IAVOM ~ Stirrings

 

The garden is definitely stirring now and here in this week's Monday vase are :

• Galanthus 'Philippe André Meyer' - this has become one of my favourite snowdrops in the garden. It has a distinctictive marking, shape and clumps up very quickly.  If any of my UK snowdrop blogger friends would like a bulb just say so.
• Iris reticula 'Pauline' - I left it late to get my bulb order in this year and was sadly too late to obtain the irises on my wish list. I picked this one up from a local garden centre for no other reason that one of my first colleagues and oldest friends is a Pauline. She is growing in a pot under cover in the greenhouse. I prefer the lighter coloured irises but still she'a most attractive.
• Small cyclamen flowers - these have been in the garden for years and I imagine that they are cyclamen coum. They're planted in an old Belfast sink which was surplus to himself's workplace and was being thrown out. Alongside the cyclamens are snowdrops and ophiopogon or Mondo grass with its dark strappy grass like leaves.
• Finally a sprig of salix gracistyla 'Mount Aso', a bushy shrub bearing these lovely fuzzy pink catkins in winter.

As always thanks to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In the Garden' and who gets us together every Monday to share our floral and foliage treasures. Do visit her blog if you haven't already.

The weather continues in a damp vein although we have so far been spared the excessive rainfall that has troubled some areas of the country. The main priority in any suitable dry intervals this week is to fill the green garden waste bin up in readiness for it's first collection early next week. There's still some space and there's plenty of suitable plant debris waiting to go in to it. I'm also looking forward to getting stuck into a new book arrival. More of that and gardening related podcasts soon.