IAVOM ~ Revived

 

We have returned home after a week's break in Shropshire feeling revived. My vase reflects this being a bit of a revival special containing :

• Rudbeckia fulgida var. dreamii - I was most surprised to find when we got home that two of the three rudbeckias in my last Monday vase a fortnight ago were still going strong. The vase was placed on a north facing window sill and whilst the other contents of the vase were jettisoned before we left I didn't have the hearr to dispose of the rudbeckia flowers. They just had to be included in today's vase. 
• A sprinkling of aster 'Little Carlow' - I know that this plant has been subjected to a name change but I'm sticking with the old name which I can remember and don't have to check on the spelling. This is a favourite with me. It doesn't do much for most of the year but it can be counted on to produce clouds of exquisite little daisies at this time of the years.
• A stem of of the shimmering panicum 'Sparkling Fountain' which were sown in the greenhouse early in March. I've grown this from seed for several years saving some seed in the autumn. I plant it in pots with companions and although it self- seeds I usually find that the seedlings appear in spots where it's difficult to remove them from without damage.

Thanks as always to lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for getting us together every Monday to share our vases.

I've obviously not been able to do much in the garden as I've not been about. I did take some salvia cuttings before we left and also sowed some hardy annuals with more being sown yesterday. The green bin is full once more ready for collection tomorrow and I've acquired a few packets of bulbs which I must plant before my online order arrives. Finally a nursery and garden recommendation if you should find yourself in north Shropshire. Do visit 'Wildgoose Nursery', near Craven Arms where there is an excellent selection of unusual plants for sale as well as a delightful walled garden. If you can't visit it may be worth subscribing to their newsletter. The latest edition describes the plants which flourished in this hot and dry summer and was most interesting reading.

IAVOM ~ Sunshine & Showers

It's certainly been a case of more showers than sunshine of late but the garden is lapping it up after this hot dry summer. In my vase this Monday are a trio of :

• Rudbeckia fulgidia var. dreamii - a reliable late summer flowering perennial which simply just glows summer sunshine even on dull wet days, of which there have been a few just recently. My plant came from the fabulous nursery which is close to our caravan in the Lake District. The nursery Abi and Tom's Garden Plants is going from strength to strength featuring in both last week's episode of 'Gardeners' World' as well as in this September's edition of the Royal Horticultural Society's magazine 'The Garden'. Definitely a must to visit if you ever find yourself in the south of Cumbria. Below is a photo one of the garden spaces in the nursery when we visited in the middle of May this year: 

• A couple of strands of the golden hop - humulus lupus 'Aureus' - it's having a good year but it's not been as rampart as last year probably in response to the drier summer. It's has just come into full hopiness over the last week. 
• A sprig of an old stalwart clematis jouiniana x Praecox' which is an excellent scrambler and a pollinator magnet. 

My vase was a memento from a holiday last year when we stayed just over the English border and visited a small ceramics studio in Coldstream, Scotland. I felt that it would be churlish to leave empty-handed - well that's my excuse 😉

Thanks must go to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her excellent hosting throughout the year. Do visit if you haven't already and see what she and other bloggers are filling their vases with this week.

Here another week without much in the way of any gardening tasks being accomplished. As already mentioned there's been a lot of the wet stuff over the last week and the cramping middle finger hasn't gone away. The rain has precipitated a rash of briza maxima seedlings to appear overnight. They will have to wait until they are bigger to get hold of to extract from where they are surplus to requirements. I have however sent my spring bulb order off which is early for me. I still have tulips to order but don't really want to store these for any longer than I have too so will wait a while longer, maybe another couple of weeks or so. I've taken one or two cuttings and hope to do some more as the week goes on as well as sow some hardy annuals with the imminent arrival of September tomorrow. What have you all be in up to in your gardens? I'd love to know.

