In A Vase On Monday ~ Grumpy Old Woman

A vase of flowers was just the right tonic for the start of a new week after not the best of weekends. A Saturday morning allotment visit that could not be avoided despite the pouring rain, ended up being quite enjoyable. We eat lunch and chatted in the community hut with the wood burner crackling away in the background. Tentative plans for tidying up and improving the woodland area that borders the site were made. Maybe a year from now there will be snowdrops in flower for the bees to forage on warmer February days.

But then it all went downhill from there. Boarding a bus to take me eventually in the direction of home, I had the misfortune to meet a driver who seemed to be in a hurry. He accelerated like a Formula One driver away from the bus stop before I had a chance to sit. Flesh came into abrupt and painful contact with one of the seat arm rests. A massive bruise is now decorating my left thigh. It is not a pretty sight. Somewhat later after vital shopping I hobbled home to be met with clouds of enveloping smoke coming from the neighbour's garden. In fact I initially thought that a fence was on fire but it turned out to be a false alarm. Just a huge bonfire on a still extremely wet afternoon so it didn't bother me too much. All I wanted to do was to get inside and have a look at the damage to my leg before drowning my sorrows with a cuppa.

Sunday turned out much better weather wise. The wet stuff had ceased and it was almost balmy. A great day for gardening jobs I thought despite the hurt but I was to be thwarted. Come 10.00 am or thereabouts there was a sudden rush to close the bedroom window as the mega bonfire entered phase 2 of its existence. This turned out to be an all day job. Suffice to say that by late afternoon I was fuming.

So a bit of vase plonking this morning was just what my blood pressure needed. The contents therein are :

• Hellebore - not a named variety but a favourite.
• Some double snowdrops from the garden. Most of them have started to go over now but there are the odd few still in fine fettle.
• Pulmonaria 'Majesté' - there a few other pulmonarias already in flower much earlier than usual.
• Narcissus 'Tête -à -Tête' which always makes me smile.
• Cardamine pratensis. This again is early in flower but is putting on its best show since it was planted in 2013.

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' - the calming vibes that come from putting a vase together were much appreciated.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day ~ February 2016

From left to right - galanthus 'Henry's White Lady', unamed hellebore, galanthus 'Trym'.

Exactly a year to the date and I'm pleased to report that both my last chance snowdrops are still alive and thriving. 'Trym' and 'Cowhouse Green' were fed when they flowered, were repotted with a generous dollop of leaf mould when dormant and have been under cover during a very wet autumn/winter. The bulbs have rewarded me by increasing in numbers. Funnily enough whilst 'Trym' is open at the same time as last year 'Cowhouse Green' is still to unfurl.

Galanthus 'Cowhouse Green'

The other snowdrop you can see in the above photo is one of this year's newcomers to the fold and goes by the name of 'Henry's White Lady'. Now I have no idea as to the identity of Henry so must do some research. The flower has no green markings on it, whatsoever hence the name.

The hellebore in the centre is growing on the bank at the side of the lane leading down to the house. I am puzzled as I although I planted some hellebores there some time ago I don't remember planting this rather frilly and frothy concoction. I'm sure that it wasn't there last year. I prefer the single hellebores but I'm not complaining.

As always a special vote to Carol from May Dreams Gardens for providing us with access to flowers from all over the show each month. On a bitterly cold and frosty February day it will mean that I can go out into the garden without my gloves and enjoy flowers. What could be a better occupation?

Musing In February

"You cannot have too many aconites. They cost, as I said before, about fifty shillings a thousand. A thousand will make a brave splash of colour, which lasts a month. If you can afford ten thousand you are mad not to buy them. There are so many exciting places you can put them ... in the hollow of a felled tree, by the border of a pond, in a circle round a statue, or immediately under your window, so that you can press your nose against the glass when it's too cold to go out, and stare at them, and remember that spring is on its way"

~ Beverley Nichols, 1898 - 1983.

Illustration by Cicely Mary Barker, 1895 -1973.

P.S. My financial adviser informs me that fifty shillings is £2.50 in today's currency.

In A Vase On Monday ~ The One That Got Away

Mindful of the weather forecast for a most wet Sunday I hurtled round the garden on Saturday afternoon to pick a few flowers for 'In A Vase On Monday'. Although dry and with some sunshine it was still bitter out there. My ungloved fingers were soon frozen, so it was a case of plonk them in quick and photograph before retreating back inside into the welcome warmth.

In the vase (a French yoghurt pot in a former life) are a hellebore flower, some snowdrops and some flowers from viburnum tinus 'Lisa Rose'. The hellebore was one of those chance findings in the garden. I debated over whether to leave it as it was when it was just a seedling but left it to its own devices to grow on, in what in theory is not the ideal place for such a plant. Luckily my hellebore has not read the gardening books otherwise it it would have curled up its toes long since. It's not the showiest of hellebores but I am still most fond of it.

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for getting the week started on a happy note. I'm looking forward to lingering over some no doubt fabulous and unique vasefuls of flowers later on today.

Just Now

my favourite is galanthus elwesii 'Rosemary Burnham' which has opened up this week. It could well be something else when more 'drops open over the next couple of weeks. Brian from Our Garden@19 asked recently whether I had a favourite. How do you choose from a bevvy of beauties? I think though with some agonising that I could probably narrow it down to half a dozen or so, which might be the subject for another post.

