A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 7

Sadly it's the very last day of Cathy's Week Of Flowers 2025. I'm rounding the week of with two later flowering perennials complete with visiting pollinators in Cathy's honour. Above you can see helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' which is a hardy perennial and what could be called a good do'er. It did struggle a bit in this year's hot and dry summer and was the only well established perennial in the borders that I watered as it was positively flagging at times. The photo was taken in the first week of July but the plant was still sporting flowers well into September.

Secondly my favourite autumnal hardy perennial in the shape of aster 'Little Carlow' which relished this year's weather and looked as if it was on steroids. Here it is above in September and then still pumping away flowers in the first week of October.

A final photo and perhaps cheating just a little as this was taken on Christmas Day last year 

the cheering presence of a hamamelis with snowdrops nearby. It is already colouring up so the race is on to see when it will open - in 2025 or 2026. I think that it will be the former but whatever the outcome it isn't far away from doing so which is most exciting.

A big thanks and virtual bouquet must go to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' for her sterling effort of getting us together every day for the last week to enjoy some much appreciated floral fun and fond photographic memories 💐 ❤️

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 6

Moving further into the year today as I join in with Cathy's 'A Week Of Flowers' 2025. Firstly allium 'Purple Sensation' on a mid-May day and my favourite time of year.

Then some three weeks later in the first week of June it's the turn of allium 'Christophii', geranium 'Rozanne' and astrantia probably 'Gill Richardson' or possibly 'Burgundy Manor'. I can distinguish them when in flower but not when looking back at photos. There is a clematis budding in the background but it doesn't join in until later.

A big vote of thanks must go to Cathy who blogs over at 'Words and Herbs' for her hosting. It has been a damp and dreary week with no sight in end so this has really brightened up my days. 

A Week Of Flowers Days 3,4 & 5 ~ 2025

 

I'm moving later into the year today as I join in Cathy's celebration of 'A Week Of Flowers - 2025'. This bowl of hyacinths with violas gave me great pleasure in the spring. I had never planted hyacinths outdoors in containers before and was thrilled by both the pop of colour as well as the aroma which I sometimes find overwhelming indoors, but oh so delightful out outdoors. The bowl was situated near the greenhouse so whenever I nipped in there to sow seeds etc. I caught the scent. I planted up two bowls. The hyacinth in this one was either 'Miss Saigon' or 'Woodstock' but I can't remember which. This year I've planted more bowls like this and the violas are of the same colour although I don't think it matters as the hyacinths bowls were one of my gardening highlights of 2025.

A new to me bulb in the shape of the little species tulipa batalini 'Bronze Charm' which was a lovely soft yellow and is supposedly perennial. I planted them with muscari but I won't repeat the combination because as you can see the muscari had already come and gone. I've planted more this autumn just on own their own. Unlike their bigger relatives the leaves are much smaller and less floppy.

Finally for today a spring blossom in the shape of malus 'Red Sentinel' which thoroughly enjoyed this years' weather conditions. A big thank you to our lovely host Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs'. It's a pleasure to be looking back as to what there was out there and will be again before too long.

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 2

 

It's day 2 of Cathy's 'A Week Of Flowers' annual meme and it's fast forward to late February in the garden. Another snowdrop' Blonde Inge' with cardamine quinquefolia, an early flowering perennial. Into March the cardamine makes for a pool of colour on a sunny day pictured with other snowdrops this time.

A big thank you to Cathy who blogs at 'Words and Herbs' for hosting this annual celebration of colour.Do visit her blog if you haven't already!

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 1

 

I'm joining in with Cathy from 'Words And Herbs' who kindly invites us every year about this time to share some photos of flowers that have given us pleasure over the year. This is a lovely way to brighten up what can be dull and dark days in the northern hemisphere. Today is such a day - damp and drear albeit very mild.

When looking at the photos I've taken in my garden this year I soon came to the conclusion that I took very few photos after June - plenty in gardens we visited over the summer but barely any in my own! I must try to remedy that next year. So my contributions this week are going to be winter/spring top heavy and no apologies for starting with possibly one of my favourite flowers which is galanthus 'Trumps' taken at the end of January. It's a great snowdrop for clumping up quickly and making an impact in the border.

Thank you Cathy for providing us with both fun and a pop of colour this week. Its' a special day today as it's our wedding anniversary so there's a meal to be cooked and a glass of celebratory wine ahead. I'll be back later this evening to visit other bloggers.

IAVOM ~ 'Little Things'

 

A teeny- tiny sprig from me today in what must be a candidate for the world's smallest vase. On Wednesday afternoon there was a faint knock on the door and by the time I got there I saw the back of a man retreating to a van. However in the porch was a large box which I bought inside. I wasn't expecting any deliveries but the label had my name and address on it, so I opened it which was easier said than done. Nestled inside was a beautiful orchid complete with a note informing me that the sender was my sister. What a lovely surprise!