IAVOM ~ "Pardon Me"

"Pardon Me" or words of a similar nature was what I said when I knocked the head of the last remaining flower bud on my newly acquired day lily - hemerocalis "Pardon Me" to give it it's proper name. I had been garden visiting with a friend and also wondering round the nursery at Bluebell Cottage Gardens when my eyes were drawn to this plant. I have bought very few plants this summer mainly because conditions haven't been ideal for planting but couldn't resist this one. Not only is it a beautiful colour it also has an Award Of Garden Merit and it's also supposed to be long-flowering. I had been moving my new plant to give it a good soak in an old washing up bowl when this accident happened and left the bud floating in the water. I got a nice surprise the next morning to see that the bud was still floating and had opened fully so of course I had to find it a more attractive vessel to display it and for it to shine albeit for an extremely short time.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In the Garden' for inviting us to share our floral pickings each Monday. It's a great way to start the week. 

The good news here is that it has finally cooled down and it's so much more pleasant to be outdoors. We have had some rain. In fact one day last week it even rained for most of the day and having just watched the weather forecast for the week ahead there's more rain in the pipeline. The not so good news is that out of the blue I have been experiencing cramp in my right hand middle finger (I'm right handed) which as well as being painful is most disconcerting as I don't know when it will strike. As a result of this I've been gentle on the aforesaid digit so have done little in the way of gardening as well as trying to limit my keyboard use. The incidences of cramp seem to be gradually lessening so I'm very much hoping that it will soon completely disappear so that I can proceed with various tasks🤞

IAVOM ~ 'In The Pink'

 

In my vase this Monday are :

• Some shy cosmos. These were grown from seed back at the start of April and have made for small bushy plants which don't require any support. There seem to be a good number of flowers to come so I must keep up with deadheading. I can't remember their name and am unable to find the seed packet so I'm hoping to find a label as I would like to grow them again.
• A couple of stems of helichrysum bracteatum 'Silvery Rose' which certainly seem to be appreciating this hot summer. I bought these as small seedlings rather than sow them myself.
• A flower of dahlia 'Night Silence' which was overwintered in a pot in the greenhouse before planting out in late April. I must admit that I have carried on watering it regularly during the summer along with other plants that I've planted this year.

The vase is one of a trio purchased on a garden visit with a friend back in 2023.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In the Garden' who gives us the opportunity to share our vases at the start of every week. Do visit her and join in if you haven't already. 

After a relatively cool and fresh weekend when it was a joy to be outside the weather has reverted back to very warm and humid so there has been virtually no gardening activity today. I did nip out before breakfast to pot up a couple of lychnis coronaria plants which I've grown from seed and will nip out early this evening to water the tomatoes. The garden is looking very weary but there are signs of some rain in the forecast from tomorrow onwards which is promising 🤞 I've just been reading some most sobering statistics on the Met Office website about July 2026, when parts of the country have had their driest July on record since 1836! 

This has been an absolutely dreadful year for farmers especially in the south and east of the country and my struggles pale in comparison. My thoughts are now turning to ordering spring bulbs and to checking my seed box. I'm determined to sow more hardy annuals later this month and into September to ease the spring workload as well as produce more sturdy plants. There's always next year 😀

IAVOM ~ 'I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside'.

I picked a few flowers for a vase last Monday, took a photo and then for various reasons ran out of steam to post so here it is now.

In my vase are are :

• The very first of the sweet peas - sown under cover at the beginning of March. They are sadly struggling big time having now undergone three heatwaves since being planted in the garden. Note to self has been made to sow seeds this autumn instead.
• A bit of darkness from cornflower 'Witching Hour' - again from seed sown in March. I've not grown cornflowers since my allotment days and had forgotten how floppy they can be if not given support. I'll look for a shorter growing variety next year and will probably return to a shade of blue.
• A stem of the daucus carrota probably 'Dara'- seed sown but in September last year and overwintered in the greenhouse.

Probably the main reason I ran out of steam last Monday was that I was still recovering from a ten hour and half hour or so train journey returning home from Westward Ho! in Devon on what had been an extremely hot Saturday. It  certainly wasn't fun and I arrived home nearly three and half hours later than anticipated with a train cancellation, a late running train and then a trackside fire thrown in to the works. Still we had a most enjoyable and relaxing holiday in great accommodation directly overlooking the sea with just a row of beach huts in front of us. The pool you can see is a salt water pool which was visited by bathers throughout the day and to the right of it were rock pools, where there seemed to be regular activity attracting both little people and big people with buckets and nets. It was most heartwarming to see a well supervised party of Cubs and Brownies there casting their nets early one evening and having a great time by the sound of it.

