Ranunculus - NYC

I discovered these gorgeous ranunculus blooms in the Union Square Park Market in New York City. We came across this farmer's market by accident while walking  on a glorious spring day. It is a great market and these beautiful bouquets in salmon, coral and ballet pink were irresistible.

Little White Jug #2

With the peonies in bloom I thought it was time to bring you no. 2 in my Little White Jug series.  I don't think there is much that is more beautiful than a pink peony, except perhaps a white one. The pink are so pretty.

And even prettier up close!

Petrossian Bakery and Cafe, NYC

On our first day in New York City, we decided to visit Central Park and on our way there, we came across this beautiful doorway. But what caught my eye first was this gorgeous garland of pink blooms...

Above the front door, the building has intricate carving, including these two interesting creatures.

And continuing to look up, you see these sweet little fellows.

And if you continue to look up even more, the building just continues to go up and up.  And the carving continues along with it. Imagine, all that work. Perhaps a person looking out a tall building from across the street will appreciate the details. But no one at street level can see it properly. What a different attitude than today, where cost so often trumps beauty and workmanship.

Pretty in Pink

Such a shame that peonies only last a couple of weeks, in all their ruffly beauty.  Their delicate petals, so like the tissue-paper flowers we made as children, and yet so bold in their exuberance.

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Happy Valentine's Day!  I picked up this cloth heart-shaped box in a thrift shop a couple of months ago, thinking that I might be able to use it for Valentine's Day in some way.

 

I found a bunch of these lovely two-tone pink roses at the supermarket and cut the stems down so that they would just peek out the top. The box is covered in fabric so I placed a squat jam jar inside to hold the water. The box's lid has a lovely lace top. It makes a lovely Valentine's vignette.

Peony Perfection

Just like large tissue-paper flowers, peonies are oh, so beautiful but bloom for such a short time that I have to make sure that I take the time  to cut them and bring them inside to enjoy, before a rainfall or windy day takes them away. I love their blowsiness, but my goodness how the petals drop.

Tulip Beauty

These gorgeous tulips in my garden remind me of peonies.

Thought they bloom weeks before the peony buds open.

Beautiful wisps of pink and green that look as though they have been brushed on with the stroke of a paint brush.

Truely lovely.

Like Ballerinas, Light and Airy

Magnolias are so ethereal, so delicate, so pretty.

They seem to have a secret world inside them, so take the time to have a look inside...

and share their secrets.

 They are like ballerinas, dancing, airy and light.

Thrift Shop Magic

As sometimes happens when I am thrift shopping ... and I have written about this before (April 17, 2009), I manage to find all sorts of things that seem to share a common theme of one sort or another. Is it by chance? Well, I do have certain colour palettes that I am more drawn to, but there is no way that I can orchestrate what is going to be available at a thrift shop on any given visit...

On this particular trip, everything that made it into my shopping cart was pretty and pink.


A Van Gogh framed print.


A couple of balls of soft pink cotton/acrylique yarn made in Ireland.


A necklace of rosy ceramic beads.


A hand-embroidered table runner.


And an all cotton muslin sheet with a rose and polka dot motif.

I have ideas about how some of these will be used, so watch future posts when all will be revealed!

A Lovely Delight

Imagine coming home from work only to find a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers like this one at your door? Well, that is exactly what happened to me today. Dear L. next door, who is graduating from a floral design program, surprised me with this gorgeous "pompadour" style bouquet. Isn't it a vision? It's lovely delights such as this one, that come upon us unexpectedly, that make life so special.

Pleasant Surprise

I am very happy to find that I have another variety of clematis climbing up the fence in my back yard. The very fence that badly needs a coat of paint, I might add. There’s only so long you can claim that you are going for a shabby chic look... but it’s not the fence I wish to talk about. It’s the clematis, yet another plant that I hadn’t seen in bloom before. It’s another pink one, but a different shade from my others. It’s so hard to know what you’re getting when all you’ve got to go on is the small photograph printed on the label that comes with the plants and there you are trying to decide which to buy in order to take advantage of the end of season special price. You just take the leap, and hope of the best, but it’s always a bit of a mystery until you get to see it in real life. And happily, in this case at least, the colour is quite lovely, very soft and pretty.

On the Inside

There I go, looking inside things again... going right to the heart of the matter so to speak. Seeing what is going on right in front of my nose without me being aware of it. These fox gloves are perhaps a timely reminder for me to do the same thing... to look inside myself now and then to see what is going on there. It’s good to stop and take stock from time to time. How are things going? Have there been any shifts I’m not conscious of? Where am I heading? Is it in the direction I want? All good questions.

Luminescence

The first of this year’s David Austen roses are beginning to bloom in my garden. I can’t tell you how much enjoyment they bring me. I never get over how exquisitely beautiful they are. These photos have captured a certain translucence that reminds me just how transitory their beauty is. And at the same time they have a luminosity about them. No wonder they are my favourite roses in my garden!

Plain but Pretty

Some times the simplest things are the nicest and give us the greatest of pleasures. Like these two pale pink tulips with the lovely paler pink stripes inside their petals. They were the only two like them in the garden. The squirrels must have got the others. So I cut them and plopped them in this unpretentious and dear little jug. I love the contrast of the pretty pink with the equally pretty aqua.

Magnolias

Magnolias, such delicate beauty. I took a series of photos of the inside of one of the blooms from the tree in our front yard. I'd never thought of photographing the insides before. Fragile, ethereal , and sculptural. I couldn't be more pleased with the results.

Today's Sentiment

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Rose Heart

This huge hanging heart with its large pink roses, in a florist's window, took me by surprise as I was passing by with a friend today. It must have been about three feet wide. I had to stop and take a photograph to share with you.

In the Pink

It's been raining on an off for several days now. And the temperature has taken a decided nose dive. Not something to rejoice in. But without the rain I wouldn't have seen the droplets of water on these beautiful pink hydrangeas. Aren't they lovely?