Flowers and Books

 Although I have been somewhat lax in joining the rendezvous for In a Vase on Monday, that is not to mean that flowers have not been cut and arranged.  They have however been just simple affairs, and could not be called 'arrangements' in any sense of the word.  The vases  just hold a few flowers which have either caught my attention, or needed to be cut as part of the management of the garden or plant.

In the first instance below, this vase has been sitting on the mantlepiece for a number of months.  This is a rather special vase to me and the twigs picked up from under a road side growing tree after the storms earlier this year.  They are from The Alder Tree and although bearing both male and female catkins on the same tree, these little cone like fruits are the remains of the female fruit. I am often pulled towards monochrome arrangements and this has to be a favourtie at the moment.

I'm a little behind in linking in my reading and the best book that I have read for a very long time, and a good pairing for this arrangement of the Alder, is How to Read a Tree by Tristan Gooley, of which this is an excellent review.

How to Read a Tree by Tristan Gooley

For my next arrangement only picked earlier today it is roses, stems from a couple of the Rose Home Florist Timeless Collection. No greenery seemed to match the rich green of the healthy leaves, so none was chosen. 

To go with this arrangement 

This was one of the two books we discussed at our last WI Book Club lunch meeting.  I quite liked this book, and felt the style and perhaps simplicity implied to me that it would be the second book the main character Marianne Clifford would write especially as it is written in the first person.  I would give it a four out of five, but would quite surprised that few others in the group liked it at all. 

With having to clear a bed of old growth partly to mulch and to allow new growth to emerge for another wave of flowering, I just popped a few saved stems into a little vase.  Blue and white make for a nice combination and up close the structure is exquisite. White  Centaurea Montana Alba and the Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue.

The second book we discussed was There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak.  What a beautiful book, and a great story linking people across different eras, backgrounds, and continents.  Our group apart from two who gave up about a third of the way in, really liked it, and with their encouragement, those two were encouraged to persevere and it will be interesting to hear how they got on at our next meeting. 

There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

Some time ago I enjoyed meeting Elif Shafak, and also hearing her at a book presentation at Kenilworth library, and have read at least two of her books.  I really would like to read more of hers.  

A dry and dusty Six things in the garden this Saturday

Record sunshine and virtually no rain, only a few drops over the last six to seven weeks is hitting the garden really hard.  Plants which should be flowering now are over and setting seed, plants that should be growing well are now  withering before my eyes begging for a bucket full of water.  Every drop to spare is being used selectively, and there will be no more purchasing or planting of new plants until the ground is in far better condition, and we have had rain. It is probably different in many of the gardens whose owners link in to Jim who gardens down in a much damper Cornwall.  Go over to his post to find out what is happening in a nice range of gardens both in the UK and overseas.

1. Even the Mediterranean style planting in the front garden is suffering.  A few plants however are putting on a show.  Not surprisingly, native to Aegean Islands to South West Turkey, Phlomis fruticosa Bourgaei even though it has a hard cut back last year is doing well to fill out and now flower in the dry hard soil.

2. Last year I thought I had dug up all the bulbs of Tulip sprengeri, to move to the back garden.  Those are settling in and I have had a few flowers there but to my surprise I had as many flower in the original position and perhaps more.  They are in the lee of the upper two of the Phlomis and in the shade. 

3. Also in the front garden is this little succulent.  It is just starting to flower. Delosperma Fire Spinner is such a hardy little plant, and well worth growing as ground cover in a hot dry area.

4. The Clematis Olympia although nicely repotted during the autumn, is flowering on low growth.  I think it is suffering from an excess of sunshine!  It is non the less a lovely blue and full of blooms.

5. Filling the back garden with scent is the lovely little Dianthus superbus which I grew from some seed collection by Jean. This is the original plant and this season is really bushy, and has shorter stems compared with the other Dianthus superbus in the garden.  Last year I took some cuttings to share with Jean, and I have another plant just getting established as a back up a few feet away, but that has yet to flower.

Dianthus superbus

6.Omphalodes linifolia , Argentinian Forget-me- not, or Venus's Navelwort with its attractive grey green leaves and spires of small petalled white flowers was one of the plants that caught my eye on a visit to Batcombe Park back in 2021. Can you imagine my delight when my friend Alison who has a flower farm, brought me a little plant when she came over for coffee a few weeks ago?  It has really delighted me, and is especially attractive in early morning light and later in the evening.  I understand it will gently self seed, so I shall be careful to grow the flowers on to have my own seed, and seedlings for next year. 

