IAVOM ~ Old Friends

"Old friends, old friends 

  Sat on their parkbench like bookends"

~ from 'Old Friends' by Simon & Garfunkel.

The the plants 'In A Vase On Monday' are some old friends, who have been favourite May bookends for years. Their numbers are :

• A sprinkling of a grass in the shape of millium effusum 'Aureum' also known as 'Bowles Golden Grass'. The leaves which are not in the vase are an attractive golden yellow. This plant prefers partial shade or shade as the leaves can be scorched by strong sun. Although it seeds itself gently about every year it has never become a nuisance.
• Aquilegia - I think that these are self-seeders from aquilegia 'Hensol Harebell'. Although they have a relatively short flowering time I think that they make up for that in other ways.
• Polemonium caeruleum or to give it it's common name 'Jacob's Ladder', an easy going perennial. This is given to self- seeding but like the millium never to excess.
• Geranium phaeum - the darker one may have come with a variety name but it is long since forgotten whilst the paler one is a self-seeder I think. It may look white but is in fact a shade of off-white.

All the above apart from the geranium were sown from seed which I obtained from either The Cottage Garden Society or the Hardy Plant Society. I've been a member of both organisations for many years. One of the benefits of membership  of both societies is the opportunity to benefit from an annual distribution scheme where you can find a wide range of seeds at a much reduced cost than from a commercial seed company. All seeds are donated by members of the society. 

The navy vase is another in the set of small vases which my sister gave me as a present. I used the green one in the set last week as a container for lily of the valley. Cathy asked me what the other colours in the set are so I thought that I would use another from the set this week. I thought that there were five in the set but there are in fact four. They come from Sarah Raven and are described as ink bottles. The colours are listed on her website as navy, amethyst, dark green and purple. They can be bought as a set or as individual vases. Mine all came with cork stoppers.

As it is often is on a Monday today has been somewhat breezy albeit the wind is not as cruel as yesterday which felt like a throwback to winter. Panic was almost ensuing last night when it dawned on me that I had forgotten to buy some new fleece covering last autumn. Short of bringing all my seedlings into the house the only option was to rely on the little electric heater to come on to keep the temperature at a few degrees plus. The tomato plants and basil did come in for the night. Luckily we were spared frost and I hope that you were too if you live in the U.K. I've noticed some scorched leaves on astrantias but I daresay that they will recover and I think it was wind damage rather than the cold that got to them.

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

Featuring in her vase this week are some more familiar and lovely old Maytime friends.

Wordless Wednesday ~ 'Starlight Sensation'

In A Vase On Monday ~ Not Quite What The Packet Said

Another simple pick and plonk for today's 'In A Vase On Monday'. A BIG thanks for the lovely supportive comments on last post which were much appreciated 😘 I was released from the plaster cast on my right arm on Wednesday. It felt like the limb belonged to somebody else for the first day or so but I can now feel some improvement. My right hand is becoming more supple although it still definitely has some way to go before it is back to full strength. I was also slightly alarmed as I was experiencing incidents of sharp shooting pain higher up the arm before the plaster came off - the sort of pain that made me gasp aloud. I was advised at the hospital that this sort of pain can occur when you have had a limb in plaster for some time. It could last for anytime for a couple of weeks or so up to a year and a half! Anyway whatever happens I will not be in a hurry to pick up a spade in the near future. I can see a long list of jobs to do in the spring. I am pleased to say that all my left handed seed sowing of hardy annuals have germinated but I will need to do some thinning out sooner than later as I simply tipped too many seeds in. In other news himself is giving the greenhouse a spruce up and has taken the heated sand bench out for some repairs in readiness for spring. It is we think ten years old and has given good service but was in need of some minor surgery.

Just one flower in my vase this week in the shape of cosmos which were sown in April. They were according to the packet cosmos bipinnatus 'Purity' which is an old favourite of mine grown most years. Instead of those anticipated all white flowers some pink came out in the mix too. As well as the pink in the above photo there is also a deeper shade of pink at the allotment. Not quite what the customer ordered but still they are all most pretty flowers which will go on until the frosts arrive. A note has been made to order a new packet of seed for next year.

