Tag Archives: gardens

A Garden Visitor

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After visiting the Chelsea Flower Show in May I’ve been inspired to work on my own garden.  After all, who wouldn’t want a garden that looks like this?

Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show
Chelsea Flower Show

So I’ve been tending my garden and the lavender, purple coneflowers, daisies, lemon balm, thyme and other herbs and flowers have really grown since I planted them last year.  There have been lots of bumblebees this summer but no butterflies until yesterday, when I saw a visitor among the flowers.

Among the flowers
A wonderful sight!
A visitor

 

The butterfly didn’t seem to mind that I was standing very close to get these pictures. Since I’d selected flowers for this garden that would attract bees, butterflies and songbirds, I was delighted to see such a colorful visitor.  Later I did some research and discovered that it’s a Tiger Swallowtail, and I hope it comes back many, many times!

Scenes from the Chelsea Flower Show

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I’ve just returned from a visit to England, where I spent last Thursday at the Chelsea Flower Show.  I got there early enough that I could see the gardens and Pavilion displays before it became crowded.  It was an extraordinary experience for someone who loves flowers and gardens (that’s me).  The weather was perfect with sunshine, blue sky and fluffy clouds.  Here are some views from the show – there will be many future posts because I took over 300 pictures!

Chelsea Flower Show

Some scenes from the show:

Burst of color
It’s spring!
Delightful garden
Simply white flowers
So cheerful

A quotation that I noticed in the Great Pavilion.

Chelsea Flower Show

 

 

Travel Time

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After all the planning and daydreaming, it’s almost time for my trip to London.  Passport – check.  Train reservations to Bath – check.  Currency exchange – probably next week.  I just found out that I can use my phone there for a small daily fee and that’s good news.  I’m hoping that there aren’t too many movies I want to watch on the plane so I can attempt to sleep (or at least rest) on the overnight flight.  Sometimes when I get up to walk around on the plane during a transatlantic flight I feel like I’m the only one that is still awake.  Still, it doesn’t stop me from watching another movie.  Once I had the idea of listening to relaxing music to try to doze but that didn’t work either.  Not that it matters – I’m not going to attempt to sleep until it’s evening where I’m going.  I don’t want to miss anything!

Transportation…
Where to go next?
Paddington Station
Time for adventure
Souvenirs

I’m looking forward to seeing my favorite places and looking for future favorites too.  It’s a short train ride to Bath from London and I plan to do a lot of walking.  I’m sure I’ll see lots of flowers and gardens (I’ll take pictures to share).  Planning and daydreaming are part of the preparation for travel, and they are just as exciting as the trip itself!

Simply Flowers

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Some of my favorite memories are of the flowers and gardens that I see when I travel.  When I was in Italy a few months ago I couldn’t help but notice the bright and colorful flowers.  Here are some that I especially liked.

Flowers

Hydrangeas
Flowers for sale
Very cheerful
Bright and colorful
Garden scene

The Travel Years

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I began Meg Travels in August and this month is my fourth anniversary!  It has been so much fun sharing travel adventures from near and far.  When I look for themes over the years I can see that flowers and gardens are some of my favorites, along with doors, sunsets and signs.  I tend to travel in the spring and that is an ideal time to see fresh and colorful flowers.  Autumn is another beautiful season for watching the leaves change color, and it is still warm and sunny.

I will continue to travel so there will be plenty more adventures (with pictures) to share over the next year.  Here are some of the flowers, doorways and other souvenir pictures that I’ve taken over the past four years.

Monet’s Garden
Try new flavors
Portofino
Autumn in Williamsburg
Doorway in Avignon
fruit display
an important sign!
St Ives
Barcelona
Avignon
Lugano, Switzerland
St. Petersburg, Florida
Door to Monet’s house
Prince Edward Island

 

Spring Flowers

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Wherever I went in Italy I saw flowers.  There were flowers on terraces, flowers in wall planters, on sidewalks and in gardens.  When I looked up I could see flower boxes full of red and pink geraniums as well as petunias.  The colors were so cheerful that they transformed many terraces into bright and eye-catching spaces.  It was exciting to see so many flowers in bloom and one garden I visited in Milan was full of people having their pictures taken among the flowers.

Colorful terrace flowers
Pink hydrangea
Balcony flowers
Wall geraniums
Flower box

Spring is a perfect time to see the new flowers and simply enjoy their fresh beauty.

Italy

 

Flowers in Cornwall

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The flowers that I saw in Cornwall were really memorable.  They were outside of train stations, hanging in baskets in front of shops and in gardens.

around a corner
take a walk in this garden…
this sounds good
at a train station
outside of a shop

I liked these dainty looking flowers growing from a wall.

flowers

This sign is interesting because I hadn’t thought about sitting on the planter.

flowers

There were flowers that adorned the walls and windows of buildings.

flowers

Why try to climb the stairs when you can simply admire this view?

England

CBBH Photo Challenge: WINDOWS

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The last time I was in France I went to Giverny to see Claude Monet’s exquisite gardens.  The house where Monet lived has lots of windows that overlook the gardens.  I thought these windows would fit this month’s challenge.   To learn more about the photo challenge visit East of Málaga.

The windows:

The view from the windows:

The two blogs I’d like to recommend are:

Canadiantravelbugs’s Blog

Lorna’s Tearoom Delights