The evergreen oaks on the other side of the wall continue to shred their leaves, and have started to shed their spent male catkins.  It is a daily activity to remove these at least from the seating area and the furniture, as well as on the gravel garden.  It is a real bind, but then the trees do add to the beauty of the garden, so I have to just keep on at this. On another note, I have started to feed a visiting female blackbird soaked raisins, mealy worms, and a suet/bug pellet.  After only a few days she is getting quite accustomed to me.  Just hope we don't get the stork who has arrived on the levels, as I would not know what to feed it. 

Early morning bouquet for In a Vase on Monday

 I was up very early this morning, and went out into the garden to do some work, then gathered some material from the garden to arrange.  The pale light suited this arrangement.  I made this up to give to a neighbour and for a while the vase went to sit outside, until I felt it wasn't too early to call and offer flowers!  Unfortunately both Mr S and I find these flowers affect our eyes, but I felt like joining in with other gardeners who post over on Cathy blog 'Rambling in the Garden'. 

This is how I arranged some of the elements in a vase with an oblong cross section.  I didn't want the vase too full so as to have space and light.

Phlomis fruticosa Bourgaei and Arum Lily together with  some pared down twigs of Salix matsudana 'Tortuosa' make a pleasing open arrangement, but later I added foliage and stems from the Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire', and Centaurea Montana Alba, whose hue was a little too blue for the picture above, for my neighbour. She was so delighted especially with the lilies, now I know who to take some to when I have ones that have not been nibbled by the slugs and snails.

Sunday Supper - Tapas Style

 Today I backed a new recipe from The Bake with Jack Homebaker's Club.  The No Knead Roasted Onion Focaccia Rolls were easy to make but took about 4 hrs from start to finish.  They were well worth making and so very tasty, and with 8 rolls, is the making for 4 meal for the two of us.

Last nights supper was an 'impromptu' pasta dish make with a sauce flavoured with garden grown dill, asparagus and breast of chicken, goat's cheese, pinenuts and a little marsala wine.  There was a little too much for two moderate portions, so the rest got heated up in the oven again for one of the' 'tapas' dishes.

Yesterday afternoon I went and spent a just over an hour chatting over Eileen's thoughts on her new project for revamping part of her garden where her greenhouse has recently been demolished.  Our conversation then passed over to her recent holiday in Seville, and just on our way back through the house, she brought up some pictures to show me.  Their group went on a cookery course on one of the days, and I spied an interesting dish.  It was a tapas dish for Chickpeas and Spinach.  Today I found a recipe on line, and using a pot of the chickpeas that I had cooked in the pressure cooker which had been in the freezer together with frozen spinach, I followed the technique and make enough for three good portions.

Together with Olives, tomatoes etc....the making of an excellent supper.

Six on Saturday - It could be roses but....

It has been another week, when an hour or so with a book has been enjoyed each afternoon in the deckchair.  However there is no room in the front garden to pitch it there, but walking round I noticed the Mediterranean planting is coming into its own. Before I proceed,  I would like to share with you the potential of finding out many more sixes from gardens which link into Jim's weekly post. Several roses are out in the back garden, in the front garden it is the turn of the 'rock roses'

1. Cistus x pulverulentus is just a gorgeous bright pink, just the sort of plant to have if you are wearing sunglasses.

 Cistus x pulverulentus

2. There are so many white Cistus shrubs and since both this one and the Cistus x pulverulentus were bought as unnamed small plants from a sale for Charity,  I shall call this one The White Cistus Shrub.

3. To the side of the Cistus are a lovely bunch of Scilla peruviana or 'Portuguese squill'. They are such a bright colour and a nice contrast with the white.

Scilla peruviana

4. I paid much more for a named variety of Cistus: Cistus x obtusifolius 'Thrive'. Although similar in shape as The White Cistus, it is about a third of the flower and leaf size.

