I love gardens, particularly cottage ones. I’ve been reading about the formalisation of suburban gardens, which has people putting in hedges and trees and shrubs but not flowers that take more effort. This is causing a crisis for bees who need a good variety of flowers to collect pollen from. I have help in the garden these days - how did I do all that and write and raise my boys and support my busy surgeon husband?! Superwoman had nothing on me!
My lovely friend and gardener, Grace does a wonderful job of making sure my roses are healthy and both annual and perennial flowers are planted according to season.
She even rescued my numerous pots of orchids and repotted and fed them.
I really do stop and smell the roses and I’ve taught my grandchildren to do the same. We make flower bowls and pick blooms for the table.
Plants are like a story- there’s a seed of an idea that germinates and then grows.
It might wither if not given enough attention or time but then with the right conditions it can grow into a beautiful bloom that gives joy not just to me but my neighbours and anyone else who walks by.
Melanie Milburne writes modern romance stories for Harlequin Mills and Boon. Her love affair with romance novels began when she read her first romance at the age of seventeen and it inspired a dream to one day become a romance author. But even as a child she knew she wanted to of be a writer and enjoyed writing stories from the age of five. With nearly 100 novels in print and several industry awards and nominations for her work, Melanie enjoys crafting contemporary romance stories from her home in Hobart in beautiful Tasmania, where she lives with her husband and fur family of two cheeky toy poodles.
Connect with Melanie over the web:
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The Ravensdale Scandals Books 1-3 is available in Audio now and you can get it free if you start the audible trial.
Melanie Milburne's latest book...
She’s off-limits…
And the Italian is unraveling!
When her baby niece needs her, Addison Featherstone has no choice but to turn to Ludovic Jacobetti for help. Not only is he the infant’s godfather; his private jet can take them to Italy. There’s just one complication: playboy Vic has long been the object of innocent Addie’s deepest desires…
As his friend’s sister, Addie is entirely forbidden to Vic. Yet when they're alone in Lake Como, he’s forced to acknowledge she’s more alluring than he’s ever allowed himself to notice… And once the sun sets, their chemistry doesn’t simply become intoxicating—it’s irresistible!
And the Italian is unraveling!
When her baby niece needs her, Addison Featherstone has no choice but to turn to Ludovic Jacobetti for help. Not only is he the infant’s godfather; his private jet can take them to Italy. There’s just one complication: playboy Vic has long been the object of innocent Addie’s deepest desires…
As his friend’s sister, Addie is entirely forbidden to Vic. Yet when they're alone in Lake Como, he’s forced to acknowledge she’s more alluring than he’s ever allowed himself to notice… And once the sun sets, their chemistry doesn’t simply become intoxicating—it’s irresistible!
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Gardening is such a peaceful past time! I love spending time gardening and potting my pot plants.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a peaceful pastime. Even pot plants and hanging baskets can give so much joy.
DeleteIf I had a yard I would have a garden. My daughter has a small garden in front of our apartment door but it's tiny. Management won't let us have anything big.
ReplyDeleteOh, that is disappointing for you both. But pot plants can be lovely.
DeleteI live in an apartment and so don't have a garden, but I love flowers and nature! It is a beautiful way to relax and enjoy the beauty around us. Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda. I love taking photos of flowers. There is so much detail in them if you look closely. Thanks for commenting.
DeleteSome gorgeous flowers in your garden! I get my "flower fixes" from other people's gardens, public parks and botanical gardens! All the benefits and none of the work, LOL!
ReplyDeleteHi Debra, it’s a great way of getting a garden fix without all the work! 😂
DeleteGorgeous flowers and the book sounds good
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine. I hope you enjoy it if you have a chance to read it. 😍
DeleteAren’t we like plants? Each and every of us has a seed within –we are supposed to grow it to bloom. A pot of flower, for example, it looks like a big family consisting of babies to the elderly and the withering ones, who enjoy mild sunshine and bare the harsh weather together. Thank you for your visit.
ReplyDeleteYoko
So true. Thank you.
DeleteWhat beautiful pictures of the flowers.
