IAVOM ~ 'In The Pink'

 

In my vase this Monday are :

• Some shy cosmos. These were grown from seed back at the start of April and have made for small bushy plants which don't require any support. There seem to be a good number of flowers to come so I must keep up with deadheading. I can't remember their name and am unable to find the seed packet so I'm hoping to find a label as I would like to grow them again.
• A couple of stems of helichrysum bracteatum 'Silvery Rose' which certainly seem to be appreciating this hot summer. I bought these as small seedlings rather than sow them myself.
• A flower of dahlia 'Night Silence' which was overwintered in a pot in the greenhouse before planting out in late April. I must admit that I have carried on watering it regularly during the summer along with other plants that I've planted this year.

The vase is one of a trio purchased on a garden visit with a friend back in 2023.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In the Garden' who gives us the opportunity to share our vases at the start of every week. Do visit her and join in if you haven't already. 

After a relatively cool and fresh weekend when it was a joy to be outside the weather has reverted back to very warm and humid so there has been virtually no gardening activity today. I did nip out before breakfast to pot up a couple of lychnis coronaria plants which I've grown from seed and will nip out early this evening to water the tomatoes. The garden is looking very weary but there are signs of some rain in the forecast from tomorrow onwards which is promising 🤞 I've just been reading some most sobering statistics on the Met Office website about July 2026, when parts of the country have had their driest July on record since 1836! 

This has been an absolutely dreadful year for farmers especially in the south and east of the country and my struggles pale in comparison. My thoughts are now turning to ordering spring bulbs and to checking my seed box. I'm determined to sow more hardy annuals later this month and into September to ease the spring workload as well as produce more sturdy plants. There's always next year 😀

Five Favourites, July 2026.

I'm joining in with Cathy's 'Five Favourites' meme just in the nick of time before we enter a new month so  here are five of my favourite July flowers. My first two are this combination rosa 'The Fairy' with what I think is clematis viticella 'Madame Julia Correvon'.

Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' which as you can see from some of the crisped flowers I've been struggling to keep up with deadheading in this oh way too hot, cruel and dry July.

Some blue in the shape of the hardy geranium 'Rozanne who hopefully will continue to flower until early autumn. I love the colour but she is floppy and takes up a lot of room. The plan was to replace her with greanium 'Azure Rush' but I didn't do this in the spring. Maybe just as well as in view of the dry spring and summer. I'm reviewing my plan.

Finally and I hope Cathy will allow it a combination of flowers which we came across last week in the gardens at  Levens Hall in Cumbria, where they plant 15,000 plus annuals each spring! Here was a bright combination of the perennial verbena bonariensis the company of cleomes and cosmos. It made for a glorious patch of colour, which although you can't appreciate in this photo, was attracting a multitude of pollinators on one of the very few partly dull and grey July days we've experienced this month. I loved it ❤️ 

A BIG thanks to Cathy over at 'Words And Herbs' or inviting us to share our monthly favourites throughout the year. Do pay her a visit to see what beauties she was sharing earlier this month.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Levens Hall, Cumbria, July 2026.

 

IAVOM ~ 'I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside'.

I picked a few flowers for a vase last Monday, took a photo and then for various reasons ran out of steam to post so here it is now.

In my vase are are :

• The very first of the sweet peas - sown under cover at the beginning of March. They are sadly struggling big time having now undergone three heatwaves since being planted in the garden. Note to self has been made to sow seeds this autumn instead.
• A bit of darkness from cornflower 'Witching Hour' - again from seed sown in March. I've not grown cornflowers since my allotment days and had forgotten how floppy they can be if not given support. I'll look for a shorter growing variety next year and will probably return to a shade of blue.
• A stem of the daucus carrota probably 'Dara'- seed sown but in September last year and overwintered in the greenhouse.

Probably the main reason I ran out of steam last Monday was that I was still recovering from a ten hour and half hour or so train journey returning home from Westward Ho! in Devon on what had been an extremely hot Saturday. It  certainly wasn't fun and I arrived home nearly three and half hours later than anticipated with a train cancellation, a late running train and then a trackside fire thrown in to the works. Still we had a most enjoyable and relaxing holiday in great accommodation directly overlooking the sea with just a row of beach huts in front of us. The pool you can see is a salt water pool which was visited by bathers throughout the day and to the right of it were rock pools, where there seemed to be regular activity attracting both little people and big people with buckets and nets. It was most heartwarming to see a well supervised party of Cubs and Brownies there casting their nets early one evening and having a great time by the sound of it.

The weather was most pleasant probably until mid week when it began to feel at little bit too hot for comfort. We still squeezed some garden visits to to Tapeley Park Gardens, Marwood Hill Gardens and RHS Rosemoor. There was much to admire and inspire, fabulous tea rooms in the first two gardens, three cooling lakes and a profusion of wildlife at Marwood Hill and as always much to see at an RHS garden, in fact too much on what was one of the hotter days of the week. I showed great restraint and came home with just one new plant purchase.    

