Scented pleasures

Although this summer's sweet pea have been scanty flowerers, they've produced more than enough to have a permanent presence in the home.

I've loved creating little miniature arrangements: one or two blossoms in a teeny shot glass, perched on my bathroom sink, close enough to wonder at the beauty of their colouring.

And their scent is transformative!

Anyhoo, it is a glorious sunshiney day in Dublin. Heading out to walk by the seashore :-)

Banquet

Walking home the last few days, I've been struck by how green the city's looking. Perhaps it's as a contrast to all the grey (and before that, white), but that piercing green of fresh shoots and leaves is brightening up the whole town, animating all kinds of spaces between the architecture of the capital.

Along I strolled home today, my gaze going from lush vibrant green to lush vibrant green, and then turned the corner to see a little park close to home, decked out as a banquet of blossoms. Flamboyant and vital and breathtaking.

Anyhoo, I need to put that smorgasbord of colour out of my mind! My remaining time this afternoon shall be spent painting something that might suggest a sapphire sky. Then it's off to see how Family Day planning is progressing (free to all, 15 May in Iveagh Gardens - save the date!).

And after Family Day catch-up, it's the first meeting of our new Dublin writers' group. Yippee yippee yippee!

Iris

In Springtime, planting teeny bulbs and seeds is one of my favourite things to do; you pat everything down amongst dark earth - bursting with potential energy - and wait as things grow beyond your sight. Today I was at home pretty much throughout the day, and happily witnessed two impossibly blue irises unfurl into flower.

Ah,  the little iris, which takes its name from the Greek Goddess of the rainbow (and is sometimes translated as 'eye of heaven'). In floral-speak, it symbolizes eloquence. In medieval times it had associations with kingship, with its three petals representing faith, wisdom and valour, and obviously the fleur-de-lys is based on its purdy unfurling of petals.

 They are such strangely beautiful things :-)

Represent eloquence, eh? Here's hoping for some productive writing time this weekend!

News from the cottage

This winter's amaryllis blooms a little late, but its beautiful soft hues are worth the wait.

Dubh continues in her habitual bringing-in of things that she has found outside. Sometimes pretty things, like a shell or a pebble. Sometimes she's on Tidy Towns duty, carrying in plastic wrappers, which she neatly drops into my coffee mug. Grrrrr...

And sometimes, it's kinda random; her own little raggedy art.

The Glebe

For visitors, for locals, The Glebe has to be the most treaty spot for a lazy breakfast.

The place would need a whole series of posts to do justice to the gardens (twenty years a'growing), the vitality of the planting, the wholesomeness of the setting, the myriad blooms overflowing with apparent effortlessness.

Of course, our primary purpose was (utterly scrumptious) food. There's an easy feel to the courtyard cafe: sit out and enjoy a sunshiney breakfast, while various tame and wild creatures wander through (a robin frequented our table to check out any crumbs - we were like, soooooo Francis of Assisi).

And due to our intent focus on food, cameras were not taken out until we were well sated, strolling through the gardens...



A regular haunt for the summer, I suspect :-)

May colours

Ah, the colours of blossoms at this time of year: the creamy-yellow of wild primrose, the myriad blue-purple variations of long-established bluebells...

For me, it's the whites that point forward to the summertime (an association with lillies, I guess): anemone blanda, spring jasmine, and dicentra alba, with its graceful arch of white hearts. And lily of the valley, scented, each flower perfectly rounded, delicately unfurled; symbolising sweetness and a return to happiness. Scrumptious.


This lily of the valley is from one of the gardens in The Cloisters museum; their blog over here is a lovely blend of gardening and medieval art & culture. A delight to dip into every once in a while, and glimpse a medieval haven on the northern tip of Manhattan.