Wordless Wednesday ~ Bird On The Wing

IAVOM ~ "Just Another Manic Monday"

 

Well it certainly another Monday but no longer as in working years could it be described as manic. The song lyrics no longer ring true :

" It's just another manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday

'Cause that's my fun day

My "I don't have to run day"

It's just another manic Monday"

- sung by 'The Bangles'.

Now Monday is very much a fun day as we're invited to share our floral and foliage gatherings with fellow flower lovers. The year is still very much in it's infancy but there are definite signs of the lengthening days and of growth in the garden. In my vase this week are :

• Sarcoccoca - I like the delicate white flowers of this shrub as well as its scent. Here I grow a couple of varieties but neither live up to its common name of Christmas box, as they don't do much in the way of flower until the end of January. The flowers on this unknown variety seem to be sparser than usual this year and some of the foliage is yellowing. It lives in a big pot by the front door with a hardy cyclamen and a fern that has probably got too big over the years. Time I think for feeding and perhaps drastic action as far as the fern is concerned.
• A couple of fronds from a hardy fern, not the one already mentioned but another pot grown one. It's an evergreen fern by the name of polystichum polyblepharum or perhaps more easily remembered by it's common name of Japanese lace fern.
• Finally a few flowers from 'Trumps' one of my favourite special snowdrops. This one is easily recognisable and bulks up at an incredible speed. If only it could be remamed! Here is it in the garden just a few days ago :

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting. Do pay her a visit or even better join in with a vase of your own! 

It looks as if it's going to be a relatively warm and sunny day here, with the temperature nudging into double figures. I hope to have a potter about in the garden later on and see what's happening out there. 

IAVOM ~ 'Singing the Blues'

 It's back to kitchen windowsill joy again for this week's 'In A Vase On Monday' and another purchase from a certain German supermarket chain. Along with the hippeastrums (about to open a second spike of flowers) is a hyacinth bulb grown in a vase designed for the purpose. This has provided me with entertainment every morning after I have pulled up the kitchen blind. At first I was convinced that the bulb was in suspended animation and wasn't going to flower in my lifetime. However and very slowly there was growth, both of white roots and of green shoots emerging from the bulb, before the flower finally appeared. I was most excited on Friday to see a blush of colour on the flower buds and have been surprised just how quickly the buds have been opening. The photo was taken this morning. The window was cleaned just before Christmas, since when all our windows have been covered by sprinkles of dust maybe Saharan or maybe originating from somewhere closer to home. Himself is not amused and is gearing himself up for an action replay.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for providing us with a weekly get- together to share our vases.

Last week saw the snow and stubborn patches of black ice that had been adorning our garden finally melted giving way to a mix of sunshine and fog. The weekend was grey and bone chilling cold with the week ahead looking far from promising as far as the weather is concerned. More time inside than outside methinks. I have one or two more seed orders to make and if it does warm up just a smidgen I may repot some of the greenhouse hardy September sown annuals. The daily greenhouse snowdrops in pots collection continues to get a daily inspection along with a few pot grown iris reticulata, crocuses, fritillaria, muscari and little daffs. One or two pots might make their way into the kitchen windowsill so I can inspect them at close quarters. In other news this week it's been delightful to observe a couple of blue tits flying in and out of the nesting box that we can see from our dining room. Hopefully they will build their nest there. Spring can't be so far away!

IAVOM ~ Shining Out On These Dark Nights

 
The Chritsmas tree and all it's sparkle has been dismantled and sadly the decorations are now boxed off for another year. However I've still left some fairy lights twinkling albeit faintly (new batteries needed methinks) and there will be candlepower both flame and LED for a few weeks to come. Joining them on the hearth is a vase off supermarket daffodils which are just beginning to open. They moved from the cooler utility room to warmer climes late this afternoon. I rarely buy supermarket flowers these days but always treat myself to the odd shot of colour during these still short days and long nights.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for bringing some magical glow all year round in the form of 'In A Vase On Monday'. I'm looking forward to seeing what is in everyone's vases today. I'm not sure what there is out there in flower as the garden has been covered with white precipitation. The snow started late on Saturday evening and we woke up to a good covering of it on Sunday morning (The above photo was taken at 6.15am  yesterday morning) It did slowly but not completely evaporate during the day but then we had another covering of snow during the night. Today's sunshine bought about some drip and melt but there has been some further late afternoon wintry precipitation. There is still a weather warning for snow and ice for tonight, with the next few days predicted to be most chilly indeed. My gardening activities will therefore be of the indoors kind - planning, writing new labels for my greenhouse snowdrops (I'm replacing white labels with black labels), some garden magazine reading, ordering a few new dahlias as well as dreaming. What will you be up to?

