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Sunday, August 21, 2011

Flower Daze


My husband and I have been quite busy lately visiting florists and wedding flower showrooms trying to help our daughter decide what flowers and arrangements she and her fiance would like to have at their spring wedding ceremony and reception.  Since my daughter now lives across the country, it has to be done with the help of websites and photos and lots of telephone and e-mail conversations.  It's not the easiest way to get this feature of the wedding plans done, but I have had a lot of fun photographing pretty flowers along the way, as you can see in this collage of some that caught my eye.   Shades of purple are my daughter's color of choice, but I couldn't resist also taking photos of some of the autumn hues, as they are my favorite!


We've had so much rain the past week that my flower box impatiens flowers have all perked up!



I love how they flower all summer long and fill my yard with beautiful color.



Daylight is shortening, and the end of August fast approaches, but I know summer will not be over until the figs on my tree ripen. Maybe yet another week or so?   It is always an exciting time for us!


 What are you doing to enjoy these last weeks of summer?



"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."   ~John Lubbock


I'm linking with "Rednesday" on Sue's blog It's A Very Cherry World and  "Outdoor Wednesday" on Susan's Blog A Southern Daydreamer. Thanks for hosting each week!!



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49 comments:

  1. Pat- You have a fig tree in Brooklyn? Outside? In the ground? I know crape myrtles will now survive on Long Island, but figs!! Mine froze to the ground every other year in Nashville.

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  2. What a wonderful quote by John Lubbock and one that serves as a good reminder to me. Like most women I know I live by a list of tasks and if I'm not tacking one of the tasks I often feel guilty.

    Brides now are so lucky with the number of available flower choices and available sources. I know a bride who worked with a local florist on her arrangements but ordered her bouquet and the bridesmaids flowers from Costco! I had no idea they had wedding flowers. Good luck with all your tasks.

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  3. Love that quote by Lubbock and it is so true. Good luck with the wedding arrangements. I also love the fall hues.

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  4. OH wow!! Look at these selections - they are just beautiful!! All of them are lovely. Gosh! What to pick!!

    Your impatiens are gorgeous too - yay for rain perking them all up!

    Figs!! Wow!! Hope you have a great crop this year!!

    Happy Sunday! take care
    x

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  5. Hi Pat, this is really an exciting time for you and your family, planning your only baby girl's wedding. I am wondering if the photographer for the occasion will be as great as you are! :) I have figs on my fig tree that still need to ripen, too. I am still enjoying summer, at least until Labor Day, then my thoughts turn to my absolute fav season--autumn! I have been catching up with my posts, three ready to go this week, one went out today. :) xo

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  6. How wonderful that you have a fig tree in Brooklyn. Lucky you. :)

    We have some kind of fruit tree out back. Some sort of berry. I don't eat them - leery - but the birds and the woodchucks love 'em.

    You sound as if you're having a grand old time diving into wedding preparations.

    I love that Lubbock quote. Especially these days.

    LOVE your flower montage as well.

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  7. WOW. Beautiful photos. I would love to see some of those :)

    <3-Cami from First Day of My Life

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  8. Hi Pat, Great flower pictures. That would be a hard decision for a wedding I'm sure... There are just so many gorgeous ones to choose from..

    Love your Impatiens. We didn't plant in this year (nor last) because the rabbits kept eating ours. I miss them though...

    Have a great day.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  9. Has your search for the perfect wedding blooms ended? What a fun task!

    We planted a wee fig tree last year...and had two figs the first season. This year...no fruit. We are bringing it indoors for the winter...but won't be able to continue that once it gets too big. Hope it survives our winter cold.

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  10. Your flower photos are stunning. I can't wait to see your final selection of wedding flowers. Also, I can't believe you have a fig tree. How cool!

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  11. Pat, those figs are going to be SOOO good! I love fresh figs... one of these days I want to be in a spot I can have a bush/tree of my own.

    I know the flowers will be beautiful... you have a such an eye for them! I'm sure that passed down to your daughter, too! I look forward to seeing more on this subject. ;) blessings ~ tanna

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  12. I am planting my fall crop today in my potager....What beautiful flowers.

    I want to plant a fig tree!

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  13. Aren't weddings fun?!!!!!!!! Always another decision to make! Love the flower mosaic ... amazing. It's still too hot here to do much of anything. UGH!!! So I enjoy reading about your garden ... go figs!!!!!!

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  14. I'm envious of that fig tree! I wonder if one would grow in the midwest? All flowers are lovely. I'm drawn to the colors of fall as well but love the purples (which my son and DIL had for their late September wedding two years ago).

