In A Vase On Monday ~ 'Wonderful Baby'

"Wonderful baby livin' on love

The sandman says maybe he'll take you above,
Up where the girls fly on ribbons and bows,
Where babies float by just 
Counting their toes."

 - lyrics from 'Wonderful Baby' by Don McLean

It's a late in the day vase for me this week - in fact a whole day late. This weekend was rather special as I travelled south to spend a couple of days with my sister. My sister became a grandmother for the first time in January, so there was a new little person in the family for me to meet in the shape of a great niece. 

With one thing and another it was a hectic weekend and by the time I arrived home yesterday evening I was fit for very little. My vase was picked today and consists of the following :

• Stems of a most lilac lilac which I spotted just outside the allotment gates this morning. It smells fabulous.
• Again just outside the allotment gates a couple of branches bearing the white flowers of hawthorn also known as May blossom.
• Some frothy pink in the shape of flowers from the perennial pimpinella major rosea which is growing in the garden.
• Some leafiness from what I think are sycamore seedlings growing where they shouldn't be in amongst my gooseberry bed at the allotment.

The vase is one that belonged to my mother who would have relished being a great-grandmother.

This was very much a quick pink and plonk and sadly the vase will have to live outside in the greenhouse. As I moved it to take a photo a trail of petals and pollen followed me. I will be able to appreciate it at close quarters though as there is much in the way of potting up to be done this week.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who encourages us to share our vases every Monday.

Wordless Wednesday ~ "If You Go Down To The Woods Today"

In A Vase On Monday ~ Dawn Chorus

We've been blessed with the most fabulous weather over the Easter period - more befitting the middle of summer than spring. Maybe too hot for all the work that I planned to do at the allotment but perfect just to pause and lap up the warmth and marvel at what is coming into flower. I'm waking up earlier and earlier each day as the birds are singing so loudly. My clock tells me it is around 5.00am but I'm happy just to lie there and listen before I doze for a while longer.

So as you can birds have crept into my 'In A Vase On Monday' this week - this little ceramic trio usually live inside. As I can't remember where they came from or how long I've had them it suggests it was some time ago. No chocolate this year but my Easter vase just had to have some daffies in it. In my vase are :

• 'Tête-à-tête' narcissus  - when I found out that Easter was so late this year I decided to plant some bulbs early in the new year. These have just managed to flower in time. I grew them in pots and they are a bit shorter stemmed than usual but otherwise no worse off for the experience.
• Narcissus 'Thalia' which are growing in a very shady spot. They are past their sell by date as a whole but there were still the odd lingerers.
• An all time favourite in the shape of a couple of stems of lamprocapnos spectabilis alba also known as bleeding heart. Since the name change from dicentra spectablis I always have to check on its new name.
• Another plant whose name evades me in the shape of the green flowers provided by the perennial  mathiasella bupleuroides 'Green Dream. Now that's a mouthful if ever there was one! 
• Finally the pale lavender flowers of the perennial honesty - lunaria rediviva. Cathy over at 'Words And Herbs' featured the dried elliptical seed heads of this in one of her vases not that long ago. I grew my plant from seed in 2017 and this is second year of flowering. It has grown too big where I planted it so has been in a pot for a few weeks awaiting rehousing. Not only are the flowers and seedheads attractive but the flowers are also most sweetly and noticeably scented.

As always a big thank you to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for being such an eggsellent hostess each Monday. Do visit and see what she has put together this week as well as peek at other vases chock-a-block full of spring beauty.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Angel In Name Only

In A Vase On Monday ~ Spring Forward

It was great to have that extra hour of light yesterday not just for gardening purposes but also for the opportunity to take my vase photo later in the day after a trip out. I had been celebrating the arrival of summer time by meeting up with my younger brother. I had not seen him for eighteen months so it was good to catch up on family news. I have lovely siblings but they are all some distance away so any get together is special.

The wallflowers and anemones were picked from the allotment on Saturday afternoon. The wallflowers were bought as plants at the beginning of autumn and are fairly short but compact. Unfortunately there seems to be more than a fair share of in your face vivid yellows amongst them but to my relief I've spotted some reds and oranges too. They are only just coming into flower and some are still tightly in bud so there may be surprises to follow.

Anemone coronaria 'Mr Fokker' (blue) and anemone coronaria 'Sylphide' (pink) grow in raised beds at the allotment. I started them off from corms grown in pots on a heated sand bench in March 2016 and then transferred them as plants to the allotment. I'm now down to one plant of each so will have to line up some replacements soon especially as the foliage of 'Sylphide' is looking rather anaemic. As I was leaving the allotment I noticed the white anemone coronaria' The Bride' just on the point of flowering. She has never done as well as the other two whether that has something to do with her being a white flower and perhaps consequently less vigorous I just don't know.

Back home late yesterday afternoon I was able to pick some narcissus namely 'Petrel', 'W.P. Milner' and 'Minnow' to add to add to my sunshine vase which spent a good few years of its life as a container for pens and pencils. It was late in the day before I realised its potential as a vase. 'Petrel' and 'Minnow' have the bonus of being softly scented too.

Our 'In A Vase On Monday' hostess Cathy over 'At Rambling In The Garden' is showcasing some rather attractive tulips this week and links will point you in the direction of some other no doubt wonderful vases. Do have a peek if you haven't already visited.