Not in a Vase on Monday

Its the fifth anniversary of Cathy's In a Vase on Monday.....As soon as Cathy had set us a challenge for the Anniversary post, my mind was in a whirl.  Its 'Not in a Vase on Monday'.

I've spent almost all week thinking about it, even when I was lying on my side, on bare concrete floors, painting skirting boards.  It did make the painting more interesting!

I chickened out, I felt I could not take the stress.  The armistice, news of loss of so many lives lost in the fires in California, the get together to 'celebrate the life' of a friend last week, had all left me in a pensive and sad mood.  Additionally I fell over whilst trying to carry a very large and heavy ceramic plant pot filled with succulents back into the conservatory, insult was added to injury in that most of the contents fell on top of me.  I really thought I had broken something at first...thankfully pride, and  soft tissue bruises and broken plants were the only injuries.

Today I plucked up courage, and took a peek at Cathy's post.....and over the next few days when I feel like some 'shed time', I'll explore others' posts.

This is not Monday, so if I were to post a vase today it would be 'A Not on Monday Vase'.  I have been known in the past to post late, and was accepted and forgiven by Cathy!

I had thought of not using a vase but something like a jug, or a bowl, or floating blossoms in a dish, or even lying down material on the table, similar to the Mandalas that Wild Daffodils makes..  I have been looking at collected acorns arranged around a circular slate in the middle of our table, which have been building up over the autumn, along with other seed pods.

Some dried flowers on the table besides a vase came into my mind as a possibility, whilst I was writing a birthday card for my friend Marie-Claire.  Guess what: I remembered that once a friend had enclosed lots of little 50s in a birthday card, and it was a few months before the very last one was found.  Several birthdays have passed since then!  Instead of numbers I added some lovely coloured dried 'flowers' from the Hydrangea Paniculata Vanille Fraise in the envelope.  So the challenge inspired me to do something I would never have thought of.

Even with the frosts round about, the back garden is still showing no sign of damage, and I had been thinking of the possibility of putting some of the Nasturtiums in a a vase and calling the post:  Not in a Vase on Monday Again?  Mainly because that would have been boring as I have already had recourse to using them more than once before this year.  Here is a picture of the bottom of the stone wall taken today, best left for the last of the season's bees and insects.

The joining in of this meme has proved an interesting way to share and learn about each others' gardens, and also note the effect of the seasons on our gardens, whether it is snowdrifts in the US or searing heat and drought in South Africa.  This meme has widened my horizons.

What is new for this week is a peek at the Lysimachia candela plant which is just starting to display its autumn colours.  I am not cutting this to put in a vase, as it was just planted a few months ago, and it is probably best left to 'feed' the plant ready for a stronger plant next year.  This is Not in a Vase this Monday.

I had been not particularly impressed by its blooms, which were somewhat disappointing compared to Lysimachia Clethroides which I grew in my previous garden.  However if the rest of the plant colours up like this stem, it will have redeemed itself.  For cut flowers I am still on the look out for Lysimachia Clethroides.  I joined Cathy for the first time over three years ago, and on the way have made some lovely friends, and enjoyed the beauty of their arrangements.

Just as a little encore...a very funny and entertaining read: Rhapsody in Green by Charlotte Mendelson

Thank you Cathy.

Sourdough mastered

Its been a interesting journey, and I've picked up tips all along the way.  Learnt about nutrition and patience, and this has kept me out of trouble.  

Baked today best half wholemeal wheat 80% hydration sourdough

Last week pumpkin and spelt sourdough

Earlier this week Finish Rye

Does that mean I will no longer borrow or buy books on sourdough?  There must be more to learn, surely?

Thanks to Jane Mason, Venessa Kimbell, Emmanuel Hadjiandreou, Dan Lepard, Andrew Whitley, Tess Lister, Richard Bertinet and more!!!

Down the Garden Path Socks

 Loved the name of this pattern...and very easy to knit too, after I had worked out a few simple corrections to the pattern.  As usual transcribing the pattern to graph paper and colour coding stitches helped me to read the chart easily and follow my progress.  These socks were mainly knitted up during those moments when you have to sit down a little:  waiting for coffee to cool, sitting keeping Mr S company when he is watching TV or listening to the radio.

Without wearing the socks myself and contorting myself in order to take a reasonable shot of the socks, its difficult to show off socks that have matching but 'opposite' patterns on the outside of the foot. Are they mirror images?  Each pattern for each sock is different.  There is therefore a right sock and a left sock.

