A Picture for Sunday - Toadstools and Daisies

Only three inches tall, the toadstools only last a few days, but such a delightful sight!  A brief glimpse of Fairyland.

A Picture for Sunday - Thistle in the Wind

Wonderful colours in the evening sun.  The purple of the thistle against a backdrop of ripening oats really caught my eye.

A Picture for Sunday - Hollyhock Seeds

Seeds arranged in a circle, which are fascinating when studied close up.  This photo was taken late last summer.  I now have seedlings popping up all over the allotment.

A Picture for Sunday - Wild Pansy

Red in the picture is provided by a tiny photobomber.

A Picture for Sunday - Yellow Rose

The yellow of this rose made it stand out on a dull rainy day.

A Picture for Sunday - Thistledown

Ethereal fluffy down and fearsome thorns.

Welcome to Allison, Maureen, Marina Strasser and Maureen Brand, the latest followers - thank you for joining!

A Picture for Sunday - Verbena Bonariensis

Yellow and orange marigolds give the perfect background to complement the soft purple of the verbenas.  If only I could convey the scent too.

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Linking up to Grantham Lynn's blog My Journey Back for Fabulous Fall

A Picture for Sunday - Sea Campion

Growing at the foot of the cliffs on a Welsh beach.

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A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Pink Camellia

There is something slightly hypnotic about the arrangement of the petals.

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A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Nasturtium

Looking forward to summer...

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Summer Daisies

Taken on a walk in the fields in early August - especially for everyone who is feeling particularly sun-deprived at the moment.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Flowers outside a Window

Now that the whole world has turned grey here, this photo I took in Spain in September is an absolute tonic.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Wild Poppy

Is it a natural variation of a field poppy, or is it a cross with a Shirley poppy?  It wouldn't tell me.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Roses from a French Florist

Taken in Lisieux a couple of years ago - only just across the Channel, but the florists in France seem to have such a different selection of flowers to ours.  But wherever you are in the world, roses are roses.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Meadow Bindweed

Beautiful little flowers, beastly long roots.  I have been digging them up and burning them.

It's Nearly Spring...

... and we have had the wettest most miserable winter ever, so to cheer things up a bit I have started an appliqué daffodil.  This is the daffodil on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Quilt.  The one I am doing now will be very similar, and so far I have done the two stems  and have nearly finished the second of the three leaves. 

I only have the right hand leaf to do, but this time it will not be gracefully drooping.  Doing that curve took an inordinate length of time, persuading it into shape with gathering stitches, water and the iron. Despite taking photographs to record how I did it, I decided it was an experience that wasn't worth repeating. All I can really remember about the whole episode was getting a little too hot and cussy.

So now there is a daffodil in the making, which will be completed by St. David's Day.  After that I have to decide whether it will be a wall hanging or the central panel of a quilt.

Hello to Luna of Blueball Mountain, the latest follower - thank you for joining!

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - A Golden Crown

Taken in May last year, a flowerhead of a rapeseed plant.  The field where this photo was taken is unbelievably muddy at the moment, so I decided a bit of nostalgia for last summer was needed.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Wild Pansies

There was a great mass of tiny wild pansies at the edge of a field where I often walk.  They will be sure to pop up again next spring.  I love the one on the left with purple ears.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Green Alkanet

It's a weed, really, with big bristly leaves and tiny flowers.  There is something slightly hypnotic about the shade of blue which prevents me from digging up the plants.

A Pretty Picture for Sunday - Hummingbird Hawk Moth

We have just had a twelve day stay in Poland, spending a few days at my brother in law's little wooden house on the side of a hill, and the rest of the time with my husband's cousin Bogusia.

This picture was taken in Bogusia and Waldek's garden.  The zinnias were alive with butterflies this year, but I only saw one of these moths.  We don't see them very often in England, so I took loads of photos.  This one is my favourite - he looks like a helicopter aiming for the landing pad.