IAVOM ~ Year's End

 Well it's hard to believe that we've reached the last Monday of the year and indeed the last 'In A Vase On Monday' for 2024! Gracing my vase today a trio consisting of :

• Galanthus 'Fieldgate' Prelude which is an early flowering variety although I associate it more with January than February. Having said that a good number of my snowdrops both under cover and in the garden seem to be emerging earlier than usual.
• Some foliage in the shape of leaves from an arum seedling - I prefer it to it's parent arum italicum.
• A small stem of hamamelis or witch hazel. This is the first time I've ever cut some of this particular shrub for a vase and the mere act of doing so seemed akin to plant vandalism. I'm sure it will survive though. There is an even larger stem that will ned removing soon as it's protuding into the car port and himself keeps dropping veiled remarks about it. I don't know which variety it is. It was sold to me in February 2019 as the red 'Foxy Lady' which it definitely isn't. The nursery concerned refunded me and allowed me to keep the imposter they sent. In the meantime the search for the real hamamelis 'Foxy Lady' continues.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Gardening' for hosting not just today but every Monday of the year whatever she or the weather is up to. On the subject of the weather here the last few days has certainly seen some variety. Christmas Day was a sparkling day full of blue skies and sunshine. However we woke up to fog on Boxing Day morning, which persisted with the odd brief respite for 48 hours. It was also cool and the fog dripped moisture throughout. We're now enjoying a couple of relatively mild days but the gale force winds and rain are returning tomorrow before temperatures are predicted to drop dramatically. Snow is a possibility next week. The great annual seed box sort has been completed so time to hunker in and order what's needed and do some planning. Wishing all my IAVOM compatriots a most happy and healthy new year and I hope that 2025 treats your garden kindly! 

IAVOM ~ Is This The Way To Amaryllis?

Well 'In A Vase On Monday' is coming from indoors again this week and it's the turn of the hippeastrums still fondly known as amaryllis by many of us. The bulbs both came from a certain German supermarket and made their way into my trolley sometime in November. They both came into flower a tad too early for my liking and probably will be on their way out in the next few days. I may move one into a slightly cooler room. Both are on the kitchen windowsill at the moment and provide a welcome splash of colour whilst I'm pretending to be a domestic goddess. 

The stem in water bears a good sized flower. It came already planted in a pot and showing green. This is the second flowering stem - the first has gone over already. The second one in a festive vase rests on a nest of moss and what look like wood shavings. There is no compost or grit in the vase which I considered to be a good buy as it it is reusable as are all the festive trimmings. I have another vase like this from last year but the amaryllis in that is a a rather lopsided one flowering stem effort which is looking rather sad for itself. Meanwhile I have another two bulbs waiting to be planted later this week, which hopefully will provide some colour later in the winter.

A big thanks as always to the lovely Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' for hosting this most enjoyable and informative meme.

There seems to be little time to venture out into the garden recently - a combination of seasonal preparations and the weather have got in the way. We have just had 48 hours of gale force winds and more rain. However after today it looks as if it will be mainly dry and comparatively mild for the next few days so I will be getting out there to see what's happening. I already have some snowdrops flowering both outdoors and under cover and no doubt there are more stirrings afoot. I am also looking forward to sitting down on Boxing Day to sort through my seed box with the new Chiltern Seeds catalogue to hand, just in case any top ups are required. Wishing all my blogging friends a most Happy Christmas! 🎄

IAVOM ~ 'Baby Love'