However for now 'Rosemary Burnham' is my leading lady. She is a snowdrop that I fell in love with at first sight albeit long distance when I saw her on various web sites. She was first discovered growing in Canada in the late 1960s by a lady of the same name. It was some considerable time before she was available to buy here and intitially the price she sold for was exorbitant. However after patiently waiting for several years I was able to treat myself to a dormant bulb last summer. I have been holding my breath since and was most relieved to see a green nose poking through the compost last month. As she is new I'm not sure whether she is flowering early/on time/late especially given the weird winter weather we've experienced. Like most virescent snowdrops she has the reputation of being a bit miffy to grow so please, please keep your fingers crossed for my bulb. 

And The Winner Is .........

the lovely Shirley who blogs over at Shirls Gardenwatch! Please email your address Shirley so that galanthus 'Wendy's Gold' can wing her way over to you. 

The address is : thegreentapestry@googlemail.com

Many thanks to everyone who commented and entered the draw. I wish that there had been enough gold to share with all of you. I may though have the odd surplus bulb or two though as the year goes on so watch this space.

In other news it was cold this weekend and we saw some snow - not much but it was a relief to get some proper winter weather. the sort that might do some damage to the mollusc population. I'm not sure how the birds must have felt about it but keeping their refreshments topped up was a priority. I enjoyed being warm and snug inside looking out.

Illustration by Lena Anderson.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day ~ January 2016

It's so c-c-c-cold out there this morning - the ground is peppered with some sort of white precipitation which may have included the odd snowflake or two. The jury is still out on this. Before gloves became an item of vital clothing, I nipped into the greenhouse to take a photo of my newest special snowdrop. It only arrived last week and which is the source of much pleasure. This is galanthus 'Trumps' which I've killed off at least once before. I was talking to a good gardening friend about it recently and confessed to two previous murders of the same bulb but now think my memory has got snowdrops confused so I'm not a serial killer yet. Anyway fingers crossed that this one is in for a long life.

I mentioned in my last post that I am giving away one bulb of galanthus 'Wendy's Gold'. This is a snowdrop which I've managed to nurture for several years now. It seems to be a tough customer and clumps up well. If you would like to be entered for the giveaway all you need to do is comment on my last post here by the end of the day on Sunday 17th January. Sadly I can only post to UK bloggers in this instance.

Thanks as always to the lovely Carol over at May Dream Gardens who provides us with the opportunity to share our blooms each month. The pen and notebook are already to hand.

A Flurry Of Snowdrops

There may well be some freezing white precipitation before long but in the meantime there are snowdrops flowering a plenty inside the greenhouse (please excuse the state of the windows, cobwebs etc.). This is part of my small collection of named galanthus, many of which are flowering earlier than usual. There are usually a few that come out early in the new year, some before, but the last couple of months has seen many open before their anointed time. Although the UK has experienced some very mild late autumn/early winter temperatures I think that there are other reasons that might be behind such an early wake-up call, namely :

• The snowdrops sit outside for a good part of the year but come under cover so that I can appreciate them in the dry and at close quarters. Although there have not been any prolonged cold spells (only one frost to date) which might harm potted bulbs, they came in earlier than usual because it was so wet in November. The pots were oozing moisture so I thought it might be an idea to get them in under cover.
• Nearly all the snowdrops were repotted whilst they were dormant - not only did they have fresh compost but they were also all treated to a good dollop of leaf mould in each pot. 
• All my snowdrops were treated to food last year. If only I could remember whether I used tomato food or a seaweed based food!

Anyway early or not I'm not complaining too much, as these little flowers give me so much pleasure and entice me of my January lethargy into the greenhouse. Yesterday saw some new arrivals in the post which hopefully I can share with you soon. In the meantime I would like to celebrate my snowdrop bounty and am kicking off the year with a giveaway. I have a surplus bulb of galanthus plicatus 'Wendy's Gold' which you can see in flower below :

She is a most attractive snowdrop which grows and increases well. The colour of the ovary and the inner markings can vary from a limey - green to a pale golden yellow. 

All you have to do to enter the draw is to comment on this post by the end of Sunday 17th January. Unfortunately I can only post 'Wendy' to UK residents. I will announce the name of the winning recipient as soon as possible after that date. If she comes to live with you she can either continue to live in a pot or be planted in the garden.

Musing in January

"January cold and desolate;
February dripping wet;
March wind ranges;
April changes;
Birds sing in tune
To flowers of May,
And sunny June
Brings longest day;
In scorched July
The storm-clouds fly,
Lightning-torn;
August bears corn,
September fruit;
In rough October
Earth must disrobe her;
Stars fall and shoot
In keen November;
And night is long
And cold is strong
In bleak December."

~ Christina Rossetti, 1830 -1894 - The Months

This poem sums up the weather pattern that I grew up with but "the times they are a changing". At the start of a new year I'm wondering what the weather holds in store for us this year. Let's hope it's a more gentle year for our planet. Happy New Year!

In A Vase On Monday ~ "Where My Rosemary Goes"

After this morning's somewhat disconcerting shock of discovering daffodils in flower on the other side of the stream bordering the garden, thoughts turned to this week's 'In A Vase On Monday'. Several hellebores are now in flower including helleborus 'Walberton's Rosemary', the large  flowers of which turn a deeper pink with age. The flowers were specifically bred to look upwards and do to some extent.

The flower that I had to brace myself to cut is now floating in the base of a ceramic candle container. I bought this at a local craft fair many years ago. The whole caboodle usually comes out at this time of year, when it sits on the hearth from where it sends out a warm glow in the evenings. A few left over cranberries provided a splash of colour underneath the flower.

With a special thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. Now to find out what everyone else is including in this the last vase of the year.