Floral Friday

Red roses always remind me of our engagement holiday from last year - we visited National Trust's Nunnington Hall on the way home and the garden was on fire with the scarlet blooms. We're still saving rose petal from our own flowers to dry and use as confetti for our wedding next year; I've just been leaving them to dry on the table in this intense heat, but do any of you have any recommendations for the best way to dry them?

I always go for the highly scented variety when selecting roses to plant - I find that simply walking past them (particularly late evening after a hot day) is enough to smell their gloriousness, and really there are so many beautiful scented roses, why would you go for anything other?

Flower: Rose

How to Grow: Click here.

For more floral inspiration check out my Pinterest board here:

Follow Creative Countryside's board Grow: Florals on Pinterest.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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Happy Friday! It really is a happy one this week, too. I've finished work and that means summer has officially begun. I returned home on Wednesday to a home-made curry courtesy of Mr CC accompanied by a bottle of prosecco to celebrate my promotion at work (another contributing factor to this week's happiness!) and I've been in a good mood ever since! I spent yesterday reading guilt-free in the glorious sunshine on our new deck-chairs and it was bliss. Today I am beyond excited about heading off to to London today to complete another item on my big summer list - visiting friends and attending the wedding exhibition at the V&A. It's been in my diary for so long and now (finally) it's here. I'm also catching up with family whilst I'm down there, so the weekend promises to be filled with laughter and fun, although I have most of Monday free to wander the parks and museums; any suggestions? Do you have any exciting plans?

Enough of my weekend, anyway, today's post is about the florals in my garden right now, and there have been many vying for the top spot of 'Floral Friday' today. Everything seems to have got a bit brighter, a bit greener, and a lot lovelier over the past few weeks, and for me today's day lilies epitomise the heat of summer. Here and gone in a flash, their zingy colours brighten up borders and contrast with the white of the daisies and the purples and pinks that line the lawn. They're easy to grow, too, and despite the fact their flowers don't last that long I really think they're worth a little effort.

Flower: Day Lily

How to Grow: Click here.

What flowers do you associate with summer? Do you have a favourite summer flower? Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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Floral Friday Foxglove2

I love the vibrancy of the bright pink against the bold blue sky. This foxglove has just kept on flowering over the last few weeks and only over the last day or so has the stem started to droop slightly as the flowers become too heavy for it to hold. Foxgloves usually thrive in shaded areas but this one has got on quite happily in full sunshine!

Flower: Foxglove

How to Grow: Click here.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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P.S. Check out previous Floral Friday posts here.

floral friday - potato plants

Potato plant flowers are actually quite lovely, and their pale pink petals and zest of yellow always remind me that the crop is close to being ready. A true June beauty.

Flower: Potato Plant

How to Grow: Click here.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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pink rose

I bought this plant last year from a Homebase sale - it was reduced to a couple of pounds and seemed very sad and neglected at the back of a wilted lot. A few months and a bit of TLC later and it's looking glorious.

Flower: Patio Rose

How to Grow: Pot up between October and April in a position that gets full sun. More advice here.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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P.S. Check out previous Floral Friday posts here!

floral friday

These beauties have been brightening up the space under the living room window for a few weeks now. A vibrant splash of colour amongst the soft pinks really livens up the border - what do you think?

Flower: Sweet William

How to Grow: Direct sow or sow in modules in June / July but not in a hot greenhouse. More advice here.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

CC x

I've been a little quiet on social media and on this blog over the past few days, but I've been so busy I've barely had time to think about posting, never mind actually write anything. The weekend has been lovely though; my sister got engaged yesterday (and it was her birthday too!) and today Mr CC and I actually managed to squeeze a bit of time for each other and go out for brunch.

I've also managed to steal snippets of moments to read a few posts online and here's what's been keeping me occupied...

You know when you see a recipe and think, 'there is absolutely no way I won't like this'? This is that recipe.

If you're fed up of cordial but still want something to do with elderflowers try this interesting mix.

I'm trying to read more. If you are too, but need some inspiration, check out this list or past book posts here.

And finally, if you needed any excuse to have a good giggle, check out these benefits of laughing.

P.S. I've been so busy I even neglected Floral Friday, so I hope you enjoy the lovely florals in this post instead!

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The luminous quality of these translucent petals in the warm summer sunshine is quite ethereal; quite magical.

Flower: Aquilegia

How to Grow: Direct sow in Autumn / Winter in partial shade. More advice here.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

CC x