IAVOM ~ Festive Faffing

Not a traditional vase as such this week but some green from the garden and dried lunaria seed heads were used to concoct a festive hanging for our front door. A string of fairy lights was threaded through. All held together with the aid of twine and sticky back sellotape. Thanks to the Christmas fairy in the shape of Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her hosting of 'In A Vase On Monday', which has been an excellent source of information, inspiration and encouragement throughout 2022 and no doubt will be a source of enjoyment in 2023.

Here it's Boxing Day and whilst himself relish getting back into the usual sports viewing routine normally associated with Saturdays, I'm plunging headfirst into sorting out my seed box and will be making lists and plans for warmer days. I hope that you enjoy your day whatever you are up to.

Wordless Wednesday ~ First Time Visitors

 

A Week Of Flowers, 2022 ~ Day 7

 

It's the here and now in the December garden for day 7, with the last defiant few flowers of geranium 'Rozanne', an absolute star of a hardy perennial, They have been covered with flowers most of the time from late spring onwards - trouble free and such a beautiful colour. It makes excellent ground cover and can be also be grown in containers. I think that this last brave show will sadly be finished off by hard frost as this week unfolds but it more than deserves a winter break.

A special thanks and a virtual bouquet 💐 to the lovely Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs', who came up with this idea of banishing the blues through sharing photos of our flowers. I have enjoyed seeing both familiar flowers, new to me ones and those that I just can't grow but would love to be able to. It has made me realise that I've haven't taken many photos in the garden this year, so a new year aim for me is to get reacquainted with my camera rather than rely on my phone and get out there weekly to capture what is happening. 

A Week In Flowers 2022 ~ Day 6

The summer was well advanced when this photo was snapped during the first week of August. It is an inula but I'm not sure of where I obtained it from. I know that I originally came across an inula on one of Cathy's from 'Rambling In The Garden' open garden events that she holds under the National Open Garden Scheme. The NGS raises considerable amounts of money for charity each year, thanks to the gardens that participate and open their gardens to visitors, usually provide welcome refreshments and often have brilliant plant stalls. I'm not sure whether I actually bought the plant that day or whether it was at another open garden event in Cumbria the following year. Well wherever I got it from its's a ray of sunshine, a bee magnet and opens up it's flowers in a most fascinating manner. Amazingly this year it has had a second wind and has sported a few late in the year flowers. There are still one or two hanging on in there today but I think that they will be finished off by the predicted severe frosts that are heading our way later this week.

A special thanks to Cathy who blogs at 'Words and Herbs' for her steadfast hosting this week.

A Week Of Flowers 2022 ~ Day 5

Fast forwarding to late May, possibly my favourite time of the year and a bulb in the shape of allium siculum also known as Sicilian Honey Garlic. Not only is it loved by the pollinators it has most attractive architectural seedheads too. It apparently has a tendency to self-seed and can become invasive but it has never reached pest levels in my garden ..... yet! It is also is happy in shade so that is a plus for me.

Thanks to Cathy who blogs at 'Words and Herbs' for hosting this week's celebration of flowers.

A Week Of Flowers 2022 ~ Day 4

 

It's back to to the middle of May this year when spring was working her magic and a couple of aquilegias. All my aquilegias have been grown from seed either kindly given to me by friends or obtained via the excellent seed exchanges run by The Cottage Garden Society or The Hardy Plant Society. Over the years they have self seeded and some interesting offspring have arisen.

We woke up to a light frost, blue skies and sunshine this morning and the weather is set to get much colder as the next week unfolds. I'm off outside to do some rearranging over seedlings in the greenhouse and one or two hardy perennials that have been bought under cover for the winter. Then to cut some lengths of fleece for protection on the colder nights. I'm trying to cut down on using the greenhouse heater overnight this winter but it may be switched on when the overnight temperatures are minus. Many thanks to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' who came up with the excellent idea of brightening up these back end days with a myriad of flowers. I'm looking forward to peeking at what other bloggers are sharing when I'm back in  the warmth later, coffee in hand and pen and paper in reach.

A Week Of Flowers 2022 ~ Day 3

 

I got distracted yesterday by wedding anniversary celebrations, so here is a retrospective photo for yesterday and one for today. I'm going back to spring again and the months of February and March. The above photo is of some irises growing in a pot. I think that these are iris reticulata 'Katharine Hodgkin'. I could and do spend a long time just gazing at the markings.

