If there is one day of the year I dread more than any other, this is it. The last day of British Summer Time ~ the day of the night when we put the clocks back. From tomorrow it becomes dark by teatime and although we benefit from lighter mornings for a while we soon seem to lose those as well as the days get rapidly shorter. For most of my adult life I have hated what we always called “the long, dark nights”.
When we left France last weekend the sun was shining and it was 23°C. Back in Derbyshire this week we have had rain, rain and more rain, interspersed with sunny intervals. During one of those sunny intervals I picked some of the last roses and a few other flowers from the garden.
The garden has had its best year for a long time. Summer was late to get going but turned out to be one of the best for a few years and I was able to give it more attention, keeping the weeds down, dead-heading and trimming little and often. The garden responded to this TLC and rewarded us with a lovely show of flowers, especially the roses. They are still blooming defiantly and somehow surviving the wind and rain.
When we planted all these roses we chose them not only for their colour ~ I especially love the purple ones ~ but also because they are all fragrant ones. They smell fabulous and there’s nothing quite like the scent of an old-fashioned rose. Having “time to smell the roses” has been a real joy for me this year.
Just having a few flowers brightening up the hall will cheer me up during the first of the long, dark nights.
Bon weekend !! And don’t forget to put the clocks back !!
What a lovely informal posy!
ReplyDeleteThose flowers are gorgeous and your arrangement is a work of art. So glad you at least had moments of sun. It's a gray day here, but they're not so common. To think I heard complaints this morning that temps were "only" going to be 21 or 22!
ReplyDeleteThe nights are closing in, and turning the clocks back will just enhance the feeling. Oh well, such is life. We have spring to look forward to, right? :)
ReplyDeleteThe purple roses are gorgeous and the other flowers look pretty as well. I envy you your gardening climate. We and you both have to deal with very short winter days, which I hate too, but at least you get a milder winter in England.
ReplyDeleteAre those dark purple roses really well scented?
ReplyDeleteI'd love some here if they are... what a colour!!!
I agree with Susan... a lovely informal posy... and the orange tail-end flowerheads of Lucifer's smaller female relative, as well as the Bonariensis and Lavender spikes set it off perfectly.
You really have an eye for colour combinations... seen that in your jewellery!
Photo tip of the day...
move the vase six inches to the left and lose the door frame in your picture!
The neutral tones of the wood and the wall set those flowers off perfectly...
the door frame jars!
I also like the pattern created by the stems in the glass...
would make an interesting close-up in its own right.
Tim, I wish I could remember what the rose is called.
DeleteIt might be too late but I will take some cuttings and see if I can grow one for you,
Thank you... thank you verry much... I really hope you succeed!!
DeleteAt the moment it is wellying it down... but not as bad as yesterday... see my comment on Gaynor's post this morning...
Haven't done our clocks yet as am saving the hour for when I can use it to its best advantage! Lovely photo. Vx
ReplyDeleteNow, Vera, that's a really good idea......
DeleteI love your flowers, Jean, which remind me of one of those wonderful Dutch still-life paintings. I'm so glad to hear that all your roses are scented ones. The unscented varieties don't seem like real roses, however beautiful the colour or shape.
ReplyDeleteAs for the hour going back, I'm afraid I'm one of those annoying people who enjoys all the seasons. Long dark nights just give me more excuse to read. :-)