Lemonlight

grow

July is such a wonderful month in the garden - a time to sit back at watch it all flourish - except you don't get much of a chance because it all needs picking and eating (or plonking into jars).

I'm having a hard job keeping up with the sweet peas, this is about my tenth pickle-jar packed full of highly scented blooms and there's no sign of this single, little, magical wigwam stopping production any time soon!

Canon 5D MKII - 85mm f/1.8 lens

Canon 5D MKII - 85mm f/1.8 lens

The tomatoes are preparing to go equally crazy - and I can't wait! We've got all manner of varieties to chomp on any day now. Waiting. Waiting...

Canon 5D MKII - 85mm f/1.8 lens

As well as the aubergines, courgettes, peppers, chillies, blueberries, rhubarb and broccoli there are the two ancient apple trees to look forward to - one of which is getting impatient and plopping little reminders inches from my head whenever I walk underneath it, just to keep me on my toes.

Canon 5D MKII - 85mm f/1.8 lens

posy

Presenting my first and favoutite posy of the year! Sweet peas, chives, a geranium and rocket (if you grow rocket to eat, let some of it bolt because the flowers are just beautiful and smell great). Mainly though, this is about the sweet peas - about the heady, knock-your-socks-off scent and casual beauty. Best of all I grew all these myself and they are all fresh from the garden! Am tempted to grow a whole garden full of flowers just for picking.

The elegant vase you see pictured is in fact an old gherkin jar.

+++UPDATE+++

Wear a sweet pea flower in your hair to get that awesome smell following you round all day and to sport that Hawaiian hulu-girl look.

Bank Holiday

Here are those peonies again - I had to photograph them because:

a) the're really pretty

b) they are an unusual 'single' variety rather than the regular stuffed type, full of an impossible number of petals

c) look at how huge they are

d) I've not been out of the house today and I had an itchy shutter finger

See the "fire" in the grate - that's on because I was freezing cold today. Luckily the illusion of fire was enough to warm my cockles (they're actually fairy lights).

And today is also the first day of 'Roid Week. So... guess what...

I had to take them out into the sunshine for this - that SX-70 really needs lots and lots of light to be happy.

I then spun 180 degrees and took this one too - I like how it look likes night time...

Tomorrow I plan to actually leave the house and I promise plenty more Polaroids (no peonies). x

peonies

Today I bought Peonies! I love how they go from tightly packed golf balls to girly pink blousiness. They are my number one favourite flower, bar none - not least because it means summer is just around the corner (peeking its nose round to see what's what).

(Next to them on the matlepiece you can see a sneek peek of something I am working on at the moment for my PaperPaper shop).

five senses friday

I love abbytrysagain's blog (photography heroine) and decided to join in with her five senses friday...

Smelling:
Lillies. Wow, when you come home in the evening the scent bowls you over with it's enthusiastic muskiness.

Seeing:
Everything in a new light now that I have my new flash gun (all these photos were taken at night time).

Tasting:
Blood oranges. They're lovely tasting but they creep me out a bit.

Hearing:
I love the new Gorillaz album Plastic Beach.

Feeling:
A whole range of emotions when I'm reading good poetry.

home

It turns out I haven't just been a big baby about feeling poorly - I actually have a bad case of tonsilitis. It sounds like one of those kiddie diseases that aren't a big deal, but it's very painful and very annoying. Being ill is annoying.

Anyhoo - there are many millions of people worse off than me so I am endeavouring to make the most of being at home on a 'school day' - although if I was forced to watch Murder She Wrote every day then I might have tonsider taking up murder myself! 

So, my world today consisted of just of sitting quietly at home, luckily it's a nice place to be.

The French Mistress

This post (bad art gone good) by the fabulous sfgirlbybay has inspired me to purchase this original oil-painting...

It was a 'snip' - much more of a bargain than any pre-printed, mass produced work that you might pick up in IKEA or anywhere off the high street. It's titled The French Mistress - I'll never know the story behind it but I will have fun making one up!

Can't wait till it arrives and to choose a spot for my new masterpiece.

alan + marvin

I have introduced you to Alan the sea urchin before, but he complained that I'd caught him unprepared and not used his 'good side' so to stop his moaning I set up a full-on photoshoot to show him in all his glory. Alan won't like this one bit but I also photographed is his big brother, Marvin, who is a lot less touble...

They're both equally handsome, I'm sure you'll agree, and they're good at sitting very still for long exposures :)

Sill

I think this might be my favourite spot in the house; the windowsill in the dining room. The light is just perfect, always slanting in sideways giving a gentle glow rather than a fierce glare. The view, admittedly is a little on the 'bricky' side, but they're very nice, old and interesting bricks.

And here's a bit more matryoshka-love, I think this might be their new home, they seem to approve...

photos taken with my polaroid sx-70

flower power

Here's another bunch of the cheapy flowers I bought from the supermarket - I love them and they stink up the house real good. Don't come over if you have hayfever though, as I over indulged and every vase and jug I have is filled with blooms - I feel like a filmstar! A great way to celebrate British Summertime which officially started today - it didn't get dark until 8pm. Fab! (Why couldn't we have moved the clocks forward weeks ago)?