Beautiful Orchids

  

At the end of Summer, just after we had moved into our new house(about two years ago) SPINE  CHILLING SCREAMS erupted from our back garden...... Little Madame was hysterical....... Apparently there were lots of BIG spiders in a bush in the garden. Spiders and I - uh, not good friends! So armed with a can of Raid and my slipper I went to investigate, only to find LSO holding, comforting  and reassuring Little Madame.(with a rather bemused look on his face)  The spiders were in fact flowers, that belong to a very uninteresting looking plant in the back of our garden.  This rather plain and dreary plant had burst into glorious bloom! And the pictures in this post are the breath taking flowers that they produce!

Now I am sure that you can see that they do indeed look a bit like a rather large spider! I have no ideas what the 'proper' name for them is, so they are now simply called Spider Orchids.  Poor Little Madame took a wide berth around this plant every time we went outside but has since realised that they will not hurt you!

So for the last two years my home if filled with Spider Orchids, every room gets a vase full! They are also wonderfully fragrant, not a cloying sweet smell but subtle and heady. The bottle you can see in the picture above is an old bottle we found while digging a deep hole for a tree. We found two, this one(which my Father-in-law seems to thinks is an old chutney bottle) and a milk bottle with a date of 1945 on it, I am amazed that they stood the test of time, they are old weathered and just beautiful. They have become makeshift vases, and always get comments from visitors to out home.  I just love the surprises that keep popping up in my garden!

Now I would be lying if I told you I took these gorgeous pictures, the camera is mine, a new Cannon Ixus(highly recommended) My dear friend Kerry, was playing with said camera and produced these amazing shots! She is a wiz at mosaic, sewing and I  even saw a knitted scarf happening once, but am not sure if she ever finished it.(Let us know if you did)  What I am trying to say is that she is very creative, and  after seeing these picture I am sure you will agree with me that she should be doing more photography! Thank you Kerry, they are gorgeous pictures!

The blooming season for them is over now and as always,  I am sad when the last beautiful bloom fades, alas I know winter is on the way and I will have to wait another whole year for my favourite flower to bloom...... But...... Worth the wait, wouldn't you say! xxx