Lavender, but it's not

When I first saw this plant at the nursery it was the colour that attracted me; purple/lavender is a legit colour and it stood out right away. I walked over thinking, look at that legit purple daisy, and well...it's not a daisy at all. OK, time to read the label which said, Senetti Lavender. Ok then, so it's a lavender...that looks like a daisy...but nope, I was way off base again.

I did some research and found the Senetti Lavender is of the Pericallis family, and here in the Southern Hemisphere, blooms for a reasonably long time between July and October. Excellent, some of you are coming home with me, is what I thought at the time, and I followed through.

A few days ago I had some time to take a few photos and did so both inside using my lightbox with a spring cheekily plucked from one of my plants - no Pericallis was harmed in the making of this post...much - and outside where I have the plants potted...it's looking magnificent out there I have to say. I'd really like to show you the garden and around my house someday but I like privacy so it's unlikely I will. Anyway, the images in this post are from that photo shoot.

I really love how my garden looks right now, in the middle of winter and, as I've said before, I've designed it so that something is blooming year-round and I enjoy the amazing pops of colour that come out as each thing blooms. It makes me happy to see everything in bloom and looking so healthy; the research, toil and effort I put in all year round pays me back ten times over in colourful and fragrant blooms and fresh produce from my vegetable garden.

My garden is extremely rewarding and makes me feel energised and connected to nature. Maybe if you're not into nature and gardening that won't make sense but it's how I feel and whilst these images can never demonstrate that better than the real thing, I hope they go some way towards showing you what things are looking like around my house at the moment.

Thanks for taking a look at my images today, and if that's all your did, or you decided to read the words too, feel free to leave a comment below on pretty much anything you like, I always respond.