Summer Flowers

I had only intended dressing the kitchen wing with flowers for the open day earlier in the year. However, fresh flowers are so transformative and joy-bringing that I have kept up the tradition when visitors are expected and of course the arrangements will survive for a week or so.

This year has been amazing for Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) with some banks in the vicinity of the castle being completely carpeted. When I was looking for something from mother nature's discount flower shop to shove in a vase, there was no debate. It is impossible not to put the fallen bells on the ends of one's fingers, and Wikipedia informed me today that accordingly the name Digitalis comes from the Latin word for finger. Duh! I had never put the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle together until today.


The display below is something Greg created, which I then augmented by shoving in more spikes (including the rarer white and pink flowers) to augment the common purple on the principle that nothing succeeds like excess.

foxgloves from the castle grounds

A friend from Oxford brought me some lovely yellow roses on a recent visit. This was so appropriate given my recent predilection for fresh flowers, and I placed them strategically on the dining table.

the gift of yellow roses