Lavender Crocus

The crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family. 
They are perennials that grow from corms.
Flowers can appear from autumn through winter, to spring.
Crocuses are native to woodland, scrub and meadows.
They grow from sea level to alpine tundra 
in Central and Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. 

They thrive in a range of environments, from meadows and grasslands to rocky slopes. Their versatility in adapting to different climates makes them a gardener's favourite.

They are especially cold-hardy.

Crocus varieties include spring-blooming types like the large-flowered Dutch Crocus (Crocus Vernus), which is notable for cultivars like 'Pickwick. 

A smaller species of crocus is Crocus tommasinianus.

Another type, Crocus sativus, the source of Saffron, blooms in autumn.

Did you know that you need approximately 150,000 flowers to produce just one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saffron?

Saffron is the stigma of the flower.

That explains why it is such an expensive spice to buy!

There are around 90 different varieties of crocus, with an array of colours, shapes, and sizes!
I snapped these photos so you could see how gorgeous the

 lavender flowers with bright yellow stamens are!
I'm not sure of the name of this one, but these crocuses grow in pots and in the garden beds of 'Mia Bella Passions' gardens.

I think they make a stunning display in a beautiful glazed pot.

What's not to love about the crocus?

You might like to create this temporary indoor display of crocus.

Find out how HERE.

Get updates about the latest blog posts,

by joining for free HERE.

#crocus #allaboutcrocus

Pretty in Pink...

Pretty in pink.

In New Zealand these pink lillies are commonly known as 'Naked Ladies'...

Otherwise known as the Belladonna Lilly...

Family: Amaryllidaceae   (am-uh-ril-id-AY-see-ee) 

Genus: Amaryllis   (am-uh-RIL-us) 

Species: belladonna   (bel-uh-DON-nuh) 

Read more:http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2377/#ixzz2YCgIR39o

Gorgeous ribbon cushion in white...

with a pretty blossom themed duvet.

Delicate ribbon roses...

The Belladonna lilly is deliciously fragrant!

Clea the lilac Burmese joins the photo shoot!

"My fur is a fabulous contrast colour, don't you think?"

Emmm, time for a nap!

'Laundry' Sign....

You can buy all sorts of quirky Laundry signs nowadays...

But I wanted to hand-craft one to match the blue of my laundry walls.

Plus , hand-crafting is so much more fun than walking into a shop and just buying it!

This is how I made my laundry sign.... 

First of all I cut an MDF board to the desired size, and then painted it white.

 Using free lettering from the Net, I printed them using my home printer onto white paper, and then block coloured the letters in blue acrylic paint.

Once they were dry, cut out each of the letter shapes

I roughly hand-tore the edges of three squares of pretty contrasting scrapbook paper.

Glued the squares onto the board first,

 then the lettering spaced over the squares.

I did this freehand.

But if you prefer, you can use a ruler to get perfect spacing.

Using permanent black stamping ink and desired stamps, 

stamp an edging design around the board.

 Once the stamping ink is dry, use a black Sharpie pen to outline the lettering.

When dry, lightly and quickly, so as not smudge the inks,

 coat the entire board with a sealer.

(I used 'Mod Podge').

And here's the end result!

I'm really happy with how it looks with the blue walls!

For updates about the latest blog posts,

you can join for free HERE.

#diy #diysigns #diylaundrysigns