Wake up and smell the flowers

There is just something special about fresh flowers. They don't have to be an expensive bouquet but a simple bunch bought from the side of the road even feels like a real treat to me.

This week I seem to have found myself with flowers everywhere I turn, on Tuesday I went on some errands and spotted buckets full of flowers for sale outside the house of a family friend. So I stopped and bought a few bunches, unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the full vase in my kitchen but these Chinese Lanterns were left over when the others, mainly dahlias, had wilted away. Don't they just scream Autumn to you? Does anyone know if they dry easily?

I also picked up this bunch of roses and carnations with berries from the supermarket on Thursday. Can anyone tell me the name of these berries because I just love them and they seem to last for ages and are the perfect colour for this time of year?

Also on Tuesday when I got my kitchen bunch I picked up a small bunch of the most gorgeous pink dahlias, which then took pride of place on my hearth. (Apologies for the quality of the photo)

Then on Friday I was driving past the very same spot and saw the person who puts them out. He is a dear old chap, who worked on my husbands parents farm for years and years, a real genuine man who thinks the world of my in-laws. So I stopped to chat and he gave me this little lot to replace my wilted dahlias on my hearth - a true gentleman!

Finally, my flowers outside are fast disappearing; one of my pink hydrangeas has turned the most magnficent colour and I have my beady eye on my blue discount purchase so that I can bring it in to dry!

Wishing you all a happy, flowery weekend!