Sadly during either packaging it up or in transit a tiny flowering spring had broken off so I decided to put it in a vase. A big thank you to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who gets us together each and every Monday to share our Monday vases.

Storm Claudia arrived on Saturday - we were fortunate to escape the devastation that hit some of the country as a result of heavy and prolonged rain accompanied by strong winds. Here we had 29mm of rain in a 24 hour period. Since then the temperature had dropped significantly and we woke up to a light air frost this morning. It has been a glorious sparkling day today albeit chilly. The week ahead looks progressively colder. Yesterday all the plants that need some winter protection were bought into the greenhouse. I'm undecided yet as to what to do with my potted snowdrops and may just bring a smaller collection of my favourites under cover for the winter. The last of bulb planting will hopefully be done at the weekend when it should be warm enough for my fingers 😂 Have you had your first frost of the autumn yet? 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Norton Priory Walled Garden, Cheshire, November 2025

 

IAVOM ~ Nestled

Today I'm joining in a most special celebration of the twelfth anniversary of 'In A Vase On Monday' where bloggers get together to greet the new week with a vase of pickings from their own gardens. Participants were challenged to include a prop and a pun in today's post. In my vase today are :

• A flower of a chrysanthemum - although the label reads 'Avignon Pink' I have some doubts but whatever the identity it's a welcome pop of colour on a damp November day.
• A couple of sprigs of symphoricarpus or snowberry bush which bears the little pink tinged berries that you see in the above photo. This year it has produced more berries than ever. The plant came to me from my parents otherwise it would have not been planted as it's a thug and should carry a government health warning. It slightly redeems itself at the time of year but only very slightly.
• Tucked into the vase are flowers of erigeron karvinskianus which must be the longest flowering plant in my garden. It bears teeny tiny white daisy flowers some of which take on a pink shade with age. 
• Some foliage from pittisporum 'Bannow Bay' now wearing its autumnal/winter colours.

My prop is a small ancient and slightly skewhiff Russian doll who resides on a shelf of my Welsh dresser in the kitchen. I have a soft spot for her even though she is rather full of herself. The vase is one of two I have that was hand painted by my mum.

With special thanks to the lovely Cathy who resides over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for providing us with so many years of shared fun, knowledge, friendship and floral inspiration 👏🏻 💐🤗  Do visit if you haven't already done so.

IAVOM ~ Fall Back

 

With the clocks falling back an hour this weekend there's no denying that autumn is well and truly here and that the nights are lengthening. It's not my favourite time of the year and I'm already counting down towards the winter solstice. The weather was suitably dire this weekend with strong cold winds and intermittent rain some of it heavy. I picked the contents of my vase on Saturday to photograph not knowing what today would bring. As it's turned out it has been much drier and although still windy the direction of that wind is changing becoming milder.

In my vase this week are :

• Rudbeckia 'Enchanted Flame' - a new to me this year plant which were purchased as my usual sowing of Rudbeckia 'Sahara' was a complete and utter flop. This is a tender perennial which I shall be bringing into the greenhouse soon along with the dahlias. 
• The red foliage is chard' Bright Lights' which produces a mix of edible leaves with stems that produce a rainbow of colours. I use them in salads and sow them most years. I didn't this year but bought some plug plants from a local garden centre in late summer.
• Finally for the scent factor a couple of sprigs of mint. I've lost track of which this one is but think it may be pineapple mint. 

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who gently encourages us to collect something from our gardens to show in a vase every Monday. Do pay her a visit if you haven't already.

This week's garden tasks include more bulb planting and leaf sweeping. A confession to make - a second albeit smaller bulb order arrived last week on the heels of the first delivery. We are also making our way through deciding what to do with our bumper apple crop apart from eat them and give them away. There's a supply of stewed apples in the freezer and we will be making a batch of spiced apple chutney later this week. The remaining necessary were bought this morning so we're all set to go. Any other suggestions as to how to use up surplus apples are welcome although preferably not anything involving cake 😂  Wishing everyone a good week both in and out of the garden.

