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Monday 18 March 2024

IAVOM ~ 'It Might As Well Be Spring'

 

It was a beautiful start to the day here - warm and sunny with more than a hint of spring in the air.  After all we're now only two days away from that magical equinox. I headed in the direction of the garden more or less straightaway after breakfast to top up that green waste bin. It's now nestled securely in place waiting collection tomorrow. A spot of shopping after lunch and then time to pick a few snippets for this week's 'In A Vase On Monday'. Another trio this week comprising :

  • Muscari 'Valerie Finnis' which is a most delightful baby blue colour.
  • Ribes sanguineum 'Elvington's White' - this is a deciduous shrubs with leaves of a slightly dubious scent.
  • A spriglet of the delicate looking flowers of Prunus incisa 'Kojo -no- mai' also known as the Fuji cherry - I have two of these plants. One is is in a pot whilst the other in the ground is bigger. It can grow into a small tree up to 2.5 metres (8ft) but mine isn't anywhere near that high.  I think that this could be that it just doesn't get enough sum. It came into flower at least a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks to our ever stalwart host Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden'. I wonder what is in everyone else's vases this week. No doubt the wish list will grow and we're off to the first plant sale of the year at the weekend too. I can't wait!

Monday 11 March 2024

IAVOM ~ Snippets


Last week's most welcome run of consecutive dry days came to an abrupt end yesterday when it poured down for most of the day. Fortunately I took the weather forecast into account and picked a few flowers for this week's vase on Saturday, otherwise they would have been most bedraggled indeed. In my smallest of small vases are :

  • Corydalis 'Purple Bird' - planted as corms last autumn. This variety is new to me and I'm looking forward to seeing it make more growth and hopefully a bigger impact next year. I believe that it quickly goes dormant so I must make sure that I mark the plants with labels.
  • Iris reticulata 'Pixie' - this is also a variety that I've not planted before and I have been really pleased with it. Why though do my irises planted on the same day at the same depth refuse to open simaltaneously but emerge in fits and starts? This year I also grew 'Clairette' and 'Kathryn Hodgkins' - all equally lovely. Sadly they rarely survive into a second year in pots for me.
  • Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign' - the bluest of blues although I believe that there is an even bluer relative newcomer  on the scene by the name of 'Miss Elly - definite shades of 'Dallas' there. I'm on the look out for her and hope that I might come across her at a plant sale that I'm hoping to get to later on this month. 
  • Last but not least peeping coyly from behind the iris is a sprig of cardamine quinquefolia. This hardy perennial is going over now and will disappear completely in late spring to emerge again at the back end of January/ early February. After eleven years what was once a small pot has morphed into a veritable pool of colour. It's an excellent companion for snowdrops and hellebores.
Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her steadfast hosting. The forecast for this week is changeable. On the plus side it looks as if the temperatures are going to rise so I'm hoping to fit in some gardening jobs between the showers. There is much to be done. I hope that you enjoy your week.







Monday 19 February 2024

IAVOM ~ Hellebore Days

 

A trio of hellebores in today's 'In A Vase On Monday' - the names are lost in the mists of time apart from the one with the pink edging on the flower which is Helleborus Gold Collection 'Ice n' Roses' - Picotee'. The arum leaf which you can just about glimpse at the back is from a seedling of arum italicum, which is now self seeding to nuisance proportions. My fault for once commenting to a friend that it had never seeded whilst hers had. Most of the seedlings are being extricated when I spot them but this one escaped. It is different from the parent and I like the markings. 



The vase is also one of a trio which came home with me last summer after a garden visit.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her hosting this weekly meme which is must appreciated. A rare completely dry day so I have been busy pruning and filling the garden waste bin up in readiness for the first grand collection after the winter respite. Then the filling game will start again with only two weeks to the next collection. Looking forward to seeing what is on other vases this week.


