Sunday Selections #636

 Long ago, Kim of Frog ponds Rock, (who no longer blogs), dreamed up a meme called Sunday Selections. 

A place where those who were willing could put up photos they wanted to share, new, old, good, bad or indifferent, any photos you please. 

Nothing rude or vulgar though.

And we don't mind at all if overseas bloggers care to join us.

The meme is now continued by Elephant's Child and I occasionally join in as do a few others. Andrew is one.  Messymimi is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.

Andrew is still away in England so may or may not join us.

this is the mulberry tree growing within the grounds, you can see by the trunk it is fairly young still, although it has been here since before I moved in twelve years ago.

the leaves are bigger than my hand

and very bright when the sun is on them. Two or three years ago this tree was trimmed back so severely it was little more than the trunk with a small canopy, where once the branches were plentiful and hung almost to the ground. The mulberries were fat, black and sweet and there were hundreds of them each November/December, but since the trimming there hasn't been a single berry.

this sleeping china piggy in the same area as the piggy banks appears to be a salt shaker and I think she is far too pretty to be 'salted'.

these next few photos are all of the same plant and I am hoping someone can tell me what it is. 

It is taller than me ( I am five feet) and it is wide, spreading similar to a Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia)

the leafy branches look like this with each leaf alternating along the stem, each leaf longer than my hand, each stem longer than my arm.

I'm not sure if this is another leaf stem about to unfurl, or if this is how the flowers start. I'm betting on leaf though.

the flowers look like this, a bit like a spider orchid? spider lily? and does it grow from bulbs or rhizomes?

here are flowers surrounded by upright leaves

a closer look at the flowers

and again. It doesn't seem to have a scent.

dead flowerhead.

here is Genevieve playing with the toys

while Anastasia loves working out the piano sounds

here the girls watch Teletubbies while waiting for their dinner.