My second photo was taken as the year was heading towards the middle of March.  I'm cheating slightly as this is from just outside our garden which is has a a stream as a boundary on one side. Snowdrops have appeared every year in this patch since we arrived and have multiplied without any human intervention. These are all faded by March but there were also originally a few naturalised unknown narcissus that appear to take over the mantle of the snowdrops. Over the years I have done some guerilla gardening and bought cheaper narcissus in the sales and then thrown them over to the other side of the stream in late autumn. They are narcissus 'Téte-à-Téte' in the main have never been properly planted and are just left to get on with things. This is just a section of the other side ( there are well over two dozen clumps now) and as you can see the ducks which return every year in spring are happy just basking in the sun and enjoying the flowers.

Thank you to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' for encouraging us to share colour and cheer during these dull days and long dark nights.

A Week Of Flowers, 2022 ~ Day 1

I think that this is the third consecutive year that Cathy who blogs at 'Words and Herbs' has so kindly invited us to participate celebrating 'A Week Of Flowers'. It hits just the right note as we enter the darkest of nights in the northern hemisphere and flowers are thin on the ground. My flowers today are one of my favourites in the shape of galanthus, more commonly known as snowdrops. Some people think that they all look the same but this is definitely not the case. They vary tremendously in height, breadth and colour of foliage and also in the shape and colour of the markings on the flowers. These exquisite little flowers belie their delicate appearance and flower in the coldest months from autumn onwards well into spring. Those in my photo were taken in my garden at the start off the second week in February this year. They are galanthus 'Lapwing' - a variety which is easy to identify because of the distinctive markings and clumps up well.  

A big thanks to Cathy for the invitation! 

IAVOM ~ 'The Spider From Mars'

 

Just the one bloom in this week's vase from chrysanthemum 'Spider Bronze'. This is new to me and came about courtesy of of a birthday gift voucher earlier this year from my dear sister. I treated myself to some chrysanthemum plug plants amongst other goodies. There were two varieties but this one is ahead of the other and perhaps the most striking of the two.

I've had mixed joy with chrysanthemums in the past having lost most of them. I did have a couple at the allotment plot which were most happy and hardy. They were nameless gifts from fellow plot holders but sadly I forgot to lift them when I gave up the plot. Yet other experiments have ended in abject failure. Still I am determined to persevere as to have such colour at this time of year is most heartening. This beauty is described as a tender perennial so will be coming in under cover for the winter. My friend who I gave some of the plug plants to thinks that they will get through the winter in her sunny south facing front garden, so I'm happy that she is going to experiment and will await her report in the spring with great interest.

After discussion with aforesaid friend and sister we have come to the conclusion that such a lovely flower merits a different name. Leading contenders include the words star or fireworks. What say you?

The little vase is a special one gifted to me and hand painted by my mum.

It's a thank you as always to Cathy who blogs at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her impeccable hosting. I'm looking forward to seeing what is in other vases this week but first on a sunny and still day, lunch and then some bulb planting before the sun sets all too quickly is the order of the day. The week is set to get much colder as it progresses so it will be good to get out there without the need for restrictive layers and gloves.

IAVOM ~ Tiny Treasures

 

With not much room to manoeuvre in this week's tiny vase I managed to pick a trio all fortunately snipped in the relatively drier day that was yesterday. They are :

• A flower from salvia 'Phyllis Fancy' - this plant was kindly given to me as a cutting by the lovely Cathy. She grows in a container and is more elegant with her subtle flowers. The foliage is attractively scented. So far I have bought her under cover for winter as I don't know just how hardy she might be.
• A twizzle of berries from what I think might be malus robusta 'Red Sentinel' but may not be. Well the tree was bought in good faith as that  but I'm beginning to wonder for two reasons. Firstly this particular variety is well known for the berries being able to survive well into winter. So far my particular tree has never clung on to the berries until Christmas let alone afterwards. The second is that it is usually described as being upright in form whilst my tree has a weeping habit. So for now the jury is out but it is still a beautiful tree especially when in flower and also when in berry. This year saw a profusion of both blossoms and berries.
• Finally making a reappearance is my i.d. unknown shrub foliage from last week's vase. There were a couple of excellent suggestions that it could be nandina but by sheer coincidence I think that I have now identified it as a leucothoe. When visiting Cathy who blogs at Words and Herbs  her vase last Monday contained foliage that looked remarkably similar. Further research has confirmed my thoughts that leucothoe it is.  I may even come across the label one of those days. 

The vase is one of two extremely tiny vases. It is difficult to appreciate the size in a photo but it can be no taller than an inch and a half in height.

With much thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for her steadfast hosting. This particular Monday held no rush to fill the green bin deadline as it does every other Monday, as collections are now sadly suspended until late February.  However gardening activity other than opening the greenhouse door this morning for some ventilation has been thwarted as it has been raining most heavily indeed. Time to put my cagoule on to go out there and shut the door.