The weather was most pleasant probably until mid week when it began to feel at little bit too hot for comfort. We still squeezed some garden visits to to Tapeley Park Gardens, Marwood Hill Gardens and RHS Rosemoor. There was much to admire and inspire, fabulous tea rooms in the first two gardens, three cooling lakes and a profusion of wildlife at Marwood Hill and as always much to see at an RHS garden, in fact too much on what was one of the hotter days of the week. I showed great restraint and came home with just one new plant purchase.    

Back home to a garden that is looking drier and crispier by the day and sadly with temperatures too hot for me to be active in the garden last week. The weather on Saturday afforded some relief with a slight fall in the temperature accompanied by some most welcome clouds so a chance to almost fill the green garden waste bin. I also made the exciting discovery that my outdoor tomatoes are on the turn 🥳

Thanks as ever to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for inviting us to share our vases each and every week of the year. I'm looking forward to catching up with other vases later notepad and pen to hand as usual. 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sultry

 

IAVOM ~ "Sumer Is Icumen In"

 

I picked the contents of my vase yesterday evening - the evening of the summer solstice which turned out to be a most sultry one. In my holey vase this week are :

• Astrantia major 'Cerise Button'. This is a new astrantia to me having bought a plant last year after first encountering it in Holehird Gardens. This is a beautiful extremely well tended garden which is looked after by a dedicated team of volunteers who are members of the Lakeland Horticultural Society. The garden overlooks Lake Windermere in Cumbria and if you ever find yourself in the vicinity it's a must visit. 
• Pansy Nature Mulberry Shades - I sowed these in the greenhouse in March but they can be sown at other times over the year.
• Some fluff from Lagurus ovatus also known as Bunny Tail's grass. These were also sown in the greenhouse in March but I plan to follow Cathy our host's example and will try sowing some later this year in the hope of producing larger and sturdier plants in 2027.

"Sumer Is Icumen In" was a song written in the thirteenth century and is one of the oldest songs in the English language. You can read the lyrics and hear the song here.

My holey vase was a purchase over ten years or so ago now from a craft fair in Cumbria.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' and who kindly invites us each and every week to share our vases. It's always a delight and a source of inspiration to visit her blog as well as other garden bloggers to see what's in everyone's vases.

It's going to be unusually hot this week and I have a feeling that there will not be much in the way of gardening activities ahead for a few days yet other than some early morning watering. It's a case of the spirit is willing but the flesh is week. I hope that if the weather is the same with you that you manage to stay cool and if you have cooler weather that you can enjoy time in the garden. Off now to enjoy a cold drink whilst it's still not too hot to sit out in the garden.

Five Favourites, June 2026

 Today I'm joining in with Cathy's 'Five Favourites' and here are five of my favourite June flowers.

Astrantias - I hope that Cathy allows me two for the price of one in this instance. The pink one is of unknown variety whilst the deep red is probably my favourite astrantia in the garden. It's astrantia major 'Gill Richardson' which has a profusion of flowers this year.

Hardy Geranium - this is a self-seeder along with the neighbouring pulmonaria, both very welcome free gifts. I'm fairly sure that it is of geranium pratense origin. The foliage has a pleasing dark tinges.

Gladiolus byzantinus - if only the flowers lasted longer!

Philadelphus - also known as mock orange. I've never known what variety it is. This shrub has been in the garden for many years coming to me as a cutting from my parent's garden. It's become rather sprawly and I'm sure if my Dad could see it he would be itching to give it a good pruning.

Rosa 'Lady Emma Hamilton' - which has beautiful newly emerging foliage in spring and a deliciously scented flower.
 

Well that's my five and I apologise to all the contenders I left out and hope that I haven't hurt their feelings. With thanks to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' for her invitation to post five favourites each month. 

IAVOM ~ ''Star Light, Star Bright"

Just three stems of allium christophii in my Monday vase today. This allium also known by the enchanting name of Star of Persia probably needs no introduction. It can be counted on to make an appearance every year, seems to be untroubled by either pests or diseases in my garden and is also a magnet for pollinators. I think that this is my favourite allium and I have several clumps of it dotted about. These three stems were picked with a purpose in mind. I will be drying them for permanent display in a vase to replace the three present specimens which are looking a bit sad and past their sell by date. 

