Tag Archives: flowers

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Day 22 – 30 Days Wild…

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Bee Drinking Station…

 

 

Bee Watering Station…© Lisa Cullingworth, 2017

Since I first learned about 30 Days Wild and joined the ’30 Days Wild’ Facebook group back in April I have learnt so much from the other 11,000 members and am discovering new ways to adapt my garden to make it more wildlife friendly!

So for today’s random act of wildness I was inspired to make this watering station for bees and it was so simple to make! I had the dish laying around the garden and a bag of pebbles that were saved from balloon weights at a party. I added some water and a few flowers to draw the bees attention to the dish.

It is important to provide bees with a source of water where they can safely drink without drowning and the peddles provide stepping stones for them to rest without risk. Now I am just hoping to catch a glimpse of the bees using it!!

❤ ❤ ❤

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Day 15 – 30 Days Wild…

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Sun Prints… 

 

Printing…
Washing…
Sun Prints…

I finally got round to trying out my sun print paper today which is essentially prepared cyanotype print paper. In the same way as traditional Photograms are made, objects are placed on light sensitive photographic paper and exposed to light.

I was first introduced to this process in 2011 and had a go using some homemade hand painted paper, but when I saw everyone using the sun print craft paper I just had to buy some!

Cyanotypes were invented by Sir John Herschel in 1841 and originally used to create copies of architectural drawings known as ‘blueprints’. This process is much simpler than that of silver print black and white photography and gives a cyan blue print using a sensitising solution of Ammonium Ferric Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide. When exposed to light (natural or artificial ultraviolet) these iron salts reduce down to their ferrous state that produces a high contrast blue image when oxidised. Oxidation is sped up by immersing it in running water that washes away the unused iron salts that ‘fixes’ to create a lasting image.

In the same way that I made my photograms at the weekend I sandwiched the flowers and leaves I collected between the paper and glass only this time I used the sun in the garden to expose the image. It is a lot of fun and so, so simple!

I love traditional photography, I am sure I am living in the wrong era!!!

❤ ❤ ❤

 

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Day 13 – 30 Days Wild…

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Appreciation…

 

 

 

 

Choc Mint Milkshake…

A first for A Reflection of Your Heart…a food pic!! For Day 13 I have used the mint growing in my garden to make a milkshake. It didn’t feel very wild so I took it out into the garden and sat on the patio cross legged among the flowers, bees and butterflies and soaked up the early evening sun.

I usually come home from work and plonk myself down in front of the television or make a start on dinner straight away, so it made a lovely change to relax for a while listening to the natural world go about its day around me!!

A year ago this space was pretty much a blank canvas so I was able to take in all the hard work and appreciate the wildlife garden it has become!!

At the end of your busy day spend just a few moments appreciating what you have!

❤ ❤ ❤

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Day 12 – 30 Days Wild…

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A Flower Doodle…

 

 

 

Pencil doodle…
Coloured in doodle…

As a child I was never far from a pad of paper and colouring pens, always doodling and copy drawing, but lately I have realised how detached from drawing and colouring I have become.

I am not the worlds best at drawing, you only have to do a quick search on the internet to see the amazing talent that is out there, but I enjoy being creative and it is great therapy to get lost in a piece of art, however simple!!

So after a busy day at work I decided instead of coming home and feeling stressed about my day I would sit and do some wild doodling!! Whenever I doodle it is always flowers that I find at the end of my pencil or pen and today was no exception.

I am not really sure what inspired this doodle, I doubt any of the flowers are that true to life but on reflection the diversity of the flowers growing from a single stem and grounded from the same roots are symbolic of me as a person and the diversity of life…

❤ ❤ ❤

 

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Day 8 – 30 Days Wild…

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‘Peace’…

 

 

 

 

 

Peace Rose – Raindrops © Lisa Cullingworth, 2017
Peace Rose BW © Lisa Cullingworth, 2017
Peace Rose © Lisa Cullingworth, 2017

I planted this rose 11 months ago and it was chosen for its beautiful two tone colouration and name. This week saw the first bud of the year open and I waited until it had fully emerged before documenting it in all its glory.

The name of this rose is very symbolic of my ongoing desire for inner peace and was very much in the forefront of my mind when choosing from the rows and rows of different roses at the garden centre – honestly I never knew there were so many!!

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However when I bought it I never really thought about its history until today…

After a quick search on the internet I found out that the ‘Peace’ rose was invented by French rose breeder Francis Meilland in 1935 but was at the time unnamed. Five years later when Hitler invaded France, three parcels of bud wood were sent out of France and one was smuggled into America. In America their agent planted the rose and trialed it in different climates across the United States and it soon became very popular.

The launch date for the rose was set for 29 April 1945 in California. Coincidentally on the same day that two doves were released in America to symbolise the naming of the rose, Berlin fell and a truce was declared. In naming the rose the following statement was read: “We are persuaded that this greatest new rose of our time should be named for the world’s greatest desire: ‘PEACE’.”

The official name is Rosa Peace (‘Madame A. Meilland’) after Francis Meillands mother Claudia.

(Information sourced from www.gerbera.org although info can be found via a number of sources)