Flowers, Flowers .....Everywhere

A lovely welcome to you! My little world of late has been filled with flowers, flowers and then some. There are flowers blooming everywhere in the garden; Tulips, Irises, Granny Bonnets, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Lilacs, Foxgloves and so on and so on.  There are more flowers blooming on my quilt as well, but more about that later on.

Spring down here is constantly delighting with the most amazing colours and fragrances. Truly, the garden never fails to delight and surprise. Each morning as I walk around the garden it seems new magic awaits me. At the moment the Irises are showing off. They truly are gorgeous.

It won't be long till the Lilacs and Wisteria take centre stage. Oodles of preserving jars are filled with blooms ready to be scattered throughout my home and what better way to take happy snaps of these pretties than to showcase them with the backdrop of the pond. =)

The Tulips at the Tulip Farm I visited a couple of weeks ago were a vision splendid. Hectare after hectare of rainbow-filled gorgeousness. I tippy toed (well at least in my imagination, I did) up and down, row after row of floralicious delight. Indeed they were a delight to all the senses. Can you imagine a meadow (or as us Aussies say a "paddock" over-spilling with these splendid flowers??  I can! I will have to speak to my gardener to see what those miraculous green fingers of his can do!! =))

Flowers of the fabric kind have been growing on my quilt as well. Hydrangeas, Daisies, Tulips, Poppies and sweet little blossoms kissing the water's edge have as if overnight, magically begun to blossom. Did I say "overnight"?? Believe you me it has been hours and hours and many more hours of me coaxing fabric into petals and then into flowers. There doesn't seem to be much progress does there?? I do believe this flower quilt is going to take season after season to blossom in all it's beauty! At least the bottom corner of my flower garden is finished! All the finer details of each flower and leaf will be embroidered  or quilted later on.

Each flower not thinking of competing with the flower next to it. Each flower blooms......and beautifully so. Though, in saying this me thinks the Iris might think it's the star!

Thank you so much for visiting my little place. Indeed each and everyone of you makes me want to dance on my tippy toes through my garden! Why, I think I just might! =) So, so sorry for a gazillion happy snaps of all the pretty flowers, but somehow I didn't think you would mind.....at least, I hope you don't.

I am off to enjoy a little slow Sunday stitching this sunny Sunday afternoon.......by the pond, me thinks. Have a most beautiful day♥

Until the next time......

Linking this week to Kathy at Slow Sunday Stitching, and
Soma's, Wandering Camera over at Whims and Fancies.

One is never closer to God than in a garden

Thank you everyone for visiting my spring-filled place a little while ago and taking the time to leave such lovely comments. You always leave a smile in my heart.

The Lilacs have finished their flush of beautiful flowers, ever so gently making way for the other blossoms.

Spring is ever so slowly (nothing ever happens quickly here in Tassie) continuing the procession of floralicious delight, with each flower profusely blooming for a little while, then when finished, handing over the blossom baton to the next beautiful display. Cultivar after cultivar each showcasing their unique exquisiteness. Although the calendar reveals to me it is now the Summer month of December, Tassie hasn't looked at it's calendar of late. But that's okay, I am revelling in gorgeous bloom after gorgeous bloom. The most wonderful thing about a slow and deliberate warming up of the seasons here in Tassie, is we experience long and extended flowering seasons.

The beautiful Dutch Irises never fail to delight. The extravagance of that deep, purpley-blue colour is always a vision splendid.

Such a pretty outlook from the family room.

Azaleas abound!

The Clematis joyfully scrambling  over a rusty arch.

Aquilegias abound in our garden. Each year they drop seed whereupon the next year there always seems to be an explosion of these pretty granny bonnets.

Aah......the pretty Foxgloves. In my mind's eye I catch glimpses of tiny fairies peeking from within the tubular, little bells. I am quite certain Miss Maisie sees them!

The Rhododendrums, the Ixias.......

But.........then there are the Roses!! Now is the time for the Roses. The fragrance in the garden as each rose petal gently unfurls from it's bud is enchanting. The delicious scents of each different rose is truly exhilarative.

I cannot tell you how divine the heady scents of these roses are. They are truly intoxicating!! Each rose jostling to reveal the most ambrosial, scent-infused bouquet.

I have spent much time strolling in the garden these last weeks....and always my feet have led me to the pond. I have sat in my swing seat for many moments, contemplating the fragility of life. You see, a very dear friend of my husband and mine passed away suddenly a couple of weeks ago. It was a shock. He kissed his wife goodbye and set off with his teenage son to chop wood, experiencing a massive heart attack, never to return home to his lovely family again.

Our friend was a funny, loyal, honourable, honest and most marvellous man. There are not enough pages in a book to pen my thoughts on the eminent character of our friend. He was a much loved and respected member of this small community; whom will be sadly missed. His dependability, his keen intellect and clever mind, his organisational skills, his naughty sense of humour.............the attributes flow on and on.........will be irreplaceable. He adored his family and they adored him. Indeed, he was their world, and they his.

The pond is a place of refuge, a place which refreshes my soul. It is a paradise where the fish glide in the murmuring water surrounded by the blessings of nature. It is a place where I talk to my Heavenly Father. It is a place where He gently bends down to hear the whispers of my heart and comforts me. It is a place to..........just be. So, so many times, there is no other place I would rather be.

It is a place where I remember our dear friend. It is a place where I think upon the happy, memorable and fun times both my husband and I spent in the company of him. It is a place where my friend is never more than a thought away. It is a place where I pray for my friend's wife, who is also a very dear and much loved friend, and his four children and grandson. Their walk upon this new path will be a difficult one, filled with much heartache, without their wonderful husband, dad and grandad walking alongside them; missing him, wishing he was there with them. It will be a path filled with many moments of sadness, but maybe in time, there will again be happy strolls as they keep their precious  memories of their loved one ever so close to their hearts.

Indeed I find I am never closer to God than sitting in my swing seat, overlooking the pond, where every flower, every creature has been painted with the majestic brushstrokes of my Heavenly Father's paintbrush. If one looks closely, the intricate detail of each flower......of each creature......is wondrously complex. Some say there is no God.......incredible!!

Thank you for strolling along my garden path with me and resting awhile by the pond. If you think of it, please spare a thought, and if you are so inclined, a prayer for our friend's family over these coming days, months............indeed, they will need many a caring thought and hug during this unimaginable time of loss in their lives.

Until the next time..........