Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life. Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent. Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.
I usually run with a theme. This has been a busy week and our house guest is still with us - which my excuse for being lazy. Most of today's photos are from our garden (again). I will try and do better next week.
Starting with something I saw on a trip into town.
How I wish it was that easy.
And the next photo was from the next stage of that trip.
And back to the garden.
Yet another cymbidium Orchid. I am pleased to see it. The vandals snipped off the flower spike before it opened last year.
A 'sumo' lilium emerging. It is going to be huge.
The first of the Bearded Iris.
A dandelion and a Dutch Iris flowering side by side. Oops. This gardener's work is never done. Or even nearly done.
Despite planting it I cannot remember what this delicate little charmer is, and its tag seems to have gone missing. Hopefully I will remember its name soon.
I hope your week is filled with colour. Our house guest leaves late today, and I have an optometrist visit and some tests tomorrow but hope to return to normalacy after that.
I have no other adjective. Fabulous. How exciting and calming it is to look at all that beauty!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Caterina: Thank you - and how nice to see that the blood, sweat and tears which go into it (literally) was not wasted.
DeleteI can almost smell the iris from the photos. It is so lovely to see spring while we are in the process of putting summer to bed. Right now we are still green, but the leaves will start turning soon and then we will have more color. Meanwhile I will enjoy yours!
ReplyDeleteAnne in the kitchen: Quite a lot of the garden is scented, which I enjoy. Some with more sensitive noses suffer. I am looking forward to enjoying autumnal wonder from your side of the world (hooray for the internet which lets us enjoy both).
DeleteNormalcy is wonderful! Bless your eye and heart!
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Some days my grasp on normalacy is tenuous (at best).
DeleteLovely flowers and I agree about the tear offs...I too, wish it were that easy.
ReplyDeleteTerri: Thank you. Not to be (very) greedy, but I could do with quite a number of those tear offs.
DeleteI was going to rip the "Quiet" off the "Take What You Need". But found you already took it. :(
ReplyDeleteYour beautiful photos have a calm and quiet feeling. I will enjoy that.
nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing: Thank you. I go out in the garden for heart balm, for peace, for exercise. And sometime the ripping and tearing of weeding and pruning is amazingly therapeutic.
DeleteI have a friend who likes to dirty up her hands too. Writing is more than enough therapeutism for me.
DeleteI can rip and tear into something (somebody) if feel the need. Rarely or never do.
nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing: I very rarely rip into people. I am mostly a peaceful person, but sometimes NEED the physicallity of destruction. It is equally true that sometimes work in the garden is dirty and tiring.
DeleteI love purple and blue flowers and those are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteMary Kirkland: You would find lots of those colours here - and I am glad you enjoy them.
DeleteWow, so beautiful! Now I can't see any flowers, cos it is real Autumn in here, so your photos are a true joy to me☺
ReplyDeletenatalie30041989: Thank you. I am really, really enjoying the autumnal glory from your side of the world.
DeleteYes, we all want peace, but, not at the present, ask BJ, DT, SM, on on on.
ReplyDeleteThose flowers are the pretty and beautiful.
Bob Bushell: Sadly all of those people (strangers to the truth) would say that they want peace too. And thank you. Our garden is perhaps at its best in Spring.
DeleteYou have such a beautiful garden! I'm always in envy of it. I'm hoping that my gardens are as beautiful as yours next spring. But I plan on leaving the dandelions for the bees, and my wishes. I found some cute little bottles to make wish necklaces, and will put one or two of the puffels into each to give as gifts next year.
ReplyDeleteCindi Summerlin: Thank you. There are more than enough dandelions (and other plants) for the bees. I do try and keep them out of the garden beds, but they thrive in the lawn.
DeleteI have a dandelion clock set in perspex which is one of my treasures.
Well! That was a lovely wander around the garden. I adore that big iris. And the Banskia roses. And am wondering about that gi-normous wisteria around the corner.Actually, every time a wisteria shoot re-appears in the back lawn I wonder...
ReplyDeletedinahmow: I have been wondering about that wisteria too. When/if things calm down next week I may have to go and check it out.
DeleteDear EC
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos of stunning spring flowers that lift the spirits so much. I think your mystery plant is an epimedium (common name bishop's hat due to the shape of the leaves). I do like the Take what you need - we all need all of those things at times.
Have a lovely week enjoying that colour in your garden.
