IAVOM ~ Suspended Animation

There's a reminder of last summer in today's vase. It seems a long time ago today after snow yesterday and a well below freezing minumum temperature last night. The sky is a beautiful blue, the sun's shining but it's bitterly cold out there. In my vase today are just a few stems of lagurus ovatus also known as bunny's tail grass. Its' a hardy annual grass which produces the softest to touch seedheads which look good in a vase as well as when they are dried.

Thanks as always to Cathy from 'Rambling In The Garden'  for gathering us together every Monday to share our vases.

With this current spell of wintry weather predicted to last a few days I think that gardening activities will be very minimal. I'm hoping that the extra layer of fleece and the small electric heater will give enough protection to over-wintering salvias and ranuculus as well as my potted snowdrops which were bought in at the very last moment. The seed box sort is nearly complete except the vegetable section so I will be able to get my seed order in. Maybe time to catch up on some garden related podcasts that I've been meaning to listen to 🤔 I hope that it's warmer in your neck of the woods this coming week and that you can get to spend some time in the garden. 

IAVOM - To Each Season

" At Christmas I no more desire a rose

Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled shows,

But like of each thing that in season grows"

Although I agree with William Shakespeare's sentiment I felt obliged to rescue this bloom before winter could cruelly nip it in the bud. Just a solitary bloom from me this Monday - a stem of the David Austin rose 'Lady Of Shalott'. I picked the last remaining bud on Christmas Eve thinking that it would stand more likelihood of flowering in the warmth of the house. Here on the kitchen windowsill it has indeed opened and escaped two heavy frosts which might have well been enough to do it fatal injury. It's a rose that was given to me as a birthday present and which has slowly grown on me. Apologies for the poor quality of the photo but it has been a lights on all day scenario today.

Thanks to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' as always for her gracious hosting. Now that the pre-seasonal Christmas rush is over there has been time to get out and spend a bit of time in the garden. One or two tasks have been accomplished including bringing some of my potted snowdrops under cover. A last minute decision. Indoors I'm mid-way through sorting the seed box out which is always a most enjoyable task. The next few days are promising to be bitterly cold with possibly the first snow of the winter so there will no doubt be time to finish that task and then to order any seeds needed to fill the gaps. I've also got a new gardening book to read - hopefully more on that soon. I hope that you find some gardening enjoyment in your week whatever you're up to.

In A Vase On Monday ~ Towards The Sun

My vase this week is celebrating the fact that in the northern hemisphere we are now turning our faces to the sun again - the shortest day of the year is behind us! Although painfully slow at first I know that by the of January the days will be noticeably longer. I enjoyed spending some time outside in the garden yesterday where after taking my photo I had a litle walk around. It's amazing how plants can creep up on you and I noticed that I have some cyclamens in flower and a couple of hellebores too. They have joined a few snowdrops that are well ahead of themselves.

Going into my vase this week were :

• A couple of sprigs of  jasminium nudiflorum or winter flowering jasmine. It first started showing colour in November and as always this sight is so cheering.
• A couple of twigs of lonicera fragrantissima also known as winter flowering honeysuckle. The shrub came from a small plant that I purchased some time ago at one of our our hostess's Cathy's open garden plant sales. Again as with all plants that flower at this time of year it's a star. I had read about it but had never seen it on sale before that day so I'm delighted that it came home with me that day. 
•  A splash of seasonal red from the crabapple fruits of malus 'Sentinnel' which has thrived this year producing an enormous amount of fruit. In previous years the tree has dropped nearly all the fruit by now but this year it's still hanging on to a good number of precious red jewels.

My vase this week just had to be my sun vase.

Thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for getting us all together every Monday no matter what season it is to celebrate our flowers, foliage and fruit. Wishing you all the very best for the season ahead and for Christmas too! 

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 7

Sadly it's the very last day of Cathy's Week Of Flowers 2025. I'm rounding the week of with two later flowering perennials complete with visiting pollinators in Cathy's honour. Above you can see helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer' which is a hardy perennial and what could be called a good do'er. It did struggle a bit in this year's hot and dry summer and was the only well established perennial in the borders that I watered as it was positively flagging at times. The photo was taken in the first week of July but the plant was still sporting flowers well into September.

Secondly my favourite autumnal hardy perennial in the shape of aster 'Little Carlow' which relished this year's weather and looked as if it was on steroids. Here it is above in September and then still pumping away flowers in the first week of October.

A final photo and perhaps cheating just a little as this was taken on Christmas Day last year 

the cheering presence of a hamamelis with snowdrops nearby. It is already colouring up so the race is on to see when it will open - in 2025 or 2026. I think that it will be the former but whatever the outcome it isn't far away from doing so which is most exciting.