5. Another of my favourite shrubs is in flower, and started for this garden from seed: Phlomis pupurea 'Matagallo'.  

6. On the other side of the drive in a spot that doesn't get the sun until after two o'clock is this lovely  rather low example of Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’.  It just is not inclined to grow any stems higher up but is just extending the stems it already has. This is not a Mediterranean plant and it could do with a cooler shadier place. Right plant/wrong place!

Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’

Of course there are several more Mediterranean Plants out in the front garden, but only six are allowed this week! The garden is really starting to suffer from lack of rain. We are saving all useable water from the house, and it is only the start of May.

Six on Saturday - Deckchair days ahead

It has been hot, very hot: with temperatures in the shade in the back garden up to 28 C, very little gardening is being attempted, except watering, plus I have been watering a friend's garden. However admiring the gallop of plants through spring towards summer is in order this week, as I am sure it is for many gardeners that like me, write about six things in their garden, then link into Jim's post: Six on Saturday.

1. I am celebrating the deckchair today.  The traditional type made in the UK: the hard wood and stripped cotton affair, the sort you can nip you fingers if you are not careful.  I've liked them all my life, and last year on the Isle of Wight at Osborne House I spent a while just sitting there with my eyes closed listening to the waves lapping onto the shingle beach.  This week I ordered my very own deckchair and to my amazement it arrived the next day.  It has given me quite a different view of the garden. (Oops, I just realised I never wrote up about our holiday on the Isle of Wight! Maybe something to do next week).  

I am relaxing in the garden, and being 'petite', it suits me perfectly with the canvas behind catching the sounds of the birdsong and scents, and maybe even amplifying it.  Its a little like the effect of cupping ones hand behind one's ears to catch sound, or maybe that was the effect of my large sun hat? I am sitting at a different height and view the garden differently compared to our other seats. We would have to order the larger editions for Mr S as he is so much taller than me, however he said we would feel more comfortable on the bench with its thick cushions.

2. Straight in front of me I have a view of Buddha under his shady Acer. For now it is a beautiful green and having misplaced its name my SOS sis who is the font of all knowledge and speaks several languages, so she tells me, named it Acer Wakaranai (Japanese for 'unknown')several years ago.  I ought maybe to have repotted the acer this year. However the Deckchair gardener simply skimmed off the collection of little stones at the top, and before putting them back sprinkled some slow release ericaceous plant feed pellets.  Most of my larger container plants have been moved onto this shadier side of the stony 'patio' on the north side of the conservatory to escape the glaring sun. Like most small back gardens we could have opted to have the paving slab some of patio or indeed decking, of which we had both in the previous garden, but having a small stone surface was an original design decision, as I love the sound and feeling of walking over small stones, and it allowed for excellent drainage during heavy rain periods.

3. From the low angle of the deckchair the garden looks evenly attractive, with the developing foliage hiding the early spring plants that are fading now. This is the view towards the gravel garden.

I did notice the sprinkling of dead leaves which have been drifting down from the overhanging Holm Oak, but really it is an effort to get out of the lovely deckchair.  It is far too relaxing! If I had been sitting on any of the other chairs I would have been seeing something to do and jumping up and getting on with it.

4. I did get up finally, and went over to take of picture of this lovely Phlox bifida 'Ralph Hayward'.  Each season I take some cuttings for insurance purposes as I love it so much.

5. Just where is that lovely scent coming from?  I pan round from where I was relaxing, and it became obvious it was one of these two, but on sniffing them, I think it is  delightful harmony of the two scents.

Firstly some Lily of the Valley: last year I had planted up a pot with these. I have a few plants struggling along the compost alley which is far too dry and really away from where it can most be enjoyed, and after growing them so nicely in my previous garden, resolved to have some that were accessible.  After flowering this pot will spend the rest of the year probably in a shady spot under the gooseberries.  The Nemesia 'Wisley Vanilla' are flowering in the same spot for the fourth year!

6. Also across the garden towards 'Gooseberry Corner' the Cornus controversa 'Variegata' is just coming into bud ready to flower. I am delighted I planted this tree in that spot.  Towards dusk when we are still sat in the evening, it starts to glow, again this picture was taken from deckchair view with a little zoom, and cropping! We have had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the garden this week on several days, even before 1 May.

 

It is going to be cooler in the next few days in comparison, so maybe there will be different types of six items from the garden to talk about next week.