Flori's Return...An Update..

looks like a holiday in your new corridor, how lovely!!! you can just look at it and dream

the clematis and the aquilegea look really pretty and isnt that ceanothis beautifully blue. love the acer by the door too.

Oh Flori is lovely to hear from you......will pm you..

I'm not talking to her....but I want to know what that flower is in the pic under the clem pic...so will someone ask her for me please? Also I think she should put on all the passageway makeover pics, you will all be amazed...will someone tell her? And will someone give my love to Raff and tell him how dapper he is looking in his tee shirt and how happy I am that he is recovering well. I'm not going to congratulate her on her poetry success or ask her where we can see her poems....cos I don't want to know:-))

I thought I was seeing things when Flori's name popped up on my page !! Welcome back Flori, Andy and Raff. I really like your mural, how wonderful that has turned out to be, and your garden is looking lovely. Pleased to hear about your literary success, congrats for that. Talk soon,

welcome home Flori. nice to have you back, lovely blog,

Lovely to see these pics,Flori,and catch up on what's been going on in your life..take no notice of that Ba..her sulks don't last long...I adore your garden room..looks like the Amalfi coast ? ..sorry to hear Raff had a set back,but he is looking as cute as ever..love his T shirt,although he doesn't look enthralled with it! :o)
so pleased you have done well with your poems..you must be delighted..congratulations .
Wow,that Ceanothus is a stunner,and the clems...:o)

Flori I think you better have a word with Ba.........:0)

Welcome back! Your ceanothus is wonderful! All those blossoms! Lovely dog! Glad he's doing well after his op. :o)

Welcome back Flori. how lovely to hear from you. I really love your 'summer room' what a great idea, it looks terrific, I would love to sit there and have my breakfast every morning and dream! Love your garden, look forward to some chats on here again.

Welcome back love your passage looks brill.

Love your corridor

welcome back. hope you are raring to to go and get all those rouge plants out.

Brilliant ! Well done.

Welcome back Flori, pleased to hear you are ok and well done getting the poetry published, you might go down in history one day ,lol.
I`m pleased your little Raffles is ok and hope he is through the worst now and on the way up, he looks so cute in his t-shirt although I can tell by his expression that he doesn`t doesn`t altogether agree with me..
I really like what you have done with the passage, it doesn`t look like the same place, its grand..
Lovely photographs of the garden...

sorry i forgot to say well done for the published poems ~ the ones i read were amazing!!!

so, poet laureate of goy!!!????

Hi Flori! Welcome back. It's lovely to see you again, and the newly created 'corridor' looks amazing, so well done you and OH.

Thanks for the mention. It was a pleasure to assist. :-D)

Nice to hear from you again, and see some photos of your plants. I'm glad to hear Raff is still well :o)
Congratulations on publishing your poetry ...

Oh I forgot to say...I love that pic with the arch and gate each side of the stone bench...but don't tell her! Now all of you welcoming her back with open arms must be unaware of her betrayal. She's been gallivanting with Wikinuts!!! Now you're all teating her like the proverbial prodigal...here have some fatted calf flori....I don't think so!!! 8~p

Wow! What a welcome back! Thank you all for so many nice comments and the warm welcome.. Life sometimes just gets in the way doesn't it and before you know it another month has slipped by. If you want to check out my full article on how we did the mural and renovation, please check out;

http://www.wikinut.com/a-little-bit-of-italy..diy-%26-wallpaper-design./43sgvy.7/17rlus3k/

As my good friend above (she loves me really) lol, states, I also write for Wikinut and have published various articles and poems on there under the name Songbird B.
Ba, that flower you asked about is a really pretty and unusual Aquilegia..They are wonderful plants as they self seed everywhere, but are fantastic to photograph..
Yes, I think you may be right about the Amalfi Coastline Bloomer. This mural set us back £45, but what a bargain because of how it has transformed a narrow, tall boring walk-through.. I am still thrilled with it I must admit, plus I have a large Trachelospermum Jasminoides out there in a pot which should soon be coming into flower and should smell fantastic in an enclosed space..Can hardly wait!!!
So good to be back with you all again..I thank each and every one of you for looking in on me, even she who doesn't want to talk to me...lol! \0/xxxx

I'm a bit late to the party, but welcome back. Sounds like you've been really busy. Have to say the corridor is inspired, it looks fantastic. Absolutely brilliant. Sorry to hear Raff had a set back, lets hope thats the last of it for him. Must say he's looking so cute in that t-shirt.

Hello Sam..Thanks for looking in on me, and I am so pleased that you are impressed with the transformation of the corridor..It did take some work, but it was certainly worth it. My potted Jasmine is heading towards flowering so it should smell so good as you pass through it.. If you are interested, there are more photos and explanation of how we went about it on the link I provided above.
Raff is doing great after his op and is so relieved to be out of those tee-shirts..He was loosing all street cred with the local dogs in my village..lol..Thanks for looking in on me..I really appreciate it and you are welcome to the party anytime..\0/x

I had a look through the link you posted, really interesting to see how the idea developed.

Glad to hear Raff is doing well. Bless he may have lost a bit of street cred, but he certainly looked a cool dude to me :))

Ah bless you Sam! lol..Glad you took a look through the link..It certainly shows how to make a room stand out from just painting it..Murals can be a great idea, are easy to apply and can transform any room..Even now, over 7 months on, it still gives me great pleasure to walk through that passageway, and when the sun is shining through the polycarb roof, it is flooded with light and truly brings it to life..My very own indoor/outdoor garden room. Just waiting for my Jasmine to flower now... Raff seems to be doing well, and still full of life..He is on a diet much to his disgust...lol Thanks for looking in on me Sam..\0/x

Have to admit a mural isn't something I've even considered before but I definately will now, so thank you for the inspiration :)

It'll be gorgeous in there when the jasmine comes into flower, bet you wont want to leave :)

Aww poor Raff on a diet, no more choccies for a while then. Really glad he's doing well.

I had never considered a mural before Sam, either, but I was getting desperate for ideas, and it is pretty amazing what is out there, but you do need to shop around because prices vary a lot! Ebay will give you quite a lot of hits if you google it.
Got loads of tiny flowering buds on my Jasmine now, and can hardly wait till they come into bloom..That walkway will smell heavenly! Funny how a tiny flower like that can carry such a powerful scent..

Raff is not happy about his diet one little bit! lol..I am expecting him to start walking around with a placard soon telling all about our cruelty in starving him..not!
If he could use a phone, he'd be contacting DogLine by now..hahahahaha..\0/

Thanks for the tips Flo, I'll definately keep it in mind. May struggle with my OH though took me months to talk him into a feature wall, never mind a mural lol.

It is amazing how much perfume such a tiny flower exudes. Bet you wont want to leave your walkway when its fully in flower.

Aww poor Raff, being made to diet. No wonder he's not a happy bunny :P Lol love the idea of DogLine would that be 0800 woof?? lol

Sam, your humour is as wacky as mine! Great to meet you my friend.. Yes, I had to work on my OH too, but he just enjoys a peaceful life so he gives in, plus he has a lot of faith in my design ideas, which I guess helps a lot..After almost 30 years of marriage, he just finds it easier to let me get on with it...lol. If you look in my blogs, you will find the story of Raff..and you'll lose your heart to him too..xxx

Lol Flo, one of my old primary school teachers informed my parents that I had an "eccentric" sense of humor. As I recall he was informed that it is a requirement in my family. Add working in law enforcement with a bunch of nutters (my colleagues rather than the public lol) and its a given lol.

Its been great chatting to you here, really glad I've met you.

Lol I need your OH to give mine some lessons I think. To be fair he's been pretty good. Particularly when you considere he's lived on his own for 12 years before I moved in a month ago. I'm working on him slowly. Now if I can get him to open the curtains and make the bed of a morning I'll be ecstatic lol.