    I'm trying to draw out the last days of summer but preparing as much fresh food as possible. I'm also "putting some up" for the winter's table.

    Thanks so much for the reminder of the Lubbock quote. I'm making it my statement for the rest of the summer.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  15. That must be so much fun Pat planning the wedding of your daughter and of course very exciting. I love your mosaic. Wow, all those beautiful flowers and so many colours.Gorgeous.
    Have a nice week.!
    PS we will not be doing much . In no more than three weeks we will be in Spain for our holidays and stay there for 4 weeks or so.
    So I just need to start planning for the trip.

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  16. Gorgeous flowers Pat, I'm sure you're having fun with the wedding plans! Your figs look happy too-enjoy:@)

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  17. What a lovely activity you've had! I can't think of a nicer topic for research than flowers!

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  18. Gosh, how will you ever choose? All the flowers are beautiful. You have a fig tree? They can be hard to find in the stores, how do you fix them? I don't want summer to end! We have been enjoying it by going to the safari park and zoo twice.

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  19. Absolutely gorgeous flowers! I am jealous you are able to grow figs in Brooklyn. Pat, I have been reading your blog in earnest for the past few weeks as hubs and I are going to NYC for the Thanksgiving Day Parade and Tree lighting this year, I cannot wait!

    @ Jojo - you can order flowers from Costco now, I think you may have to assemble the flowers yourself but it can be done. My sister in law suggested it to me for my wedding but I had already hired a florist and frankly I didn't want to be up the night before the wedding trying to assemble bridal bouquets! But if you are for it, go for it! :)

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  20. There are so many choices for weddings, flowers, venues. etc these days. How do brides make decisions. But of course email, internet, etc make the long distance planning easier. Your flowers are lovely. I especially like the orangish roses on the top row. They really popped out! I think we will have summer for quite some time yet. :-)

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  21. OK, now I know how busy you are. Corsica can wait a bit...
    But it's there for you to enjoy.... ;))

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  22. Very beautiful flower mosaic! Love the quote too :)

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  23. Actually, for us it's the last couple of months of summer! You'll all be wearing jackets and seeing the leaves start to change before we turn off the A/C. I hope you'll take lots of pictures of the fall foliage because I miss that so much...hint, hint. :)

    Such beautiful flowers. I'm sure you'll find just the right thing for the wedding.

    The impatiens are beautiful. Could you send us the rain? We were already in drought conditions this past spring, so I don't bother with them this year. I'll just enjoy yours instead.

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  24. DSO's daughter is marrying this November, so we've been in the midst of those million decisions that go into planning a wedding. How lucky you are to have a fig tree? What will you make with your figs?

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  25. Thanks for your comments everyone!

    Yes, my fig tree is 15 years old and the fun thing is that it is in a large flower pot! My backyard is all cement and a wooden deck so everything I grow is in a pot. It is on a rolling platform and I roll it out of our detached garage in March and roll it back in early November after the last leaf falls off. I cover it with an old feather quilt to keep it warm over the winter. We get about 100 to 150 figs a season!

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  26. Pat, Congrats to your daughter! It sounds like you are having fun putting the wedding together. I enjoyed reading how you grow your figs! Awesome!
    I truly enjoyed my trip to NYC and was fortunate to see a lot in the week I had there. I would love to go back again some day! It's a fascinating place!
    Blessings, Beth

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  27. I feel your pain on the long-distance wedding planning. My daughter was away at college while I did most of the work for her wedding to take place within weeks of her college graduation. Of course, she was only 7 hours away, which is far closer than you and yours. Thank heavens for the internet, ya know! With your eye for detail and beauty—evidenced by your always lovely photos!—I'm sure her wedding will be absolutely divine!

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  28. Your collection of flowers is very attractive – it will be hard for your daughter to make a choice. We were married in San Francisco and the bridesmaid had pale lilac dresses and their bouquets were made of orchids of different shades of purple. At the time it was hard to ask questions to my mother who was in Paris and long distance telephone was too expensive for my budget – we had no internet either then.

    My fig tree has so many figs – even with the birds eating many I have already made 33 jars of jams – and I have a large basket of figs waiting and more on the tree – eating them is also very nice.

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  29. It must be nice to make wedding plans with your daughter!
    I like figs, they have a taste of the sun

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  30. What beautiful flowers. I have a properly purple rose Called Rhapsody in Blue which is a highly scented new variety. You might be able to get it there. I do recommend it.

    Lovely plants.

