IAVOM ~ First Pickings

Slightly earlier than last year methinks there is a vase of sweet peas on the kitchen windowsill. The first bunch of sweet peas is always a highlight of my gardening year. I'm sure that I've said before that they are the one hardy annual that I wouldn't be without. Starring in this year's cast are : 'Erewhon', 'Gwendoline', 'Kings Ransom', 'Eclipse', 'Almost Black', 'Indigo King', 'David Tostevin' and 'Suzy Z'. The last two are new to me this year and the jury is still out them. They leave something to be desired when it comes to scent and scent is an important factor for me when it comes to sweet peas. 

I could have picked a smaller bunch last week but as we were away for a few days I decided to remove the first flowers and jettison them which did cause me some heartbreak. I came home though to this burst of colour and there are just as many today waiting in the wings for their moment in a vase.

In other news the first homegrown tomatoes of the year were eaten yesterday, the green garden waste bin is filled ready for collection and I have been sowing biennials. Summer is definitely in full stride with another heatwave predicted for later this week. This time it's creeping up to the north west of England so I think that gardening jobs apart from watering will be done in the earlier part of the week. Still when the heat is on there are household chores to be done, reading to catch up on and I'm looking forward to listening to Carol Klein who was the guest on 'Desert Island Discs' on BBC Radio 4 yesterday. The episode is available to listen to via BBC Sounds here. 

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who gets us together every week thus providing a source of much pleasure, inspiration as well as an ever growing wish list. Do visit her blog if you haven't already!

Postscript - I've checked and the sweet peas are definitely earlier - a full two weeks! The 2024 and 2025 sweet pea seeds were sown in the middle of March. I noted though that once I planted them out last year that they made painfully slow progress as the weather was so cool and damp although we had plenty of rain. The complete opposite conditions this year which probably explains why they are earlier.

IAVOM ~ 'Stawberry Moon'

 

A quick pick and plonk from me today. We have just returned from a relaxing week's holiday near Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland (the northern most town in England), where we stayed in a log cabin just over the border in Scotland. Now catching up with all the domestic chores before tackling the weeds and dead-heading. Progress is slow as I have returned with the sniffles - hayfever maybe and hopefully not a cold or worse. My usual go to place for IAVOM photos is temporarily out of action whilst I'm waiting for ladybird larvae to morph, before I can prune the willow branches that are now obscuring the usual spot. In my vase today are :

• The obliging, sometimes too obliging briza maxima or Greater Quaking Grass which can seed about a bit too much. 
• Some of the September sown hardy annual orlaya grandiflora.
• A flower of rosa 'Jubilee Celebration', which has beautifully scented flowers but sadly is another flower with heads that look down rather than facing upwards. This is another rose which has been discontinued by David Austin so is no longer available to buy.

The rosy vase is a little bone china milk jug which I came across in a charity shop.

One of the highlights of our week was getting a great view of the recent 'Strawberry Moon'. Our log cabin had a covered veranda where we were able to sit out and just gaze in wonder. I've included a very short video clip of the aforesaid moon. Did anybody else catch a glimpse of it?

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who invites us to share a vase of floral gatherings from our gardens each week on a Monday. A brilliant way to start the week.

Wordless Wednesday - Perfect Harmony

IAVOM ~ It's That Time Of Year

 

Once again it's time to whisk my made for May vase out of the cupboard for an annual outing. It's quite a small vase so the occupants need to be on the dainty side. There was just enough room for a couple of stems of the climbing 'Blush Noisette' rose and a few stems of the pretty hardy annual orlaya grandiflora. The rose has been in the garden since 2009 and is now a well established bank of deliciously scented flowers. I sow the orlaya every year - these were sown at the start of the third week of September 2024 and started to come into flower at the beginning of May. I sowed a few more at the end of March but the germination rate wasn't as good.

I've neglected blogging recently - both my own and commenting on others as I've been away celebrating himself's birthday and then the wedding of my youngest niece, so am looking forward to seeing what's in everyone's vases today. You can see the bride's flowers above - astrantias with roses. Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who is responsible for our weekly floral fun.

In true bank holiday fashion it's both raining and windy this afternoon with heavier rain forecast for the evening. However after weeks without any rain it's been so enjoyable to watch and smell it as it has fallen for the skies. Fortunately the rain held off on the big day until the evening reception which was a most welcome state of affairs especially given the fact that the wedding was in Manchester. I've lots to do in the garden but as far as the rest of today is concerned I think that I will just have to settle for some pricking out of seedlings in the greenhouse. Enjoy your week.

