A visit to Bow Street Flowers means a flower filled house.
The scent of lilacs is with me as I write this.
When I was a child we had massive lilac shrubs on the edge of our yard--
my favorite summer space in which to read and daydream.
Lilacs takes me back to the worlds of
Places I wanted to live, families I wanted for my own.
Are there flowers that evoke your childhood?
Hello Jen,
ReplyDeleteSomehow Lilac always prompts nostalgic thoughts in our minds. Gardens from our earliest childhood memories seem to have been filled with Lilac trees and the air hung heavy with their scent. To this day, we can be transported back in time with just the briefest whiff of Lilac.
Your flower filled house looks wonderful. The arrangements look so natural and carefree, so much nicer than stiff arrangements that one usually associates with florists.
I have planted several lilacs in my adult life, but haven't had much success with them, much to my disappointment.
DeleteThere's a wonderful group of florists doing naturalistic arrangements. Have you ever seen Miss Pickering's blog? I think you would enjoy it. She's somewhere in England.
Shelley from Bow Street's arrangements are both natural and artistic (as I know you saw on the website). I brought these flowers home and put them in vases--I have the natural part down, but not the patience for artistic.
that's a gorgeous spring bouquet! when the pastel colors come out, you know spring is here.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in 5th grade my science teacher gave every student a pink rose on the last day of school. That memory is so vivid and I still have one petal from it...it's been in my jewelry box all these years.
Happy early May Day!!! ♥
What a lovely thing to do, and how interesting that it is such a vivid memory. I had a wonderful 5th grade teacher.
DeleteSunflowers. My mother hated them and my father loved them so there was always a bit of a fight about whether they should be allowed. They settled on the trash can area out back where they were planted to hide the cans. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny! It's like my father disdaining Queen Anne's Lace as weeds. I grew sunflowers once and was surprised at how easy they were. Perfect for hiding trash cans!
DeleteLilacs, of course. I can smell yours across the miles. And nasturtiums. Always loved the peppery scent. And I could see them so clearly - at three and four-years old, I wasn't much taller than the orange, yellow and red flowers.
ReplyDeleteInteresting--seems like lilacs are the ones for a lot of people (well, you me, and the Hattatts). I don't remember nasturtiums from childhood, though I love them now. Other than lilacs, panises, day lilies, and Virginia bluebells are the only ones I can see.
DeleteLily of the valley for me. We had them planted along the side of the house and their size and fragrance always amazed me. Such a punch of pleasure in such a small delicate flower/
ReplyDeleteMine grow rampant here. Memories of home.
I read under a ginormous rhubarb. Like Gus I thought I was invisible.
xo J
We have lilies of the valley here too. (Not now, everything is late.) and they are glorious--so tiny and beautiful with that powerful scent. Now I have to go look up ginamormous rhubarb. I thought they came in stalks at the grocery store. Gus who?
DeleteMint. My grandfather underplanted mint down the slope of his canyon garden in San Diego and when I'd come in from playing, I'd smell of it.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the front my grandmother had what I thought was a rather austere cutting garden of carnations and snapdragons that smelled amazing. And I can't leave out the Cecil Brunner rose that grew over their potting shed…so spicy and not at all austere!
Wow, "canyon garden" is so evocative. I love the image of carnations and snapdragons (one of my all-time favorites). Too bad carnations have been ruined by the awful dyed grocery store ones. Maybe you can start a trend for organic, local carnations. I don't know Cecil Brunner, but I want a potting shed with roses growing over it. And to know more about your grandparents.
DeleteWild violets for me - they are my birth flower- does anyone still think of birth flowers and gemstones? They grew all over our property, a seven acre mini farm and I dearly loved them. Still do.
ReplyDeleteLove your flowers, kitty, and inviting us to share our flower loves. I have so many - freesia, lily of the valley, etc.,but the violet popped into my head first.
Mary
Oh violets--they grow wild here too and they are so endearing.
DeleteLilacs, Bridal Wreath spirea, very tall red cannas and wild violets.
ReplyDeleteLilacs are getting a lot of love.
DeleteLovely photos! My flower would be the clover under the peach trees and the daisies which my grandmother grew in her garden in Hobbs, New Mexico. It was a little oasis in the desert southwest. Everyone of the hundreds of daisies were cut for my wedding years later.
ReplyDeleteSuch charming images--clover, peach trees, daisies (and not at all what I associate with New Mexico). Your daisy wedding sounds wonderful.
DeleteWild climbing roses, little pink puffs from the mimosa tree, bachelor buttons, double pink Althea (Rose of Sharon), and red spider lillies in Fall and camellias in Winter
ReplyDeleteSuch beauties. (I adore climbing roses, though they weren't part of my childhood.) It's so clear how much we all cherish flowers.
DeleteI love lilacs too. as a child they used to flower around my birthday and I often got them instead of a bought bouquet. now they're out too early...
ReplyDeleteAre you a gemini? (asks the gemini).
DeleteGosh, I can imagine how lovely your place must be with the scent of lilacs wafting through it... nice pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I sit and read by them--it doesn't get much better than that. (Except to be outside by a big ol' lilac shrub.)
Delete°º｡✿✿° ·.
ReplyDeleteComo é bom ver e admirar flores!!!
Ótimo mês de maio, com muitas flores!
Bom fim de semana!
Beijinhos.
°✿⊱º°｡♪
:)
DeleteLilacs were abundant when I was younger, the beautiful blooms giving off their heady scent- ah, takes me back. Also at this time of year, we used to go picking bluebells (they are protected now and you cant pick them in the wilds) and I remember having jugs full of them in my bedroom.
ReplyDeleteMore lilac love!
DeleteCrepe Myrtles. They grew outside my grandmother's bedroom windows in Cuba. They were red, white and a pale yellow. Imagine my delight when I moved into my current house and the big bushes in the front turned out to be pink crepe myrtles! I called my Mom yelling "I have Jupiters" That's what they were called in Cuba.
ReplyDeleteOoh--I love crepe myrtles. My grandmother had them--I remember the red one. Love the name Jupiters!
DeleteMy grandmother´s garden had beautiful roses, pittosporum and nerium oleander plants.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds lovely, Alice. I have strong memories of my grandmother's garden, too.
DeleteJen, Lilacs are my husband's absolute favorite flowers. He likes the old fashion kind. There is a big beautiful bush (actually more like a tree) just on the other side of our fence (unfortunately) that he covets. For some reason, this bush does not have suckers so we had to try to root some cuttings. We were not successful last year. We will try again this year. Do you know how to root a lilac cutting?
ReplyDelete