art + photography

all posts related to artwork I’ve created, or photography

Blossom Time

plum tree bloom

I hope you will forgive this blog turning into a diary of all of the photos of flowers I’ve seen lately. I haven’t been feeling well the past week so wasn’t able to finish a different post I had planned, so here are some Spring blossoms to cheer you on this Wednesday!

cluster of plum tree blooms

plum tree in spring

I wish you could smell them, they are so delightful, and this is such a lovely time of year, isn’t it?

Do you have blooming trees where you live? What are your favourite Spring flowers?

single plum tree blossom

cherry blossoms

blossom ring

pink spring blossoms

single light pink blossom

apple blossoms

Tiny Leaves and Growing Flowers

tiny bright green leaves unfurling on a branch

It’s finally starting to green up out there. Every day new little plants are pushing their way up out of the soil and leaves are unfurling from the trees. Tiny little flowers are blooming in the sunshine, and of course once the greenhouses opened we were treated to the lush full flowers of the bedding plants!

tiny spiky flowered yellow woodland tulips

woodland tulips

tiny green leaves and irises coming up out of the ground

tiny yellow and white woodland tulipwoodland tulip

peony bush leaves coming up out of the ground and a red sedum cluster

L: peony coming up out of the soil. R: sedums and hens and chicks

tiny purple johnny jump up flower only an inch tall

johnny jump up, only 1 inch tall!

tiny aspen leaves

red and green coleus leaves and a yellow million bells flower

coleus and million bells

purple bedding plant flowers

purple and yellow violas and a yellow begonia

violas and begonias

Afternoon Tea, With Peonies, for the Arrival of Spring

bouquet of white and pink peonies beside a cup of tea

Spring arrives this weekend, and with it the hope of sunny days, warm weather and flowers…well eventually. We’ve still got quite a wait before anything green starts to grow, and it’s all looking a bit cardboard brown out there now while the snowdrifts recede, but that doesn’t even matter because deep down inside, we still know that it’s Spring!

This photo set is one that I took a few years ago but then never ended up posting…but that’s OK, because they are the perfect cheerful photos to post now for the arrival of spring!

a bouquet of pink and white flowers, and a teacup atop a stack of books

a cup of tea and a bouquet of peonies, an antique book cover

a table set for tea with a bouquet and floral teacup

I have been thinking lately about having a proper tea party. Even though I drink tea all the time, there is something different about “afternoon tea”, isn’t there? It’s just nice to sometimes go about setting the table, pulling out your favourite floral teacup, brewing up a pot, and serving it with a special treat. I think that this weekend is the perfect time to have one in celebration of the arrival of Spring!

Do you have any special plans to welcome the arrival of Spring? Do you like to have afternoon tea parties?

top view of a cup of tea in a floral teacup

closeup of a peony bouquet, and a floral teacup on top of antique books

a china teacup with a bouquet of pink and white peonies

a cup of afternoon tea

a bouquet, stack of books and a teacup atop a table

a cup of tea

a closeup of a peony bouquet and a teacup on top of books

a bouquet of pink and white peonies

April Showers Bring May Flowers

purple violets amongst the grass

Spring took its time arriving this year. The leaves have finally popped, and the flowers are just starting to bloom. We are several weeks “behind” (though it’s not as though Spring follows a schedule) so it’s been lovely to finally see the garden coming up in the past couple of weeks.

tiny yellow tulips blooming

These are tiny yellow and white tulips- only a few inches tall, and they were the first to come up!

I don’t have much to say today. I was looking forward to getting into blogging regularly again and had a schedule planned, but then hit a bump in the road health-wise which has slowed me down quite considerably for the past week. Thankfully, I am now on the road to recovery, and at last able to put down some words and edit some photos! I’ve also been thinking a lot lately about different fashion related topics. I haven’t written up any posts lately, but am hoping to get some thoughts down on paper soon, and be able to bring you some more blog posts, like back in the “old days” of this blog. (haha- only a couple of years ago, but time does fly!)

I hope you are doing well, and happy weekend everyone!

periwinkle iris bloom

I wish you could smell this iris- it has the sweetest scent!

pink blooms

Nanking Cherry with such a pretty pink bloom, 

violets and hens and chicks

These tiny little violets came up in the lawn- so adorable. And hens and chicks on the right.

tiny white flowers

These tiny white flowers are a weed, but so pretty! Each bloom is only about 3-4mm across.

yellow buttercups and baby leaves

These tiny yellow cinquefoil flowers also came up in the grass- so cute. Right: don’t you love new leaf green?

plum tree blooms

My favourite plum tree, just covered in beautiful, sweet blooms this year!

plum tree and false spirea

More plum blooms, and False Spirea leaves on the right. 

bog flower

Bog Rosemary- such a cool pink flower!

Elephants Ears on the left and Bethlehem Sage on the right. 

baby oak leaves

Some tiny, baby, oak leaves to finish it off. 

Welcome Spring

first day of spring outfit

Welcome Spring- you are long awaited!

Today, for the First Day of Spring, while the sun is shining in the sky, there is still a lot of snow out there, so no pictures of tulips and crocuses popping their heads up. We won’t have any growing things outside for at least a month either, here in Alberta, so I decided to both draw and wear my own flowers today instead. I also added in my favourite bee necklace for good measure!

poppy earrings for spring

urban alchemy bee necklace

I haven’t been outside to enjoy the sunshine today, though I was planning on going for a walk this afternoon, because I think I’m coming down with a cold. Perhaps going for a walk would be the best thing, though. Getting out and getting some fresh air and sunshine would probably be a good thing.

It’s been a strange last while, hasn’t it? The COVID-19 virus pandemic has managed to touch all of our lives. A few weeks ago, it felt like it was (quite literally) something happening on the other side of the world. Of course, things like this do affect us all, but my day to day life hadn’t changed very much. I’m an introvert, and I work from home, so “self isolating” is basically my everyday life.

However, now with this disease spreading to all corners of the world, it actually is starting to affect me. I may jokingly say that I self isolate all the time, but the reality is that I can go out whenever I choose to. It’s as simple as putting on my coat and shoes and walking out the door.

To suddenly be aware of the fact that you shouldn’t go out, well…it’s entirely different isn’t it? Realizing that you shouldn’t go out browsing the shops, that the library is closed, that the grocery stores are all out of rolled oats (and you really just wanted some porridge), that since you’ve got cold symptoms you need to stay indoors to protect everyone else (just in case it’s not a cold, but you’ve actually contracted the disease…), and that now is not the ideal time to be dropping off resumes and looking for work…well it can get a bit stressful can’t it?

be anxious for nothing artwork

Last night as I was reading my Bible, these verses came to mind, so I immediately flipped over to Philippians to read them again. I went to sleep with these words on my mind, and woke up this morning eager to put them to paper. And since it’s the first day of Spring, I thought that some flowers were apropos to add some sunshine and hope. Times of refreshing do come.

How are you celebrating the first day of Spring?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 6-7

Poppy pearl earrings by Andrea Shelley Designs

Bee necklace by Urban Alchemy Jewelry

welcome spring botanical artwork

first day of spring floral outfit