...and flowers inside

I was in town last Saturday and there was a market in the square.  I noticed a nice plant and flower stall and treated myself to some pink chrysanthemums (to me, chrysanthemums always have such an 'autumn' scent) and a little fern.  I popped the chrysanthemums in a vase once I got home and then Chris came back from the allotments with some beautiful jewel-toned dahlias from a fellow allotmenteer (thank you so much).  I ended up with a lovely display of autumn flowers.

Here are my pretty pink chrysanthemums...

...and here are the beautiful dahlias.

The colours are so sumptuous, aren't they? Pinks, apricots, oranges and deep reds.  I keep thinking that I should perhaps grow some dahlias next year, maybe...

Flowers and Fireworks

I have had a flower-filled few weeks recently and have been really enjoying the additional colour they bring.  Above was a 'Just Because' bunch of flowers from my lovely husband, "I thought they were your colours" - they were!

Then there was a bunch of dahlias to add to the display from a fellow allotmenteer.  

Then there was a bunch of chrysanthemums from a different fellow allotmenteer.

Finally, a colleague at work gave me these roses and lilies as a 'thank you'. I have been so lucky!  

Having discovered that my camera does have some settings for various things such as Fireworks, Portraits and Low light (see here for the post about it), I decided to have a go with the Firework setting.  After a slight problem of not remembering how to access the settings, I downloaded the manual and then found the setting.  The photos were better than previously, but as these were taken from a distance, they aren't all that great.

I obviously managed to move the camera when I was taking this one, but I rather like it. (I don't think professional photographers need to be worried though!)

An Autumn bouquet

On his return from shopping last week, my lovely husband presented me with these flowers 'just because'.  They are such autumnal colours.  

There was an ornamental cabbage included which is in its own vase, because they can start to small rather nasty after a while, so I hope that will help it to keep fresher.  I was really touched by this bouquet and have been enjoying the colours all this week. 

Meeting old friends and more flowers...

We had a nice day last Sunday, as Maria,  my friend from Canada, was over in England and we went to spend the day with her and her friend Nicole. I had seen her last year, so wasn't expecting her to come this year as well, but she did!  Maria and I have known each other since we were four and we just pick up where we left off every time we meet up.  Friends like that are rare and need to be held on to!   

We went to Uppingham, a small market town in Rutland, which is where Maria was based.  Above is the town square. When I was little, Uppingham was the nearest town to where we lived,  so it has fond memories for me.

Here is an ironmonger's shop, where a multitude of useful things can be bought.  It was Sunday, so some shops weren't open, but we had a wander round an antiques centre and then a gallery.

Maria gave us some beautiful flowers, which we are enjoying. Sunflowers, Chrysanthemums, a Red Hot Poker,  Alstromeria and a rather interesting flower which looks a bit like a miniature artichoke, but with an orange head.

You can see the interesting flower on the right.  I am very lucky to have another lovely bouquet to enjoy and it was a wonderful day.

What a lovely surprise!

The other day Chris arrived back from shopping with a large bunch of flowers for me 'just because'.  He doesn't tend to do that very often because he knows that really I prefer flowers from the garden but it was a thoughtful thing to do.  He said he wanted me to know how much I was appreciated by him. They had very suitably autumnal colours. 

This is what the lilies look like now they are opening. They have a strange scent - the top note is a typical lily scent, but underneath is a more musky fragrance which is a little odd.  I have been really enjoying seeing the splash of colour they are providing.  He also brought us come chocolate eclairs to enjoy, which we did. Thank you to Chris - what a lovely surprise!