    Our plans are preparations for getting daughter to uni in a few weeks, and son's 16th in 2 weeks.

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  31. Oh, WOW... when all those flowers popped up just now I gasped--this a great way to start the day! Has your daughter decided on her flowers yet? Very exciting! A fig tree... You have a fig tree? Yum... a fresh fig. Been a long time since I had one of those. They don't grow too well here in the far north, unless maybe in a greenhouse. ;o) At the moment we enjoy any sunny day that comes along. Late summer/autumn and be wet & rainy here, and it's been raining a lot. So savoring the sun juice while we can! Happy Week, Pat ((HUGS))

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  32. Pat never knew a fig tree would grow up north. I am going to buy one, any tips aor names? I used to work at Exotic's in Fl. I am so allergic to alstromeria's, only have to touch one and I am covered with a red ichy rash.I loved working with flowers. We did some fabulous weddings. You must be so excited.

    yvonne

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  33. My neighbor's figs are plumping up too. The flower photos are gorgeous! I can never see enough of such abundance.

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  34. You know Pat, there might be a book in that...A Fig Tree Grows in Brooklyn. So exciting! The wedding flowers are so much more interesting than when we were young...it used to be pastels or they would dye the flowers..today they have such beautiful exotic choices.

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  35. I am also very curious about your fig tree! Figs cost a fortune here.

    Beautiful flowers! My daughter wanted peonies for her June 16 wedding a few years ago and we were lucky the florist could still get them. Good luck to you and your daughter picking her flowers! Such a fun time.

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  36. I love the quote - I actually would just about assign that duty to my kids - lie in the grass and watch clouds." When they were bored in the summer. It is not idleness - it is nourishment.

    I am determined to enjoy the last 6-8 weeks of flowers...

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  37. Love your combination of flowers in the collage! Just beautiful! Enjoy the remaining Summer Pat! Going much too quickly!

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  38. Hello Pat, I was just thinking about you and there you were. I am trying my best to visit all my blogging friends today. The last of my company left this morning. It has been 18 days of company and as much as I enjoyed them it feels so good to sit here and blog all day. I am still in my pj's, in the recliner and thinking this is the best thing about blogging. Finally having time to visit for hours. Life is good.
    I LOVE the flowers in your mosaic. Purple will be an awesome color for a spring wedding. Having planned our three daughter's weddings, I know what you are going through. It is a very special time for you both and even long distance will not lesson the bonding you will have planning your daughter's wedding together. I admit, it is harder though. Make lots of lists because there is so much to remember. Thus, the stressful part.

    Having been gone so much this summer I have just now purchased some flowers. The best part is this late in the season I have found some great bargains. You know I love that.

    Happy wedding planning my friend.
    Love, Jeanne

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  39. What wonderful flowers...so many choices for the wedding. I'm surprised to hear of a fig tree in Brooklyn...we have them here,Yum!The Fall colors are my favorites too!

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  40. Pat. ..it is pouring rain here today. It is a little like the day we drove into New York a few weeks ago. The difference between there and here is the warm evenings. When the sun goes down here. .the evening is done. We so enjoyed the warmth of walking around the city with a light sweater at the most.

    Spring is such a gorgeous time for flowers. I really love the top left hand choice. Purple is perfect for spring.

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  41. Fun times helping your daughter, your figs are looking good, we have started picking ours now.

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  42. A busy time for you helping to organise a wedding. So many flowers to chose from. Your last days of summer means the last days of our winter. I will try to get my garden in shape for summer before it gets too hot to be out there working in the garden.

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  43. Flowers are very important in a wedding. I still remember mine so well, I really liked the way the florist disposed them in the church, I told her what I liked and the night before the ceremony we were all there to see her at work, amazing....

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  44. Pat, your flower box impatiens are so cheery. I'm glad you snapped some pictures of them because I think I will try them on the north side of the house next summer. I remember show well they stood the test of time. It would be fun planning everything with your daughter. One friend had a garden wedding and they used planters from the greenhouse that all the women relatives took home as a memory of the wedding to enjoy on their decks all summer. Happy planning!

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  45. Gorgeous flowers, and a fun task, I'd say.

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  46. How exciting to be planning a wedding. It will all be happening before you know it. It must be hard having both your daughters out West now!

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  47. Hey Pat,now I'm hungry for figs!
    Lovely flowers!
    ~Jo

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  48. The mosaic is wonderful--all those fabulous wedding choices. Purple is a wonderful color for a wedding. Looks like your flowers have done well this summer.
    Ann

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