Thunbergia appreciation post

I grew some Thunbergia alata – also known as black-eyed Susan vine – from seed this year. My Nannie used to grow these and she let them trail whereas I've got them as climbers in containers.

The simple orange flowers with their black middles really zing against the bright green of the foliage and on a bright and sunny day they are just glorious to look at.

The bees love these flowers too. They crawl right into the flower to get at the pollen.

I wanted to make a bracelet in the same colours as the black-eyed Susans which meant I got to use some of my treasured Vetrofond Parrot Green – that's the opaque lime green which has transparent green streaks. I'm down to three quarters of a rod of this gorgeous glass so I use it very sparingly.

The resulting bracelet is so bright and summery and I feel like it should smell of citrus fruits.

The 'Thunbergia' bracelet is in my shop as I type.

I've got a foodbank shift tomorrow and I can't see me making any beads over the weekend because of the hot weather so there'll be no new beads from me until some time next week.