Just like when I was a 'young whippersnapper', I've been picking bunches of nasturtiums from the garden and enjoying these bright and cheerful flowers. These plants would come up on their own each year and 'sprawl' in drifts around my parents' big yard.
Another flower that I associate with my childhood is the sweet pea. I can remember my mum comparing notes with the neighbours as to the right time to plant the seeds, (St Patrick's Day) and I also remember how much the adults would groan and complain, if the sweetpeas did not produce prodigious quantities of flowers on the trellises that the plants climbed over. As a young bride I tried to grow sweet peas but with very limited success...and I very quickly decided to grow other annuals instead :-) .
But at some local markets in the last few months, I've been able to buy bunches of sweet peas...sweet!!
The bunch of sweet peas (and ferns) I bought at the markets in August....so pretty! My mum used to cut ferns to include in her vase arrangements too...
The bunch/posy that I bought at the markets last week...this month the posy included 2 gerberas; one a double and the other just out of view, a single.
My mother used to also pick geraniums and arrange them in vases too...hmmm, might be nice to do that too as those plants are starting to flower well...
One of the variegated geraniums grown from a cutting given to me by a knitting friend.
I continue to declutter using www.foreverorganised.com.au 's suggestions. I skipped bath toys decluttering (we don't have any, lol) and went straight on to 'Magazines'. I had a big cull of these earlier this year but still had some gardening mags on a shelf in the room DH and I use for an office, some craft mags in the bedroom I use for sewing/craft storage etc and these were bundled up this morning ready to go to the op shop charity collection bin. Ruthless perhaps, but realistic...I won't use them.
The next item on the list is 'coffee mugs'...again, earlier this year, I packed up a big plastic crate of surplus coffee cups and asked the girls to take any they liked...they didn't want any so DH took them to a nearby Red Cross op shop. However, I do have, on very high shelves in a kitchen cupboard, some coffee mugs that I think I love...but they are missing handles...and are maybe chipped???? So a bit of being sentimental here...ruthlessness may be needed again I think...:-)
The f lowers that remind me of childhood are dahlias and roses. My father grew lots of varieties very successfully and I have a small collection in my own garden. As for decluttering, Hubby hired a small skip this week and told Daughter to clear all the mess out of her room. None of it is worth anything yet I've seen at least 3 people take things out of the skip. One man's rubbish...etc.
ReplyDeleteLots of lovely flowers! I particularly love the nasturtiums matching the fabrics in the quilt they are sitting on.
ReplyDeleteI have one sweet pea flower nearly open - but I did plant my seeds a day or two late as I was sick on St Patrick's Day, so I guess that's why the flowers are a little late.
love it when things bring back happy memories Maria and boy you sure are doing well with the decluttering.xx
ReplyDeleteHello Maria,
ReplyDeleteFlowers certainly have happy memories from years ago. The perfume from Sweet Peas is divine, just breath it in! De-cluttering is wonderful. Perhaps if you really want to keep those mugs that you really don't need you could break them up and line a birdbath or flowerpot with them.
Happy days.
Bev.
Good luck with the de-cluttering Maria. Its something I desperately need to do - must check out that website you mentioned. I also have sweet memories of sweet peas. When I was a child we used to holiday at Brunswick Heads for 6 weeks every year and I recall one year when my Dad obviously had planted some seeds before we left. The next door neighbour had watered them while we were away and on our return, the entire side fence of our yard was covered in a mass of glorious sweet-peas that had grown up the rope trellis Dad had rigged up. It was the most amazing display which I have never forgotten. Great memories indeed. xox
ReplyDeleteMemories of them all... some of which I hope will grow this summer :)) as for cluttering well thats somewhere between a rock and a hard place at the moment..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link i will check it out :)) hugs pat ..
Thank you for some lovely memories. I love the perfume of sweet peas still.
ReplyDelete