Monday 29 October 2018

In a Vase on Monday - M and XCII

When I see an Iceberg Rose it reminds me of my mother, who grew this in difficult conditions in the tropics.  The long pointed rose buds were the brides' favourite.  The button holes and brides bouquets would be kept in the fridge until the last moment, and often taken straight to the Church.

In two of my previous gardens I had a very floriferous climbing Rose Iceberg, and it amazed my mother when she counted the number of blooms on her visits.  Its not surprising therefore that one of the first rose trees I bought for the new garden this year was a climbing Iceberg rose tree.  I hope it does as well as the wonderful specimen I saw in full flower the week before Christmas when I first moved to Somerset.  The french name for this rose is Fee de Neiges, which mean Fairy of the Snows.





During the Summer, when I was first setting out the back garden, I bought a couple of Grace Roses, and they are already establishing themselves very well, and both currently have around fifteen rosebuds each.  In my last garden I used Grace for a Vase on Monday in mid December.



According to the BBC, Friday was the coldest October day for 10 years.  We did wake up on Saturday to find the top of the car covered with a wonderful ferny pattern of crystals, but the back garden protected by the stone wall, still has the nasturtiums in full flower, and nothing else hit down or blackened by frost.

As a result of this, I am able to pick a stem of Fuchsia and bronze fennel leaf for my vase today.  The cyclamen leaf, itself a frosty silver colour, finishes off this end of autumn arrangement.



The reason why I have called this vase M, is that M is the Roman Numeral 1000.  As I enjoyed counting the Iceberg Roses, I find other numbers, figures, counting, and statistics interesting.....I love probability too....On Saturday I bumped into a friend coming out of the Cathedral and one the topics in just five minutes that we touched on was that I wanted to brush up my Roman Numerals so that I could quickly read the dates on monuments.  So it was highly probable that I would choose M as the title of my post this week.

This is my 1000th post on my blog. With over 141 thousand visits, and one post alone getting nearly 25 thousand hits, all I can say is that I can't admit to the time I have spent writing since this blog started in 2007.  I wouldn't even want to calculate that.  All in all it has been a lovely experience, to keep records, share and explore interests, and along the way make friends, and reconnect with ones made years ago. Here is to the next M posts!!!!

This is my ninety second In a Vase on Monday....XCII

In her post Cathy explains the festival of All Hallows.  In Mauritius for "La Fete des Morts" people remember their loved ones who had died, visit their burial plots and place flowers on them.  I remember it to be a rather sad quiet day as a child, a day of mourning or of quiet reflection.  Maybe with changed times, there is more of a festive air, and like many places, commerce has made this into an occasion where consumption is encouraged.

In some countries there are festivals full of joy and merriment:  On a more joyful and coloured theme,  and for a glorious seasonal pumpkin coloured display do go and see what Cathy has posted, and other links to this week's IAVOM contributors.


13 comments:

  1. I should be inspired to try some Roses in my tropical garden! Yours are lovely and Happy M!I love Roman Numerals as well and oddly, statistics. Go figure.

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    1. On a recent tour of Wells Cathedral we heard of the big mix up on placing the statues in their right niches on the facade due to the masons confusion over the old roman numerals and the new numerals, which many of them did not know about, during the 12th and 13th centuries...Next time I have a tour, I shall listen to this element more carefully!

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  2. A sweet arrangement. I'm glad that your back garden was spared the effects of frost. Happy thousandth post and here's to many M's more!

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  3. Wow that is impressive 1000 posts.....and your garden's protected area is such a great spot to keep your flowers going. Love the roses and the family story of the 'Iceberg'.

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  4. Oh Noelle - what a brilliant achievement! And what on earth was the post that generated such a vast number of views?!! What a star Iceberg rose is - I don't imagine it would ever be out of fashion.. I too love statistics and studied it further at Uni along with my Geography degree. Not sure what the 'old' Roman numerals are, so must look them up!!

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    1. The post that gained the most hits is this one: http://noellemace.blogspot.com/2008/12/woven-silk-pictures-from-j-and-j-cash.html I wrote a couple of posts on J & J Cash's woven silk pictures. When I first moved to the midlands I came across these, and learnt more about the silk weavers around the Coventry area. I meant Roman Numeral...being the old way of writing down numbers rather that the current 1,2, 3 etc. Looked into Statistics and their use as part of my degree too! Still read up on the subject, and often listen to the Radio 4 More or Less Programme!

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  5. The Iceberg rose seems to grow very happily, and profusely, in Melbourne. Any time of the year, you will see it! A lovely thing! Here is my offering for today, and there will be an extra orangey vase, as a nod to Halloween, on Wednesday. https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2018/10/a-tiny-vase-on-monday.html Amanda

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  6. Happy 1000th post! Your notice had me looking up my own stats, startling me with the discovery that I am nearing that benchmark myself. I love this week's assortment of summer survivors, particularly that beautiful 'Grace' rose. Regrettably, I have very few roses in my current garden as they are thirsty creatures that want more water than I have to give them.

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    1. Oh I look forward to your 1000th Kris..but don't be concerned about growing roses, all the shrubs and plants you grow are wonderful.

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  7. Lovely roses and I liked reading about the back story of yours, esp. its use in weddings. I took Latin in high school and amazingly remember the numerals, although it generally takes me a few seconds of looking to decipher the big numbers.
    Congratulations on reaching 1000 posts - that's quite an accomplishment! I imagine you've given a lot of people pleasure over the past 11 years. Here's to the next M!

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    1. Thanks Eliza...loved the Latin I did, but cannot remember much, though it does help with understanding Italian when we have been on holiday there.

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  8. One of our Camps Bay neighbours had MIIM over the front door. The new owners plastered it over.

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  9. Congratulations on your 1000th post! You are lucky to have such perfect rosebuds still. :) All Saints Day - November 1st is a bank holiday here in Bavaria (predominantly Catholic) where people remember their dead relatives and visit family graves. Not at all commercialised (except for the sale of ugly wreaths!) and not really melancholy either as it is a day where families get together.

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