In a Vase on Monday - Monochrome

 This morning we woke up to an evenly grey sky with no billowing cumulus nimbus clouds, and like the other days where we were promised rain but got none, today I fear that wind will be the on the agenda as Storm Floris hits the north of the country, with lesser winds felt this far south. The Storm is called Floris, so quite apt to mention it as the name means flower or blossom.

To reflect the storm and the grey skies this week I chose again a monochromatic selection which I think for three or four days will form a shapely arrangement in our living room.

There are four elements in this Chinese Cloisonné vase.  Central are the spikey rosettes of Eryngium 'Silver Ghost', and soft velvety whorls of  Pseudodictamnus acetabulosus form a lovely contrast in texture, again the  Hylotelephium × mottramianum 'Herbstfreude' much more easily referred to as Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is a favourite even before it is showing any colour, and appearing for the first time in a bouquet the delightful still green seed heads of Corncockle.  

I only got to grow Corncockle this year as they had a tray of 9 small plants up at the Bishop's Palace, and I like to buy something as it raises funds for the garden.  As a cultivar is had the tiniest of pink purple flowers not at all as shown in some pictures, but it did have good height, and I am so pleased that that I did not grub them all up straight away.  The stems of the unripe seed heads are to me very attractive and the grey green colour a perfect element in this vase. When we were down in Kent a few weeks ago I saw the white form of Corncockle with larger blooms grown to great effect in Great Dixter and also at Sissinghurst

Unripe Corncockle seed head

With winds in mind, armed with my bucket of water I had headed outside this morning and picked a selection of material including some roses, as well as doing some dead heading. Although I could have used the roses and changed the mood of the first arrangement completely, they did not go to waste. Here they are on the sideboard in the dinning room in front of a sampler made by a very special person.

The most recent read from the book club is James by Percival Everett. I found it well written and worth reading, but must say in parts I didn't feel brave enough to read it as a bed time read, as I found the cruelty metered out too upsetting.

James by Percival Everett.

I am linking in the In a Vase on Monday post to Cathy's blog, where in contrast you will be able see the sweetest of colourful arrangements.