Best wishes
Ellie
Ellie Foster: Thank you. Not, I think, an epimedium. Its leaves look a little like holly. I really like Take What You Need too. And often need rather a lot of things from that list.
DeleteI hope your week is delightful.
Fantastic photographs you've shared here, and it is so nice to see lovely Spring colours. The seasons give so much pleasure.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the remainder of the weekend, and I hope the new week will be a good one for you.
All the best Jan
Lowcarb team member ~Jan: Thank you so much. I hope you and Eddie have a wonderful week.
DeleteI too could almost smell the iris. What is it about those gorgeous purple blooms that fill me with such happiness? Love the flowers so much. My day is brighter because of them. And you. :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: This iris is one of the first to open. I am waiting for a beautiful burgundy one (if the cockies left me any) and for some sunshine yellow ones too. I am glad to spread beauty and brightness. Very glad.
DeleteI think we, worldwide, need to take every one of those on the list above...
ReplyDeleteYour garden is generous in sharing its beauty....as are you sharing its beauty with us.
I hope you have a good week ahead, EC...and a restful one. I also hope Jazz is doing well, and wasn't too put out by having to put up with a house guest!! Cuddles to The Phantom...tell him he can come out of hiding later today! :)
Lee: I don't want everything from that list, but rather a lot of them would be welcome.
DeleteThank you for your hopes for the coming week. It will still be busy (sigh) but not manic. Jazz has coped surprisingly well with the visitor but will be very happy to see her leave.
I hope you and the furry tyrants have a lovely week.
Such gorgeous bounty! I think that the dandelion was there just for you to make a wish on. x
ReplyDeleteBea: I really like it when earlier hard work is rewarded, long after the pain has gone. Believe me there are enough dandelions in the yard for us all to make a wish.
DeleteSo beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSandi: Thank you. I try. And sometimes succeed.
DeleteYour garden is delightful, just the kind I would have if I gardened 😂
ReplyDeletekylie: Thank you. It is often overgrown and rambling - like me.
DeleteSuch beautiful flowers in your garden and I like the way flowers spill over your paths. Sumo Lilium. I don't think I know that. Do show us later. The tear off strips are better to see than exploitive job offers or weight loss versions.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: I looked for the tear off strips when I was back in that part of town later, but they had disappeared. Sad.
DeleteThe sumo lilium is my name for it because it is just so big. We grew one last year and the secateurs struggled to cut flowers to bring inside. This year there appear to be several more. There will certainly be photos in the fullness of time.
So it isn't actually called a sumo lilium? I won't bother going to google then.
DeleteRiver: There are sumo liliums, but I have no idea whether this is one or not. I called it a sumo lilium because of its size. Sadly, because of the strong scent you will only be able to enjoy them on screen.
DeleteYou couldn't give us any pics better than those of your garden.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Sandra Cox: What a lovely thing to say. Thank you. Hugs received and reciprocated.
DeleteGood luck with the optometrist and tests! Your orchid photograph brought back a memory of one beautiful warm night in Africa. We were taken around a friend's garden, he had a torch, and we were shown the most beautiful orchids, as it were, growing amongst the tree branches, which I should imagine he had grafted onto the wood. Amazing.
ReplyDeletelostinimaginaryworlds: Thank you. The visit includes my usual eye test and a follow up visit about the torn retinal gel. I am still getting flashing lights in my right eye, so I assume it hasn't healed.
DeleteYesterday at the Botanic Gardens there were orchids clustered around the base of a lot of trees. An incredible sight. I would love to see them 'in' the trees too.
Blessings.
ReplyDeleteR's Rue: Thank you.
DeleteA garden is balm for the soul, and is truly worth the hard work, the grubby fingernails, the sore back... and your garden is more beautiful than most! I can't wait to see a photo of the sumo lilium when it opens.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I would need to take quite a few of those tags! Have a good week.
Alexia: You are so right about the garden being balm, despite the blood, sweat and tears which feed it. Some plant names repeatedly escape me to my shame and frustration.
DeleteThe will certainly be photos of the giant lilies when they come into bloom.
Your gardens are simply beautiful. I'm sure it's continuous show of beauty from spring to winter. Beautiful fragrant flowers are a balm to the soul.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Her, everything is looking dismal except a few hardy flowers that the frost hasn't killed yet. The beautiful leaves have been falling steadily with the rain and wind storm this week.