Thanks to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for being such an excellent hostess and inviting us so nicely to share our vases of flowers each week.

P.S. My joy in discovering the microphone facility on my iPad to send emails etc. whilst incapacitated was short lived - too much gobbledygook emerged. However the predictive text came in useful.

In A Vase On Monday ~ Forward Planning

Although the last vestiges of snow have melted most flowers still look rather bedraggled and squashed. I was going to include some hellebores in my vase this week but they are definitely not at their best. Instead it's the teeny blooms that have recovered more quickly so in my vase this week are :

• Narcissus 'Tête-à-tête'. Although most of the narcissus I grow are either cream or white I am completely unable to resist these cheerful little bright yellow characters. 
• A pulmonaria that has taken me by surprise. It's in danger of becoming smothered by ivy so that's another job for the list. I'm not sure which variety it is its origins being long lost in the mists of time. It has most plain foliage  so could possibly be angustifolia. 
• The snowdrop is 'Blonde Inge', which usually flowers in February here and has multiplied well. 

With vases to come in mind, I've sown the first lot of seeds today including limonium suworowii , which seems to have acquired the unfortunate alternative name of rat tail statice. Having seen this plant in flower I couldn't imagine anything that looks less like a rat's tail! I stumbled across it on the last day of our holiday in 2014, took photos and eventually discovered its identity in a gardening magazine that autumn. My attempt to grow them the following year met in abject failure when the seedlings were fatally frazzled so I'm having another try. I've noticed that a few other bloggers have mentioned that they are growing these seeds this year, so below is a photo of the treat that we should be in store for if all goes well and we get some warmth and sun to spur them on their way :

In the meantime today I feel that we are definitely now a step nearer to spring. Thanks to our excellent hostess Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden', who encouraged me to wrap up well and step out both yesterday in the extreme cold and again this afternoon to see what there might be to pick for a vase. 

Almost Wordless Wednesday ~ A Worisit

A gift this morning from one of my fellow allotment plot holders. All I know is that it's tender. I have an inkling that it might be a plectranthus but am not sure which one it is. Confirmation of its identity would be most welcome. I also came home with some delicious looking sweetcorn from another plot neighbour.  For some unfathomable reason I didn't grow sweetcorn on my own plot this year so I am relishing the thought of eating these fresh cobs.

Thank you all so much for your kind and thoughtful comments on my last post. I'm pleased to say that after a month in hospital that the patient is recuperating. Sadly still very frail and not back at home yet but able to sit outside in her wheelchair this week and enjoy some summer warmth.

In A Vase On Monday ~ 'Sumer Is Icummen In'

Leaping into this week's summer solstice vase is a mish-mash of pickings from both allotment and garden. Firstly from the allotment there are a few sweet peas which were sown in two batches in the spring. These pickings are from the 1st March sowings. The dull wet weather of the last week or so hasn't prompted many more flowers so I've not been able to pick enough to fill a vase yet. Still a few with their scent are more than welcome. Cornflower 'Blue Ball' has now joined its flowering black flowered sibling. What you can't see in the photo is that many of the stems are wavy. I've not grown cornflowers for years and can't remember if this is the norm. Finally from the allotment the first flowers of anemone coronaria 'The Bride' which is every bit as charming to me as 'Sylphide' though obviously more subtle in colouring.

Cathy from 'Words and Herbs' commented on my post last week wondering when anemones coronaria normally flower in the UK. As they are new to my planting experiences I've done some research. In her most comprehensive tome 'Bulb' Anna Pavord writes that "They flower about three months after sowing so if you start them in March you will have flowers in June and July; a June planting provides a September show. Plant in September or October for a traditional display in early spring". Now there's food for thought. I'm sure I had some left overs and although June is well advanced it's worth a go.

