Monday 13 July 2020

In a Vase on Monday - Agapanthus and Ants

At the end of last week, Mr S and I worked on trimming the Oak which overhangs into our garden.  Propping a ladder against the wall, and catching trimmings as they fell to protect plants, I saw that the white agapanthus was coming into bloom.  Its stems are long and curving reaching for the light.  Seeing these inspired this week's vase.





A few other stems placed here and there make up an airy arrangement.


Pinky mauve Thalictrum delavayi, Alchemilla mollis,  the white climbing Solanum laxum 'Album', and the beautiful smelling Chamaemelum nobile 'Flore Pleno', make up the balance.  I rather liked the yellowing leaf of the Thalictrum so left that in. I'm not sure whether the yellowing lower leaves are a cultivation problem or just its natural way.

The ants swarmed en mass just before lunch yesterday, and it has been entertaining watching birds pick them off the ground.  We also have quite a few swifts, and martins flying over to catch insects.  It seemed to be happening elsewhere too, according to posts on Facebook.  After I arranged the flowers, I spent a few minutes chasing and dispatching ants in the house.

14 comments:

  1. So lovely! Light, ethereal, full of interest - I love it! Amanda https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2020/07/two-summer-vases-on-monday.html

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  2. Queen of IAVOM? Oh, please Noelle! (although I am secretly flattered of course!) Hving some white agapanthus seedlings that are about 1" tall I am envious of your fully-fledged blooms and you have excelled with its companions! The thalictrum and solanum are brilliant additions and the overal colour balance works so well - you should be really proud of this, Noelle! The ant spectacle must have made for interesting viewing, but less so in the house

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    1. The title of Queen is quite right, we all swarm to your tune. I am not going to bite off my wings though! The ants were the normal workers that seem to be all around the garden from early spring. I am sure they are farming the blackfly.

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  3. Such a lovely vase Noelle! Light and airy and full of delicate beauties. My Thalictrum finished long ago, but it is only in its first year of planting. And my Agapanthus has not bloomed at all, and maybe will take more than one year from bulbs. God is surely an exquisite artist creating so many beautiful varieties of flowers to take our breath away. Your creation is most pleasing to the eye and to the soul.

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    1. Thank you Cindy. My agapanthus was given to me as pass alongs from my neighbour Val. They do need a good feed in the growing season right to the end when they are forming the flower buds ready for the following year.

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  4. I have been reading about 'Flying Ant Day' on my Twitter timeline Noelle but haven't seen any here yet thank goodness although of course the birds must be happy to see them. There are some beauties in your vase this week.

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    1. We have quite a number of nests around the garden, and the biggest being in the pot with a bay tree on the gravel. I am sure a quarter of the soil has been removed.

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  5. I love what you did with your Agapanthus - it's very artful. The whole arrangement came together beautifully. I was also impressed by the fact that your birds scooped up your ants. All I can say is that our birds are lazy by comparison.

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  6. Envious of your white agapanthus. It has a lovely form and your entire vase works well with it.

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    1. Thanks Susie, it just grows itself. It is obviously the cultivar's form, most people like the big and strong upward stems. I guess it is a question of getting to appreciate the form it is growing in.

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  7. That vase has a nice wispy air to it. The arrangement of the Agapanthus is perfect. I like Agapanthus and cannot get it to grow in my garden, though it should. Plants can be so aggravating. We have a world class supply of ants here, I have never seen anything eat them!

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    1. I have plants that won't grow, when they ought to. I just don't understand this. Is it the plant, or the conditions? Sometimes I move them, and then they take off, otherwise it is the compost for them.

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  8. Your vase is like a summer breeze Noelle. :-) Lovely to be able to have such an exotic flower in the garden. I haven‘t seen the ants swarm here yet. Or perhaps I missed it! We are shut in today as the neighbouring field has been spread with muck!

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    1. Oh for the day of muck spreading...we have that here too, but luckily mostly in early spring when it is cooler. Its the most horrid smell, but then I start to think what good it will do, and focus on something else, but like you, indoors, and with the windows shut!

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