A Week Of Flowers, 2022 ~ Day 1

I think that this is the third consecutive year that Cathy who blogs at 'Words and Herbs' has so kindly invited us to participate celebrating 'A Week Of Flowers'. It hits just the right note as we enter the darkest of nights in the northern hemisphere and flowers are thin on the ground. My flowers today are one of my favourites in the shape of galanthus, more commonly known as snowdrops. Some people think that they all look the same but this is definitely not the case. They vary tremendously in height, breadth and colour of foliage and also in the shape and colour of the markings on the flowers. These exquisite little flowers belie their delicate appearance and flower in the coldest months from autumn onwards well into spring. Those in my photo were taken in my garden at the start off the second week in February this year. They are galanthus 'Lapwing' - a variety which is easy to identify because of the distinctive markings and clumps up well.  

A big thanks to Cathy for the invitation! 

IAVOM ~ 'The Spider From Mars'

 

Just the one bloom in this week's vase from chrysanthemum 'Spider Bronze'. This is new to me and came about courtesy of of a birthday gift voucher earlier this year from my dear sister. I treated myself to some chrysanthemum plug plants amongst other goodies. There were two varieties but this one is ahead of the other and perhaps the most striking of the two.

I've had mixed joy with chrysanthemums in the past having lost most of them. I did have a couple at the allotment plot which were most happy and hardy. They were nameless gifts from fellow plot holders but sadly I forgot to lift them when I gave up the plot. Yet other experiments have ended in abject failure. Still I am determined to persevere as to have such colour at this time of year is most heartening. This beauty is described as a tender perennial so will be coming in under cover for the winter. My friend who I gave some of the plug plants to thinks that they will get through the winter in her sunny south facing front garden, so I'm happy that she is going to experiment and will await her report in the spring with great interest.

After discussion with aforesaid friend and sister we have come to the conclusion that such a lovely flower merits a different name. Leading contenders include the words star or fireworks. What say you?

The little vase is a special one gifted to me and hand painted by my mum.

It's a thank you as always to Cathy who blogs at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her impeccable hosting. I'm looking forward to seeing what is in other vases this week but first on a sunny and still day, lunch and then some bulb planting before the sun sets all too quickly is the order of the day. The week is set to get much colder as it progresses so it will be good to get out there without the need for restrictive layers and gloves.

IAVOM ~ Tiny Treasures

 

With not much room to manoeuvre in this week's tiny vase I managed to pick a trio all fortunately snipped in the relatively drier day that was yesterday. They are :

• A flower from salvia 'Phyllis Fancy' - this plant was kindly given to me as a cutting by the lovely Cathy. She grows in a container and is more elegant with her subtle flowers. The foliage is attractively scented. So far I have bought her under cover for winter as I don't know just how hardy she might be.
• A twizzle of berries from what I think might be malus robusta 'Red Sentinel' but may not be. Well the tree was bought in good faith as that  but I'm beginning to wonder for two reasons. Firstly this particular variety is well known for the berries being able to survive well into winter. So far my particular tree has never clung on to the berries until Christmas let alone afterwards. The second is that it is usually described as being upright in form whilst my tree has a weeping habit. So for now the jury is out but it is still a beautiful tree especially when in flower and also when in berry. This year saw a profusion of both blossoms and berries.
• Finally making a reappearance is my i.d. unknown shrub foliage from last week's vase. There were a couple of excellent suggestions that it could be nandina but by sheer coincidence I think that I have now identified it as a leucothoe. When visiting Cathy who blogs at Words and Herbs  her vase last Monday contained foliage that looked remarkably similar. Further research has confirmed my thoughts that leucothoe it is.  I may even come across the label one of those days. 

The vase is one of two extremely tiny vases. It is difficult to appreciate the size in a photo but it can be no taller than an inch and a half in height.

With much thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her steadfast hosting. This particular Monday held no rush to fill the green bin deadline as it does every other Monday, as collections are now sadly suspended until late February.  However gardening activity other than opening the greenhouse door this morning for some ventilation has been thwarted as it has been raining most heavily indeed. Time to put my cagoule on to go out there and shut the door.

November Musing - 'An Easeful Approach To Autumn'

"Apart from those fronds prickling my conscience to do something about them , I ignore the words 'Tidying Up The Garden before Winter', with their nauseatingly prissy undertones . My ears are covered. I know that's what we should be doing in autumn: we should be clearing up the garden and leaving it ship-shape, with as much efficiency as some people clean the house , or their motor- cars on Sunday. 'Do it before winter', we are cautioned .....

