With the summer solstice tomorrow, I realised that this would be my last spring vase of the year although it does seem that summer is already well and truly established especially after last week's warm spell. The pick and plonk in my vase this week are :
The vase is a well used one and was given to me by mother.
- 'Bathsheba' roses - these were a gift from himself. Planted as dormant roses from David Austin either in December 2020 or January 2021 they have come on well. I love their shape and colour but have been disappointed by their scent and their tendency to fade rather disgracefully. There are six of them so they are hard to ignore when they go over.
- In the same area as the roses are three clematis 'Etoile Violette'. We were initially supplied with the wrong clematis by the clematis specialist but when I queried the order I received profuse apologies and a very speedy replacement so full marks to Thorncroft Clematis for customer service. Once again my naked eye sees the colour as being a darker shade than my phone does. Time to dig out my camera methinks and make a serious attempt to get to grips with all the confusing array of buttons and dials.
- Astrantia flowers - unknown vaiety, these are in for a serious cull soon as there are just too many of them.
- Some stems of the hardy annual orlaya grandiflora sown last September. Sadly my more recent sowing has resulted in the grand total of two plants. I shall cherish them.
Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her evergreen encouragement and for providing the space for us to share our blooms each and every Monday. I will not have much time to spend in the garden today as I'm out for what may be a long lunch with a dear friend. However we are starting off with a bit of a plant swap and I'm sure that we will be talking of matters green in depth at some point during the proceedings. Wishing everyone a week filled with flowers.
I think you have made a good show of Bathsheba with the addition of that clematis. With rose shrub choice there is always the dilemma of form of shrub, flower shape and colour, etc...also beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The lovely thing is to hear that you are spending the day with a good friend. You will see that I too wrote about meeting up with Alison, and she noted to another friend with whom we met up that this was the first time we were not having our own plant swap!
ReplyDeleteThanks Noelle. Yes rose choice is very much a matter of personal preference. I had a lovely long lunch in the excellent company of a friend who I have now known for over forty five years 😀 Great to hear that you have recently enjoyed Alison's company.
DeleteGorgeous arrangement. I love the 'Bathsheba' roses in your vase. The Astrantia is nice--I've never gotten it to stay in my garden. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteOh thanks Suzie. I wish that astrantias would linger for longer with you.
DeleteI cannot imagine having enough astrantia to need culling! Here in Australia, they are hard to source - I've only ever seen them in one garden - in a coveted spot, of course! You've made good use of them with your 'Bathsheba', clematis and orlaya: a beautiful reflection of spring.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your visit and kind words Horticat 😀 I hope that astrantias become more available in Australia. They really are beautiful plants.
DeleteThe Bathsheba in your vase are certainly been picked at perfection point - it's a shame that such perfect roses do have a downside. It's those that have floppy stems or flowers that hang heavy that disappoint me 🙄 I too have found Thorncroft Clematis customer support brilliant and I am pleased to hear that your imposters were readily replaced. I know what you mean about your orlaya - I have just 5 plants 😉 Thanks for sharing your vae today Anna, and I hope you enjoyed your lunch and came home with an interesting haul from your 'exchange'...😉
ReplyDeleteOh the floppy ones are most irritating indeed Cathy. 'Summer Song' and 'Wollerton Old Hall' fall in that category for me.My Spetember orlaya sowing was most prolific but not this latter one. I had a lovely lunch indeed and returned home with some welcome seedlings.
DeleteI'm sorry that 'Bathsheba' has flaws as it's very beautiful. I love peach when combined with, well, almost anything ;) I'm envious of the Astrantia but 2 tries have soundly proved that it won't grow for me, even in my well-watered cutting garden beds.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your lunch get-together!
Thanks Kris 😀 I'm getting more and more into peach/apricot and orange shades. I wonder if it is age related 🤔 😀
DeleteA romantic, delightful little posy, Anna. You're right, some roses leave the stage rather ungracefully. I find this is often the case with the pastel coloured varieties. I wish my Astrantia would be so vigorous that I'd have to rip them out 😅. Wishing you happy summer days, Annette
ReplyDeleteOh many thanks Annette. Some roses do exit stage left rather too obviously for my liking especially when the weather has been hot. Wishing you a happy summer too.
ReplyDeleteI really love the combination of roses with frothy white Orlaya and Astrantia. How I wish I could grow Astrantia! This looks like something for the cover of one of those elegant country lifestyle magazines, :-)
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