Golden Poppies and Lavender and reading about Tudor England

Thank you to all my blog sweeties for your birthday wishes. You are each one a treasured friend in my garden of friends.
For today's blog post I saw these Golden Poppies and Lavender on my walk along the bay today.
They are growing two blocks from our house.
The red brick wall gets very hot and holds the heat which California poppies and lavender both appreciate. I think orange and purple / blue flowers on a red wall are an odd combination, but it works and they look right purty.
I had time to read a bit today, and before that I exercised in a pool for an hour and did a wee spot of gardening.
With my reading I get to time travel, in a way, and today I am in the Tudor Court, reading a not yet released book about Henry VIII's sixth wife, Catherine Parr. The book is "Queen's Gambit" and it is the first novel by Elizabeth Fremantle. When I saw the author's name I thought she was born to write fiction about England's royalty.
Do you like to time travel with a book too?

Garden Party

Three dear friends treated me to an early birthday lunch and each gave me a garden related gift. Do they know what I like or what?
Isn't that a fun saying on the pink bag "Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake."
A festive painted ceramic snail, a brilliant red begonia and a Coconut Sherbet pansy in a blue Easter basket.
THANK YOU LADIES.
Friends are as sweet as garden flowers.

Camellias floating in water

Our seven foot tall camellias are blooming now and I like to float camellia flowers in a bowl of water.
I like to see the photos of where you all live, some of you having pretty white snow and all the different weathers round the world.