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!

Musing In March ~ 'Green Rain'

"Into the scented woods we'll go 

And see the blackthorn swim in snow.

High above in the budding leaves, 

A brooding dove awakes and grieves;

The glades with mingled music stir,

And wildly laughs the woodpecker.

When blackthorn petals pearl the breeze

There are the twisted hawthorn trees

Thick-set with buds, as clear and pale

As golden water or green hail-

As if a storm of rain had stood

Enchanted in the thorny wood, 

And, hearing fairy voices call,

Hung poised, forgetting how to fall."

Poem by Mary Webb, 1881 - 1927.

Illustration - 'The Blackthorn Fairy' by Cicely Mary Barker, 1885- 1973.

I came across this poem only this last week and wondered why I had never discovered it before.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Pixie Hats

IAVOM ~ When Is A Vase Not A Vase?

 

I've bended the interpretation of the word 'vase' slightly this week and hope that Cathy forgives me. Mondays are a bit full for me at the moment and I should have put something together over the weekend. I should have done it on Saturday which was a glorious early glimpse of spring but only thought of doing it yesterday, which was a thoroughly grim windy and very wet day. Consequently nothing was achieved that involved venturing out, other than checking the greenhouse, emptying a few bits and pieces into the recycling bin and also treating my hotbin to some left over vegetable peelings.

It was a rush this morning to get ready to go out so I grabbed my pot of iris reticulata out of the greenhouse my contribution for today's 'In A Vase On Monday'. I'm not sure which variety it is but think that it's either 'Pauline or George'. I've come to the conclusion that I prefer paler iris flowers than the dark sultry ones but whatever colour they are they never flower long enough for me. Still they are beautiful whilst they last and well worth splashing out on.

I probably have a dozen or so pots of spring bulbs growing in the greenhouse and some are faring better than their outdoor counterparts, especially crocus 'Firefly' which has been positively flattened by the elements this weekend. The pot was a purchase some time ago from one of the 'PromArt' craft shows held monthly from April to September at Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria. I think that I might plant muscari in it this autumn. 

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her steadfast weekly hosting - do pay her a visit if you've not already done so to see what delights she and other bloggers are sharing in their vases today. Make sure you have a pen and paper to hand!

IAVOM ~ Just A Few More 'Drops

 

It's a few of my special snowdrops in today's vase - some have lost their labels but they include 'Fieldgate Superb', the largest flower you can see in the above photo, 'Trumps', Wendy's Gold (yellow ovary and slow to increase for me) 'Green of Hearts', 'Aunt Agnes', 'Philippe Andre Meyer' and 'Lapwing' showing it's lovely markings and almost brushing the vase. The vase is a small stoneware pot purchased for a couple of pounds or so at The Malvern Spring Show a few years ago.

Thanks to our lovely hostess Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting 💐 Do pay her a visit to share her offering today as well as contributions from fellow garden bloggers.

Well after a couple of seemingly never ending grey days with below average temperatures, the pendulum is set to swing towards a warmer, windier and generally wetter spell but with sunny spells too! All in all a most satisfactory state of affairs. I wheeled the green bin up the lane earlier this afternoon ready for the first collection of the year tomorrow. 'Charlotte' potatoes were chitted in egg boxes yesterday and are now occupying window space in the hall which is the coolest spot I can find in the house. Not a pretty sight but needs must. An exciting discovery yesterday afternoon when I spotted the first slightest purple whisps of crocus tommasinianus peeping out from the lawn. I had checked the day before and nothing was visible so it was magical to see evidence of their return yesterday. The days are now visibly lengthening and things are definitely on the move.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Bird On The Wing

IAVOM ~ "Just Another Manic Monday"

 

Well it certainly another Monday but no longer as in working years could it be described as manic. The song lyrics no longer ring true :

" It's just another manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday

'Cause that's my fun day

My "I don't have to run day"

It's just another manic Monday"

- sung by 'The Bangles'.