Joining the allotment brigade are some astrantia the identity of which has long since vanished in the mists of time. This is an astrantia that seeds about a fair bit and that makes me sneeze. It has the aroma of a left too long to linger damp face cloth. Other than that it's most attractive. The vase is residing in the hall so it's anti-social effects will be minimised.

Rosa 'The Fairy' seems to be flowering very early this year so I've tucked a little spray in. Lagurus ovatus also known as 'Bunny's Tail Grass' were sown in March and are now a picture of fluffiness. The name says it all. Finally some linaria purpurea otherwise known as purple toadflax. Yes this seeds everywhere but is still a delight. 

As it is a celebratory vase out came one of the new ones. We saw this in a shop window in Grange-Over-Sands, Cumbria earlier this month. My eyes were drawn to it immediately and an instant decision was made to make a purchase. I hurtled to the shop door only to find that it was shut! It turned out to be a shop that's only opens for a couple of days a week and later in the week at that. A note in the window suggested that if you wanted to purchase an item that you could knock on the front door round the corner but my knock wasn't answered. At this point I was thinking that it was not meant to be as I was returning home the next day. Fortunately himself was staying in the area for another couple of days and was able to return to the shop on the morning it was officially open. The vase was still there and came home with him. There are no clues to its origin on the base.

It's a BIG thank you as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting and nurturing the 'In A Vase On Monday' meme so admirably. A quick peek reveals that her vase this week is a lovely tribute to her blogging friends. I wonder what other participants will include in their vases this week. As always I will have pen and paper to hand when I visit later. Meanwhile I'm off to have a rootle for those leftover anemone corms. Surely the unseasonal rain must stop some time today so that outdoors play can be resumed. Sumer is Iccumen In!

In A Vase On Monday ~ Gifted

Himself absolutely refuses to take to the highways and byways on Bank Holiday Mondays. This goes back to the time when we were both working and set off on a Bank Holiday jaunt into Derbyshire to a plant fair. Going was fine but our return journey met with a huge traffic jam which resulted in an overheated engine. That was that in no uncertain terms, so since then my Bank Holiday outings have been strictly confined to trips to the allotment, which is where I spent a good part of today.

Having recently admired a vibrant splash of colour on my allotment neighbour's red geum I was delighted to be given a trio of these plants this morning. Two of the plants have remained at the allotment but the largest came home with me. To help the plant overcome the shock of being lifted, I decided to cut the flowers off. The geums came without a name but I suspect that they are geum 'Mrs J. Bradshaw', a hardy perennial which comes true from seed. The surplus flowers went into an old glass yoghurt pot and will probably stay outside to decorate the table. In other geum news I've finally got my paws on geum 'Totally Tangerine' after being smitten with it from glimpses on television, magazines and blogs. It's a plant that eluded me for ages and I was so pleased to come across it at local garden centre last weekend. It's joined my other geum the lovely 'Mai Tai' which I hope to feature in a future vase.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' and her regular weekly open invitation to share our vases on a Monday.

In A Vase On Monday ~ Sugar & Spice.

It's back to base for this week's vase which is a mixture of allotment meets garden. Absence from home has seen everything fast forward, so there were lots of surprises on our return from a beautiful and tranquil French beach, where our camper van has been resident for a short time. This week's vase ingredients are :

• Alchemilla mollis or lady's mantle which despite its prolific self seeding habits I would not be without.
• A few sprigs of golden oregano which grows on the plot.
• Antirrhinum 'Black Prince' - grown from seed and planted both on the plot and in the garden. This was obviously camera shy but one stem is visible on the right hand side of the photo. This has most attractive dark foliage and I'm hoping that it might overwinter.
• Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' - I like the way that each flower of this plant is slightly different in both pattern and colour. A division plant was kindly given to me year's ago when I admired it in the garden of a cottage that we stayed in when visiting the Malvern Show.
• Allium sphaerocephalon - this is a really reliable easy going bulb which flowers after the larger alliums are done and dusted. Its only drawback is that any seedlings can be mistaken for grass when they first come through the soil. 
• Dahlia - I think that this is 'Arabian Night' but the label has gone west. It came through the winter at the allotment but came home to be potted up and receive some tender loving care before returning back to the allotment for the summer. It has really bulked out this year. 
• Dianthus 'Green Trick' which is fabulously frothy. I fell for this when I saw it in Sarah Raven's catalogue and after being initially disappointed when they sold out I was delighted to get an email to tell me that it was back in stock. I ordered three plug plants which I've planted at the allotment. They are just beginning to come good now and the plan is to try and overwinter some cuttings. I don't think it can be grown from seed but would be pleased to find out that it could.