Hugs, Julia
Julia: This garden is at its best in spring. Our summers are so hot, and subject to water restrictions that the plants (and I) cook.
DeleteI hope your winter treats you gently and kindly.
Looks like, despite the depredations of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, your garden did well. I promise to talk to them and ask them to behave in the future!
ReplyDeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: Some of the garden did well. Some parts show the depreciations clearly. If the cockatoos will listen to you I will be very grateful.
DeleteI would love to sit among your flowers! Best of luck with the eye appointment. Lukas is gone and it feels strange without him.
ReplyDeletee: I would love to have you sitting in the garden. I hope you and Lukas can be back at home very, very quickly. Hugs.
DeleteI adore your garden! I also know I'm too lazy to achieve the levels you have so I'll admire yours instead. Thank you for always sharing so much with those of us who can kill a cactus. ;)
ReplyDeleteGive my love to Jazz.
River Fairchild: I am also lazy, but more stubborn than stains. I like to be surrounded by gardens and there is only one way to achieve that.
DeleteJazz thanks you, from the deepest, darkest corner of the wardrobe.
Orchids are always exotic, but the one in the fourth photo is positively out of this world exotic! Love your rainbow - we had a beaut yesterday and if I can find the time this week I will post it. Next weekend is our craft sale and the post may not happen until after that.
ReplyDeleteSuch beauty in your garden, EC. I love the variety of colours and shapes. I even love the dandelion. It will be six long months before we see those again here. I'm beginning to mind our long winters. I am wearing sweaters already, and - horrors - turning up the heat, too.
jenny_o: I was angry and sad when the vandals birds neatly nipped off that orchid's flower spike last year. It is a beauty, and I hope they have got out of the habit.
DeleteI do hope your winter is gentler than usual. Have fun at the craft fair.
Your flower gardens are so beautiful! I wish I could look.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Noragon: I wish you could too.
DeleteWow. You have an amazing garden!
ReplyDeletemessymimi: Thank you. Like the curate's egg it is good in parts.
DeleteWe get whole headlands covered in those irises here. I absolutely adore them, their startling blue and how they nod in the wind. Hardy wee things.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
Wisewebwoman: I would love to see a headland dancing with these iris. We have some white ones too, and a few yellow ones.
DeleteIs that last one a spider lily? I'm going to google in a minute and find out what a Sumo lily looks like. I love your fringed and striped tulips. My favourite here today is the yellow banksia rose. I used to have a white one in a corner of a yard and was planning a yellow one for the opposite corner, with hopes they would eventually meet in the middle of the back fence. Then we moved....
ReplyDeleteRiver: Not a spider lily either - though I would love one. We love the tulips too. Sorry I misled you about the sumo lily. I don't know whether it is or not, but gave it that name because it is going to be huge. It will also be scented which I know gives you grief.
DeleteI like the banksia roses too. The white one is over the pergola, and the yellow on the fence between us and a neigbour (it climbs up our trees and hers too).
Nothing beats a rainbow and a bunch of beautiful flowers. I'm not sure how you cope having a house guest, I find any kind of entertaining exhausting.
ReplyDeleteLL Cool Joe: I am with you. I find the preparation, the presence of guests and the clean-up tiring (and overwhelming). Rainbows and flowers are an antidote.
DeleteDelightful flowers---
ReplyDeleteBill: Thank you.
DeleteOur gardens do take up lots of time but they are a delight too.
ReplyDeleteMerle............
Merlesworld: A lot of time, a heap of work, and yes, they are a delight (at least occasionally).
DeleteImage 1... Today I need all of them. Maybe Hope will cover the rest of them too though.
ReplyDeleteAndrew R. Scott: I don't need all of them, but hope to never lose hope (or even drop it temporarily). I do hope that it sustains you today.
DeleteI love people who have a passion for something. We need more passion in life!
ReplyDeleteBlue Grumpster: I am an obsessionista. Over so many things.
DeleteWe need all of those little tags, possibly not all at the same time though.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers in your garden are delightful. Wonderful colours, shapes and textures. Naughty dandelions too.
Shammickite: I do hope that we don't need all of those things at once (and that we can find the ones we do). The dandelion took advantage of my laziness (and I can't blame it).
DeleteLe tue fotografie sono bellissime, io come fotografo sono una pena.
ReplyDeleteBuona serata.
Giancarlo: Many thanks. Believe me, I delete a LOT of photos. It is early morning here - I do hope your evening and the days to come is/are lovely.
