Clivia

Clivia

I gave my mother this Clivia fourteen or fifteen years ago. It only flowered once for her but it has bloomed every year for me since she died twelve years ago and is a wonderful reminder of her, if I should ever need one. 

I am linking to Today's Flowers where you can see many beautiful flowers across the world.

Today's Flowers #159 Teapot flowers

 I have small teapot that is chipped and cannot be used to make tea any more. Rather than throw it out I decided to use it for flowers.

Pansies, pinks and perennial geraniums make a pleasing display, to my eyes, anyway J

Bird's-eye view!

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Today's Flowers #154 July 31st

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) - second flowering

Rambling rose

Honeysuckle

Clematis

 Loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata)

To see more beautiful blooms please click here.

Today's Flowers #153 July garden flowers

dianthus

dianthus

dianthus

pyracantha with hoverfly

pansy

calendula

nasturtium

Do you think the little hoverfly knows how beautiful it looks against the nasturtium?

The colour certainly suits him!

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Today's Flowers #142

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Pansies in the garden

Today's Flowers #133

Spring is creeping forth and revealing her new season's colours

Crocuses

Tête-a-tête daffodils

Thank you to the Today's Flowers team who organise this colourful weekly meme. Click here to see more flowers around the world.

Today's Flowers #122 In the conservatory

Thanks go to the Today's Flowers team who patiently organise and host this lovely weekly meme. To see more, and perhaps join in, please click here.

Today's Flowers #117 Clematis tangutica

Clematis tangutica is grown as much for its beautiful seed heads as for its pretty lantern shaped flowers. Our plant has yellow flowers and I believe there is an orange version. I'd love to see yellow and orange growing together! One day, maybe, I'll find an orange one.

Just a few weeks ago our tangutica was a mass of yellow bells. In this photograph the flower is just beginning to open.

Now there are no flowers but a mass of feathery seed heads nodding in the sun.

I almost expect a little face to look up and smile shyly!

Thank you to the TF team who host this weekly meme. Click here to see more gorgeous blooms from around the world.

I'm also linking to Macro Monday  at Lisa's Chaos and Drowsey Monkey's Mellow Yellow Monday

Shadow Shot Sunday #127, Today's Flowers #116 Nasturtiums

This year the nasturtiums have been outstanding. The colours have ranged from cream through orange to scarlet and crimson. We are enjoying their final flourish before they finally succumb to the frost. We have had two or three heavy frosts in the last week and it is only the flowers in sheltered places that are surviving. 

The bees are still working hard.

This bee is using an alternative method of reaching the nectar. It's called 'robbing' because the bee approaches from the back to find the nectary, denying the flower the chance of pollination. The bee may probe between the petals or bite a hole through the flower.

Thank you to Tracy from 'Hey Harriet' who hosts this meme.

Today's Flowers #115 - Fly Agaric

This photograph shows several stages, from immature on the left to mature and old in the centre.

Toadstools are often depicted in children’s story books. They are associated with fairies and elves, gnomes and pixies and among the most attractive are the white-spotted bright red fungi known as Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Here is a developing fungus alongside one that has been partially eaten. I don't know what eats them - something with a strong stomach, obviously, or one specially adapted!

Fly Agaric is found under birch trees or in poor soil around pine trees. It begins its life above ground as a small rocket-shaped fungus but as it develops the cap expands and becomes flatter, measuring as much as six or seven inches. It can grow to a height of ten inches though I’ve yet to see one taller than about seven inches.

As they age the colour changes from vibrant red to orange or yellow. This mature fungus is changing colour.

Amanita muscaria is poisonous, though seldom fatal. It can cause violent intoxication – quite what that means, I’m not sure. Does it mean that the affected person becomes belligerent or just falling down, head-bangingly drunk? Or perhaps it means that the intoxication takes effect immediately with no intermediate tipsiness! Seriously, though, it is not a magic mushroom and should never be ingested. Admire its undoubted beauty but do not consume.

This large specimen has been partially consumed - or destroyed - showing the white gills.

Its common name of Fly Agaric refers to the fact that the caps used to be infused in milk as a way of killing flies. Now I have a vision of a line of flies sitting at a bar being invited to have ‘just one more for the road’ or of a reluctant fly being persuaded to ‘try this new drink’. Perhaps it was placed in a bowl looking alluringly like a flies’ Jacuzzi.

We saw many of these fungi during September and the early part of October but they have mainly disappeared now, although we saw a handful of fresh ones in Swinley Forest today.


Strictly speaking, these are not flowers, but they grow wild and they are beautiful!

To see more flowers, thanks to the Today's Flowers team who work so hard to organise this meme, please click here.

Today's Flowers #113 Seeds and berries

Sunflower head with one remaining petal!

Close-up of developing seeds

Pyracantha berries - these will be eagerly consumed by blackbirds later on

Ripening holly berries on Ilex 'Golden King'

Blackbirds and thrushes will enjoy these. Sometimes a pair of Mistle thrushes will appropriate the tree and keep all-comers at bay!

Thanks go to the Today's Flowers team who organise and host this colourful weekly meme. Click here to see more flowers from around the globe.

Today's Flowers #110 Sunflowers

We didn't plant any sunflowers this year but some came up anyway, courtesy of the birds! In fact, quite a number of flowers are 'planted' by our feathered friends - a little thank you, maybe? (Too fanciful, I know!)

Thank you to the TF team who host this weekly meme. Click here to see more beautiful blooms.

Today's Flowers #107 Japanese anemone

Thanks go the the Today's Flowers team who host this lovely meme. To see more flowers please click here.

The Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis), also known as Japanese Windflower or Japanese Thimbleflower, belongs in the family Ranunculaceae. It is actually native to Hupeh province in eastern China but has been naturalised in Japan for hundreds of years. It grows to a height of 3' and was introduced into Europe in 1844 by Robert Fortune. He had discovered it growing in a Shanghai cemetery, spreading between the tombstones, one of several beautiful plants used to commemorate the dead. 

Japanese anemones may appear delicate but, once established, are strong and reliable plants, appearing year after year to flower profusely from early August until the first frosts. We planted two plants a few years ago and now have quite a clump of them. They are pleasing at all stages, from the first emergence of green leaves in spring, through the pretty buds to the unfurling of the flowers. 

Today's Flowers #102 Hemerocallis and Lily

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Hemerocallis 'Frans Hals' with veronica behind.

 Hemerocallis are often known as daylilies although they are not lilies at all. The name daylily comes from the Greek words 'hemera' (day) and 'kalos' (beautiful). Hemerocallis are native to Asia. The flowers open at sunrise and wither at sunset and are often replaced by another bloom on the same stem the following day.They are not generally scented.

This shot clearly shows the buds that are yet to ripen and bloom.

Hemerocallis grow from fleshy roots and form clumps. They are perennial.

This is a true lily, also perennial, and in this photograph hosting a bright fly, possibly a hoverfly. Enlarge for detail if you can bear it!