I recently read a little snippet that advised adding a tiny bit of bleach in the water when using alliums in a vase. It helps to keep the water from smelling rather unpleasant!

The vase was purchased from Etsy some time last year.

Thanks as ever to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who enables us to share our vases whether they contain flowers, foliage, vegetables or fruit every Monday. Do pay her blog a visit.

Gardening activities have been limited since the start of a most so far unseasonal June - it has been persistently cool, wet and windy. The first couple of consecutive dry days occurred this weekend and unfortunately I was away from home. Hopefully the coming week must improve and there will be time to get on with the growing list of jobs to be done as well as to just sit and stare 🤞

Wordless Wednesday ~ Late Spring Bling

 

IAVOM ~ Between The Showers

Finally there has been enough of a reprise in today's intermittent heavy showers for me to pick a few flowers for me to join in with today's 'In A Vase On Monday'. In my vase are :

• Some stems of orlaya grandiflora - this hardy annual was sown under cover in September. I've sown a second batch in April but as always the September sown ones always germinate better and make for larger plants.
• A couple of stems of aquilegia - this is the offspring of the one of the first flowers that I ever sowed in the garden. I obtained them from seed exchange of 'The Cottage Garden Society' and I think that they were aquilegia 'Hensol Harebell'. Other seedlings over the years have produced a mix of flowers including a double of this form, as well as a pale blue double, but these single ones are my favourites.
• Finally some dottings of the hardy milium effusum 'Aureum' also known as Bowles Golden Grass. it can I believe be a vigorous self- seeder but it's never caused problems here. This was also grown from seed many moons ago.

Thanks to Cathy for as always for being such an excellent host. Do visit 'Rambling In the Garden' and see what delights she and other bloggers are sharing this week.

Here the weather shows signs of perking up after what has so far been a cool, windy and wet May. I'm hoping that the worse is behind us. Last week a rather violent hailstorm came from nowhere battering plants including my potatoes which not only finished the experience with some broken stems but also with a smattering of holes on their foliage. It looks as if for once that the forthcoming bank holiday is going to bring sunshine and warmth so I'm hoping to catch up on some jobs that needed doing last week. I will enjoy being at home and pottering, especially as we've just had a couple of days away in the Lake District. Hopefully I can plant my new purchases from the nurseries we visited. Have you made any new plant purchases recently? Do tell.

Wordless Wednesday ~ The First Rose of 2026

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Storm Cloud

 

Champagne Moments

 In my Monday vase this week are :

• One stem of ranunculus 'Champagne'. The tubers were described as a mix of corals, apricots and peaches. So far there has only been one flower in the colour that's in the vase and it's the one I like the most. I have still to crack ranunculus growing. My initial planting of twelve tubers in the autumn dwindled when half of them began to ail in the late winter greenhouse, before completely giving up the ghost. However six plants survived and I have more flowers than last year and the year before which I suppose is an achievement.
• Some white from lunaria annua variegata 'Alba' also known as variegated white honesty. This has self-seeded in the garden now for a good few years and next year's plants are already making good growth. Not only are both foliage and flowers attractive but the shimmering seedheads can be used in seasonal decorations later in the year.
• Polemonium carneum 'Apricot Delight' - this hardy perennial is new to me. You can just about glimpse some flowers peeking out from the under the ranunculus. Ordered online the plant arrived last autumn. I'm slightly puzzled by the name as at the moment the flowers look more pink to me than apricot but maybe they change colour as they fade. I hope so. Time will tell.
• Long term readers of this blog may remember that I don't grow many tulips and fewer and fewer as the years go by. Although I love the flowers I don't like their leaves. However I'm beginning to fall for the smaller species tulips. In my vase are a couple of flowers of tulip battalini 'Bronze Charm'. It has slim green-grey leaves that I have no problems with at all as well as a most subtle flower colour. 

Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who invites us to share our vases of flowers whatever season it is.

Here it's an absolutely beautiful spring day. Following on from a warm sunny dry week last week another week of similar weather is predicted. Last week saw a couple of very light frosts but the minimum night time temperatures should be higher this week. There should be no panic about whether the emerging potato leaves are in danger of getting nipped by frost. It has been too warm to do much in the greenhouse apart from early in the morning or later in the afternoon. When I've posted this I shall be heading outside for a seat in the sun with a cup of coffee and then will check out whether I can work comfortably in the greenhouse and prick out some more seedlings. The annual greenhouse shuffle is now well and truly a work in progress! 