In A Vase On Monday ~ The Late Show

 My vase today is a hotch potch of late blooming flowers namely :

• A trio of very pink and frilly cosmos flowers - these emerged from a packet of the annual cosmos bipannatus 'Double Click Cranberries' which they are most definitely not. At least this colourway was only to be found on one plant - the others being true to their name but to my surprise I've become quite fond of this errant imposter.
• A single flower of the lovely perennial that is aster frikartii 'Mönch' - with larger flowers than aster 'Little Carlow' but a very similar colour.
• A couple of geranium 'Azure Rush' flowers. I've bought a couple of plants to replace two hardy geranium 'Rozanne' plants which have been occupying space in a border for about five years or so. I love 'Rozanne' but she sprawls and rudely elbows her neighbours out of the way. 'Azure Rush' is very similar in colour, flowers just as late on into autumn but fingers crossed has a more compact habit. I plan to pass a 'Rozanne' on to a friend if she's amenable to providing her with a good home and use the other in a pot.

Thanks Cathy for your excellent hosting skills. 'In A Vase On Monday' can be found weekly over at Cathy's blog 'Rambling in The Garden' when bloggers from all over share their weekly pickings. 

It's been a dry and settled week with pleasant temperatures ideal for getting on with gardening jobs including bulb planting and the serious leg of seemingly never ending task of leaf sweeping and bagging up. Fortunately for me himself does more than his fair share of this as there are a number of large trees in the vicinity. Serious rain stopped play yesterday though and it looks as if we're in for a mainly wet week ahead so I'll be retreating to the greenhouse to do some more bulb planting in pots. I've also got one or two September sown hardy annuals that I'm going to risk pricking out into small pots before it gets much colder. I wonder what everybody else is up to in their gardens this coming week 🤔

IAVOM ~ 'Isle Of Capri'

There are definitely fewer and fewer flowers about now but here is a small picking for this week's 'In A Vase On Monday' in which there are :

• Astrantia 'Capri' - this is the second new to me astrantia purchase this year. I came across the plant in the plant sales area at Hampton Gardens in Herefordshire when we were on holiday last month. The name sung out to me as Capri is the island where my parents honeymooned in 1950. I've mentioned before on my blog that my Mum was Italian by birth and was born what was then a small town not far from Rome. Her family though moved to Rome during the war. At one point I had astrantia 'Roma' in the garden but she has sadly vamooshed. I hope to replace her and perhaps add other astrantias named after Italian cities namely Milan,Venice and Florence. I wonder if there are others. Unusually for me I had considered a prop last night but some unexpected overnight rain spoilt my plans. It was going to be a music box still in working order which my parents bought as a souvenir of their stay. I wind it it up every now and again to simply listen and to be transported to childhood days when it was a special treat to wind the music box up.
• Unknown long lost label variety of persicaria.
• Some flowers from the lovely perennial aster 'Little Carlow' - this was in flower at the beginning of September if not before and although beginning to go over it is still throwing out colour and attracts pollinators. 

The vase is the second of two vases that I treated myself this year on our holidays. This vase was bought at Stockton Bury Gardens, also in Herefordshire which was staging an exhibition of various crafts when we visited as part of Herefordshire Arts Week. One of the exhibitors was a potter who began to work with clay just after the 2021 lockdowns and who has fallen in love with ceramics. Looking at her work it was impossible to guess that she was still a relative novice. 

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who convenes our weekly floral get togethers. Do over to her blog if you haven't done so already!

For the last week since Storm Amy partied for an entire weekend the weather here has been calm and dry with some occasional pleasant sunshine thrown in. The coming week promises to deliver more of the same which is most welcome as there are various jobs to be done including making inroads into planting the contents of my bulb delivery which arrived late last week. Now just where am I going to plant them all 🤔😂

IAVOM ~ 'A Frog He Would A - Wooing Go'

Today's flowers for ' In A Vase On Monday' were picked from my little herb patch. They are allium tuberosum also known as white garlic chives and are a perennial herb flowering here at the same time the ordinary chives get their second flush of flowers. As the name suggests they smell and have taste of mild garlic. They are also a good pollinator magnet. 

The vase was a treat to myself on the first of our two short holidays this year. We visited 'The Hirsel' in Coldstream, Scotland which was the childhood home of a former British Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas - Home. 'The Hirsel' is now a 500 acre park open to the public all year round with a large artificial lake and river in the grounds. There is also a woodland area and a late 19th century rhododendron and azalea woodland garden but it was too late in the year for us to see this at its peak. We enjoyed a memorable walk around the perimeter of the lake, where we had the magical experience of seeing seething masses of hundreds but more probably thousands of newly emerged baby frogs hopping along lakeside. My post title was inspired by an old folk song which originated in Scotland in 1549 albeit with different words to the song we learnt as children. Sadly the frog one Antony Rowley was gobbled up by a lily-white duck before he could have any fun.  It was quite a challenge for us not to step on any of them with himself's size 12 feet and my size 7. We walked slowly and with great caution before wending our way back to the homestead, where as well as a café there are various craft workshops including a small ceramics studio, which is were my vase came from.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for getting us together every Monday to share our vases. There's been no time for gardening activities today and won't be until later in the week when I plan to give the greenhouse a good autumn clean. I hope that you can all get out into your green spaces this week.