Here, with my ideals turned towards easeful loving, there's a kinder climate and somehow find I don't bother until spring. And then it's too late to be a serious undertaking. Anyone can change their attitude of mind; if gazing out of the window in November, you think the place looks a shambles, comfort yourself with the knowledge that those untidy seedheads will look unbelievably miraculous outlined in rime. The sedums, lady's mantle, rose heps, twigs, stalks and stems - all the shabby eaves and the skeletons of radiant blooms left over from last summer - when outlined by frost will transform your habitual setting into somewhere unfamiliar. You will feel that you have never walked there before. Why not try it? Don't confirm to this tidying up business, but move into the territory of slothfulness. Inertia and a laid-back philosophy do have their moments. And this is one of them. From a home for shamefully neglected debris your garden will one day in winter be turned into a place of beauty, a place that is denied your neighbour, with his clean earth full of clumps of shorn stubble."

Extract 'From A Breath From Elsewhere' by Mirabel Osler.

Illustation - 'Autumn Garden, Norfolk' by Angie Lewin.

'Slightly Wordy Wednesday ~ 'You're Out Of Time'

 

Weird goings on in the garden - this inula is shining again after flowering profusely in the summer. At the same time there are also snowdrops in bloom as well as winter flowering jasmine. In the words of Messrs. Jagger and Richards "You're Out Of Time" and it's most disconcerting.

IAVOM ~ 'Three Is A Magic Number'

 

A tiny tiny vase this week to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the most special institution that is 'In A Vase On Monday'. Just the three occupants this week :

• A flower from 'Bathsheba' one of its last few roses and sadly slightly bedraggled. The only rose that is still showing roses in any significant number is the climber 'Blush Noisette', but they are all too high up to reach.
• A stem from the perennial achillea - 'Summer Berries' grown from seed in the autumn of 2020.
• Finally a stem from a small evergreen shrub which is planted in a container in the area in front of the house. It was a purchase from a  local garden centre. True to form the label has gone absent without leave and I can't remember the name. I'm hoping that somebody might know.

The vase is an Etsy purchase and is an old ink bottle.

I'm using the same post title as I used to celebrate the third anniversary of IAVOM and indeed in you multiply 3 by 3 what do you get but 9! 

I will have to go back into the archives to see when I first posted a vase but it was a good few years ago.  Its very existence is a most comforting and reassuring start to the week and for a couple of years or kept my blog afloat. I always look forward to seeing what is everyone's vases and always have pen and paper to hands. None of this would be possible without the love and devotion shown by Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who who came up with the idea of IAVOM and who has nurtured it like she might well do one of her favourite roses or witch hazels. A huge thank you Cathy and sending you a virtual bouquet 💐 Thank also to all the participants over the years. It was magical to put faces to names yesterday afternoon when there was a virtual get together to celebrate this special ninth anniversary.

IAVOM ~ Variation On A Theme

 

This time my start of the week vase is a variation on a theme, or should I say a continuation of last Monday's resurrection theme. By the way I forgot to say in that post is that our resurrection special often tastes better than the original Sunday roast dinner! Anyway two of last week's vase occupants survived perhaps because the vase remained in the cooler temperatures of the greenhouse. It was dropping little bits of white and pink in its wake so I thought that it would stay put. Some of the flowers stems in fact departed earlier in the week.

Still going strong though were a spray of the graceful hardy annual ammi visnaga as well as a couple of flowers of rudbeckia 'Sahara'. This rudbeckia is a mix of different colours and although this shade  isn't my favourite it is more than welcome at this time of year.

Joining them also with a swap of vase, are two picked in the November gloom and dampness newcomers. The first is a stem of a rather dog-eared geranium 'Rozanne', which is an outstanding hardy perennial hardy geranium. If only it had scent it would be perfect! I think that vase life will be short but will be keeping an eye out to see what happens. Hiding her head bashfully is a stem of the climbing rosa 'Bathsheba' which you can see more clearly in the photo below. 

The temperatures have most decidedly started to dip and not only have we had much more in the way of rain we had our first frost of the winter. It was a light frost but that combined with all the wet will see me clearing up the remaining soggy annuals and dahlia foliage in the next few days. The last green waste collection of the year is next Monday so I want to make sure I fill that bin to the brim. Collection resumes towards the end of February.

I see that our lovely host Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' is making some special plans to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the inspiring and friendly weekly happening that is 'In A Vase On Monday'. I'm really looking forward to joining in and to meeting some of my blogging friends. Hope to see you there!