DeleteLove your photos. The rainbow is beautiful but your garden is awesome. Wish I could grow flowers like that. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteMason Canyon: Thank you. It occurred to me while reading your comment that my garden is perhaps my attempt to build rainbows on the ground.
DeleteWhat a beautiful post. That rainbow pic is remarkable.
ReplyDeleteRick Watson: Thank you. I do delight in rainbows - whereever I find them.
DeleteBeautiful photos. It's nice to socialize with guests in our home. My daughter will be spending 2 weeks with us in January. Looking forward to that.
ReplyDeletegigihawaii: Thank you. I hope (and am confident) that you enjoy your daughter's visit.
DeleteYour glorious blooms are exceptional. Ahhh...spring!
ReplyDeleteMarie Smith: Thank you. I would be awed (and camera happy) to see your seasons, though I do understand your yearning.
DeleteWonderful and exotic flowers. Well not the dandelions, but they are flowers too. I miss a kangaroo or two ;)
ReplyDeleteUglemor: Thank you. While we were out and about with the visitor we did see kangaroos - and some of them will certainly feaure in future posts.
DeleteLove the rainbow picture and never tire of seeing your garden.
ReplyDeleteUnknown: Welcome and thank you. Do you have a blog where I can find you?
DeleteLove, love, love those flowers! I miss the Denver Botanic Gardens so much. Hopefully after we've got the mobile home on the market, we can start going again.
ReplyDeleteAlso, hopefully I get the link right this week!
Tusk!
The Real Cie: First and foremost, the link worked today. Thank you for joining us. I do like Botanic Gardens and revisited ours last week. Lots of the garden was closed (excessive wind) but what we did see was great.
DeleteReally lovely colorful flowers
ReplyDeleteRasmaSandra: Thank you.
DeleteWhat makes a lilium "sumo"?
ReplyDeleteI hope your house guest is friendly!
John Wiswell: When I named it in my post it was size that made it Sumo. When I investigated further there ARE sumo liliums and they are large with a very strong fragrance.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteyour pics are beautiful.We lived in Adelaide and Melbourne for some time, and also in Kambalda, south of Kalgoorlie, and I have to say there are some absolutely beautiful plants and creatures there.
Brenda: Welcome and thank you. I really like Adelaide and spent some time there shortly after I finished school. I don't think I have ever been to Kambalda.
DeleteMy husband was working in a mine there, and I worked in the office of a construction company. I had to walk across water pipes above ground to avoid snakes and scorpions :-)
DeleteBrenda: I have difficulties with snakes. In one of our homes a red-bellied black snake lived underneath the front steps. For about nine months of the year I only used the back door.
DeleteI think I would be using the back door too. One day when I went up the steps to the cabin office of the construction company I thought I saw a large beetle with a red mark on it's head. I told one of the men inside the office, he went out to look, came back in and told me it was a red back spider eating the beetle. I would not have stepped over it had I known. I will finish this conversation now as my husband always tells people' if you see any two legged donkeys around town it's because Brenda talks the hind legs off them'
DeleteBrenda: The phrase my father used was 'you have a tongue which is hinged in the middle and wags at both ends'.
DeleteWe have plenty of redbacks. I leave them alone and they return the favour.
I absolutely agree, I believe a scorpion only attacks when it is cornered.
DeleteBrenda: The same is true of snakes too. And indeed of most species other than our own.
DeleteYour cats are beautiful, we have always had rescue cats. We took two cats and a motorbike to Australia with us at one time.
ReplyDeleteBrenda: We have had rescue cats for many years now. Sadly Jewel has crossed the rainbow bridge (taking a piece of me with her). I hope you enjoyed your time in Australia.
DeleteWe loved it there, as we have done everywhere we have been, and always went by sea if we could so that we could visit many ports. My brother and his family have lived in Adelaide for many years.
DeleteBrenda: My eldest brother lives in Adelaid now too, after spending years in the US. His children still remain there.
DeleteI get appallingly seasick but would still prefer to travel that way than to fly.
Aww.. I have to say that I have never been sea sick, although I have seen the very sad times of those who do. At one time we were in forty foot waves in the Atlantic ocean after coming through the Bermuda Triangle from Miami. It was a four day storm and I have to say that I loved it. I used the up and down motions to go up two or three stairs at once :-)
DeleteBrenda: On my trip to Antarctica we went through some impressive gales. On the worst day it took four injections to stop me vomiting. It was worth it though. I have been sick before, and will be again, but never in surroundings like that.