IAVOM ~ Harvest Home

 

The last few days have seen a marked contrast as we move toward's the autumn equinox later today. Friday was positively balmy and apart from a swift short shower it was dry. I made the most of it to gather up the last fruits of what has been a bumper tomato crop, to lift the remaining 'Charlotte' potatoes and move them to a crate in the shed as well as taking down the sweet peas and French beans wigwams and disposing of the somewhat bedraggled plants. I also took a few cuttings. Himself was kept occupied with picking apples. Just as well as Saturday was the wettest day we have had for some time - it poured down throughout the day and then into the early hours of Sunday morning. When I checked the weather app. on my phone yesterday morning it informed me that we had had 36mm of rain in the last 24 hours! However we woke to a sparking clear blue sky complete with sunshine and it turned out to be a completely dry day, possibly the first we've had this month.

In my vase this week a nod to autumn's arrival with :

• Dahlia - I think this one is 'Night Silence' but I'm not sure as it's in a pot with no label.
• Panicum capillare 'Sparkling Fountain' which was sown from saved seed back in March. I've grown this grass for a few years now and love the way it sparkles in the sunlight. It self seeds but never in places where it's easy to extricate and replant so I sow it yearly.
• Rudbeckia hirta 'Enchanted Flame' - for the first time in a good few years I had no joy with growing rudbeckia 'Sahara' from seed. I was upset as it's a flower mix that is good for late summer/early autumn flowering with colours of various shades. After some pondering I remembered reading about the rudbeckia hirta 'Enchanted' series over at Catherine's 'Notes From My Garden' blog. More pondering and although these plants are half- hardy perennials a special 3 for the price of 2 offer from an online source tempted me. I must admit that I'm not keen on the muddy looking colour that these particular flowers had in bud but I do like the final fully opened version. I will still sow 'Sahara' again next year whatever joy I have with overwintering these plants.

Thanks as always to Cathy who is the custodian of our Monday's vases and who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden'.

A few domestic tasks to catch up on here whilst it's still warming up - the temperature in the greenhouse dipped down to 5.7 centigrade here overnight which is most cool for September. Then there are jobs to get on with outside. Wishing you a happy Monday and a most gentle autumn 🍂 

IAVOM ~ 'September In The Rain'

A borrowed vase from me this week. Having returned at the weekend from a holiday in the depths of rural Herefordshire, there have been a few jobs to catch up on including taking various cuttings as well as picking tomatoes, pears and apples from the garden. The pears are now ripening on a sunny windowsill (ie as and when the present weather pattern improves) whilst the first apples to be harvested have been peeled and stewed. With one batch in the freezer the second batch was on the jobs to do list this morning. As the day has unfolded it has turned increasingly windy and the odd shower has fallen. The green waste bin is empty and due for collection tomorrow but I have decided not to venture out with my secateurs this time.  I will no doubt feel guilty tomorrow.

My vase was in the 'Ladies' at Stocktonbury Gardens which I've wanted to visit for years. Despite the fact that all the gardens we visited had suffered from the long, hot and dry summer there was still much to hold our interest especially the garden's history. If you're in the area it's certainly well worth a visit. I'm not sure exactly what's in the vase but can identify the white flowered aster diveraticus, an eryngium and what I think is a sanguisorba. It's a garden that I would love to visit again especially in spring when their huge apple orchard is in blossom. This is just a small glimpse of it below on a September day: 

I also fell for rosa mutablis, a rose which I have read much about over the years but had never glimpsed in flower before now :

There were plants for sale in the plants sales area but I'm not sure where I could plant one so resisted. The little dragon perched on the roof was rather fetching too but not for sale.

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who gets us together every week for a floral party. Do visit her if you haven't already!

IAVOM ~ 'September Morn'

 

What better way to start a new month than with a vase of flowers. Yes September has arrived - my favourite month of the year after May. In my vase today are :

• Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer - this is a hardy perennial which likes the sun but also moist soil. It usually does well in its allocated spot but has languished this long dry summer so along with the astrantias has received the odd drink from the watering can.
• Aster 'Little Carlow' - another hardy perennial and one of my favourites with clouds of small lavender blue small flowers.
• Some foliage from the climber 'Humulus Lupulus aureum' or golden hop. I've never seen this plant grow so much as it has done this year - it has turned into a veritable monster. It's looking most attractive now with all the dangly hops. 

