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.