Monday 12 February 2024

IAVOM ~ Just A Few Drops


Dropping into this week's 'In A Vase On Monday' post are a few of my special snowdrops. I wish I knew how to insert text and arrows for identification purposes but such wizardry is beyond me so I will rely on the good old left to right method :

  • Galanthus 'Fieldgate Superb' with a distinctive X marking.  There are a number of 'Fieldgate' snowdrops which all arrived as chance seedlings in the garden of the late Colin Mason who lived in Kenilworth. You can read more about them here. I have five 'Fieldgate' varieties and there is definitely room for more.
  • 'Galanthus 'Wendy's Gold,' feeling shy on a dull day and refusing to open for the camera, perhaps because she is in a shadier border than the other snowdrops I picked. Her yellow ovary does shine out though. Like most yellow snowdrops she seems to clump up agonisingly slowly.
  • Galanthus 'Trimmer' - lurking at the back and third from left. This one hasn't made into the garden yet but grows in a pot, which is overwintering in the greenhouse.
  • Galanthus 'Viridapice' - this is the big boy of the group. Although the label has gone missing I'm reasonably sure of the identity. 
  • Galanthus 'Hans Guck In De Luft' (which translates as Johnny-Head-In-Air) with such soulful eyes. This is a fairly new arrival has still to make it from pot culture into the garden. The one original bulb has multiplied quickly. I will be planting one potful out this week and have three more pots waiting in the wings. There will soon be spares to share with friends.
  • Galanthus 'Lost Label' - hiding behind young 'Hans' is a green tipped unknown variety. I will have to send a photo to my snowdrop friends to see if they know what it might be. Loosing labels doesn't upset me as much as it used to as the flower gives me exactly the same pleasure with or without a name. Still it's nice to know what's what.
  • Galanthus 'Sutton Courtenay' - this one has an unmistakeable yellowish lime green ovary and the markings are the same colour.
  • Last but not least is the distinctive 'Trumps' which I included in a vase some three weeks ago and which is still going strong. I must divide what is now a large clump.
Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her brilliant hosting each and every Monday. This week her post is featuring the most gorgeous hellebore which I simply must track down! The recent wet weather has not treated the snowdrops or other early flowers such as crocus well. However today the sun has been out on and off with patches of blue sky and spring seems to be that bit nearer. 

Monday 29 January 2024

IAVOM ~ 'Reeling In The Years'


 It's Monday again and I'm joining in with the 'In A Vase On Monday' meme which invites bloggers to share their flowers in a vase or alternative container. A great way to kick-start the new week! A quick pick and plonk from me late yesterday afternoon. In my vase are :

  • Iris reticulata - I'm not sure what variety but possibly 'Clairette'. They have popped up over the last week in a pot set aside as I wasn't sure what was in it. No signs of any other occupants so far though.
  • Helleborus x hybridus (Ashwood Evolution Group) Yellow Double' - this is a recent arrival and was a gift from himself as I celebrated one of those big birthdays that ends in a 0 last week. It's a beauty and now I need to find the perfect spot for it.
I have used a favourite vase which was hand painted by my mum. I  can't make my mind up whether the markings are suns or stars. On the subject of the solar system just before darkness fell last night we headed to catch the 'Gaia' exhibition at a local museum, which is based on the site of a former medieval monastery. This art installation is touring the world and gives us an opportunity to see what our planet looks like from the moon. 


Measuring seven metres in diameter and created from 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, 'Gaia' gives us the opportunity to see our planet, floating in three dimensions. In Greek mythology Gaia is the personification of the Earth, hence the name of the installation. We thought that our local museum was perhaps to small to get the best experience of 'Gaia' but imagine that it will look fantastic suspended in Tewkesbury Abbey, where it will be heading off to next week. Do have a look here to find out more and to see whether 'Gaia' might be heading in your direction in the future.


Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her stellar hosting each and every week. Although it's raining heavily outside at the moment I'm hoping to spend some time in my greenhouse  this week well wrapped up in the heated gilet that my sister has kindly bought for me in deference to my senior years. I hope that you're able to venture out into the garden this week.

Monday 22 January 2024

IAVOM ~ 'Blowin' In The Wind'



The residents of today's vase were vigorously swirling about in the wind as I took this photo. Last week's snow and ice turned back to wet and windy yesterday with the arrival of storm 'Isha', which caused some considerable havoc across the country especially in Scotland. Today the sun is out and although the wind is brisk it's certainly abated. In my vase are :

  • Stems of cornus sanguinea 'Anny's Winter Orange'.
  • Stems of pittisporum' Silver Ball'.
  • Flowers from one of my favourite snowdrops with the unfortunate name of 'Trumps'. I think that the snowdrop preceded the politician or certainly his arrival on the world's political stage. It has distinct green markings on the outside, flowers early and has clumped up well in the garden.

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for inviting us to share our vases little and large, whatever the weather or the season. Here another named winter storm is waiting in the wings for tomorrow but the weather gods are are promising to be more kind at the weekend. I'm looking forward to it! 

