IAVOM ~ Wooooosh!

It's that wooooosh time of year when suddenly everything in the garden has taken off, growing whenever my back is turned. A spell of a gloriously dry week and above average temperatures has resulted in various openings. In my Monday vase this week are :

• Aquilegia - the majority of aquilegias in my garden are blue. They are descendants from seed obtained from The Cottage Garden Society seed exchange many moons ago - possibly aquilegia 'Hensol Harebell'.
• Some heads of allium schoenoprasum or chives - not only good to look at but edible too.
• Some stems of millium effusum 'Aureum' also known as 'Bowles Golden Grass'. This grass prefers a touch of shade as too much sun can scorch the leaves. It seeds about but never to nuisance proportions.
• A stem of thalictrum 'Black Stockings' with a fizz of flowers and delicious dark purple stems. To my eye the flowers are more purple than my photo suggests.

The above are all tough as boots hardy perennials which don't require much intervention and are generally trouble free. My favourite sort of plants.

A big thank you as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' and whose vase this week includes her beautiful wisteria.

Himself has just told me that it has started to rain which might bring today's filling the green bin to the brim activities to an abrupt stop. Rain is forecast for tomorrow but then the remainder of week although cooler looks quite promising. There are sweet peas to be planted, weeding to be done and then the last of the annuals in the shape of zinnias to sow and last but not least I need to sow some climbing French beans. Wishing my fellow gardening bloggers a good week.

IAVOM ~ Darling Buds Of May

 

It's time for the once or twice a year vase to have it's annual jolly - in fact it was clamouring to escape from the cupboard from which it has been confined to for almost twelve months. If vases could smile it would have a big smile on it's face. May just has to be my favourite month of the year when all is fresh, green and oh so promising. This month's flowers even eclipse the magic of those early beloved snowdrops. In my vase this week are three of my favourite May flowers namely :

• Convallaria majalis or lily of the valley. Mine have spread over the years in a line directly under our living room window. The original pips came from my parent's garden many moons ago. I remember them there making a substantial patch in a dry sunny spot in front of their garage whereas mine are in a shady position, Such dainty little flowers and sweet smelling too although sadly since my nose woes I can no longer detect the scent.
• Geranium phaeum - usually the first flowers open towards the end of April and then continue into May. They are beloved by bees, easy going and seed gently about. The flowers in my vase come from a seedling of some description. The only named variety nearby has flowers which are much deeper in colour.
• Lunaria annua 'Chedglow' also known as honesty - this variety has dark stems and seed pods too. I have found that in my garden it doesn't seed about with the same abandon as the variegated white honesty that I included in my vase a couple of weeks ago. These have come from seed sown last June but this year I am tempted to sow the seeds at the back end of May with the hope of producing more substantial plants.

I imagine that the honesty and geranium phaeum will be but a fleeting presence in the vase but the lily of the valley should tarry for a few days longer.

With thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. It's a relatively pleasant spring day here. I have just planted some shallots grown from sets in cells. They have adjusted to the great outdoors and were ready to get their feet in the ground. We do have a weather warning though at the moment for thunderstorms and torrential rain until late this evening so I'm not sure what else I will achieve out there today but the forecast for the week ahead is dry, sunny and warm so that's most encouraging indeed.