Joanne's Cottage Garden: A BIRTHDAY BOUQUET

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

A BIRTHDAY BOUQUET

A birthday bouquet arrived from my brother and his wife for my 60th birthday what a wonderful surprise. I have always drooled over the David Austin cut roses when looking in their catalogue and at their stands at Hampton Court flower show. These are Miranda. I never imagined I'd ever receive a Bouquet. Thank you so much John and Barbara they are really wonderful and thank you also for the lovely rose Sophy's rose a beautiful light red or deep pink colour that repeat flowers.

This last photo was for Carolyn at Aiken House and Gardens, do pop over and see her beautiful collection of china but take time to scroll back to her lovely summer garden too.

25 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine20 January 2010 at 10:46
Happy 60th. What a lovely bouquet. I love the arrangement and the colors.

FlowerLady
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Anonymous20 January 2010 at 11:03
Miranda is a breath of summer in winter. Your lovely bouquet lifted my spirit as well. Happy Birthday.
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Autumn Belle20 January 2010 at 11:21
Wishing you a Very Happy, Healthy and Wonderful Birthday, Joanne. May you have many many more. May all your wishes come true!

The roses are very very beautiful. I have never seen such large roses before. There are some small flowers in the arrangement. Are they plum blossoms?
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Carol20 January 2010 at 13:53
Happy Birthday to YOU! Happy Birthday to YOU! Happy Birthday Dear Joanne! Happy Birthday To YOU! Many Many Happy Returns to the Day! Lovely bouquet! Such lavish roses... your room looks so festive! I hope you throughly enjoy the day and week! All best wishes for your year. Big birthday hug, Carol
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Dirt Princess20 January 2010 at 14:00
Happy Birthday! How nice! What a beautiful bouquet! Very thoughtful, he knew you would enjoy them! Don't you just love Carolyn's place! I want to visit so bad!
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Unknown20 January 2010 at 14:09
Very beautiful....Happy Birthday hun!
~Brooke
http://www.creativecountrymom.blogspot.com
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Deborah at Kilbourne Grove20 January 2010 at 14:12
Joanne, what a beautiful bouquet for a beautiful soul. The colours go so well in your room. When I worked at the flower shop at Harrods, we used to get buckets of David Austin roses to sell. The perfume of them was amazing, as well they are gorgeous. They really shamed the french and dutch roses that we also had.
Happy Birthday
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Tatyana@MySecretGarden20 January 2010 at 14:18
What a royal bouquet, Joanne! Have a Happy Birthday and a Happy and Healthy year!Beautiful shots!
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Carolyn20 January 2010 at 14:24
I was just admiring your pretty china and beautiful bouquet of Miranda roses when my name jumped off the page!
Thank you so much-I guess you know me well enough to know that roses and china are two of my favorite things.
Happy Birthday!
Carolyn
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Victoria20 January 2010 at 14:30
Happy Birthday Joanne! Wishing you Many New Blessings of joy throughout the year !Wow..gorgeous photos..I am mesmerized by all that mega-beuaty!! Lovely post!
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Alison20 January 2010 at 15:07
Happy Birthday dear friend!
May this be the year that the last remnants of your Lyme disease leave you forever!
A gorgeous bouquet! Suits you perfectly!
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Noelle Johnson 20 January 2010 at 16:40
The roses are just beautiful. I love Austin roses very much, especially their lovely fragrance. Happy Birthday!
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Catherine@AGardenerinProgress20 January 2010 at 16:58
Happy Birthday Joanne! A David Austen bouquet, how lucky and pretty. Have a wonderful day celebrating :)
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Bay Area Tendrils20 January 2010 at 17:52
Happy, happy birthday!
When I visited the David Austin Rose gardens and toured the facilities, they were working on developing roses for cutting.
I must admit that I love Austin's so-called 'English roses' above all others.
Just dotty about them.
Hope all is well, take care,
Alice
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Anonymous20 January 2010 at 20:02
The flowers are gorgeous. Enjoy the rest of your birthday
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Anna20 January 2010 at 20:11
How beautiful Joanne. You must have been delighted to have received them. Hope that you have had a great day :)
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Helen/patientgardener20 January 2010 at 21:25
What a lovely posy and a reminder of summer
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Anonymous21 January 2010 at 00:26
How pretty! I too was admiring your china collection. Have a great birthday.
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Bangchik and Kakdah21 January 2010 at 16:00
Happy birthday Joanne. May days ahead be as beautiful as the roses...... ~bangchik
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Joanne21 January 2010 at 18:12
Thanks everyone for your Birthday wishes. At last the weather was nice enough today to get in the garden.The start of the gardening year.
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Roses at Wedgwood House and Gardens22 January 2010 at 06:18
Dear Joanne,
First I want to wish you a very happy birtyday and a very happy birthday year.

