Sunday 29 December 2013

2013:: A year in Flowers

Hello lovelies,
I hope you all had a good Christmas. Now we are speeding towards the end of 2013 I've been looking back through my photos taken this year and I'd like to share some of the images again with you . I'd like do some "review" posts, like I did at the end of last year. Shall we begin with flowers? 
This is a long, very picture heavy post, but how lovely it's been gazing at photos of beautiful flowers, remembering how much joy they have continued to bring me this year.
I love this quote

Yes, flowers are joyful things for sure and the world is a much nicer place with them in it.
Here are some of the diverse array of floral beauties that have brightened my year, month after month.........
January 
This cold dark month was brightened by a stunning bright red Amaryllis.........


 February
Was all about the joy of spotting the first bulbs, sunny yellow Crocuses .........


and sweet little snowdrops.........


 March
How I love Daffodils, a pound spent on some tightly closed buds was rewarded by the happiest of displays, on the mantle.........


The kitchen window sill ...........


And then my dresser...



They are perfect to cheer a month that looked like this............



 April
saw me delighted by the return of lovely wild flowers like these cow slips............


And colour in my own garden inspired my first monthly flower mosaic............


On one of my walks I was delighted to spy wild primroses, they are so delicate and perfectly pretty.......


and everything looked so fresh and full of promise in my own front garden......

 May
Ahhhhhhhh Tulips , these were particularly lovely this spring.........


And the blossom trees were stunning...........


my second mosaic featured my much loved Dicentra or " Bleeding Heart" flowers in the centre..........


and right at the end of the month my Oriental Poppies burst into flower..........


 June
in June the evening sun illuminated my foxgloves beautifully..........


and I was really in love with my garden, distracting my self from worrying times by digging in my spotty wellies............


it was lovely to capture a bumble bee to feature in the centre of this months mosaic.........


The fields were a beautiful mass of Buttercups, Daisies and Clover..........


and we enjoyed nosing around other peoples gardens at one of the many " Open Gardens" events that were held this month..........


they were all stunning but this Rose "Masquerade" really wowed me...........


As did the wild roses...........


And the local park looked lovely when we visited to enjoy an open air concert in perfect weather.........

 July
the great weather continued and the fields of poppies were simply stunning ............


I had plenty of Roses in my own garden to pick for indoors...........


and my Sweet Peas finally began to flower.......they kept flowering until November!............


The cheery annuals looked their best this month...........


 Sparkle, our Rabbit had the best summer , roaming around the garden......


and the Peacock butterflies had the best time feeding from my Buddlia..........



August
This month we were blessed with two sunny holidays. I loved this display in Porth, Cornwall..........


and later in the month these Gladioli were making our holiday cottage in Norfolk feel more homely.........


I still need to share this holiday.........I'm saving it for a dark winter week as I know it will cheer me up to remember these sunny days and share them with you. The flowers at  Mundesley were a delight to behold............


Here's my August mosaic, featuring more lovely butterflies...........




 September
The sunflowers in our garden reached an amazing twelve feet tall, and when high winds were forecast I enjoyed bringing a huge bunch inside to enjoy close up...........


Summer was fading and berries replaced many flowers.........


But the Dahlias were at their very best............


 October
A few sunflowers still bloomed and cheered up my kitchen windowsill...........


and I was surprised to still have enough flowers in my garden to make a final mosaic.........


November

The weather continued to be kind and a final small posy was picked from the garden...........


and I was truly amazed to be able to make another... final,final... mosaic...........


 December
Just a few Roses still bloomed , sparkling with melting frost in the sunshine.........


and old favourites , with their gorgeous scent , returned once more to cheer up the short days...........


There is such a gentle reassurance in the rhythm of the seasons and in 2013 we were blessed with an exceptional year for beautiful blooms.
I hope you have enjoyed this year of flowers.

Tomorrow I'd like to share some  my drawings once more, and include a few I haven't posted about before.
Jacquie x

24 comments:

  1. Truly beautiful pictures - just lovely !
    Kate
    justpootling.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. Such a riot of colour, one can never have too many flowers in my opinion!

    Helenxx

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  3. Ah, that was absolutely lovely! I could almost smell them, and how lovely to be reminded of the wonderful, warm summer we all had....bliss. :) Thanks for sharing, xxx

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  4. LOVE to see all of those flowers this time of year! Beautiful.

    Cindy Bee

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  5. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Jacquie. As much as I love this time of year, I do love to see the gardens in full bloom. Looking forward to seeing more of your reviews x

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  6. Thank you so much Jacquie for sharing your year of beautiful flowers. The riot of colours, a wonderful memory of a brilliant hot Summer.
    luv
    iarene
    xxxx

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  7. Thanks for posting such lovely posts all year, Jacquie. I come here and always leave happy and inspired.
    L.x.

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  8. wonderful, aren't we lucky! there were indeed some stunners! i'm looking forward to the snowdrops now. Have a happy and healthy new year! Heather x

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  9. Some beautiful photos Jacquie. I always start the year with such good intentions of making a flower mosaic ash month, and then seem to run out of steam around August - when theres not much going on in my garden! I've just been out for a lovely walk this afternoon - the calm before the storm - and have enjoyed taking the time notice the nature around us. Photos to follow later! Cup of tea time first. :) x

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  10. Thank you for these lovely photos, looking forward to your blog in 2014. Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year. x

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  11. Gorgeous post! I love looking back at all the flowers from the year, I can almost feel the mood and the weather that go with each of the months. It was nice to see Sparkle in there too, he's so adorable with his big eyes.

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  12. Hi Jacquie I was looking forward to your post today and you didn't disappoint. What stunning photographs and wonderful memories, loved reading your post Jacquie. Have a fabulous New Year, lots of love
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  13. What a beautiful array of flowers you have managed to capture this year Jacquie, stunning! Thank you for taking us back through these. xx

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  14. Aww gorgeous the perfect cheer up post for this stormy weather, we are forntunate enough to have a Masquerade Rose in the Summerhouse garden that is still flowering at the moment!! thanks for sharing you're fab year of flowers
    Clare xx

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  15. Beautiful post, thanks for sharing I have really enjoyed it.

    Lluisa xx

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  16. What a lovely floral trip through the year! Gorgeous photos x

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  17. Amazing to see them all in one post, thanks for sharing. I have tried (and failed) to make a mosaic of photographs, if you have time could you point me in the right direction to learn how to do this, thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Linda, thanks for your lovely comments. I use "Big Huge Labs" it's free and fairly easy to follow. Your completed mosaic ends up in "downloads" on your computer.
      Hope this helps.
      Jacquie x

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  18. It's lovely to see these beautiful flowers and remind us what is waiting for us as the bleak days of winter move slowly into spring and summer.
    Sarah x

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  19. I love your year of beautiful flowers! I couldn't live without these beauties! Although I do not have a garden, I am lucky enough to have a balcony which I absolutely fill with flowers for as many months as I can!

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