Almost Wordless Wednesday ~ Tulip Horror

 

Sticken by virus and very much off-colour tulip 'Ballerina'! 😱

IAVOM ~ 'The Lullaby Of Spring'

 

In this week's Monday vase are some of my this time of year favourites mainly :

• Narcissus 'Thalia' - although I prefer the smaller narcissi the taller 'Thalia' is probably my all time favourite narcissus of all.
• Some yellow from the thug that is lamium galeobdolon 'Variegatum,' also known as the variegated yellow archangel. I have a long-standing love- hate relationship with it.
• A spring of dicentra spectablis alba which I know is known by another name beginning with an L but the spelling of the new name has never stuck with me.
• Some blue from brunnera macrophylla, probably 'Jack Frost'.
• Some much paler blue from a muscari, identity unknown   - in fact it's almost more white to the naked eye suffused with the palest touch of blue.

The title of my post is a nod to one of Donovan's songs which you can listen to here. 

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In the Garden' for her steadfast year round hosting.

After a very windy and cool couple of days bought about by the latest named storm - Storm Dave, today has been much calmer and warmer. We have done some planting with more lined up for tomorrow. The greenhouse calls with more pricking out on the to do list as well as sowing some half-hardy annuals. Fortunately it looks as if we will have two beautiful days to come and for the first time this year the temperature might hit that magic 20 degrees centigrade! Wishing you all a good week in the garden.

IAVOM ~ Fleeting

A quick pick and plonk from me in this week's 'In A Vase On Monday'. I don't anticipate that the contents will last any great length of time in water but they were most appealing when picked. In my vase are :

• Stems of amelanchier lamarkii - if only the bronze juvenile foliage and flowers lasted longer! They are so quick to come and go.
•  A couple of snippets of what I think is some sort of euphorbia which appeared in the garden all by itself.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for encouraging us to share our vases at the start of the week.

Well here March seems to be confused as it is going out like a veritable lion. The last few days have seen the first and probably now only frost of the month whilst another day was intermittently peppered with intense hailstorms. We've also experienced extremely windy weather which has taken the edge off the temperatures. Whilst the garden has been somewhat battered by the elements fortunately the greenhouse has remained snug and warm so seedlings are germinating and growing happily. We now have that extra hour of daylight in the evening to make use of outdoors which is most exciting. Yesterday afternoon though saw me and a good friend safely installed in seats at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, listening to a talk by gardening guru Monty Don on the subject of 'Great British Gardens'. He is a most articulate, knowledgeable speaker and is also quite humorous. A most enjoyable to spend a very wet and windy afternoon. Wishing you all a good gardening week.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Lightbulb Moments

 

In A Vase On Monday ~ Spring Glimmers

 

A vase full of daffies this Monday. They include :

• Narcissus 'Jetfire' - the one with the bright orange/red trumpet.
• Narcissus 'Jenny' - bought with a niece in mind.
• Narcissus bulbocodium 'Arctic Bells' - not grown before but what a delicate lovely.
• Narcissus 'Tete-a-Tete' - with apologies for the missing circumflex accents. Too puzzling for me this morning to fathom out what to do on my Mac keyboard. This little daffodil never fails to deliver and is almost always the first to flower. I have too many pots of it though and must transplant some of them into the garden.

With thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for inviting us to share our vases each Monday - winter, spring, summer or fall.

The last few days have celebrated the arrival of the spring equinox in style. It was a week of warmer than what it should be at this time of year weather. Much has been done in far as gardening tasks are concerned. It's also been a week of firsts - first butterfly of the year, first ant, first germination of a number of seeds as well as firsts of flowers and foliage appearing. There has also been a proliferation of ladybirds. True to form yesterday's weather forecast advised that it will be all systems change from tomorrow onwards with heavy rain, strong winds and hail in the mixture. Possibly even snow! Definitely not time to put the winter woolies away just yet. Wishing you all a flower filled as possible week.

 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Spring Glimmers