DeleteI don't doubt that your trip to Antarctica was well worth the sickness. Just to mention Sue, when we were on a Russian ship passengers were told that the best thing for sea sickness is dry toast and boiled rice, it worked for many on that ship.
DeleteBrenda: At its worst water was more than my tummy could cope with.
Deleteawwww, spring ... we finally had a fall-like day here yesterday
ReplyDeleteAuthor R. Mac Wheeler: I suspect your autumn is hotter and more humid than my wimpy self likes.
DeleteI would have to tear "Hope" from that strip...and send it to the world! Goodness knows, it needs a lot of that right now!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, stunning photos, Sue! I love them...and that rainbow is really magical!!😊😊
What a wonderful post!
Sending much love and hugs ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Ygraine: I was drawn to Hope too. We all need it.
DeleteHuge thanks, and hopes that you have kicked that chest cold to the curb and are feeling better.
My goodness, what a simply beautiful garden!
ReplyDeleteJ C: Thank you. It is a love it or hate it garden. Many people are less than impressed with the absence of order. I like it that way.
DeleteSuch lovely flowers! I like the thought that on one side of the world nature is in full bloom and on the other, it's closing down for the winter.
ReplyDeleteLady Fi: Thank you. I like it too, and have often been cooled by images from the Northern Hemisphere when our sweaty season is at its heights.
DeleteBuon martedi.
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo: Thank you - and to you. Our is winding down now (it is after 5pm).
Deletedear EC your pretty flowers brightened my day :)
ReplyDeleteyou have such an incredibly beautiful garden filled with illuminating colors ,thank you so much for sharing delightful images
i chose FAITH anyway :) i think rest follow it automatically :)
baili: Thank you. I am glad to hear that my flowers can brighten other people's worlds as well as my own. Very glad.
Deletewhat a lovely garden you have, I have never seen a sumo lily, hope you post a photo when it blooms
ReplyDeleteLinda Starr: Thank you. There will certainly be photos. I am expecting it to look like any other lilium - but bigger and stronger.
DeleteBeauty.
ReplyDeleteR's Rue: Thank you.
DeleteHow I would love to stroll through your garden.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Sandra Cox: I wish you could - but you would be put to work. Quite a lot of work.
DeleteYour spring garden is lovely! Such a variation and an explosion of color. It must be so delightful to walk thourgh it every day and probably finding something new every time. It's such an exciting season.
ReplyDeleteCarola Bartz: You are exactly right. Every time I walk though I see something new - and I often do several garden walks each day.
DeleteI was in your rainbow world of flowers when I came to the final one of the series and thought 'ooh I wonder what that is'. And now I've scooted through the comments but can't find it named anywhere. So, it's a magical little mystery flower, exquisite.
ReplyDeleteKim: When I get off my lazy behind I will take a photo down to the nursery. Despite racking my brain it is still a beautiful mystery.
Delete"Sue, sweet Sue, ne'er contrary, how does your garden grow...?"
ReplyDeleteLooks to me like it grows beautifully! And don't worry about that dandelion. It reminds me of one of my favorite stories. A woman looks in despair all the dandelions growing in her yard, and says, "Look at all those weeds!" Her little girl doesn't see them quite the same. She dances around the yard, and says, "Look at all those wishes!"
It's all a matter of perspective. May all of your weeds be wildflowers.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Susan: Thank you. I hope you and Smarticus have an excellent weekend too.
DeleteI don't have many wishes left, so that dandelion will more than fill my needs.
Wow EC! Such beautiful images! Love them all! Thank you! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteMagic Love Crow: Thank you. I have been playing in the garden again this morning. Of course.
DeleteLovely photos, as always! I particularly liked the first one - it's a such nice thought.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the flowers with the array of large petals on the outside and the yellow sunburst in the centre? (Photos #6 and #12) I've never seen anything like them on this side of the ocean, and they're beautiful. :-)
Diane Henders: I really liked the thought of the first too - and have been looking for it since I saw it.
DeleteThose small and brightly coloured charmers are sparaxis - also known as Harlequin flowers. I planted a lot this year, and hope they multiply and come back next year.
Thank you! I'll see if I can buy them here in Canada! :-)
DeleteDiane Henders: I hope you can. Last year the vandal birds dug up the lot. This year some were saved.
Delete