Thanks as always to our lovely hostess Cathy who blogs at 'Rambling In the Garden'. A quick and early post from me today as I need to get ready to head out for a garden centre visiting marathon with a dear friend who loves plants too. We may be gone for some time but I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone's vases later. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Holker Hall, Cumbria ~ August 2025.

 

IAVOM ~ 'In The Pink'

 

Mondays seem to come round very quickly and it's time to celebrate the start of the week with a vase of flowers joining in with the 'In A Vase On Monday'. In my vase this week are :

• Flowers of what maybe 'Madame Julia Correvon' but I honestly don't know. Maybe Cathy our Clematis Queen might have some ideas. This is the second lot of flowers it has thrown out this summer.
• A sprig of astrantia 'Cerise Button'. This is a new to me astrantia which I fell for on a visit to the fabulous Holehird Gardens in Cumbria at the beginning of July this year. I was hoping to track it down at a nursery but was most surprised to see it for sale at a local garden centre last week. The flowers on my plant aren't either as big or as deep pink as the plant I saw in the garden (see photo below) but I will give it time to establish and confirm whether I've got the correct plant.
• Some foliage from pittisporum 'Silver Ball'

Thanks as always are due to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her most excellent hosting. 

It's a Bank Holiday today and unusually warm and sunny - this looks like the end of what has been another long dry spell with rain predicated to arrive overnight and then feature daily for the next week or so! What a relief that will be especially to our farmers. I'm off out when I've posted this to collect some poppy seedheads before the change in weather - if anybody reading this would like some papaver orientale  'Lauren's Grape' seeds just let me know. I'm collecting some for the seeds and will dry the others for future use in a vase.

IAVOM ~ 'Set Fire To The Rain'

 

It's another dahlia on my rusty old grey table this Monday. This is dahlia 'Purple Flame' which is more of a deep rich pink to my eyes. This is the first time I've grown this variety and I have fallen in love with it. Unfortunately I was sent a rather puny specimen so have not had enough of the striking flowers. I hope that it successfully overwinters and bulks up next year but I will also purchase another. It's been a funny old year here for dahlias amongst other things. Not one of the dahlias planted in the garden came through and the one that I planted hasn't flourished at all. Dahlias in pots have done better but the flowers have still struggled and are perhaps not as abundant as usual in their flowering. Mind you it's been a funny old year for a lot of things. Today I was actually delighted to see a dull and cloudy sky when I opened the blinds and we've not seen the sun all day. Hopefully this extremely long hot and dry summer is on the way out. My thoughts are now turning to spring.

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her excellent hosting skills. Thanks also to those of you who expressed concern in your comments to my last post. Fortunately we escaped with no serious damage from Storm Floris. As for the on the blink internet connection it was eventually sorted by a BT Openreach engineer. We now have an amazingly much faster connection but found that after his visit that our phone landline isn't working. Not a major issue but one that needs following up very soon.

I may prick out some lunaria and hersperis seeds later but maybe not as there are lot of biting creatures about at the moment. I watched two bats flit about very close to the house last night so maybe there will be fewer creatures about today. I've been leaving this task until the weather cooled down a bit. I also need to get some thoughts together as to what bulbs to order for spring flowering. As usual I've left it until late. Have you ordered your spring bulbs yet? Please tell me that I'm not alone.

IAVOM - Blowin' In The Wind

 

I took this photo last weekend intending to post last Monday but time completely ran away with me that day so here a week later is my 'In A Vase On Monday'. It was quite breezy at the time and the contents of the vase swirled about and where not as I had originally placed them. In my vase are :

• A flower of dahlia 'Melissa Anna Marjike' - it's a new one to me. you can't see it but it has the bonus of having dark foliage. I like it.
• A couple of stems of what I think is physocarpus 'Diablo'.
• Some daucus carrota 'Dara' - a hardy annual which was sown in the greenhouse last September. it has dusky pink and/or burgundy flowers and is always most obliging.
• Thalictrum delavayi 'Splendide White'- it's a tall late delicate and airy flowering summer perennial which needs some support - in this case my plant is very conveniently supported by it's next door neighbour a rose. There is a lavender toned version of this thalictrum too which is on my wish list.

A short post today as we've been having intermittent problems with our internet connection over the last few days so I want to  hit publish as soon as possible. Many thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' as always for hosting. I hope to check in other vases later internet connection permitting but in the meantime domestic chores call. Although the rain has stopped and the sun is out we have a named storm today so it's been much too windy out there this afternoon to do anything in the garden. Oddly enough Storm Floris is the U.K's first named storm since January which goes to show just how gentle our late winter/ early spring weather was. I nipped out before and saw that there is quite a bit of debris and leaves waiting to be brushed up but that can wait until tomorrow. At least the green bin is filled and ready to roll in the morning. I hope that the weather is more clement wherever you are.