A big thanks and virtual bouquet must go to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' for her sterling effort of getting us together every day for the last week to enjoy some much appreciated floral fun and fond photographic memories 💐 ❤️

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 6

Moving further into the year today as I join in with Cathy's 'A Week Of Flowers' 2025. Firstly allium 'Purple Sensation' on a mid-May day and my favourite time of year.

Then some three weeks later in the first week of June it's the turn of allium 'Christophii', geranium 'Rozanne' and astrantia probably 'Gill Richardson' or possibly 'Burgundy Manor'. I can distinguish them when in flower but not when looking back at photos. There is a clematis budding in the background but it doesn't join in until later.

A big vote of thanks must go to Cathy who blogs over at 'Words and Herbs' for her hosting. It has been a damp and dreary week with no sight in end so this has really brightened up my days. 

A Week Of Flowers Days 3,4 & 5 ~ 2025

 

I'm moving later into the year today as I join in Cathy's celebration of 'A Week Of Flowers - 2025'. This bowl of hyacinths with violas gave me great pleasure in the spring. I had never planted hyacinths outdoors in containers before and was thrilled by both the pop of colour as well as the aroma which I sometimes find overwhelming indoors, but oh so delightful out outdoors. The bowl was situated near the greenhouse so whenever I nipped in there to sow seeds etc. I caught the scent. I planted up two bowls. The hyacinth in this one was either 'Miss Saigon' or 'Woodstock' but I can't remember which. This year I've planted more bowls like this and the violas are of the same colour although I don't think it matters as the hyacinths bowls were one of my gardening highlights of 2025.

A new to me bulb in the shape of the little species tulipa batalini 'Bronze Charm' which was a lovely soft yellow and is supposedly perennial. I planted them with muscari but I won't repeat the combination because as you can see the muscari had already come and gone. I've planted more this autumn just on own their own. Unlike their bigger relatives the leaves are much smaller and less floppy.

Finally for today a spring blossom in the shape of malus 'Red Sentinel' which thoroughly enjoyed this years' weather conditions. A big thank you to our lovely host Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs'. It's a pleasure to be looking back as to what there was out there and will be again before too long.

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 2

 

It's day 2 of Cathy's 'A Week Of Flowers' annual meme and it's fast forward to late February in the garden. Another snowdrop' Blonde Inge' with cardamine quinquefolia, an early flowering perennial. Into March the cardamine makes for a pool of colour on a sunny day pictured with other snowdrops this time.

A big thank you to Cathy who blogs at 'Words and Herbs' for hosting this annual celebration of colour.Do visit her blog if you haven't already!

A Week Of Flowers 2025 ~ Day 1

 

I'm joining in with Cathy from 'Words And Herbs' who kindly invites us every year about this time to share some photos of flowers that have given us pleasure over the year. This is a lovely way to brighten up what can be dull and dark days in the northern hemisphere. Today is such a day - damp and drear albeit very mild.

When looking at the photos I've taken in my garden this year I soon came to the conclusion that I took very few photos after June - plenty in gardens we visited over the summer but barely any in my own! I must try to remedy that next year. So my contributions this week are going to be winter/spring top heavy and no apologies for starting with possibly one of my favourite flowers which is galanthus 'Trumps' taken at the end of January. It's a great snowdrop for clumping up quickly and making an impact in the border.

Thank you Cathy for providing us with both fun and a pop of colour this week. Its' a special day today as it's our wedding anniversary so there's a meal to be cooked and a glass of celebratory wine ahead. I'll be back later this evening to visit other bloggers.

IAVOM ~ 'Little Things'

 

A teeny- tiny sprig from me today in what must be a candidate for the world's smallest vase. On Wednesday afternoon there was a faint knock on the door and by the time I got there I saw the back of a man retreating to a van. However in the porch was a large box which I bought inside. I wasn't expecting any deliveries but the label had my name and address on it, so I opened it which was easier said than done. Nestled inside was a beautiful orchid complete with a note informing me that the sender was my sister. What a lovely surprise!

Sadly during either packaging it up or in transit a tiny flowering spring had broken off so I decided to put it in a vase. A big thank you to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' who gets us together each and every Monday to share our Monday vases.

Storm Claudia arrived on Saturday - we were fortunate to escape the devastation that hit some of the country as a result of heavy and prolonged rain accompanied by strong winds. Here we had 29mm of rain in a 24 hour period. Since then the temperature had dropped significantly and we woke up to a light air frost this morning. It has been a glorious sparkling day today albeit chilly. The week ahead looks progressively colder. Yesterday all the plants that need some winter protection were bought into the greenhouse. I'm undecided yet as to what to do with my potted snowdrops and may just bring a smaller collection of my favourites under cover for the winter. The last of bulb planting will hopefully be done at the weekend when it should be warm enough for my fingers 😂 Have you had your first frost of the autumn yet? 

Wordless Wednesday ~ Norton Priory Walled Garden, Cheshire, November 2025