Now Monday is very much a fun day as we're invited to share our floral and foliage gatherings with fellow flower lovers. The year is still very much in it's infancy but there are definite signs of the lengthening days and of growth in the garden. In my vase this week are :

• Sarcoccoca - I like the delicate white flowers of this shrub as well as its scent. Here I grow a couple of varieties but neither live up to its common name of Christmas box, as they don't do much in the way of flower until the end of January. The flowers on this unknown variety seem to be sparser than usual this year and some of the foliage is yellowing. It lives in a big pot by the front door with a hardy cyclamen and a fern that has probably got too big over the years. Time I think for feeding and perhaps drastic action as far as the fern is concerned.
• A couple of fronds from a hardy fern, not the one already mentioned but another pot grown one. It's an evergreen fern by the name of polystichum polyblepharum or perhaps more easily remembered by it's common name of Japanese lace fern.
• Finally a few flowers from 'Trumps' one of my favourite special snowdrops. This one is easily recognisable and bulks up at an incredible speed. If only it could be remamed! Here is it in the garden just a few days ago :

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. Do pay her a visit or even better join in with a vase of your own! 

It looks as if it's going to be a relatively warm and sunny day here, with the temperature nudging into double figures. I hope to have a potter about in the garden later on and see what's happening out there. 

IAVOM ~ 'Singing the Blues'

 It's back to kitchen windowsill joy again for this week's 'In A Vase On Monday' and another purchase from a certain German supermarket chain. Along with the hippeastrums (about to open a second spike of flowers) is a hyacinth bulb grown in a vase designed for the purpose. This has provided me with entertainment every morning after I have pulled up the kitchen blind. At first I was convinced that the bulb was in suspended animation and wasn't going to flower in my lifetime. However and very slowly there was growth, both of white roots and of green shoots emerging from the bulb, before the flower finally appeared. I was most excited on Friday to see a blush of colour on the flower buds and have been surprised just how quickly the buds have been opening. The photo was taken this morning. The window was cleaned just before Christmas, since when all our windows have been covered by sprinkles of dust maybe Saharan or maybe originating from somewhere closer to home. Himself is not amused and is gearing himself up for an action replay.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for providing us with a weekly get- together to share our vases.

Last week saw the snow and stubborn patches of black ice that had been adorning our garden finally melted giving way to a mix of sunshine and fog. The weekend was grey and bone chilling cold with the week ahead looking far from promising as far as the weather is concerned. More time inside than outside methinks. I have one or two more seed orders to make and if it does warm up just a smidgen I may repot some of the greenhouse hardy September sown annuals. The daily greenhouse snowdrops in pots collection continues to get a daily inspection along with a few pot grown iris reticulata, crocuses, fritillaria, muscari and little daffs. One or two pots might make their way into the kitchen windowsill so I can inspect them at close quarters. In other news this week it's been delightful to observe a couple of blue tits flying in and out of the nesting box that we can see from our dining room. Hopefully they will build their nest there. Spring can't be so far away!

IAVOM ~ Shining Out On These Dark Nights

 
The Chritsmas tree and all it's sparkle has been dismantled and sadly the decorations are now boxed off for another year. However I've still left some fairy lights twinkling albeit faintly (new batteries needed methinks) and there will be candlepower both flame and LED for a few weeks to come. Joining them on the hearth is a vase off supermarket daffodils which are just beginning to open. They moved from the cooler utility room to warmer climes late this afternoon. I rarely buy supermarket flowers these days but always treat myself to the odd shot of colour during these still short days and long nights.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for bringing some magical glow all year round in the form of 'In A Vase On Monday'. I'm looking forward to seeing what is in everyone's vases today. I'm not sure what there is out there in flower as the garden has been covered with white precipitation. The snow started late on Saturday evening and we woke up to a good covering of it on Sunday morning (The above photo was taken at 6.15am  yesterday morning) It did slowly but not completely evaporate during the day but then we had another covering of snow during the night. Today's sunshine bought about some drip and melt but there has been some further late afternoon wintry precipitation. There is still a weather warning for snow and ice for tonight, with the next few days predicted to be most chilly indeed. My gardening activities will therefore be of the indoors kind - planning, writing new labels for my greenhouse snowdrops (I'm replacing white labels with black labels), some garden magazine reading, ordering a few new dahlias as well as dreaming. What will you be up to?