IAVOM ~ 'The Heat Is On'

 

Just a quick pick and plonk from me in this week's vase after an extremely hot day (the thermostat had steadily been creeping up for a few days) when the temperature soared to above 30°c. At this point I cease to function when it comes to outside activity and wonder just how my brother manages to live in a country where that is the year round norm. I was inside for the duration only venturing out to water a few pots about 7.00am, to snip the above and take photos before retreating indoors then venturing out again at 9.45pm to do some more watering. It is cooler but still warm today although thankfully less humid. In my vase are :

• Pansies - the little faces of 'Pansy Nature Mulberry Shades' and a couple of 'Pansy Nature Antique Shades'. They were grown from seed sown in the greenhouse during March. They have very short stems so are in the littlest of my vases. I plan to sow some more seed in September.
• A sprig of helichrysum petiolare 'Silver'. This snippet came from one of the cuttings that I took late last summer and overwintered in the greenhouse. It puts on amazing growth during one season and makes for an attractive foliage plant in containers. I shall take more cuttings again this year.
• A few bits of eminently strokable fluffiness in the shape of the annual lathyrus ovatus or 'Bunny Tails' grass which were sown in the greenhouse during March. 

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In the Garden' for hosting such an enjoyable floral party every Monday. It's a degree or two cooler today albeit still warm. We have even cooler temperatures and rain forecast for tomorrow which will come as a blessing. The garden could definitely do with a good soak. Hopefully there will be a point in the day when I can venture out and potter in comfort and get on with some of the many tasks that wait out there. 

I forgot to mention that when I did venture out after watering them I picked the ripest and juciest of tomatoes and popped it straight into my mouth. The fruit was comfortably warm to the touch and tasted absolutely delicious 😋

IAVOM ~ First Pickings

Slightly earlier than last year methinks there is a vase of sweet peas on the kitchen windowsill. The first bunch of sweet peas is always a highlight of my gardening year. I'm sure that I've said before that they are the one hardy annual that I wouldn't be without. Starring in this year's cast are : 'Erewhon', 'Gwendoline', 'Kings Ransom', 'Eclipse', 'Almost Black', 'Indigo King', 'David Tostevin' and 'Suzy Z'. The last two are new to me this year and the jury is still out them. They leave something to be desired when it comes to scent and scent is an important factor for me when it comes to sweet peas. 

I could have picked a smaller bunch last week but as we were away for a few days I decided to remove the first flowers and jettison them which did cause me some heartbreak. I came home though to this burst of colour and there are just as many today waiting in the wings for their moment in a vase.

In other news the first homegrown tomatoes of the year were eaten yesterday, the green garden waste bin is filled ready for collection and I have been sowing biennials. Summer is definitely in full stride with another heatwave predicted for later this week. This time it's creeping up to the north west of England so I think that gardening jobs apart from watering will be done in the earlier part of the week. Still when the heat is on there are household chores to be done, reading to catch up on and I'm looking forward to listening to Carol Klein who was the guest on 'Desert Island Discs' on BBC Radio 4 yesterday. The episode is available to listen to via BBC Sounds here. 

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who gets us together every week thus providing a source of much pleasure, inspiration as well as an ever growing wish list. Do visit her blog if you haven't already!

Postscript - I've checked and the sweet peas are definitely earlier - a full two weeks! The 2024 and 2025 sweet pea seeds were sown in the middle of March. I noted though that once I planted them out last year that they made painfully slow progress as the weather was so cool and damp although we had plenty of rain. The complete opposite conditions this year which probably explains why they are earlier.

IAVOM ~ 'Stawberry Moon'

 

A quick pick and plonk from me today. We have just returned from a relaxing week's holiday near Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland (the northern most town in England), where we stayed in a log cabin just over the border in Scotland. Now catching up with all the domestic chores before tackling the weeds and dead-heading. Progress is slow as I have returned with the sniffles - hayfever maybe and hopefully not a cold or worse. My usual go to place for IAVOM photos is temporarily out of action whilst I'm waiting for ladybird larvae to morph, before I can prune the willow branches that are now obscuring the usual spot. In my vase today are :

• The obliging, sometimes too obliging briza maxima or Greater Quaking Grass which can seed about a bit too much. 
• Some of the September sown hardy annual orlaya grandiflora.
• A flower of rosa 'Jubilee Celebration', which has beautifully scented flowers but sadly is another flower with heads that look down rather than facing upwards. This is another rose which has been discontinued by David Austin so is no longer available to buy.

The rosy vase is a little bone china milk jug which I came across in a charity shop.

One of the highlights of our week was getting a great view of the recent 'Strawberry Moon'. Our log cabin had a covered veranda where we were able to sit out and just gaze in wonder. I've included a very short video clip of the aforesaid moon. Did anybody else catch a glimpse of it?

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who invites us to share a vase of floral gatherings from our gardens each week on a Monday. A brilliant way to start the week.

Wordless Wednesday - Perfect Harmony

IAVOM ~ It's That Time Of Year

 

Once again it's time to whisk my made for May vase out of the cupboard for an annual outing. It's quite a small vase so the occupants need to be on the dainty side. There was just enough room for a couple of stems of the climbing 'Blush Noisette' rose and a few stems of the pretty hardy annual orlaya grandiflora. The rose has been in the garden since 2009 and is now a well established bank of deliciously scented flowers. I sow the orlaya every year - these were sown at the start of the third week of September 2024 and started to come into flower at the beginning of May. I sowed a few more at the end of March but the germination rate wasn't as good.

I've neglected blogging recently - both my own and commenting on others as I've been away celebrating himself's birthday and then the wedding of my youngest niece, so am looking forward to seeing what's in everyone's vases today. You can see the bride's flowers above - astrantias with roses. Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who is responsible for our weekly floral fun.

In true bank holiday fashion it's both raining and windy this afternoon with heavier rain forecast for the evening. However after weeks without any rain it's been so enjoyable to watch and smell it as it has fallen for the skies. Fortunately the rain held off on the big day until the evening reception which was a most welcome state of affairs especially given the fact that the wedding was in Manchester. I've lots to do in the garden but as far as the rest of today is concerned I think that I will just have to settle for some pricking out of seedlings in the greenhouse. Enjoy your week.

IAVOM ~ Knock Off

Finding their way into my vase this Monday are :

• Mathiasella bupleuroides 'Green Dream'. This was the first candidate simply because I managed to snap a protruding branch off the plant when I walked past it. This perennial hails from Mexico and quietly goes about doing it's business every year sometimes until late autumn, seemingly not suffering from any pests or diseases apart from damage caused by clumsy humans.
• Stems of millium effusum 'Aureum' also known as 'Bowles Golden Grass'. It's a pretty grass that prefers a shady spot simply because too much sun can scorch the leaves. It seeds about but never to nuisance proportions.
• Aquilegia - these seem to have self-seeded in abundance this year along with polemonium caeruleum. The original seed came to me as aquilegia 'Hensol's Harebell', probably from The Cottage Garden Society many years ago and was among the very first flowers that I ever grew from seed.

My usual perch for taking vase photos has been submerged by willow branches so I moved the vase to rest on top of a low wall in the garden. The vase is a fairly recent Etsy purchase.

A big thanks as always to Cathy as always for enabling us to share our vases each Monday - Cathy blogs over at 'Rambling In the Garden'. Do pay her a visit if you haven't already!

Here our sunny, warm and very dry spring continues - it was sometime last month when it last rained. I will be going out later to do some potting up in the greenhouse. It's coming up to peak willow fluff time and at times over the last few days it has looked at times as if it's snowing. The shedding usually subsides in the evenings so it should be safe to venture out then 😂

IAVOM ~ Almost As Good As Chocolate

 

A trio of ranunculus flowers in my vase today which are reminding me of roses. They were a recent purchase from a local discount store which has what is calls a garden centre section. These were three plants to a pot in a range of colours but these were the ones that caught my eye. With my own attempt at planting ranunculus to overwinter in the greenhouse not being successful I decided to treat myself. Unfortunately the label wasn't helpful - just the word ranunculus and no details. 

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for being such a steadfast host each and every Monday of the year.

Here we had an absolutely beautiful day for Easter Sunday - the sort of day that I could live over and over again. Blue skies, sunshine, a gentle breeze and a most ambient temperature. There were one or two jobs to do in the morning but as himself was cooking our Easter meal I pottered in the garden all afternoon until early evening. More potatoes were planted, dahlias were potted up and there was much weeding. I also took time to wonder round the garden and just stand and stare. The crab apple tree, the blossom of which I featured in last week's vase, is still flowering profusely and it's a real show-stopper. I hope that the Easter Day weather treated you just as kindly wherever you are. Today the weather gods have read the script and as it is a bank holiday it's been predictably raining but is slowly brightening up now.

Wordless Wednesday ~ RHS, Harlow Carr Gardens, Yorkshire - April 2025.