I do not seem to be accepted here any more. Perhaps, I have been gone too long, but this is my third attempt. I do hope it works this time.

I will not go into stories as I previously did, I just want to wish you a grat Happy Birthday. Here Goes!!! :)
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Joanne22 January 2010 at 11:36
Pauline Telapathy! I was thinking of you this morning and thought I must e mail you and I will but I am off out today. I also see you have another blog of your travels which I will pop over and have a good look at. Great to hear from you.
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Anonymous24 January 2010 at 17:40
Wow Joanne, NICE. In fact so nice that I swear I could actually detect a scent emanating from my computer screen. I have Sophie's rose. I got it last spring. Lots of powdery mildew but hopefully that was an anomaly. Happy Birthday!
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Miranda Bell25 January 2010 at 11:34
I've just discovered your blog and with the name of the rose - just had to leave a comment - not being biased or anything I love the Miranda Rose - I bought her in the UK and she's now doing very well in our French garden! What a truly stunning bouquet and a belated Happy Birthday - Miranda
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Maureen28 January 2010 at 23:00
Hi Joanne, I am so sorry I missed your birthday, a belated birthday wish to you. Your flowers are so beautiful, and I can see you are getting on well with the camera, the photo's are great.
maureen x
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LYME LIFE written 2009

I started suffering with arthritis in mainly my large joints especially my knees 6 years ago. The symptoms varied and I remember saying that every joint was affected except my elbows to one doctor. I was told it would be hormonal and to take the usual supplements cod liver oil or glucosamine ( I would certainly recommend buying shares in the companies producing these supplements) They had no noticeable affect.

All my symptoms deteriorated significantly over a few weeks, 4 years ago. Hips shoulders and knees being the worst and I started with muscle weakness in upper arms and upper legs. I had difficulty standing and walking across a room. I was unable to walk upstairs and my husband was making plans to convert to a downstairs bedroom. I had seen 5 doctors and 3 Rheumatologists and put on steroids for Poly Myalgia Rheumatica diagnosis. I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS.

I have X rays and scans showing signs of osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. I have been retired early from the Civil Service having lost my job not to mention my earning potential.

My illness seemed to progress through my body not affecting the same joints left to right at the same time. I had bursitis in left hip, right hip, left elbow. I had synovial thickening in both wrists. At that time I could not lift and hold a magazine so lifting a kettle I could only do if a third full and with two hands. Each joint in my hands fingers feet and toes were affected. I had swallowing difficulties and many other symptoms. None of this describes the endless and awful pain whenever I moved or the tiredness but inability to get quality sleep.

Two years ago my GP gave me Amoxicilin for a sinus/throat/chest infection. All my arthritis symptoms improved. The course ended the symptoms deteriorated I started a second course the symptoms improved. The improvement was more significant than when I had started taking steroids. This led my GP to suspect Lyme Disease. I laughed because we do not travel abroad but she said they had had other cases in the surgery in the early stages of tick bite and Erythma Migrans rash. She said, but you have not had a bite. I said oh yes I have I had two on my ankles with rashes, March 05 this was confirmed on her computer at the time I had seen a locum doctor. My worst symptoms were waking up feeling rigid and having to painfully flex every joint in my body before struggling to get up. The only other time I had experienced this was in May 2003 during a flu like illness like no other I had ever experienced. At that time I had a bite and similar rash on my right foot which lasted like the other rashes about four weeks. I had also consulted the surgery and it was dismissed as a virus. I walked our dog daily in the woods adjacent to our house where the deer roam, prime tick area.

Thus started my very lengthy search about Lyme Disease leading me through http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/ to a doctor who specialises in this illness. He confirmed my GP's suspicions. I never had a positive blood test but then they are antigen tests and there is much research that shows they are unreliable. In my case the year of steroids and many weeks antibiotics could have affected the results. So with a clinical diagnosis and following ILADS International Lyme and Associated Disease Society guidelines I continued on antibiotics for two years. Both my doctors continued to treat me despite the Health Protection Agency advising against long term antibiotics. I am now nearly 100% recovered I have no pain or muscle weakness. I can walk upstairs something I could not do for three and a half years. I can garden do house work and live a normal life. I still need to pace myself and with only a few months to 60 will not be looking to return to work.

Life is such a joy.

Sadly there is much controversy about Lyme Disease and doctors in UK are taught that it is so rare. Well where I live in Guildford I have been in contact with a dozen other people with it so perhaps not so rare as HPA would like us to believe. I am in touch with nearly 2000 other patients through a chat line Eurolyme most had been misdiagnosed with several other illnesses.

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One day there will be many more people who are helped with their chronic illnesses when IDSA starts taking note of what our courageous LLMD’s are doing following ILADS Guidelines.

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UPDATE

Joanne's Cottage Garden

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

A BIRTHDAY BOUQUET

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