My vase this week is an old golden syrup tin hence the reference to sugar in the title. It normally houses a houseplant which is currently in intensive care. The spice is a reference to the flower colours and there are also spices round the base of the tin, remnants of a winter potpourri which are about to be jettisoned. Finally a stem of humulus lupulus aureus also known as golden hop has wrapped itself round the tin.

Thanks to Cathy from 'Rambling In The Garden' for offering us a platform to share our vases on a Monday. Such a cheerful and colourful start to the week!

In A Vase On Monday ~ Gone Shopping

An article in the paper today grabbed my attention. Apparently social media in the form of Facebook is responsible for people buying more clothes. There is a fear of being tagged wearing the same outfit! Now although not a particularly active Facebook user I nodded my head in sympathy with this predicament. After what will will be a record for me of three consecutive vases in a row I have reached the conclusion that this establishment is in desperate need of some new vases. You've probably seen them all now. This week's vase appeared previously last April and is doing the rounds yet again. In fact it's a glorified glass jar that once contained onion relish but I could not bring bring myself to chuck it in the recycling bin.

The first photo was taken at the snipping stage resting on the decking before the vase journeyed round the corner to grace a table outside the patio door. We spent some time out there on a sunny afternoon. The conversation drifted to holiday plans for later this year.

Inside this week's vase are narcissus 'Thalia', some of the bluebells that we inherited with the land where the garden is now, corydalis, geranium phaeum, lunaria 'Chedglow', bunnera and forget-me-not. I was reluctant to pick the honesty as it is attracting butterflies but decided that perhaps one flower would not be missed too much.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. Now if you don't see a vase from me for a while you will know the reason why..... I'm out there vase shopping.

Wordless Wednesday ~ 'Mel B'

Not the Spice Girl but the snowdrop

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ December 2013

Yeeeaaaaaay - can you believe it - it's snowdrop time again! Introducing 'Faringdon Double' which is the earliest double snowdrop to flower. At first glance it's hard to tell it's a double flower and you really have to look underneath to be sure. I was hoping to get a better view of underneath those petticoats but am out out of practise flowering snowdrops and sadly did not have my assistant himself on hand to help. I will have another attempt soon.

'Faringdon Double' gets its name from the Oxfordshire village of Faringdon where it was discovered flowering in a churchyard. I'm not sure how long it is since I had my original bulb but it must be less than five years. For the last two years the flowers have opened this side of Christmas whilst in 2011 it was January before flowering commenced. So far we've had quite a mild autumn with only a few light frosts and some fairly mild daytime temperatures. I've found that 'Faringdon Double' increases well. As regular readers of this blog will know I grow my special snowdrops in pots which is probably not the best way to grow them over long periods of time. It suits me though as I can keep them close to the house and can enjoy seeing them and smelling them at close quarters. As they bulk up though I'm slowly planting surplus bulbs in the ground so that hopefully I can enjoy the best of both worlds in the future. You are unlikely to find this snowdrop for sale at your local garden centre but there are several specialist snowdrop sources where you can purchase bulbs including the excellent Avon Bulbs. At the start of the new year many of these companies will be selling snowdrops in the green. There is a school of thought that recommends buying dormant bulbs only but that's another story. Elsewhere other pots of snowdrops are showing tantalising flashes of white so these should be fully showing for January's GBBD.

Thanks as always to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens who hosts this meme, which gives us the chance to share, wonder and grow our wish lists throughout the year.