 

IAVOM ~ It Be Blossom Time

 
Walking round the garden yesterday the blossoms gave me so much pleasure so I thought that I would share one of them in a vase today. The amelanchier briefly shone but is now over, it's probably just past peak pear blossom, apple tree flowers are just opening their first buds so the star was malus 'Red Sentinel' which morphs from pink to white as it blossoms. The tree in question is now ten years old and well established enough not to miss a few flowers. Later in the year there should be clusters of red berries for the birds to enjoy. They are also apparently suitable for making crab apple jelly but I've never attempted to do so prefering to leave them to my feathered friends.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy who blogs at 'Rambling In The Garden' for enabling me and other flower loving bloggers to share our vases at the start of each week.

Here it promises to be a busy week with my reading group meeting, a couple of lunches out with friends and a visit from my dear niece and her partner who will be getting married next month. I'm hoping though to squeeze in some gardening/greenhouse activities in along the way and after an extremely warm sunny and prolonged dry spell I'm wishing for some much needed April showers. Enjoy the week ahead! 

IAVOM ~ Springing Forward

 

An excursion out of the cupboard for my fairly local creamery jar which was a charity shop purchase as far as I can remember. Inside my vase this week are some unknown narcissus (only planted last autumn but with no label!), muscari 'Valerie Finnis', a little bit of fern like foliage from corydalis lutea (just coming into flower) which gatecrashed the garden many years ago and finally a couple of anemone 'Galilee' flowers. I would like to say that I grew the anemomes myself but they came to me as plug plants at the beginning of February 😂

As always thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting.

The most joyous aspect of this last week was the fact that the clocks sprung forward on Saturday night and the evenings now offer one more hour of daylight! 

IAVOM ~ Jumping For Joy!

 

It's time for what must be one of the world's contenders for the smallest vase (with the exception of a vase that you might find in a doll's house). You may not think that it looks particularly small but I have zoomed in it so it doesn't just disappear from sight. In it is a trio of the little viola' Peach Jump Up'. I much prefer violas to their bigger pansy relatives. These were bought from a local garden centre in the autumn and are now doing a good job as toppers in containers of daffodils and hyacinths.

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who encourages us to share our vases each and every Monday. It's always a joy to see what is in other participant's vases.

Here after a couple of false starts spring has is definitely here - hedgerows and trees are flushing pale green, blossom seems to be everywhere and the daffodils are resplendent. Seed sowing has started in earnest. More sunshine than grey, more warmth than cold and finally after a so far most dry March we had a decent spell of much needed rain at the weekend. Without a doubt my favourite time of year! 

IAVOM - Floating My Boat

 

A single snip from me this week in the shape of a hellebore flower. This one was a present from himself to celebrate a rather big birthday last year and is a hellebore x hybridus (Ashwood Evolution Group) Yellow Double. The receptacle it's floating in came home with me last week after a trip to Chester for a haircut. The hairdresser just happens to be very close to a florist's shop which has a little room inside packed with vases and containers. This shop always pulls me in  by magic either before or after my hair appointments. As soon as I saw this one I had visions of a floating hellebore. 

Thanks to Cathy as always over at 'Rambling In The Garden', who encourages us to share our flowers and foliage every week and is also sharing some glorious spring mellow yellow this week. Do visit and see what she and other bloggers have in their vases this week.

Here after a 'False Spring' a couple of weekends ago we have had some quite chilly weather but it looks as if spring is going to well and truly arrive with the equinox on Thursday, with suitable weather to live up to the occasion. I sowed my first seeds on Saturday - the wouldn't be without sweet peas and 1 have three seed trays filled up with compost, lined up in the greenhouse, for me to sow more annuals this afternoon. 

Wishing you all a good week in the garden and a happy Saint Patrick's Day to anybody who celebrates. It's a special day for me as it's the anniversary of my first ever 'date' with himself 🍀

Wordless Wednesday ~ Blossom Time At Arley Hall

 

IAVOM ~ 'This Will Be The Last Time'

 
Well the last time until next year - that's a promise - no more snowdrops in my Monday vases! I wanted a chance to though to share my new snowdrop vase before the season ends. It only arrived in the last week. I'm not sure about the butterfly decoration - perhaps a bee might have been more seasonal. Today's gathering is a bit of a rushed smash and grab job which features :

• Galanthus - a trio consisting of galanthus nivalis, galanthus 'Trym' and one which I think could be 'Melanie Broughton' but in the absence of a label I can't be sure.
• The two twiggy bits are a winter flowering honeysuckle, which for the purposes of this photo is proving rather shy and a snippet of Abeliophyllum distichum or white forsythia. The latter is actually tinged with pink. Both are scented. The honeysuckle came to me via a plant stall at one of Cathy's open days so is particularly precious.

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' as always for hosting. 

There are definite signs that spring is almost in the air and there is the promise of warmer temperatures both by day and night in the week to come. Time soon to swap my fleece for a T-shirt. Now that's living dangerously!