January flowers

 Flowers and arrangements from January.

 A special shout out to two of my new roses - Sexy Rexy (left) and Queen Elizabeth (right). Finally they have put their hearts into blooming! I sniffed them both and sadly couldn't detect much of a scent. The flowers are gorgeous though.

What is your favourite rose for fragrance?

 In the back yard, I've been chipping away at the grass to make the curved bed. It's taking ages now because the ground is so hard. I also had to remove the sleepers which were edging the beds, and those things are h.e.a.v.y.  But I need to keep going because I have a growing collection of pot-bound plants which need a place to go! The bed is edged with salvaged bricks from my friend's chimney.

 This is the bed next to the patio. Petunias and godetia are going mad in this bed - pretty much stealing the show! (The blue daisy wind spinner in the background was a Christmas present, and it's been getting a good workout with our persistant winds this summer!)

Here is what I created with the salvaged sleepers - a bench seat. It's tucked around the side of the house - you can see it in the photo above. I just stacked the sleepers on some concrete blocks. Rustic right?

This is a nice little nook because it's sheltered from the easterly, and has a bit of shade till about 1pm. I'd like to get a table and some more chairs and an umbrella, and have a nice little eating area set up. Ideally I'd like a patio with french doors leading inside, but that will be far in the future if at all... we don't even know when the earthquake damage will be repaired yet. In the meantime I'm doing the best I can with what's on site, and I'm quite pleased with my recycling effort here.

(Linking up to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens)