Say It With Flowers

Creativity Gets A Springtime Boost

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

So spring is well and truly here and three weeks after the end of winter, we've already had those warmer, longer days that inspire us to spend more time outdoors. The roses at Casa Authorblog will soon be in full bloom, although there have been isolated buds and blooms here and there.

But these images were shot with the permission of a Melbourne florist, just outside the shop, about ten days ago. Somehow, it seems just about everybody feels more creative as the bite of winter recedes. The displays seem bigger, more inventive and the colours seem more welcoming.

Maybe it's just my imagination. Or maybe there really is some truth to the theory that inspiration comes when surrounded by colour ....


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Say It With Flowers

Creativity Gets A Springtime Boost

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

So spring is well and truly here and three weeks after the end of winter, we've already had those warmer, longer days that inspire us to spend more time outdoors. The roses at Casa Authorblog will soon be in full bloom, although there have been isolated buds and blooms here and there.

But these images were shot with the permission of a Melbourne florist, just outside the shop, about ten days ago. Somehow, it seems just about everybody feels more creative as the bite of winter recedes. The displays seem bigger, more inventive and the colours seem more welcoming.

Maybe it's just my imagination. Or maybe there really is some truth to the theory that inspiration comes when surrounded by colour ....


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Say It With Flowers

A Mix Of Styles Says So Much About Life Itself

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It’s always interesting to see how professional florists put together an arrangement. This beautiful bouquet, placed in a square display for a table, has an interesting variety of colours and textures that complement each other.

The square box is light pastel pink, which is perfectly echoed by the silken wax paper that encases it, separating it from the actual blooms. At the bottom of he box and concealed from sight, is a small bowl holding water and some magical long-life mixture.

The roses were photographed on the third day and they have slowly emerged from bud form into tightly furled blooms, with their colour a great match for the rest of the pink hues below.

The mix of white-based blossoms at the base of the decoration are an interesting mix of shapes and sizes, including what appear to be azaleas or something related to the rhododendron family, with dark transverse stripes across their light, curved petals.

There is a combination of leaves as well, in terms of shape and reflectivity. The larger leaves are from the rose stems, while the tapering, darker leaves are from a camellia.

It’s an interesting metaphor for life, don’t you think? Not every aspect must be strictly complementary - and sometimes unexpected variety can actually create a harmonious overall effect.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Say It With Flowers

A Mix Of Styles Says So Much About Life Itself

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It’s always interesting to see how professional florists put together an arrangement. This beautiful bouquet, placed in a square display for a table, has an interesting variety of colours and textures that complement each other.

The square box is light pastel pink, which is perfectly echoed by the silken wax paper that encases it, separating it from the actual blooms. At the bottom of he box and concealed from sight, is a small bowl holding water and some magical long-life mixture.

The roses were photographed on the third day and they have slowly emerged from bud form into tightly furled blooms, with their colour a great match for the rest of the pink hues below.

The mix of white-based blossoms at the base of the decoration are an interesting mix of shapes and sizes, including what appear to be azaleas or something related to the rhododendron family, with dark transverse stripes across their light, curved petals.

There is a combination of leaves as well, in terms of shape and reflectivity. The larger leaves are from the rose stems, while the tapering, darker leaves are from a camellia.

It’s an interesting metaphor for life, don’t you think? Not every aspect must be strictly complementary - and sometimes unexpected variety can actually create a harmonious overall effect.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Think Pink

Spring Symphony Comes In Many Colours

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As a child, I always wondered about the expression "as fresh as a daisy". Surely, I thought, there were other flowers that were bigger, taller, brighter, more infused with wonderful perfume …..

You see, I grew up in Calcutta, India, where we had a sprawling garden that was big enough for a badminton court near the driveway, a full-length cricket pitch near the back door, as well as an enclosed sanctuary where such missiles as soccer balls and cricket balls could not do any damage – and several long, broad garden beds.

So in my childish mind, there were many varieties that looked fresher than daisies, which I thought were probably a bit mundane.

Then I grew up (ostensibly) and married Mrs Authorblog and I became the designated gardener, teaching each of the Authorbloglets in turn everything I knew about horticulture. So when we built our own home and I had the great pleasure of designing and planning the garden, I planted some daisies that act as a beacon of the seasons.

There are huge mounds of golden-yellow daisies in winter, white daisies in late winter and now the scarlet daisies as spring loosens winter’s grip. And yes, I have finally realised that "fresh as a daisy" is entirely accurate and legitimate.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Think Pink

Spring Symphony Comes In Many Colours

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

As a child, I always wondered about the expression "as fresh as a daisy". Surely, I thought, there were other flowers that were bigger, taller, brighter, more infused with wonderful perfume …..

You see, I grew up in Calcutta, India, where we had a sprawling garden that was big enough for a badminton court near the driveway, a full-length cricket pitch near the back door, as well as an enclosed sanctuary where such missiles as soccer balls and cricket balls could not do any damage – and several long, broad garden beds.

So in my childish mind, there were many varieties that looked fresher than daisies, which I thought were probably a bit mundane.

Then I grew up (ostensibly) and married Mrs Authorblog and I became the designated gardener, teaching each of the Authorbloglets in turn everything I knew about horticulture. So when we built our own home and I had the great pleasure of designing and planning the garden, I planted some daisies that act as a beacon of the seasons.

There are huge mounds of golden-yellow daisies in winter, white daisies in late winter and now the scarlet daisies as spring loosens winter’s grip. And yes, I have finally realised that "fresh as a daisy" is entirely accurate and legitimate.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Purple Haze

Great Buddleia, Buddy

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This is one of the common buddleia varieties that grow profusely around Victoria, my home state, as winter starts to draw to a close. This bush isn’t actually on our property, but I watched it sprout its first tendrils of colour about four or five weeks ago – and watched and watched and watched as the colour slowly began to suffuse the actual foliage.

These shots were taken about ten days ago. It was a cloudy day and I figured the conditions would be perfect to shoot some images that captured the striking colour and formation of the tiny blossoms.


Yes, sunlight is a photographer’s ally, but I often find a cloudy sky above me is a great way to capture intricacies that might otherwise be washed out or, on the other hand, saturated in bright sunlight.


How big is each individual blossom? About two to three millimeters across, that’s all. So, since I was using a standard lens (my favourite Sigma 18-125mm) rather than a macro, I opted for a range of views that would depict hue and form, rather than true close-ups.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Purple Haze

Great Buddleia, Buddy

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This is one of the common buddleia varieties that grow profusely around Victoria, my home state, as winter starts to draw to a close. This bush isn’t actually on our property, but I watched it sprout its first tendrils of colour about four or five weeks ago – and watched and watched and watched as the colour slowly began to suffuse the actual foliage.

These shots were taken about ten days ago. It was a cloudy day and I figured the conditions would be perfect to shoot some images that captured the striking colour and formation of the tiny blossoms.


Yes, sunlight is a photographer’s ally, but I often find a cloudy sky above me is a great way to capture intricacies that might otherwise be washed out or, on the other hand, saturated in bright sunlight.


How big is each individual blossom? About two to three millimeters across, that’s all. So, since I was using a standard lens (my favourite Sigma 18-125mm) rather than a macro, I opted for a range of views that would depict hue and form, rather than true close-ups.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

The Other Terracotta Army

Tossing Their Heads In Sprightly Dance

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It's always a wonderful thing to see a splash of natural colour in winter. To this end, we always plant seedlings in our terracotta pots under cover (and therefore protected from the frost) at the front of Casa Authorblog, with a rich variety that is always deliberately chosen.

Some of the pots have polyanthus, some have lobellia, some have pansies, some have primulas. That mix always ensures that the plants blossom at different times, we have an array of colours and more importantly, because of the mix of types, they flower at different times as well.

With the end of winter only a week away, the tall primulas are now past their best, so we might give them a few more days until the leaves start turning colour. Then we'll head off to the nursery and buy some punnets of petunias, those old favourites that never really go out of fashion.

This shot, taken from above one of the terracotta pots, shows the primulas, both white and purple, in the strong sunlight that is bringing warmth back to Melbourne.

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

The Other Terracotta Army

Tossing Their Heads In Sprightly Dance

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

It's always a wonderful thing to see a splash of natural colour in winter. To this end, we always plant seedlings in our terracotta pots under cover (and therefore protected from the frost) at the front of Casa Authorblog, with a rich variety that is always deliberately chosen.

Some of the pots have polyanthus, some have lobellia, some have pansies, some have primulas. That mix always ensures that the plants blossom at different times, we have an array of colours and more importantly, because of the mix of types, they flower at different times as well.

With the end of winter only a week away, the tall primulas are now past their best, so we might give them a few more days until the leaves start turning colour. Then we'll head off to the nursery and buy some punnets of petunias, those old favourites that never really go out of fashion.

This shot, taken from above one of the terracotta pots, shows the primulas, both white and purple, in the strong sunlight that is bringing warmth back to Melbourne.

Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

From Punk Rocker To Pink Rocker

Nature's Fairy Floss Comes On Delicate Branches

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

One of the many things I really love about living in Melbourne is the fact that the winter solstice arrives on 22 June, exactly three weeks after the official start of winter on 1 June. In other words, our days actually start get longer even before we are one-third of the way through winter.


Then the trees start to herald the promise of warmer weather. There is still ice on the cars and cruel frost on the ground when the wattle trees begin to bloom, with golden clouds of miniature blooms that dance in the cold breeze.

Come the last week of July and the fruit trees start to show puffs of light, dreamy pink. By the middle of August, the sun’s embrace brings a different quality of light and warmth.


These images were shot on the weekend, showing the most vivid promise that our winter only has two weeks remaining. The football season is drawing towards the business end. There is less need to wear a scarf on a cold morning. The sunlight breaks through our windows earlier than ever. And the light brings great promise for photographers.


When I shot these images, the sun was mostly hidden behind thick cloud and wild winds hit the state hard. All in all, not the best conditions to photograph tiny blooms like these. But that's the real challenge - of being able to work with Nature, to depict Nature.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

From Punk Rocker To Pink Rocker

Nature's Fairy Floss Comes On Delicate Branches

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

One of the many things I really love about living in Melbourne is the fact that the winter solstice arrives on 22 June, exactly three weeks after the official start of winter on 1 June. In other words, our days actually start get longer even before we are one-third of the way through winter.


Then the trees start to herald the promise of warmer weather. There is still ice on the cars and cruel frost on the ground when the wattle trees begin to bloom, with golden clouds of miniature blooms that dance in the cold breeze.

Come the last week of July and the fruit trees start to show puffs of light, dreamy pink. By the middle of August, the sun’s embrace brings a different quality of light and warmth.


These images were shot on the weekend, showing the most vivid promise that our winter only has two weeks remaining. The football season is drawing towards the business end. There is less need to wear a scarf on a cold morning. The sunlight breaks through our windows earlier than ever. And the light brings great promise for photographers.


When I shot these images, the sun was mostly hidden behind thick cloud and wild winds hit the state hard. All in all, not the best conditions to photograph tiny blooms like these. But that's the real challenge - of being able to work with Nature, to depict Nature.


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Cutting Remarks

Truly, A Rose Between Two Thorns

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I had to photograph these roses just before I cut them down, just to remind us all how resilient these plants are - some of them flowering even in the Australian winter that gets colder the further south you go in the country-continent.

Last week we completed the pruning of the roses at Casa Authorblog - a long process, because there are so many rose bushes around the property. A lot of people start cutting their roses back as soon as winter begins, but I have a slightly different theory.

The way I figure it, there’s not much point cutting roses back while we still get heavy frost as well as ice in the morning. So I let them be, with their straggly branches bare of any leaves, but I get the secateurs out in late July, when the worst of the frosts are behind us.

Then we begin the long job of pruning each bush. Some of them grow to the limit of my arm’s reach, and there is one climbing rose in particular that reaches about four metres in height. As each bush is pruned, we use secateurs to cut the branches into smaller bits and these are then loaded into a special bin for gardening-related items.

Already, some of the bushes have started to sprout new growth, fresh leaves and shoots that are a rich burgundy. And now I start checking each bush for aphids, those little green insects that suck the life out of any fresh shoots.

Kinda like an "Aphid and Goliath" situation, huh?


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.

Cutting Remarks

Truly, A Rose Between Two Thorns

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

I had to photograph these roses just before I cut them down, just to remind us all how resilient these plants are - some of them flowering even in the Australian winter that gets colder the further south you go in the country-continent.

Last week we completed the pruning of the roses at Casa Authorblog - a long process, because there are so many rose bushes around the property. A lot of people start cutting their roses back as soon as winter begins, but I have a slightly different theory.

The way I figure it, there’s not much point cutting roses back while we still get heavy frost as well as ice in the morning. So I let them be, with their straggly branches bare of any leaves, but I get the secateurs out in late July, when the worst of the frosts are behind us.

Then we begin the long job of pruning each bush. Some of them grow to the limit of my arm’s reach, and there is one climbing rose in particular that reaches about four metres in height. As each bush is pruned, we use secateurs to cut the branches into smaller bits and these are then loaded into a special bin for gardening-related items.

Already, some of the bushes have started to sprout new growth, fresh leaves and shoots that are a rich burgundy. And now I start checking each bush for aphids, those little green insects that suck the life out of any fresh shoots.

Kinda like an "Aphid and Goliath" situation, huh?


Visit Luiz Santilli Jr for the home of Today's Flowers.