In a Vase on Monday…..or Wednesday.

/ karen

I don’t know where the time goes. I’ve been trying to find a few spare minutes since Sunday. But every time I sit down, the phone rings, and that’s the end of any thoughts of escaping to the potting shed.

Anyway, apologies to Cathy for being late again with my IAVOM. Without further ado, and before the phone rings again, here are some photos of my jam jar flowers this week.

If you were listening in to Radio Leicester on Sunday, these are the flowers I took in to talk about. I’ve made a heart out of six stems of red dogwood and willow. It’s so simple to create. Basically, hold the stems in one hand. Bend three one way in a hoop and hold in the middle. Bend the other three the other way and hold in the middle. Bound with twine. Cut the long stems level at the bottom. Attach a jam jar wrapped in hessian or any pretty fabric around the middle of the heart. Then you can add whatever flowers you fancy.

I’ve used two stems of creamy white Exotic Emperor tulip. This is my new favourite. Its the colour of rich clotted cream. Outer petals have a beautiful green flash. In the heat of the radio studio the tulips opened flat like an orchid.

Here’s the same tulip with cherry blossom, Prunus Kojo-no-Mai, showing what it looks like as it opens. It reminds me of a peony.

Here’s where I’m growing them in the cut flower patch. I planted rows of tulips 10cm apart, mixed in with some Bridal Crown and Geranium narcissi. Rows of Blue Jacket hyacinths mingle with orange wallflowers. These were planted in November.

Planting closely in rows saves space. I never feel like picking the flowers in the main garden. It feels like I’m spoiling the display. These bulbs though are planted to be harvested for bouquets and vases.

In January, I tipped some more bulbs into a trench. These aren’t deeply planted as they will be dug up and planted in the orchard when they’ve been cut. At the top end of the trench you can see I’ve stood the bulbs up and spaced them out. I popped hyacinth bulbs in between. It’s much denser planting than for permanent displays.

Here’s the hyacinths coming up, with tulips to follow. This is a cutting mix from Gee Tee Bulbs. If you wait until Christmas, prices are reduced by half. They come up just the same, for bargain prices.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. Why not go over and see what everyone else is growing and cutting for their vases and flower arrangements this week. I’m often surprised to see we are growing similar flowers, all around the world.

Please feel free to share this blog.

links : Radio Leicester Down to Earth programme at 1.10.56 on the timeline

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0738k4d

Karen with Andy Pierce. Have a listen in on bbc Sounds.

Tulips : https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/bulbs/tulips/fosteriana-tulips/tulip-exotic-emperor

Narcissi bridal https://www.gee-tee.co.uk/bulbs/daffodils-narcissus/double-narcissi/narcissus-bridal-crown

hyacinths Blue Jacket. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/62630/Hyacinthus-orientalis-Blue-Jacket/Details

Prunus Ko-no-mai : https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/70924/Prunus-incisa-Kojo-no-mai/Details

Also mentioned on the radio programme:

Sweet peas Wiltshire Ripple : https://johnsonssweetpeas.co.uk/Sweet-Pea-Wiltshire-Ripple

Easton Walled Gardens: https://www.visiteaston.co.uk/

Sweet pea Best of the Blues : https://www.johnsons-seeds.com/Home_4/Tall_10/Sweet-Pea-The-Best-of-the-Blues.html#.XKUZAozTWfA

Growing pea shoots: Twinkle : https://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Vegetable-Seeds/Popular-Vegetable-Seeds/Pea-Seeds/Pea-Shoots-Seeds—Twinkle_183100.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQjws5HlBRDIARIsAOomqA2jKG_vIuhdZsnRcADU0wvEhRMuHVQeysA1onKhhJlM9i5JHRXUazIaAqPPEALw_wcB

Calendula Snow Princess: https://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_235k_calendula_officinalis_snow_princess

26 thoughts on “In a Vase on Monday…..or Wednesday.”

  1. In A Vase On Monday, even though I do not participate, makes me crave flowers that I am intent on not growing. Fortunately, it is too late to plant most of them. I have not grown hyacinth since I was in college, but when I see it do so well in other gardens, I want to grow it again. I could grow a big herd of ‘Carnegie’ white and ‘Delft Blue’ or some other light blue to go with them!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I should have kept more of my cornus trimmings for features like this, but will certainly use some of the ones I still have…must add it to my list! EXotic Emperor is quickly becoming nearly everyone’s favourite I think, and it is the star of your IAVOM, which looks fantastic and the blue and white is such a good contrast. Thanks for joining in, whatever day of the week it is 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I love the idea of making an arrangement to hang outside. For Mr S and I who react to the smell of some of the flowers….migraines etc…this would be rather nice. I also found that you showed photographs hence recording how you planted your bulbs interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you Noelle. You could grow all those tulips and narcissi I just a couple of buckets outside the back door ( making drainage holes of course). No need for lots of space to grow flowers. I love hanging them on the potting shed and summerhouse doors and at the front door for Easter and special occasions.

      Like

      Reply

    • Thank you Cathy. The scent is fabulous, especially in the evening sun. I’ve got a few pots by my back door and the weather has been nice enough to leave the door open all day. The scent wafts into the kitchen and all round the house. Heavenly!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. It's nice to know I'm not talking to myself on here.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s