IAVOM ~ Knock Off

Finding their way into my vase this Monday are :

• Mathiasella bupleuroides 'Green Dream'. This was the first candidate simply because I managed to snap a protruding branch off the plant when I walked past it. This perennial hails from Mexico and quietly goes about doing it's business every year sometimes until late autumn, seemingly not suffering from any pests or diseases apart from damage caused by clumsy humans.
• Stems of millium effusum 'Aureum' also known as 'Bowles Golden Grass'. It's a pretty grass that prefers a shady spot simply because too much sun can scorch the leaves. It seeds about but never to nuisance proportions.
• Aquilegia - these seem to have self-seeded in abundance this year along with polemonium caeruleum. The original seed came to me as aquilegia 'Hensol's Harebell', probably from The Cottage Garden Society many years ago and was among the very first flowers that I ever grew from seed.

My usual perch for taking vase photos has been submerged by willow branches so I moved the vase to rest on top of a low wall in the garden. The vase is a fairly recent Etsy purchase.

A big thanks as always to Cathy as always for enabling us to share our vases each Monday - Cathy blogs over at 'Rambling In the Garden'. Do pay her a visit if you haven't already!

Here our sunny, warm and very dry spring continues - it was sometime last month when it last rained. I will be going out later to do some potting up in the greenhouse. It's coming up to peak willow fluff time and at times over the last few days it has looked at times as if it's snowing. The shedding usually subsides in the evenings so it should be safe to venture out then 😂

IAVOM ~ Almost As Good As Chocolate

 

A trio of ranunculus flowers in my vase today which are reminding me of roses. They were a recent purchase from a local discount store which has what is calls a garden centre section. These were three plants to a pot in a range of colours but these were the ones that caught my eye. With my own attempt at planting ranunculus to overwinter in the greenhouse not being successful I decided to treat myself. Unfortunately the label wasn't helpful - just the word ranunculus and no details. 

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for being such a steadfast host each and every Monday of the year.

Here we had an absolutely beautiful day for Easter Sunday - the sort of day that I could live over and over again. Blue skies, sunshine, a gentle breeze and a most ambient temperature. There were one or two jobs to do in the morning but as himself was cooking our Easter meal I pottered in the garden all afternoon until early evening. More potatoes were planted, dahlias were potted up and there was much weeding. I also took time to wonder round the garden and just stand and stare. The crab apple tree, the blossom of which I featured in last week's vase, is still flowering profusely and it's a real show-stopper. I hope that the Easter Day weather treated you just as kindly wherever you are. Today the weather gods have read the script and as it is a bank holiday it's been predictably raining but is slowly brightening up now.

Wordless Wednesday ~ RHS, Harlow Carr Gardens, Yorkshire - April 2025.

 

IAVOM ~ It Be Blossom Time

 
Walking round the garden yesterday the blossoms gave me so much pleasure so I thought that I would share one of them in a vase today. The amelanchier briefly shone but is now over, it's probably just past peak pear blossom, apple tree flowers are just opening their first buds so the star was malus 'Red Sentinel' which morphs from pink to white as it blossoms. The tree in question is now ten years old and well established enough not to miss a few flowers. Later in the year there should be clusters of red berries for the birds to enjoy. They are also apparently suitable for making crab apple jelly but I've never attempted to do so prefering to leave them to my feathered friends.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy who blogs at 'Rambling In The Garden' for enabling me and other flower loving bloggers to share our vases at the start of each week.

Here it promises to be a busy week with my reading group meeting, a couple of lunches out with friends and a visit from my dear niece and her partner who will be getting married next month. I'm hoping though to squeeze in some gardening/greenhouse activities in along the way and after an extremely warm sunny and prolonged dry spell I'm wishing for some much needed April showers. Enjoy the week ahead! 

IAVOM ~ Springing Forward

 

An excursion out of the cupboard for my fairly local creamery jar which was a charity shop purchase as far as I can remember. Inside my vase this week are some unknown narcissus (only planted last autumn but with no label!), muscari 'Valerie Finnis', a little bit of fern like foliage from corydalis lutea (just coming into flower) which gatecrashed the garden many years ago and finally a couple of anemone 'Galilee' flowers. I would like to say that I grew the anemomes myself but they came to me as plug plants at the beginning of February 😂

As always thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting.

The most joyous aspect of this last week was the fact that the clocks sprung forward on Saturday night and the evenings now offer one more hour of daylight! 

IAVOM ~ Jumping For Joy!

 

It's time for what must be one of the world's contenders for the smallest vase (with the exception of a vase that you might find in a doll's house). You may not think that it looks particularly small but I have zoomed in it so it doesn't just disappear from sight. In it is a trio of the little viola' Peach Jump Up'. I much prefer violas to their bigger pansy relatives. These were bought from a local garden centre in the autumn and are now doing a good job as toppers in containers of daffodils and hyacinths.

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who encourages us to share our vases each and every Monday. It's always a joy to see what is in other participant's vases.

Here after a couple of false starts spring has is definitely here - hedgerows and trees are flushing pale green, blossom seems to be everywhere and the daffodils are resplendent. Seed sowing has started in earnest. More sunshine than grey, more warmth than cold and finally after a so far most dry March we had a decent spell of much needed rain at the weekend. Without a doubt my favourite time of year!