Six on Saturday: galloping

Tags

Anthriscus sylvestris, cow parsley, dwarf Narcissus, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Grape hyacinth, March, Muscari, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Prunus Nipponica Ruby, Sambucus Nigra, six on saturday, spurge

Hello. I am joining The Propagator with a Six on Saturday. Galloping? As the days lengthen and the sun warms a little, growth in the garden is changing almost as we look and the time to get all the jobs done is well , galloping by.

1.

Prunus Nipponica Ruby. On Monday only one or two of the flower blossoms were open and I included a piece of it in my vase IAVOM. Now just five days later the blossoms are nearly all open.

2.

Cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris. Last week there was only a peek of it on the ground now it is ankle deep at the bottom of my garden under the big three Horse chestnut trees.

3.

Spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides. I love the lime colour against the willow fencing. This is a must have plant for rough ground under trees.

4.

Narcissus Tête-à-tête. Still flowering these are quite early to show their faces. Tiny but bright and a sign of spring if ever there was one.

5.

Sambucus niger from darkest black buds to delicious rich leaves, these are opening out now and I shall look forward to the lace effect of those leaves soon.

6.

Finally muscari, Grape Hyacinth. These are a great shot of blue growing happily under the Hormbeam hedge.

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are. Thanks for reading. D.

In a Vase on Monday: hello sunshine

Tags

Grape hyacinth, in a vase on Monday, kind gift from Kay, March, Muscari, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Narcissus ‘Rip-van-winkle’, Narcissus Grand Soleil d’Or, Narcissus Isles of Scilly, Viburnum bodnantense dawn, violas

Despite the high winds over the last few days and a flurry of sleet last night, the daffodils are still standing. Such hardy things, daffodils generate blots of yellow about the gardens and verges and nearly everyone comments on them. I cannot imagine that there is a single person who does not like seeing daffodils each spring.

I am not keen on the colour yellow but I make an exception with daffodils. I prefer Tête-à-tête as the short stems tend not to collapse in windy weather, important for this garden which is rather exposed.

Rip van winkle is another favourite thanks to his shredded punky appearance.

This year van winkle and Tête-à-tête are joined by a mixed selection of scented daffodils from the Scilly isles. My friend Kay kindly carried a small box of bulbs home to give me an early birthday present. Even more generous considering the hand luggage only rules from the orange aircraft carrier. This is the first one showing, it has six tiny yellow flowers with orange centres on one stem and is highly scented with that heavenly sweet daffodil perfume. I believe it to be Grand Soleil d’Or.

Viburnum bodnantense Dawn is still flowering its highly scented pale pink Pom poms and now is joined by the first of the Grape Hyacinths.

They are in a 500ml flask which holds their tiny beauty carefully.

By contrast I have pinched three tiny violas from my bath tub container. Tiny violas too have a sweet perfume detectable at close quarters.

Their papal purple colours and velvet texture have been damaged by the weather even so I think their beauty is exquisite.

What do you have to share with us and Cathy this Monday. I’ll bet there is something.

Wishing you all a good week ,wherever you are. D.

Silent Sunday: from this, to this

Tags

April, from this to this, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Silent Sunday, what to do with s broken barrow, wheelbarrow planter

In a Vase on Monday: cock-a-doodle-do

Tags

April, daffodils, Easter Monday, frog, in a vase on Monday, Muscari, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Narcissus ‘Rip-van-winkle’, Narcissus Lemon sailboat, pulmonaria, Spring flowers

It is Easter, it is Monday and therefore I was on the look out for flowers and eggs to share with you and readers of Cathy’s blog.

No eggs, this cockerel has sat looking out of the window for about twenty years.

Now he is on my desk with these tiny flowers from the garden. Muscari, pulmonaria and various daffodils.

The two small daffodils are Tête-à-tête on the left and lemon sailboat on the right. Rip van Winkle is the scruff at the back and the large Daffodil is just a regular garden daff.

Held in place on a florists frog, no amphibians were hurt in the process.

I hope you have had an enjoyable long weekend and I am sure you will join me in chanting “rain, rain, go away” D.

In a Vase on Monday: 3 little daffodils

Tags

in a vase on Monday, March, medicine bottle, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Narcissus ‘Rip-van-winkle’

Three little daffodils, not in a row, all that I could spare.

