In a Vase on Monday - June Roses

 Last Friday Alison and I had a very pleasant time at the Bishop's Palace Garden festival. We had a 'personal' tour by Colin, one of the gardeners.  There were few people on the Friday morning and no one else on the tour.  Alison is very knowledgeable and was able to bring to mind some names of shrubs and trees, and together we enjoyed the tour with Colin pointing out many great plant associations.

Just after lunch we went to sit in on a flower arranging demonstration by one of her friends in the floristry world: Louise Bastow .  Some of Louise's workshops take place at Alison's, from whose garden the flowers come: Floral Acre. Until she developed her flower business Alison was a regular contributor to In a Vase on Monday, and since moving to this area, we have become good friends.  I shall of course be volunteering to help should she have an open garden again after the last couple of difficult years.

I have as a result of In a Vase on Monday which is a weekly event hosted by Cathy, met some lovely people, and enjoyed arranging garden grown flowers. 

This is not the tied bouquet demonstrated by Louise, but she did remind me of the importance of putting cut material straight into water in the garden, so my bucket followed me.  Another tip that reinded me to cut material in cooler conditions, so all this was cut yesterday early, and another tip was  conditioning flowers and stripping leaves.  This morning everything in the bucket was looking fresh and lovely.

I've used almost everything before: Rose Grace, and rose Ghislaine de Féligonde, Pittosporum Garnettii,  Achillea millefolium 'Lilac Beauty', love in the mist seed heads,  but it is the first for Filipendula Vulgaris Multiplex, or best described as frothy creamy white flower.  I think it was the conditioning that made the flower stem firm and be suitable for arranging. Even the youngish bright green bay leaves hidden amongst the roses here are excellent. I had fallen into the 'doldrums' but having met my friend for the day, and got drawn back into the love the flowers, I too feel 'conditioned' and in a much nicer place.

As for reading, I have recently finished The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan. Brenda brought this for me to read when we met up at East Lambrook Manor.  I would highly recommend this book which is a nice read with an excellent sense of place and time, a bit of intrigue, and suspense, a good page turner. I'll be meeting up with Brenda again when the book will be returned. It will be a chance at last to visit her garden during the Stogumber Open Gardens in its 40th Year.