 
There seems to be little in the way of flower or attractive foliage to snip at the moment and what there is I'm reluctant to snip, so I've come indoors for today's 'In A Vase On Monday'. Flourishing under the protective gaze of The Garden Angel who had to come here after I saw her sister on Cathy's 'Words And Herbs' blog are some cuttings from crassula ovata otherwise known as the jade plant. I bought the parent plant home with me from my mother's house before the house was sold. It did well for almost eight years but then during this year it has slowly collapsed, becoming increasingly straggly and lopsided before limbs starting falling off. There is very little of the original plant left now which I do feel rather sad about but given my track record with houseplants is hardly surprising. However I now have sufficient babies as you can see above and also on the kitchen windowsill to start again, with some to spare which will be heading in my sister's direction.

My vase is a little propagation set which came from a certain well known Swedish home furnishing store. When I saw it online I thought that it might be a nice way of displaying snowdrops or other small flowers but for the time being it has been highjacked by the babies.

Thanks as always to Cathy over at 'Rambling in The Garden' who today has made a valiant effort to host as usual under trying circumstances. Do have a look to see what she and others have posted. It has been a calm and dry day here after a wild and wet weekend during which storm 'Darragh' raged outside. Here we were under an amber weather warning from the Meteorological Office on Saturday for extreme winds so I cowered inside for the day. Fortunately the garden survived with nothing more serious than some broken branches and many little twigs scattered about. There are a handful of brave leaves still clinging on! There will not be much in the way of gardening this week as festive preparations take hold but I may just have to have a browse of the new Chiltern Seeds catalogue which arrived late last week. It's just too tempting not to I'm telling myself.

A Week Of Flowers : Day 7

 

A flashback to late May for my final 'A Week Of Flowers' post to one of my favourite combinations of the year. It features allium 'Purple Sensation', geum 'Totally Tangerine' and the deep wine red flowers of astrantia 'Gill Richardson'. The latter had an even more impressive second show of flowers later in the year. 

A BIG thanks to Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs', for once again inviting us to share our floral highlights at this time of year. As always it's been a most pleasant experience looking back at what has caught my eye during the last twelve months, as well as seeing what blogging friends have captured. 

A Week Of Flowers : Day 6

 

For the sixth day of 'A Week Of Flowers' I just had to include one of my favourite flowers and most anticipated flowers of the year which are galanthus, more commonly known as snowdrops. I grow a good number both named varieties in pots and in the ground as well as the more common galanthus nivalis. Above is the named variety 'Trumps' with beautiful distinctive flowers but a most unfortunate name.

Thanks to the lovely Cathy over at 'Words and Herbs' for hosting such a fun floral gala. Do pay her a visit if you haven't done so already.

A Week Of Flowers : Day 5

Starting with five flowers from me today as I join in with celebrating 'A Week Of Flowers', a great idea from Cathy who blogs over at 'Words and Herbs'. This floral extravaganza is now in it's fifth year and brightens up what can be a dull and gloomy time with colour, cheer and inspiration. I have been away for a few days with himself, celebrating our ruby wedding anniversary and wasn't organised enough to prepare some posts in advance so I'm only joining in the party today.

My five flowers today are : 

A hamamelis or witch hazel which was ordered online but it was an imposter. The nursery refunded me the cost of the purchase and I have enjoyed their error even though I don't know which variety this is. It flowers at the back end of the year overspilling into January.

A lost label epimedium in the first week of April - flowering nearby but not in the photo were a white hellebore orientalis and a pink chequered snakeshead fritillary, which made for a pleasing combination.

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A couple of flowers belonging to rosa 'Bathsheba', a climbing rose which was a gift from himself and planted on our wedding anniverary in 2020. Here she is flowering in the first week of June this summer.

Fast forwarding to the end of July is the hardy geranium 'Rozanne', beloved by bees in close companionship with seed grown achillea 'Summer Pastels'.

 Now into August a frilly flower head belonging to helianthus 'Astra Rose'. This was a new to me sunflower which I grew from seed sown in April in the greenhouse.  A must grow again seed next year and time soon to check that I still have enough seeds in my seed box.

Thanks to Cathy for providing me with some fun and fond memories on a rather chilly and at times foggy December day. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone else's flowers soon.