The sunshine lasted most of the week. I seem to have had three coffee shop coffees! And food oh yes, food.

And a few garden photos too, starting with on of my favourite pots filled with Gav’s Bacopa cuttings. The pot was broken but it fits so well on this little table I couldn’t throw it away.

A takeaway coffee x 2.

Oops….

So pretty and yum.

What can I say?

A treat of Gav’s favourite Marks and Spencer pasta dish. Mushroom Parpadelle.

Ever since traveling down the Florida Keys we have a soft spot for Key Lime Pie. My sister recommended these little mini ones. Mmmm…

And there we go.

Those sweet williams have been a star beyond all proportions. They are still going strong and I must have had twenty bunches from the three rows. Sheer bliss.

I collected an armful of what was ready to be picked and in the spirit of full disclosure and learning I thought I’d share what I made first.

A typical Mel arrangement….

I liked the vase, something different but it felt so same-y. I plonked the arrangement in my trusty blue glass vase to see if it I liked it better.

No improvement. Or what I should say is that there is nothing wrong with it but I am trying to stretch my arranging skills and do something different. Instead of taking it to bits there and then I let it sit. But after several hours I took the plunge and re-arranged.

I have been aiming to copy some of the flowers I have pinned over here. Here is my attempt at a compact short arrangement.

Not perfect but better than a standard ‘Mel’ vase.

As I had flowers left over I tried for an airy dreamy look like this.

Not quite right but I like it. And I have learned a little too.

The flowers used in these arrangements are sweet william, cerinthie, knautia, unknown daisy, alchemilla mollis, knauitia seed heads, verbena bonariensis and lemon balm.

Thanks for popping in and sharing this flower arranging journey with me.

I was so happy to see this blogger and this photographer back on their color//colour project for the summer. They are sharing over here and I wanted to play along so here is the yellow in my world last week.

I have loved, loved this little photography project and when H arrived here last Saturday wearing a yellow top (without prompting!), I was ecstatic!

So enjoyed this colourful adventure and it’s pink this week. Hope to improve my photography\composition along the way.

The flavours of this classic salad (minus the tuna of course!) are one of my very favourite’s. Naturally I wanted to try this combination on a pizza. We weren’t sure how to deal with the egg so left them off in this version and we forgot to buy olives so they didn’t make it either. So like I say a variation of a nicoise.

Gav made the usual sauce and pizza bases were all white flour this time with the hard mozzarella grated on top.

The topping was red onion, cherry tomatoes, boiled sliced potatoes and green beans.

This was another hit and I think we’ll be trying it again or a variation on the variation!

What’s going on this week?

I mean really! That’s crazy! Gav tweaking the automatic watering system……

Since we are not jet setting for our hols this year I felt the need to pretend we were by making something that we may have eaten had we been stateside! It’s from this recipe. Yum.

Orange bottomed bee on some geraniums at Gav’s parents.

Big pipes…..

I harvested a few bunches of flowers for work colleagues. It was such fun to pick and prep so many flowers.

Pasta with cream cheese adapted from this recipe. Sounds odd but was very good.

Look at that dog! He doesn’t even like asparagus……okay he’s never been given it but I’m sure he wouldn’t like it!

And there we go.

It’s all flowers around here at the moment. I can’t apologise for that, I am in a little floral heaven.

When I think back I have been plonking flowers in vases for over twenty years and making a conscious effort to arrange them for about fifteen. It is a constant learning curve and that’s why I am so enjoying the community of flower arrangers over here and here. It is truly a joy and inspiration to see like minded folk making arrangements with local or home grown flowers.

The sun was kind the other week and as we were both still off work I had lots of time to pick and play with flowers and because I had so many Sweet Williams I used those in all the arrangements I made. I thought it would be good to document them all here together to see the variety you can get with the same base flower.

I have shared two of these arrangements already but here are a couple more to make up the four.

We have a very tall window on what we call the half landing going up the stairs. Tall windows are a challenge for flowers because most arrangements just look lost. So when I can I like to make a tall thin bouquet for that spot. (I didn’t photograph it in the window because of the back light issues!)

I picked similar deep coloured flowers for a cohesive look and used Alchemilla mollis and some clematic stems.

It was Sarah Raven who showed me how you can have impact even with single stems. I love this look because it means you don’t need a ton of flowers and it is simple and easy.

I’ve been collecting little jars for ages and loved using them here. The little tin is a dried yeast container that I just could not throw away.

And here are the two I have already shared.

One flower four ways.

This summer of flower collecting is going to be so much fun!

The Sweet williams are still going strong and such a joy to look at. A clump of delicate pink ones started flowering and I knew just what I could arrange them with. Just outside the gate into the little wood at the back of the garden is a huge pink rose. It has pretty glaucus foliage and tiny flowers.

I picked a white rambling rose and the trusty alchemilla mollis to finish off the bouquet.

I went bolder than I normally do and a little off centre like Erin. And I am pleased with the results. And loving the smell this pretty vase is giving us too.

This is the second of the trilogy. It was with a little trepidation that I picked this series back up. I liked the first but it was a bit gory however I had to find out what happened next so on I went.

I’m glad I read it and will read the third but I did feel lost in the story. I think I was supposed to though because most of the characters are enduring some loss and lost-ness. It wasn’t an easy read like some YA fiction and I found the course she took the story very intriguing.

Like I said I will read the last of the three and hope, oh I hope, it all will work out……