Here in Northern Ireland we are having lovely sunny weather at the moment and I am taking every opportunity to fling the patio doors wide open and let the fresh air in. The dogs are spending lots of time lying outside in the sun and hubby and I are getting to all those jobs that get put off for a dry day, such as clearing the garage, tidying up the garden, painting the outdoor furniture etc. When it comes to the gardens I have lots of ideas in my head for planting I want to do and pots I want to decorate but finding time to do it all is a bit of a challenge. I have been stocking up on garden magazines and this weekend we are looking forward to having a family day out at the Garden Show Ireland. I want to take lots of pictures of beautiful plants and inspiring gardens, and of course we will have to sample all the delicious foods on offer at the Festival of Food and probably buy one or two new handmade items from some of the fabulous local crafters. I am always on the lookout for pretty handmade props to use in my photos and it is a good excuse to treat myself 🙂
I go through phases when I love the garden and want lots of colour and interest, and then after a while life gets too busy and I can’t be bothered with trying to keep on top of outdoors as well as indoors and I want low a maintenance garden. At the moment I am inspired by all the beautiful flowers I have been looking at on Instagram and I have been spending a fortune on fresh flowers for the house so now I want to grow my own, hence my current enthusiasm for the garden. My mum had green fingers and could grow anything. Her particular favourite was geraniums and she had them everywhere. Dad was into his roses and looked after them meticulously. Unfortunately, I have not inherited any of their skill and tend to kill any plant I touch so things could go either way with my garden plans. But looking on the bright side, if I can’t manage to grow anything I can still go to the florists and buy lots of lovely fresh blooms to brighten up the house.
My current favourite plants are Hydrangeas, white Roses and Peonies. As you may know, I am crocheting a blanket inspired by Hydrangeas from a pattern on Attic24 and I have found some gorgeous pinky lilac ones in the garden centre that I would really like to plant in the garden. They are so pretty and delicate looking and remind me of quaint country gardens. I have been taking photos of flowers a lot this past month and have been using flowers in many of my Instagram photos too. They seem to add joy and life to a photograph and I love looking on Instagram and seeing how other people have used flowers in their photos. Do you use flowers in your photos? Are you a growing guru or do you struggle like me? I would be glad of any advice you can give me on easy plants to start with and what would grow well in containers.
Here are a few of my favourite flower photos from the last few weeks.
Loving your floral shots. Good luck with planting and wishing you green fingers. My garden is pretty much mature shrubs these days as they are dog and slug proof, but I do admire the pretty blooms in my neighbours gardens at this time of year. Constant source of colour and structure inspiration for designing.
I have 3 dogs Nicky so have to be careful what I plant is safe for them too and also they just like to chew things so will have to go for raised beds I think.