In a vase on Monday:

Tags

Calendula Indian Prince, Dahlia Arabian Night, dahlia Downham Royal, Echinacea purpurea, Echinops bannaticus, in a vase on Monday, penstemon garnet, Pheasant's tail grass, Stipa arundica

Echinops bannaticus

Echinops bannaticus are magnets for bees and they are a pleasing companion for grasses in a border. They grow to about 1.2m tall and do not need staking. All good characteristics however they are taking over the border and are pushing out other plants. They will need to be dug up and thinned out this autumn. Unchecked they will also self seed so I have begun to cut them before they get chance to set seed. These are them in a large jug. The jug was a gift from my parents who found it at Snape Maltings in Suffolk. The jug is a perfect scale and colour for these prickly, woody stems.

In a vase on Monday

Penstemon and Echinacea have started opening out, bringing with them some rich colour and texture into the borders. A complete contrast to the Echinops these flowers are full of jewel like colours.

In the jam jar type vase are Marigolds,Penstemon, Echinacea and the wispy diaphanous stems of Pheasants tail grass.

Ladybird hitching a ride

These are calendula Indian Prince which are my favourite of all the varieties I have tried.

Dahlias are also pulling away now and showing their rich colour and textures.

Flowers from Liz

My friend and her husband came to visit and Liz gave me this striking dahlia and chrysanthemum mix. The dahlias are the same as mine because she gave me some of the same corms for my birthday. The calendula she grew and the chrysanthemums she bought from her flower shop. Interestingly it’s the green chrysanthemums that are dropping! Grown not flown is certainly best.

Please pick some flowers from your garden and join Cathy the host of this meme.

I hope you have a good week wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.

In a vase on Monday

Tags

Astrantia major, David Austin Roses, Echinops bannaticus, In a vase on Monday, Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll', Rose 'Madame Alfred Carriere'

Morning! It is Monday again, and this week I have collected a few sprigs of Astrantia major, a couple of the newly formed globes from Echinops bannaticus and, for a gentle injection of scent,  I have added the pink rose ‘Gertrude jekyll’ and the soft white rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’.  Both roses are gently scernted calling you in for a closer inspection and are from David Austin Roses.  These are a mini snap shot of what is happening in my garden which is not getting much attention from me at the moment as all my time is going into packing.

This little collection of flowers is a reminder of all the lovely things out there and is sat in the middle of the kitchen table presently marooned amongst big, brown, cardboard boxes.

I am pleased to join Cathy who started this lovely meme. It has encouraged me to collect what is outside and enjoy it at close quarters inside; there is no way I would have thought of a floral display on the kitchen table in the middle of packing the house up! If you enjoy this and I certainly do, take a look at Cathy’s page  http://rambinginthegarden.wordpress.com to see what other people have to share.  Have a good day. D.