I'll go have a look through your blogs for Raffs story. TBH he's already got me wrapped round his little paw. It was the t-shirt that did it lol.

You are a gal after my own heart Sam! We have had some crazy hysterical humour on some of my blogs..As you might have discovered by now, we have some amazing loons on here, not mentioning any names, Bornagain, Bloomer, Pamg and Sticki!
Am hoping to get back to Goy a little more and catch up with everyone..Thanks for adding me as a friend Sam..
Keep working on your OH..Even mine is still a work in progress!
LOL..\0/

Well I don't know how I missed this ...... Have bin piping on an off ...glad to her ur fab news ... Last time we chated you were telling me all bt it, so glad its now in print ... Have to go ck it out now .
Love the garden room so diffrent I love a bit of wacky ... Just my cup of tea.
Don't worry bt ba ,,,, she's mifed cos pump stole her bride ... U need to ck out my blog to see wot i mean LOL .... So funny !
My garden got acepted by n.g.s .... So am opening next June. Wooooo...... LOL .and u may see me in print too fingers x as had a photo shoot yesterday ,just have to wait an see now ...
Great to have you back ,still play ur c.ds love em ..
All my love an hugs to you and rafff . Hope he's ok soon .xxx

Hi Cris, so good to hear from you again my friend! Yes, I actually had some of my poems published at long last. PM me if you want details of the book and I will send you all relevant info about it. Still love my Garden Room 6 months after completion. My Jasmine is just starting to come into flower so it should smell wonderful out there..Who would have thought such tiny flowers could scent so much? Will check out your blog Cris, as this sounds too good to miss.
Oh I am delighted that you got accepted by the NGS, how I wished that we lived closer my friend, as would so love to visit. Well done!!!! Glad the CD's are still being played and my warbling tones can still be heard..
Raff doing fine at mo..He has a very impressive scar from last surgery, but he is doing really well again. We just have to stay vigilant..Great to hear from you again! \0/xxx

Hi Flori......
Cris. Flori,s poetry and that of her friends is very good and the different styles are interesting, some I 'click' with straight away whilst others I have to keep reading.....other than our dear friends poems....... I,m still deciding which I like the best.....

I too am a proud owner of Flori Lauri's book Pam. I love the personalised dedication too:-)

You two could be my agents, though I bet Ba Enterprises have that already wrapped up, as Ba will never let a business opportunity go by unknowingly...lol.. Yes Flori Lauri is still alive and creating poetic mayhem..It is just now in printed form too!..

Yes Flori-Lauri (Poet skint) is now immortalised in print..
And is even international dont'cha know..
Cos in California, she has really caused a stir,
and needs bodyguards now everywhere she goes..
With her legions of great fans..(could be counted on one hand),
her poetic genius can't be denied.
And what's more, she'll add for free
a special bit of poetry,
Flori-Lauri will even make it personalised! Boom boom!\0/xx

The personal dedication
Is telling
And is true
For as she says
In many ways
Its just
From me
To you........

Flori my dear friend I treasure my dedication too.........

Hi. Flori ... Yes I wud love the details very much ... Will pm u ASAP
Carnt wait to read them and have it on my book shelve.... Means so much more wen u know something of the person xxxxxx0)))))))

Flori Lauri's poetry book is certainly very nice
but the personal dedication
makes it worth at least twice the price:-)

Ah how you all make Flori blush,
with such lovely words and stuff,
Cris to sit upon your shelf would be a joy..
Poetic words there in a book,
might mean it's worth a second look..
Thanks so much for your support my friends on GOY! \0/xxx

I missed this one, that passage looks brilliant!