Monday 8 January 2024

IAVOM ~ 'Just Picked and Plonked'


 In anticipation of a busy weekend and a weather forecast for frost I ventured out on Friday to snip some bits for this week's vase. It was decidedly cool, grey and extremely soggy so it turned out to be a quick and rather lopsided pick and plonk. I just wanted to get back indoors pronto! In my vase are :

  • A sprig of viburnum tinus - I think that it's 'Eve Price'. We tried to remove this evergreen shrub a few years ago. Although the winter flowers are welcome the foliage was always attacked by the viburnum beetle which leaves a trail of unattractive lacy holes in its wake. We must have left a portion still in the ground which has taken off again. Further surgery is required. 
  • A rather battered flower from anemone coronaria 'Mr Fokker' which I have never seen flower at this time of the year before now. It's a low growing tuberous perennial which usually flowers in the spring through to early summer and has the deepest most vivid of blue flowers .

  • Last but not least the only dry bloom in the house is chrysanthemum 'Tula Green'. This has been in the shelter of the greenhouse. I've grown it before and lost it but was gifted a couple of cuttings from a friend this autumn and one of the plants has recently come into flower.
Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. Looking outside this morning I saw that the predicted frost had not materialised but it's bitterly cold out there, so more of a day for inside activities including some vase hopping later. Wishing everyone a good week and happy gardening whether of the armchair sort or real life variety.

Monday 1 January 2024

IAVOM ~ Just In Time


I'm cheating this week with my 'In A Vase on Monday' contribution so I hope that I'm forgiven. Back in November I purchased a couple of seasonal bulbs from a certain German supermarket - that little and often one. Both were hippeastrum bulbs to give them their proper name although I still think of them as amaryllis. One was in a box with bowl and planting medium included, whilst the other was a ready made job in a glass container complete with seasonal decorations. It was obviously more expensive than the boxed version but then I can use the container again as well as some of the decorations so I decided to treat myself. It has been exciting to inspect the bulb daily for signs of growth and after a tantalising wait to see the first flower open a couple of days before Christmas. There was no indication of what the colour of the flower was when I bought the bulb so that was part of the excitement,

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her wonderful hosting skills. Wishing all my blogging friends a most peaceful and joyous New Year and happy gardening in the twelve months of the year to come! 🌱

Monday 25 December 2023

IAVOM ~ Season's Greetings!

 

This week's little Monday vase celebrates Christmas as well as being a nod to the recent winter solstice. As we turn to the light there will be more and more flowers to pick so certainly a time to rejoice. In my vase are :

  • Cornus or dogwood 'Anny's Winter Orange' stems.
  • A couple of nameless violas.
  • A sprig or two of winter flowering jasmine whose Latin name eludes me just now.
  • A flower of the appropriately named galanthus or snowdrop 'Three Ships' - the flowers of which have certainly sailed in well on time this year.
The vase was hand painted by mum.

A big thank you as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden', who entertains us each and every Monday, whatever the season and on special days too. Wishing Cathy and all my blogging friends a most Merry Christmas and happy gardening in the new year ❄️ 🤶🎄🌱❤️



Monday 18 December 2023

IAVOM ~ In The Pink

 
A duo of pink chrysanthemums on this week's 'In A Vase On Monday'. Both chrysanthemums are currently in the greenhouse is only heated when the overnight temperatures fall to minus figures. I've not grown either before. They are :
  •  'Avignon Pink' whose days with me are numbered. It is the lighter single bloom and looked a much warmer shade of pink in the catalogue. If it survives the winter and re-sprouts next year I will be looking out for a good home for it.
  • 'Tula Purple' - the jury is still out on this one. It's not as purple as I hoped but it may get a more prolonged stay than it's companion.


Meanwhile in the greenhouse another of the Tula series is about to open. My last pickings of chrysanthemum 'Spider Bronze' for a vase on the 27th November, are heading in the direction of the green garden waste bin today. In their floppy gone over state they have paled to a much softer shade of orange and still look most pleasing to the eye. I'm definitely impressed by the staying power of these flowers and after two years of growing 'Spider Bronze' it's a definite keeper.

As always thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. No gardening for me today although I spent some productive time in the garden yesterday on what was a rare mild dry day. I finally planted my tulips in pots with himself's assistance, watered my cuttings and seedlings in the greenhouse, did some pruning and mulched the rapidly emerging snowdrops. Cutting off the old hellebore leaves is the next task on the list. Meanwhile it's a sorry state of affairs as it's housework that takes priority today but I will make sure that there is time for a coffee break or two and some vase perusing along the way.