This week's Monday vase is a bit of a hotchpotch to say the least and is certainly not a combination that I will be repeating again. It's more of one or two pickings which I like and one or two that hopefully will goad me into some sort of action in the future. The contents are as follows :
- Cosmos 'Apricotta' - I thought that I might like this when I saw it in the seed catalogues and on line photos but I don't. The pink eye seems most garish when compared to the soft apricot petals. If it was minus the pink I would love it. It's a reminder to me to return either to all pink or white cosmos varieties and not to flirt with novelty in the future.
- Rosa glauca - not in flower at the moment but I like the foliage more than the flower. Again a reminder to introduce more grey into the garden - maybe a eucalyptus.
- Persicaria - a most useful late flowering perennial. I wish I knew which one this was. There are two stemas in the vase but one has gone into hiding.
- A couple of heads of allium sphaerocephalon which is a most subtle and pleasing plant. These seem to be dwindling and as I'm about to put my autumn bulb order in I'm going to add a good number of these bulbs. They occupy so little space and are such easy maintenance and unlike their bigger cousins don't leave a legacy of unattractive foliage to clear up. Annoyingly I cut these two stems shorter than intended.
- Finally a flower from a plant which I've hankered after for years but have only recently purchased namely helenium 'Moerheim Beauty'. It's been on the wish list forever and I'm not sure why I've never got hold of a plant before. Maybe it will encourage me to buying one or two other plants that have lingered on the wish list for way too long.
All in all it's not the most aesthetically pleasing of vases but more of a memory jogging post for me. I could have shared yet another big vase of sweet peas but that would be at the risk of becoming boring. Sadly the sweet pea foliage has now developed mildew so I don't know how much longer the wigwam will be there for. In other news last week's exceptional and indeed record breaking temperatures for the U.K. seem most distant. It's back to wet and windy here and in fact there has been a lot of rain since Thursday but the garden is not complaining in the least. Sending a big thank you to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting and looking forward to seeing what's in other cases this week.
Yes, that cosmos is a bit of an oddity! Love the helenium - I ought to keep trying to establish them (well, at least one!), and hope this one does well for you. Was it tis you were talking about when we met up last year? Can't remember if you came away with a plant... The rose foliage makes a lovely foli for the blooms, and what a good idea to use some of this allium in vase! Thanks for sharing (and your recent message... will respond)
ReplyDeleteI think that I was eyeing up another plant at Arley last year Cathy. It also began with an a h but I can't remember just what it was. Unlike some I exited the nursery empty handed 😂
DeleteThe Helenium had me fooled, Anna - I'd have sworn that was a Gallardia. I like the peachy Cosmos a lot. Do you think you might like it better in combination with flowers that pick up the peach color rather than the pink? I'm sorry your sweet peas are going over - I always find that moment sad myself.
ReplyDeleteYes it is indeed reminiscent of a gallardia Kris.What an excellent point you make about colour combination Kris although none of the other flowers in the vase are actually growing near the cosmos. Food for thought although I'm not tempted to grow it again 😀
DeleteI actually love your Cosmos 'Apricotta' - apricot blooms are one of my favourites and I don't mind the pink centre one bit :) The end of sweet pea season is always sad- what will you plant in their place?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you are a fan of 'Apricota'. I think that it's a bit of a 'Marmite plant' 😂 A friend who I passed some seedlings on to loves it too. As far as the sweet peas go I'll let them linger as long as possible as long as they are still producing flowers. The stems are getting noticeably shorter. Not sure yet what will replace them.
DeleteThe Helenium is lovely, and one I have often admired but never seen on sale here. I think that is the same Cosmos I treid this year, although mine was called Apricot Lemonade. I am equally unimpressed with mine! I will also be returning to my old favourite 'Purity' next year, and perhaps a plain pink one. Love the foliage you used.
ReplyDeleteOh I hope that you can track the helenium down Cathy. I was fortunate to come across on the plant sales stand at a local NGS open garden😂 I tried a cosmos 'Pink Lemonade' a coupe of years ago but again wasn't a fan. I love 'Purity' and grew it at the allotment but can't see where it would fit in the garden both with regard to size and colour.
DeleteThe colours are lovely. Nearly everything in my garden was blasted by the heat, however, it’s starting to recover now. I grew that cosmos last year and must admit, it wasn’t a favourite of mine either. It just didn’t look right. This year I’m back to white cosmos. Much easier to fit into arrangements. Karen, from bramblegarden.com (dont know why it says anonymous)
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen. I'm sorry to hear that your garden has been blasted by the heat. I imagine that it must have been like a furnace in your neck of the woods.You have summed that cosmos up in a nutshell 😂
DeleteSometimes flirting with novelties pays off.
ReplyDeleteYes wise words Sue and sometimes it pays off but I will never flirt with cosmos varieties again 😀
ReplyDeleteI like the way you have written about your observations for instance that you would like more greys, or perhaps you will indulge in plants that have been on your wish list.
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