Hi Annella..Yes, am so pleased with it I must admit. If you use the link I added below, you can see how we put it all together, and more photos..Didn't think that the boys on here would appreciate me putting it on Goy as it wasn't truly a gardening blog as such..lol.

http://www.wikinut.com/a-little-bit-of-italy..diy-%26-wallpaper-design./43sgvy.7/17rlus3k/
Great to see you on my page again my friend..\0/x

Will check it out later Flori xx

Flori! . . . what a nice surprise. Freshly back in the fold myself and looking forward to catching up with folks. :-))

Hope you enjoy it Annella..Thanks for looking back in..xxx

Well if it isn't my old friend Muddy! How are you dear friend? Yes, I too have been sadly absent but am hoping to spend a little more time here among my gardening mates again. So great to see you too..I feel like I have come back home being back on GOY again..Believe me I have missed you all..Am hoping to catch up too..\0/x

Don't know how I missed this Flori..didn't come up on my page...but so glad I've found it now. Your writing is soooo good! I would love you to write a gardening book! Anyway, I want to say that that mural is gorgeous...it reminded me immediately of the hand-painted murals we saw in all the little family run restaurants we were in in Rome. I love it! Love the way you've used it too and brought some flowers in to compliment it and make it look 'real'. Sorry about your Eucalyptus. I lost one of three and took another one out just recently as it was on it's way out as well. I replaced it with a lovely Photinia 'Pink Marble' which is a bit tougher and such a lovely colour. However, I've planted three new E.Gunnii in different places, so lets hope we have no more arctic winters! Almost all the local Cordylines bit the dust that winter too, so you are definitely not alone there. Great to have you back...really glad to hear from you! :D p.s. love that t-shirt!

So good to see you Karen! I strayed from Goy to Wikinut where I could post written articles and poetry, but Goy always pulls me back because there is no other site as great as this one is in my eyes and the friendliness of fellow gardeners is an utter joy. Thank you for such lovely comments my dear friend. I write as I speak, which might or might not be a good thing..lol
I know a wall mural isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it totally transformed an ugly narrow passageway and does look amazing even at a distance, a real Trompe l'oeil effect. I have posted a link on my reply to Annella, and it is worth taking a look at how we achieved the completed design.
The 7ft Jasmine I have out there is just about to flower so it should smell wonderful walking through the passageway soon.
I was heartbroken on losing my Eucalyptus, as it was a fair sized tree, but know that many lost theirs too in those harsh Winters. My Cordylines have come back, but although we left it for a year, the Eucalyptus did not. I have planted Winter Cherry tree there instead as was suggested by our good friend and advisor, Spritzhenry.
Raff lost all street cred wearing that t-shirt, but oh how it made others smile..So great to be back in touch with you again Karen..\0/x

Looking forwRd to catching up again ... Hi muddy were you bin LOL ...flori love the ditie.... Thankyou .. xx

Yes, that was a brilliant recommendation from Spritz. I have one myself and can't imagine ever having a garden without one now! Essential small tree I think! In a mild winter (remember those) it will flower from December to April....beautiful!

Hi Cristina . . lost me Mojo. But I found it again! ;-))

Be great to catch up on your wonderful garden Cris..Glad you liked the ditty..lol. PM me and I will send you details of the book..
Our Winter Cherry tree very young Karen, but was a snip at £18 instead of usual £45 plus..I hope it does well as I really miss my old Eucalyptus..Losing a tree is heartbreaking..
Nothing worse than losing your mojo Muddy, glad you are back with it intact now..lol. Great to see you my old friend..\0/x

Muddy, I know what that's like. I kind of lost mine too lately, a combo. of the awful weather and my son going to USA for the summer. He's been away before but this time for some reason I am feeling it much worse. Probably because he is in the Rockies....fires, bears, lions, snakes etc.....but mostly the bears that scare me. Daft really as he is far more likely (statistically) to be killed falling from his rather large horse! ...you have to laugh or you'd cry....My daughter has also had a really bad time lately (been dumped from a great height by long-term BF) and struggling with uny work.....so that's probably why, but this morning I have given myself a 'fresh start' and hope to get back to my usual active self asap. Hope you feel more like yourself soon to. Life is sometimes tough....parenting is tough and you think it will get easier as they grow up...but it doesn't seem to work that way (Oliveoil will be chuckling when she reads this!!). XX Karen...sorry for 'going on' about my own troubles. Needed to let of a bit of steam....

