In a Vase on Monday

/ karen

My cut flower patch is in full swing. Luckily, flowers sown last summer and planted out in autumn are weathering the heatwave. Here’s a selection for this week’s vase. As always, my posies are for my mother in law Joan and my Mum, Marion.

Sweet peas High Scent are top favourites this year. I love the creamy buds that open to pale lilac. There’s a pretty violet picotee edge to the flowers. And the scent really is amazing. Only a few are needed in a jam jar posy to make an impact.

Seeds were sown last October in root trainers and kept all winter in straight-sided clear plastic storage boxes to outwit mice. It worked. And in April the well-rooted plants were set out along a wonky network of hazel twigs.

I pick flowers at dawn and drop them straight into buckets of cold fresh tap water. To travel, I pop ice cubes in the buckets to keep them cool.

In amongst the sweet peas this week there’s beautiful cornflowers Blue Boy. These are really prolific. I’m picking these flowers most days and there’s lots more to come. Great value for a small area.

For a pop of pink, there’s corncockle, an easy to grow wildflower that’s growing all around my garden.

Creamy white double chamomile reliably comes back every year and seems to go with everything.

As usual, I’m joining in with Cathy at Ramblinginthegarden blog for this week’s IAVOM. Why not go over and see what Cathy and all the others are growing and displaying at the moment. It’s fascinating to see how many of us are growing the same plants in gardens all around the world.

https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/

46 thoughts on “In a Vase on Monday”

    • Thank you. That’s so kind. Yes, it’s been a really good summer for Sweet peas. Have you heard of a place called Easton Walled Gardens? I worked there briefly to cover maternity leave. Learned such a lot about sweet pea growing. Thanks for reading and for your lovely comments. All the best. Karen

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    • Thank you. Hope they will. They are so vibrant in the sunshine. Thanks again for reading and getting in touch. I’m on twitter @kgimson and insta karengimson1 . All the best.

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    • Thank you Mike. So blooming hot here. Hope you and your plot are coping with the drought. My little water features are being topped up every day. A real lifeline for all creatures. Thanks again for reading and kind comments. xx

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  8. The first three, sweet-pea, bachelor button and corn cockle, are uncommon here because their seasons are so short. Sweet-pea finished a while ago. Bachelor button and corn cockle are finishing about now. They do not like the dry air here.

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    • Thank you. That’s a shame. I’m growing mine under the Sweet peas. They seem to appreciate the fertile ground and I can tie them up to the hazel twigs so they don’t flop. Than again. Karen

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  12. Your vase sings out summer Karen and the two recipients will no doubt be delighted. I picked my first sweet peas of the year today albeit later than usual. Do you leave the lids of the plastic storage boxes open throughout the winter and are the boxes in a kept in a greenhouse or outside?

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    • Thank you for your kind comments. I make tiny air holes in the lids and leave them on to start with. When the sweet peas are about 6” tall, I take the lids off as the mice are less interested then and the seeds have been used up by the plants. The storage boxes are kept in an unheated poly tunnel. The plants can cope with cold. They could also go out in a cold frame, or a sheltered part of the garden. You could make air holes in the sides at the top of the boxes and then make a kind of multi storey sweet pea growing station. Last winter was the first time I’d managed to outwit the mice! The plastic boxes must be too slippery for them to climb.

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  13. Much as I love the sweet peas, I love those brilliant blue cornflowers even more. You never see them here but you’ve tempted me to try growing them from seed in my cutting garden, which gets more water than the rest of my garden.

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    • Thank you Kris. That cornflower is the deepest loveliest blue isn’t it. And the flowers last for a week in a vase. There are masses of side shoots with buds on. I’ve already had blooms for about 6 weeks. Really good value for a small space garden. Thanks again for reading and getting in touch. All the best. Karen

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  14. Karen your vase is magnificent, I love it. And best of all, the flowers are for your Mother-in-law and for your Mother. I hope your father-in-law is cured of the hip and your mother-in-law is better. The photos of the flowers are magnificent. Sweet Peas High Scent I like them a lot. Their cutting beds are beautiful. Blue Boy Cornflowers are very beautiful. The pink Corncockle wild flower is wonderful. The creamy white double chamomile is divine and if it is also vivacious it is wonderful. It’s a beautiful, sweet bouquet, I love it. Karen I hope you’re in good health with so much dare. A lot of health for your whole family. For your Mother love and memories. For you all the best and love. Take care. Loving greetings from Margarita.

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    • Thank you Margarita. Thankfully, things are getting a little bit better, thank you. I’m still filling all their windowsills with vases of flowers to cheer everyone up. I think it’s lovely to see flowers in the front windows. A good welcome to the home. Thank you for your wonderful descriptions of my flower vases. I think you actually describe them much better than I do! I really appreciate your kind comments and encouragement. Wishing you all good health and happiness. Love and greetings to you and your family. Love from karen x

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    • Thank you Cathy. Things are slowly getting better. I’m just back from the hospital and it’s 10.30pm. We are having the day off tomorrow. Hopefully. Thanks again for your kind comments and encouragement. I’m just catching up reading blogs. xx

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    • Thank you Donna, I’ve just planted some more sweet peas, sown in April. Hopefully they will flower from July till first frosts. Fingers crossed. Thank you for reading and for your kind comments.

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    • Ah, thank you Marian. The ice cubes keep them fresh. I’m amazed they do so well in this heatwave. We haven’t had rain for weeks. I’m only watering the new seedlings. Everything else must take its chance. A piece of landscaping fabric down the centre of the hazel A-frame was a good idea. Keeps down weeds and holds the moisture. Thanks as ever for reading and for your kind comments. xx

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