Back home to a garden that is looking drier and crispier by the day and sadly with temperatures too hot for me to be active in the garden last week. The weather on Saturday afforded some relief with a slight fall in the temperature accompanied by some most welcome clouds so a chance to almost fill the green garden waste bin. I also made the exciting discovery that my outdoor tomatoes are on the turn 🥳

Thanks as ever to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for inviting us to share our vases each and every week of the year. I'm looking forward to catching up with other vases later notepad and pen to hand as usual. 

Wordless Wednesday - The Cottage Garden, RHS Rosemoor, Devon ~ July 2026.

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sultry

 

IAVOM ~ "Sumer Is Icumen In"

 

I picked the contents of my vase yesterday evening - the evening of the summer solstice which turned out to be a most sultry one. In my holey vase this week are :

• Astrantia major 'Cerise Button'. This is a new astrantia to me having bought a plant last year after first encountering it in Holehird Gardens. This is a beautiful extremely well tended garden which is looked after by a dedicated team of volunteers who are members of the Lakeland Horticultural Society. The garden overlooks Lake Windermere in Cumbria and if you ever find yourself in the vicinity it's a must visit. 
• Pansy Nature Mulberry Shades - I sowed these in the greenhouse in March but they can be sown at other times over the year.
• Some fluff from Lagurus ovatus also known as Bunny Tail's grass. These were also sown in the greenhouse in March but I plan to follow Cathy our host's example and will try sowing some later this year in the hope of producing larger and sturdier plants in 2027.

"Sumer Is Icumen In" was a song written in the thirteenth century and is one of the oldest songs in the English language. You can read the lyrics and hear the song here.

My holey vase was a purchase over ten years or so ago now from a craft fair in Cumbria.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' and who kindly invites us each and every week to share our vases. It's always a delight and a source of inspiration to visit her blog as well as other garden bloggers to see what's in everyone's vases.

It's going to be unusually hot this week and I have a feeling that there will not be much in the way of gardening activities ahead for a few days yet other than some early morning watering. It's a case of the spirit is willing but the flesh is week. I hope that if the weather is the same with you that you manage to stay cool and if you have cooler weather that you can enjoy time in the garden. Off now to enjoy a cold drink whilst it's still not too hot to sit out in the garden.

Five Favourites, June 2026

 Today I'm joining in with Cathy's 'Five Favourites' and here are five of my favourite June flowers.

Astrantias - I hope that Cathy allows me two for the price of one in this instance. The pink one is of unknown variety whilst the deep red is probably my favourite astrantia in the garden. It's astrantia major 'Gill Richardson' which has a profusion of flowers this year.

Hardy Geranium - this is a self-seeder along with the neighbouring pulmonaria, both very welcome free gifts. I'm fairly sure that it is of geranium pratense origin. The foliage has a pleasing dark tinges.

Gladiolus byzantinus - if only the flowers lasted longer!

Philadelphus - also known as mock orange. I've never known what variety it is. This shrub has been in the garden for many years coming to me as a cutting from my parent's garden. It's become rather sprawly and I'm sure if my Dad could see it he would be itching to give it a good pruning.

Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton' - which has beautiful newly emerging foliage in spring and a deliciously scented flower.
 

Well that's my five and I apologise to all the contenders I left out and hope that I haven't hurt their feelings. With thanks to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' for her invitation to post five favourites each month. 

IAVOM ~ ''Star Light, Star Bright"

Just three stems of allium christophii in my Monday vase today. This allium also known by the enchanting name of Star of Persia probably needs no introduction. It can be counted on to make an appearance every year, seems to be untroubled by either pests or diseases in my garden and is also a magnet for pollinators. I think that this is my favourite allium and I have several clumps of it dotted about. These three stems were picked with a purpose in mind. I will be drying them for permanent display in a vase to replace the three present specimens which are looking a bit sad and past their sell by date. 

I recently read a little snippet that advised adding a tiny bit of bleach in the water when using alliums in a vase. It helps to keep the water from smelling rather unpleasant!

The vase was purchased from Etsy some time last year.

Thanks as ever to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who enables us to share our vases whether they contain flowers, foliage, vegetables or fruit every Monday. Do pay her blog a visit.

Gardening activities have been limited since the start of a most so far unseasonal June - it has been persistently cool, wet and windy. The first couple of consecutive dry days occurred this weekend and unfortunately I was away from home. Hopefully the coming week must improve and there will be time to get on with the growing list of jobs to be done as well as to just sit and stare 🤞

Wordless Wednesday ~ Late Spring Bling