Sorry to hear you've been down Karen. It never gets easy this family thing, no matter what the age...ask your mum:-)

So long as he's not taken his axe Karen he'll be fine! Chin up matey. ;-))

LOL! Thanks for that Muddy! :D x

Hi Flori I've been to have a look, absolutely brilliant! I love the lighting too, makes it all look so real. It reminds me of a lovely holiday in Capri. Worth a peek everyone!!! xxx

Flori, you're needed on Cristinas blog...Dodgy Mess on My Pic... Pump (alias Pimpernel, but he prefers Pump) has been very nasty to me and it's all kicking off...you too Annella...Me and Janey are going back to the old Home for the Bewildered to escape from the nastiness...do come to my aid..you too Annella and anyone else:-)

How did I miss this one, what a wonderful surprise to have you back on GOY, you have been missed my friend. Can you pm me the details re your poetry books please, would love to read them. And I love what you have created in the passage way, simply stunning.
Sorry you lost your cordys and the eucalyptus, you were not alone.......
I trust Raff has forgiven you now re his diet lol loved the tee!! regards to Andy.

Ah Karen, sorry to hear that you've been feeling down.. Hope we are all cheering you up a little on here.. Trust Muddy to make you smile! lol..
Ah thank you Annella, so glad that you took a look, as I couldn't really show the Garden Room to its best advantage on my blog. It helps when you have the background history on it too.. The lighting my OH added was a master stroke..It looks like a stage setting of an evening..Makes it a real pleasure to walk through that extension now..
If anyone curious as to what Annella and I are referring to, here is a link if you want to check it out.

http://www.wikinut.com/a-little-bit-of-italy..diy-%26-wallpaper-design./43sgvy.7/17rlus3k/

Ba...I am rushing to your aid as I typeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..\0/x

Hello DD! How lovely to see you here too my friend! Will happily PM you details of Poetry Anthology, I am honoured that you asked.. Our passageway certainly not the norm, but then what do you do with a long narrow room leading from one door to the next? It has taken me 30 years to finally find a solution, and I am still chuffed about it 7 months on...
Was so sad to lose the Eucalyptus tree, but the Cordylines are coming back...Let's hope no more Arctic Winters ahead..
Raff totally disgusted with me as I am restricting his food intake..You try telling a dog it is for his own good! hahahahaha..Guess I am in the dog house now..lol..\0/x

Cheers Flori......

You are so welcome Dd..I have pm'd you the info you requested my friend. xxxx\0/

Flori so enjoyed your blog and love your wallpaper.

Why thank you ScotKat! I know that it is a somewhat individual taste but it is the closest that I will ever get to a Garden Room, and it really does look good. There is a link on my 5th comment above that takes you to my original article that I published on Wikinut regarding the mural. It has a lot more photos and explanation on there showing how we achieved the look, should you care to read it.\0/x

Hello Bev, so good to see you back! I LOVE your new passageway, and I'm so glad to hear that Raff is still going strong! Your garden pictures look beautiful, as always :o)
I've not been in my garden for ages, I'm afraid, but hoping to get it back on its feet this spring, even if it's a shadow of what it once was!

Hi Pip! Oh how great to hear from you again! Hope all is good with you my friend. Raff is doing well. He is on a diet, and has gone from 14kg to 12.6kg so far..He does think I'm starving him though! lol. We have had so much rain here the last 4 months that my garden is absolutely sodden at the moment, and the slugs and snails are as big as houses after munching on most of my plants! You have quite made my day for me Pip by looking in, so good to hear from you again..Hugs to you my friend\0/xxx