ReplyDeleteI live in an apartment so a balcony and no garden, but I go for a walk in a park in the city every day, there I take many pictures of flowers and plants.
I wish you a nice week.
Greetings Irma
Hi Irma, so lovely to hear from you. Just as well there are parks around for apartment dwellers. I have parks close by which inspire me to add more flowers to my garden!
DeleteBeautiful garden and I envy you the help. I am finding our big garden very time consuming and we have a large vegetable garden as well. Lack of rain this year here and with temperatures up to 40C has been extra work. Thanks for your comment, it is appreciated, Diane
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI do love seeing flowers, they do bring me joy. Your roses are lovely.
I plant some to attract the bees and hummingbirds and some annuals to attract the butterflies. I have two huge blueberry bushes for the birds and critters.
Take care, have a wonderful week!
Sounds so good. Thank you for coming by.
DeleteIt constantly amazes me how much we did when younger, but we don't need to live with pressure all our lives. Lovely garden - it's so good that it gives pleasure to neighbours, but the most important thing is how much it gives Nature. We plant and grow for wildlife, but have found that life sadly decreasing in the last couple of decades.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I was unstoppable when u was younger- so much energy and drive!
DeleteNature is so beautiful and it restores me. And I like knowing that the bees love my garden. Thanks for commenting! 😍
Your granddaughters floating the flowers in the birdbath are so cute! What a great idea, and a fabulous neighbor.
ReplyDeleteI first did that with my nieces and they loved it. My grandchildren love it too. So do I! 😂
DeleteGracias por tu comentario en mi blog. Me encantan las flores y disfruto en el jardín, tus flores se ven bonitas. Un beso.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa,
DeleteMuch as Gracie’s for your comment. So nice to hear from you.😍
beautiful Garden!
ReplyDeleteBjxxx,
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Thank you.
DeleteI am with you on the flowers. I have to have flowers in my garden too. I also look back on my life and wonder how I ever managed to do it all. Life is much slower now. Thank goodness. Thank you for sharing pictures of your garden and thanks too for visiting me earlier today. xx
ReplyDeleteThank you for dropping by.
Deletelittle garden with beautiful flowers .... love it.
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing summary of book ...sound good.
Thank you!
DeleteBeautiful blog
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteIt's great!
Deletecolorful flowers....
ReplyDeleteyellow is my favorite..
thank you for sharing summary of your book
Thank you!
DeleteNot sure how I would survive without my garden, but ours is big and quite hard work. The vegetable garden is stuggling this year as we have had heat wave after heat wave and no rain. The grass is brown :-((( Keep well Diane
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about the heat wave. Hopefully you will get rain soon.
DeleteCottage-style gardens are my favorite too. Our own garden is what you might call wildly romantic – a little overgrown (with perhaps a bit too much ivy, although I actually use it for laundry since it contains natural saponins) – but full of beautiful blossoms and, most importantly, very wildlife-friendly. 🦔🌸🐝
ReplyDeleteWe've made sure to include hiding spots for hedgehogs, and Roman snails and leopard slugs help keep the slug population in check. Praying mantises can lay their egg cases undisturbed, and birds find safe places to raise their young. Naturally, we also make sure that bees, butterflies, and other pollinators find enough to feed on throughout the seasons.
Sadly, more and more people seem to prefer very formal gardens with few insect-friendly flowers – our young neighbors are a good example. But I believe our cheerful, slightly wild front garden with lavender, hollyhocks, buddleia, low-growing roses, santolina, Russian sage and goldenrod is actually less work than their sterile gravel garden with two potted plants – and it's full of vibrant life from spring to autumn!
Your own garden seems just as lively and it's wonderful that you're passing your love of gardening on to your grandchildren! 🌼
Warm greetings from Austria and a happy start to August,
Traude
🌿 https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2025/07/musikalischer-juli-blogparade-urban.html
Oh, I love your concepts for your gardens. Thank you for letting us all know.
DeleteI love the picture of the kids at the bird bath arranging the flowers in the water. So fun!
ReplyDelete