A Day of Cottage Flowers for May 1st {3 Posts in One}

Welcome May…

There are so many flowers in the garden, and because I owe you a few posts…

I decided to make this one extra floriferously long.

I was in the garden early this morning filling my basket with flowers and decided to document my steps so I could share them with you.

So, before we enjoy them inside, come along with me and we can fill our hearts (and baskets) with petals a plenty.

Let's begin with the peach Pearly Gates rose that turns a pastel white after a couple days in the sun.

It is a fast grower and is a floribunda, with each stem having up to 18 roses on one!

The yellow orange sherbet rose on either side of the image below is a David Austin Rose called Lady of Shalott.

And right smack in front below is my beloved Colette.

Such a stunning beautiful rose.

Grab your basket so we can fill it up just like so…

And let's go into the early morning garden to pick all of our treasures.

The birds are chirping and my little cardinal friend is by my side often as of late.

The wild baby's breath is absolutely everywhere…

And the sun is just coming over the mountain.

Dappled light glimmers through the fresh spring leaves on the trees.

There are soooo many blossoms in early spring.

The weather is just perfect for them in the high desert at this time.

We are just about to begin our warm-up, so enjoying the blooms now is imperative.

You can always count on Gene Boerner to drown you in endless candy pink roses.

It looks much like the Pearly Gates rose below actually.

The only difference is that the Pearly Gates are peachy pink that turn ivory, and are a bit fluffier.

But they do have a similar growth style and shape as Gene Boerner.

Below is Miss Colette again, and a few white lantana.

The floppy tea rose below is one of my favorites. 

I saved it from the gophers when its life was almost nearing the end.

I went outside one morning and it was toppled over with just a whisp of roots left.

That's what the gophers do at the country house, they eat roots and topple trees, bushes, flowers…

You name it, they will topple it.

So, in a fit of distress I dug her up and brought her here to Villa Fiore, where she is now thriving.

I do not know her name, she is a large rose, yet delicate and lovely and only lasts a day or two.

You must be careful to not get carried away with your delightful thoughts and imagination in the garden, or you will lose track of picking your flowers when it is still cool enough in the beautiful morning.

However, it is quite easy to do.

To lose yourself in a delightful moment, when the air is crisp and lovely on your shoulders.

And the air is so infused with honeysuckle, citrus blossoms and roses that you can hardly gather your thoughts.

Oh, such beloved days of spring.

I become frantic with joy simply trying to drink it all in.

It sometimes is just too much to even be able to absorb.

This year I have allowed flowers to stay longer in the garden, just to enjoy their presence.

Rather than picking them for vases or to dry.

Sweet ruffled friends.

The wildflowers are doing ridiculously well, which amazes me me beyond words.

I mix just a few with the roses today.

(we'll chat more about them next time)

Aren't roses absolutely one of the most incredible specimens in the world?

What must it be like, to be a rose bobbing in the breeze, beloved by most.

Sweet frosting like rosettes…

Perfect for bringing into the conservatory.

Where all manner of my nonsense collects.

They add a sense of peace and calm to the atmosphere.

A bit of fairy magic almost, wouldn't you agree?

I picked this one just for you…

Here you go.

I will now sit and lollygag, with my tea and roses…

In my ruffled bloomers and fluffy slippers.

I listen to the 90's soundtrack for little women as I type, and my heart is full of memories.

Memories of all the gardens I have grown.

Best memories of times gone by.

And I urge my heart to make even more memories.

Today and tomorrow.

Memories on the breeze, for the taking.

And then, a rose shows me its heart.

It tells me, everything is going to be okay.

Somehow, someway.

I thank my lucky stars that the garden likes me.

That I plant things and they grow.

I'm not sure it's that I have a green thumb as everyone says…

But perhaps, between you and me - 

It's my love for them, my plants.

My seeds.

When I do my last tending of the day, I shut off the garden lights and say - 

I love you all so much.

And if you know that you are loved, then how I ask, can you not be happy?

Love makes the world go round, is what my dad always says.

A little fairy dust of the imagined variety and a hearty dose of love can breathe their own sort of magic.

The kind not even I have an answer for.

I stand in my own garden amazed most of the time, that such things as flowers can even exist.

How can a gift so great exist in such abundance for us?

Simply magical I tell you.

But, I best run off before I get carried away with my ethereal thoughts.

And just say, Thank you garden for being here.

And thank you friends, for coming along with me today.

I promise to see you very soon, 

 

Love, 

 

Vanessa

 

 

ps: I'll leave you with the Little Women soundtrack I am listening to, and a song called Two Couples <3