Sunday 13 February 2011

Heartsease

On saturday afternoon when the day turned to pure gold I was suddenly filled with a sense of urgency. I rushed outside and began hastily snapping the first brave spring flowers. Faces velvety, open and turned towards the sun, colours glowing.

Ordinarily I would spend time thinking about composition and light ~ but no! I just snapped away. When it came to this mosaic no time was spent on laying out, I just added them in the order I took the photos! Very unusual for me and quite liberating.


The vegetable beds are looking very forlorn, the brassicas have survived well though, yum!
The helebores are really flowering prolifically now but the pansies and violas have me captivated, their wonderful colour combinations and sweet delicate scent.

Today is an altogether different proposition, I need one of these

I am so glad I spent a rainy afternoon in October last year potting up tulip bulbs and adding pansies and violas for winter interest above them.

Today is quite a contrast to the glory of Saturday, grey and mizzly. A day for making things and being indoors. I am going to press some of my favourite flowers and have a go at this.



The other result of days and days of mizzle is baking.
I love to bake cakes when I can't be outdoors. What could be nicer than a piping hot cuppa accompanied by a freshly made cake decorated with flowers?






You could be really decadent and throw in some whipped cream!



I suppose I can't ignore the date entirely, yes that time of year again.
I somewhat disapprove of Valentine's Day and Mr.Lane knows this.
(I can't bear red roses flown hundreds of miles and cynically shoved in a black bucket at the front door of the supermarket.)
As a consequence I am unlikely to receive a shop bought card or flowers, instead I find little scrawlings artfully placed around the house and never on the actual day!
So far this year?
A doodled cupid/achilles hybrid and a marvelous diagram of Wolfie Adams playing darts.

I do love you Mr.Lane x
I am fascinated by the Victorian custom of using the language of flowers and I suppose before the advent of e-mail, facebook, twitter etc. to recieve an anonimous card and or posy must have been heartstoppingly exciting. (Mind you, remember the difficulties it caused Bathsheba!)

I think it best to know you are loved all days!
xXx


PS Did you know there was a butterfly called a "blue pansy"


extraordinarily beautiful


And back to the language of flowers, love this Rosetti painting
x



12 comments:

  1. I do love a good pansy
    so velvety and rich
    and I do love a bit of mizzle, a cuppa and some cake
    so agree about the sad red roses, it's all so fake really and that
    it shouldn't be restricted to one allocated day
    xx

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  2. Pansy;s are such gorgeous velvety flowers - I love this post. xxx

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  3. What a lovely post and such wonderful photos.
    Yesterday we had sun and like you I was searching out my spring flowers and doing some gardening.
    We also took the chance of a walk in the country lanes.
    Today we have rain and I've spent the morning on making cards.
    love to you, Diane. x x x

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  4. its great to see these signs that spring is indeed on the way!

    BH x

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  5. What a lovely post! Your cake looks sooo pretty, we don't use edible flowers enough do we.... I don't know about your veg garden looking sad - it looks very orderly indeed to me! I'm afraid I don't do a thing in my garden until there is some decent Spring sunshine, as my garden is permanently in the shade in the winter and gets very soggy. But there are some bulbs peeping through and some narcissus in bud - very exciting!

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  6. A gorgeous post! I love pansies too..such beautiful velvety petals. :0)

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  7. I love all the pansy pictures. They are such a happy flower.
    Lisa x

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  8. How can your garden look so lovely already my friend!!! You are so lucky...I adore pansies. xoxoxo I am thinking I should plant some soon.

    Sending you oodles of love for a great week.xoxo

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  9. Hi Sarah
    Pansies and violas are opening up here too. I always think they have such happy faces. I completely share your opinions on Valentines day it is so forced! I also prefer the unexpected it means so much more.
    Enjoy your week.
    Jo x

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  10. Another beautiful post Sarah Jane, as always.

    Those teacups are simply gorgeous. Are they yours?

    Ive just been reading a little of the violet family in herbal medicine. Such a useful plant

    and by the way - your garden beds are very neat.

    Cheers
    Fi

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  11. I love pansies they are my favourite flower to make. Lovely photographs too..a real taste of Spring -hurrah

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  12. You know I too am obsessed with signs of spring! Lovely post...I too (very much) need that umbrella (in the most shallow way!)

    Me and Cleggy don't do Valentines day either - he tells me that "every day is valentines day when married to him"!! and most days, he's right!
    fee x

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