Fritillaria

Today's the day ....................... for favourite things

I've had a lovely day today, spent in glorious sunshine under blue skies.  It started with cards and presents, moved on to lunch in a local pub and finished off in the garden.  All in all, I'm feeling very looked after - and blessed.

As well as being Mothers' Day and time to put the clocks forward - it's also time for these beautiful flowers to show themselves and let us know that they have survived the winter. They look so exotic with their strange chequered petals. Apparently this is what their name is derived from - the latin word for a dice-box (fritillus). They look almost unreal - as if the pattern had been painted on. 

Perhaps this is why they were also one of the favourites of the artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh ..................