There are two of the charming Tête-à-tête daffodils. I love their robust nature, hidden under snow yesterday they have already bounced back with that eminent cheerful colour that daffodils supply. They are joined with this punk version.

This is from a batch I planted the year before last and I thought I could not remember what it was called.

Less Rip-van-winkle, more Rip-vonshredded. Anyway I shall refer to him as Sid.

Please pop over to Cathyand take a look at what else has been rescued from the weather for today’s vases.

A brown little medical bottle serves as the vase. Think Sid would approve. D.

In a Vase on Monday: all buds, no duds

Tags

all buds no duds, camellia, daffodils, grown by me, in a vase on Monday, March, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Surbiton, yellow

Many more years than I care to calculate, I lived in Surbiton. There was a chap outside the station with a flower stall catching those commuters who needed to buy a bunch of flowers on their way home. There are many reasons why people buy flowers, good and bad, and with my companion we used to like to speculate who was buying and why. My abiding memory of the stall was less about the flowers, more about the banter. His catch phrase was bellowed in unsuspecting commuters ears “all buds, no duds.” This amused me but then perhaps I am easily amused.

So sharing my vase with you today as part of Cathy and her meme, the Surbiton florist came to mind.

Lots of buds yet to open on this Tête-à-tête arrangement of bulbs. I love the simplicity of the container, these tiny little flowers need no adornment. Thanks daughter Dorris. 💛

On my desk, another bud, this time a fattening camellia bud, cut from the garden.

This was tightly shut last week when I cut it. Slowly the warmth of the house has encouraged the bud to swell. I hope that it will eventually open to reveal its surprise: this pink bud will be a predominately white double flower.

Hopefully this won’t be a dud rather a fully functioning bud.

Have a good week. Thank you for reading. D.

Saturday smile: yellow

Tags

daffodils, March, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Saturday smile, Spring flowers, yellow

Spring flowers are some of the most delightful, don’t you think? Perhaps it is because they signal better weather, and longer daylight hours. They show us that Winter is finally weakening its grip.

It is so much warmer here than of late, there are lambs appearing in the fields, lambs and daffodils. Bright and brassy yellow daffodils. These are Tête-à-tête the little short ones which, in some ways, I prefer as they tend not to get broken by the vagaries of the weather.

Tough-little-cookies could have been an alternative suitable name. A Saturday smile for you. D.

There’s a hole in my wheelbarrow

Tags

container planting, Dryopteris erythrosora, Dryopteris filix-mas, Hosta Big Daddy, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', not so silent thanks to fireworks, Silent Sunday, wheelbarrow

When Brother Dorris emigrated to New Zealand he donated his wheelbarrow. Well said barrow now has a massive hole in it, made from plastic it was not made for real work. I was going to take it to the tip but I couldn’t get it in the mini. Cue Light bulb moment. 

Or is that bulb moment. I split hosta Big Daddy, added ferns Dryopteris erythrosora and filix-mas some Tete-a-Tete.

Eventually I hope the handles will be covered in ivy. 

I will keep you posted. Hope you had a good weekend . 

There’s a hole in my wheelbarrow

Tags

container planting, Dryopteris erythrosora, Dryopteris filix-mas, Hosta Big Daddy, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', not so silent thanks to fireworks, Silent Sunday, wheelbarrow

When Brother Dorris emigrated to New Zealand he donated his wheelbarrow. Well said barrow now has a massive hole in it, made from plastic it was not made for real work. I was going to take it to the tip but I couldn’t get it in the mini. Cue Light bulb moment. 

Or is that bulb moment. I split hosta Big Daddy, added ferns Dryopteris erythrosora and filix-mas some Tete-a-Tete.

Eventually I hope the handles will be covered in ivy. 

I will keep you posted. Hope you had a good weekend . 

There’s a hole in my wheelbarrow

Tags

Dryopteris erythrosora, Dryopteris filix-mas, Hosta Big Daddy, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', not so silent thanks to fireworks, Silent Sunday, wheelbarrow

When Brother Dorris emigrated to New Zealand he donated his wheelbarrow. Well said barrow now has a massive hole in it, made from plastic it was not made for real work. I was going to take it to the tip but I couldn’t get it in the mini. Cue Light bulb moment. 

Or is that bulb moment. I split hosta Big Daddy, added ferns Dryopteris erythrosora and filix-mas some Tete-a-Tete.

Eventually I hope the handles will be covered in ivy. 

I will keep you posted. Hope you had a good weekend .