5 in 5 - MELANIE July 2013



Melanie lives in Australia.  She is a long time friend and I was really excited recently when she came to UK for 10 weeks and we had time to catch up in between her travels.  Melanie loves photography and was interested in my 5 in 5 post that I was starting up.  She wanted to take part but there was one problem: she didn't know how to upload her photos as she doesn't have a blog! 

I decided the only way round this was to post on her behalf. I love the colours and contrast in textures.  Thank you for taking part, Melanie.

I asked Melanie if she'd like to add a few words to go with her photos and I think you would agree, she really does need to set up a blog so we can enjoy more!! 
Over to Melanie:

IN MY GARDEN - JULY

 

Top left the chicken.  This chicken is laying me an egg which these days are few and far between.  If you ask our daughters about my chickens (I have two at the moment) they will tell you they are replacement daughters.  They certainly filled the space left when both our daughters moved out of the family home.  I am getting through chickens very quickly though as they seem to have a short life span.  This is chicken number five. 

 

Middle the marigolds and rusty chicken.  I love marigolds they always cheer me up to look at their beautiful bright colours and I never have to plant them as they continually self-seed in fact I pull up rather than plant as left to their own devises they would completely cover the garden although they might come against competition with the nasturtiums who also self-seed. There are actually a pair of rusty chickens hidden in this marigold patch but you can only see one clearly.  They were given to me for Christmas one year by friends who always manage to find something on a chicken theme for me.

 

Top right hibiscus.  The bush that this flower is on was in the garden when we moved here, one of the few.  I leave it to look after itself and it rewards me with an abundance of flowers.

 

Bottom left the clock and spider on the shed.  This garden clock is a reminder for me of how time flies when I am working in the garden and also marks time as it was a present given to me by my brother on my 60^th birthday.  The spider who keeps it company I found when my daughter took me to the Chelsea show one year which was a highlight of a visit to the UK.  Dangling over the clock are branches from the native willow which sits next to the shed.  That tree really does need a haircut.

 

Bottom right the orchid flowers.  I have an orchid in a pot by the back door and most of the year it just sits there with a bunch of green leaves sticking out the pot.  What a delight it was to arrive home from our overseas trip to find it in full flower.
 

If you want to know more about 5 in 5, please go here.

 And here is a photo of Melanie taken when the four of us went out for a meal.  As Melanie is a card maker it was lovely to take her craft shopping.  She was restrained as she was conscious of the amount they already had to take home and cost of excess luggage. However, she found it hard to resist one 12" paper pad and her husband smiled sweetly when she showed him on our return. He could do little else since I bought it for her!  I wish Melanie didn't live across the other side of the world, but she is great at keeping in touch and one day I hope she will set up a blog!