Beguiled
Petal & Pins
Tag: roses
November 14, 2016
What’s My Name?
It rained all day yesterday, so today as everything was rather drenched I’m going to cheat and share a picture of a rose that I picked recently from a friend’s garden for In A Vase On Monday.
I have another motive for doing this – just like my rose from the previous blog post – this one’s name remains a mystery.
Happily blooming for well over thirty years apparently even the local rose society has not been able to identify it – so I thought I’d share it here on the off chance the mystery might be solved!
It’s ruffled texture was what caught my eye (it made me think of vintage swim suits) and that luscious colour!
The shape of the blooms are quite distinctive and as you can see by the loose petals the red is streaked with an almost burgundy colour.
‘What’s my name?’ – do you know!
November 11, 2016
Peace, Joy & Dessert
I’ve been cutting big bunches of roses to have inside this spring and admiring ones that vie with each other for attention from behind fences when strolling down the road.
My basket is laden with a trio of Rosa ‘Madame A. Meilland’ or Peace rose – in Italian, Gioia – meaning joy. I don’t know the name of the pinky red one, it was already growing in my garden, planted long ago and the blooms get pinker the more open they become – any suggestions from a keen rose grower?
The peace rose in bud reminds me of that classic dessert Peach Melba with it’s raspberry coloured streaks and since my raspberry patch is looking pretty fine this season too I’ll have to put it on my summer entertaining list!
August 20, 2016
100 Seasons
I’ve always loved strolling past or into a fabulous flower shop, what passionate flower lover doesn’t!
Long before I started creating my miniature flower couture I would take photos of flower shops that caught my eye on holidays, Flowers Vasette was one and I have a photo taken of their storefront from about twenty years ago.
So it’s not surprising that in the fledgling beginnings of petal & pins I declared I would love to have my cards stocked at this iconic Melbourne florist and we were excited in March this year when that wish came true!
Recently in Melbourne for Life InStyle we were staying in Fitzroy just down the road from Flowers Vasette so we made a visit to their beautiful shop.
I took these pictures of the wonderful abundance of flowers and our Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe cards on display and bought a bunch of pink runuculus – often referred to as the rose of spring – to help make our apartment feel like home when we got back from long and busy trade fair days.
February 26, 2016
Crumbles & Rosehips
I thought the rosehips were appearing early in my garden and then I realised it’s officially Autumn next week!
The roses aren’t the only thing that need deadheading or a late summer trim, time to take advantage of the last few weeks of daylight saving and get out into the garden in the early evening.
What are early this year are the apples – usually I’m picking and bottling in April but they are already showing their pretty pink blush now.
With blackberries ripe too it’s time for making a few crumbles – now that signals Autumn at our house!
November 22, 2015
Stop & Smell The Roses
The pink hawthorn tree from my last post is now just a canopy of green leaves, when I photographed it just over a week ago in flower I also took some photos of roses around my neighbourhood and I thought I would share some of them with you.
What’s flowering in your neighbourhood at the moment?
March 17, 2015
Summer’s End
One of the peony trees in my garden kept me guessing for several years as to the colour of it’s blooms (yellow).
It doesn’t flower often or profusely but it’s saving grace is beautiful pink stems so when I pruned some of the height I set about finding what pink flowers were in the garden to combine with the peony foliage for a decidedly pretty vase arrangement.
I’ve photographed it in front of a length of fabric I bought on our travels that hangs in the hallway to the backdoor. This piece we bought in Paris and the delicate illustrations of bathers at the seaside are charming.
Are you enjoying the delights of Spring in your garden or are you too at Summer’s end? I’m linking this post up with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase each week – why not join in?
January 9, 2015
Apple Blossom & Rose Petals
© Sandra Alcorn 2015
© Sandra Alcorn 2015
© Sandra Alcorn 2015
October 21, 2014
Changing Hue
I let my vase of roses linger…I like the petals fading hues they remind me of my vintage velvet jacket the fabric bruised with wear and time only adds to its beauty.
The petals spill on the mantlepiece and I let them linger too.
As in Faded Glamour I’m inspire to turn them into a garden fairy’s gown.
© Sandra Alcorn 2014
October 14, 2014
Origami, Roses & Gardeners Past
It’s been lovely over our colder months seeing and reading about what’s flowering in the gardens of my northern hemisphere WordPress friends.
I must admit it made me a little impatient for spring to return to my own garden but it’s been worth the wait with just enough cold, rain and sunshine for everything now to be bountiful and blooming beautifully.
I live in an old house, circa 1920, and feel lucky and grateful that someone long ago started the garden and planted such a wonderful variety of plants.
There are many roses including a rambling deep red climbing rose at the side of the house. Thanks to Mother Nature and my ever improving pruning skills it’s currently a profusion of blooms. You can only glimpse them as you approach the front door and take a sideways glance beyond the verandah, so last week I decided to pick a big bunch to enjoy inside.
I also signed up for Paperphilia’s Seven Days Of Paper Love last week and the ‘Day 1 Challenge’ was make a free-standing origami heart. First I made one out of origami paper and then inspired by my vase of roses I created one using metallic red embossed paper – a thank you token to the gardeners past who planted lots of loveliness that I now get to enjoy.
PS – In the first photo you may have noticed the vintage flower cutters – they were my grandmother’s and truth be told they don’t cut so well these days and appear just as a prop. I have fond memories of her taking me into her garden as a child and picking flowers with them.
All photos © Sandra Alcorn 2014
#PaperLoveChallenge
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