Monday 3 August 2015

In a Vase on Monday - Pressed into Service


Another idiom helped me decide the theme for this week's In a Vase on Monday.  I thought of my little pressed glass jugs.  I would press them into service to act as vases.  I bought both jugs just on the whim because I love their shape. The smaller of the pressed glass jugs has a thistle logo imprinted on the bottom.  I bought it whilst on holiday in Alnwick, and was told by the shop owner that there were many small pressed glass manufacturers in Scotland and also in Northern England.  (I'm notgiving any Scientific names this week.)


Then as we had a Sunday Walk across the fields, I saw that the Hazelnuts were beginning to fatten up, but sadly the squirrels will have them all soon.  I broke a little stem of them and started thinking of all the young country girls who were 'pressed into service' probably walking from cottages to work in big houses as servants.  It followed that I began to think what their names would have been.

Would there have been a Hazel?  Then I thought of other girls names based on plants and flowers, so apart from Hazel from the hedgerow, from my garden, I have Heather, Poppy some gone to seed and some Welsh, Nigella, Holly, Rosemary, Daisy, Rose, Ivy, Myrtle, Fern, and Marjoram.

My little Grand daughter assured me that Marjoram was a girl's name, when she gave me this lovely little dressed mouse,  when she was just three and a half.  She liked it so much, she also had one, but hers was called Rosemary.  I think Marjolaine is more used as a French name, but since she was at French playgroup, maybe that is where she heard this as a girl's name.  She said she called them these names because we both liked gardening so much!


This is the first time I have used my new 'toy'.  My leaf and thorn stripper.  A few weeks ago I had a couple of thorns lodged under my skin, and I knew there was the right tool somewhere, not to remove the thorns from my finger, but to remove the thorns from the rose stems.  I asked a couple of florists locally if they sold them, and hunted in local shops, but to no avail.  Within a few days of ordering off Amazon, this was posted through my door.


It is really great for preparing the flowers, so from now on, when I hand over a posy of flowers to friends, which have roses in, I won't need to say: 'be careful of the thorns'.



Unlike my garden which is a little sparse at the moment, Cathy's garden has yielded an extravagant abundance.  So for a good contrast why not go and see something very different.

If you would like to comment, why not suggest flowers which are currently in your garden, which have girl's names.



15 comments:

  1. That's a lovely vase of flowers with a nice theme too. Gillian at countrygardenuk.com

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  2. Enjoyed this post. Your flowers look great--nothing sparse here. My garden is also sparse lately so it's exciting to find enough to fill a vase.

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  3. a lovely vase! I think simple glass vases always work well. The only 'flower name' I can think of in my garden is Honeysuckle, although I am glad my parents didn't choose it for me!!

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  4. What a lovely post. Only faithful rose flowering in my garden today, but I do have three clematis flowering called Julia, Marie and Betty, do they count?

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    1. The more the merrier! I have started to 'collect' the common names of some of our everyday garden plants, and many of the cottage garden plants have names which hark back to their uses.

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  5. Hmm - how about Clarkia, perhaps? If not, it could be - any takers? I really enjoyed reading your post and hearing about Marjoram and Rosemary - and although you suggest your vase is very simple it is just as effective as anything more abundant. The thorn strippers look to be a brilliant buy - and thanks to eBay and Amazon it is so easy to find things you couldn't be sure even existed. I shall be off soon to purchase some too!

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    1. I think Clarkia would be a delightful name. How are your plants doing this year? I've never grown it before. These look made to last forever.

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  6. I enjoyed following the route your mind took this week. Your granddaughter sounds like a lovely young person. I appreciate the tip on the thorn stripper too, which I also could have used this week.

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  7. A lovely combo of flowers and foliage from your garden and oh I love the stripper tool.

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  8. Noelle, cute bouquet with the bear peeking out from under the daisy. In my garden there is Prunella, also called Self-Heal, the flower spikes can be used for tea. Melissa, Lemon Balm, I also have but regret ever planting because it spreads so badly and is hard to get rid of. It can be made into a tea as well.

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    1. Hannah, Thanks for your suggestions...I have Lemon Balm but now I know its name is Melissa. I had used it in an arrangement a previous week. Luckily I am able to control mine, and keep it for the mason bees. I will be getting some Prunella. We often see it growing wild on our walks, and my hubby's eye is always drawn to it, so it will be a nice addition to a semi shaded area towards the end of the garden, and feed the late bees and insects. Which Varieties do you grow?

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  9. What a lovely idea to base your flowers around the names of serving girls 'pressed into service' and I love your pressed glass jugs too. The only additional name I can think of is Iris (which is my mothers name), although all my Iris have gone over now.

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    1. Thanks for adding Iris to the list of names. There may be another season in another year that I can revisit this theme, and anyone else is also welcome to try this. I have thought of Marigold too, now I am sure that many In a Vase on Monday contributors have some flowering now. I've just sown some seed ready for next year.

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  10. Such a pretty vase and what a delightful granddaughter you must have.
    Your thorn strippers seem like a great idea.
    Not in bloom now but don' t forget Violet. A pretty old- fashioned name and delightful flower.

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    1. She is really lovely, thanks. Yes, Violet: I had a teeny bit in flower in the garden, but I would have had to make up a mini vase, and I had been greedy some weeks with two, and thought to restrict myself. This is such a sweet name, but sadly I do not think I call smell the violets, but I can smell the roses, so I am happy. The Violets are my Kenilworth weed, but I leave clumps as I have blue butterflies in the garden.

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