For a long time I have been admiring the wooden sock and stocking forms or blockers in Museums, and were aware that there were modern ones in plastic.  Of course they are quite unnessary when knitting socks...but its a great way of showing off the patterns of socks such as these.  I was delighted to source some nicely made ones. 

There is a tiny little problem in that I like to knit long socks...but the maker has pointed out that as I am interested, they may start to make longer versions.  I just love the little sheep and stars that came in the package too.

Haworthia venosa subs tessellata

After repotting the three plants in July 2017, the colony of Haworthia venosa subs tessellata is now well established, with more offsets emerging through the layer of grit.  I had almost forgotten about this pot until I mentioned to a friend that I had only one of the half  pots from Whichford Pottery.  I had been on a visit there with a gardening friend from Kenilworth, and had only bought the one...of course, now I wish I had bought a few.  Its one of my little treasures.  I went in search for it around the garden, then thought of looking in the house.  

During the very hot and sunny days, some of the leaves had been slight stressed by direct sun, and the plant had been moved to a more favourable position out of direct sunlight.  This is an easy succulent to grow, and although slow growing is interesting with its surface patterning and intricate shape.  I am apt to pull out the flowers before they grow too long. 

Marina di Chioggia Pumpkin, former post in the name Ironbark Pumpkin

I'm putting the update at the top of the post, but leaving the rest intact.  Through leaving a card at the Deli, the grower has been in touch.  She grows the pumkins in her own garden along with a number of other pumpkins.  She bought the seed for Marina di Chioggia which is an old variety, and was grown along with Uchiki Kuri, and Crown Prince, so I am afraid that the seed cannot be guaranteed.


This morning we were out of the door and walking briskly to Town ready for our early checkup at the Dentist.  I was rushed out by Mr S, so I blame the early start for my forgetting to take any shopping bags.

After receiving the all clear by the dentist, we sauntered round Wells, popping in and out of shops, primarily looking for new leather gloves for me, hopefully in a nice shade: pumpkin or orange, or maybe even a golden yellow.  The only ladies leather gloves we came across were black!

Bear with me:  the finding of the object is part of the pleasure of my day.  Along our way home, we found two clocks, and bought them...we have been looking for some for over a year!  Mr S found just the right bolt for his lathe, from the cycle shop, then I wanted to go to a kitchen shop to get a flexible spatula which was just one piece, with no joints...and found it in a local shop, together with a new spatula to replace the one we have had for about twenty years!  Both in a lovely green colour too.

Our outing was proving to be very productive...and I have been having a little craving for something sweet..chocolates are out of the question, I daren't even have one of chocolate bats.  One of my favourite treats is really good Turkish Delight, and I felt it was worth trying the deli to see if they had Pistachio Turkish Delight.  I have had two lots in the last year from the Village Shop in Wedmore, which does stock some delicious things.

Queen Street Deli came up Trumps!  I was triumphant, and with my Pistachio Turkish Delight paid for, turning to leave the shop,  my eye was caught by the window display.  A trio of different pumpkins were in the window with a particular magnificent pumpkin which I didn't recognize.....they had been brought in by a local gardener.  I had never seen the like of the one that caught my attention.  Its variety was unknown to the Deli owner, but it was a culinary variety.  In any case, without anything to carry the said pumpkin in, which was over 8Kg, it had to stay in the shop.  I was shown a few other smaller pumpkins or squahes and had thought they may be 'under developped' Turks Turbans.  I had grown some lovely specimens several years ago when I had an allotment.  However having trawled various specialist pumpkin seed merchants, and realising the grower may be into some 'exclusive' varieities, they may be Burgess Vine Buttercup.  I shall be at the Deli again tomorrow!

Having arrived home, on went the PC, and I started to trawl the internet for pictures of  dark green pumpkins with knobbly skin, and came up with Ironbark Pumpkin.  It is a heritage pumpkin from Australia.  I knew I had to go back and get it...my only thoughts were the dismay I would feel had it been bought by someone else.

This time we took the car into Wells...and I was triumphant...Mr S did the gallant thing and carried it to the car.

The two other pumpkins in the picture are Crown Princes, which I have had for a few weeks...but their noses have definitely been put out of joint by this beautiful Ironbark.

Today the 'carved pumpkin', set out to advertise the presence of baked goodies, having been baked, is already being made into sourdough dough loaves.  I am going to have such a good time finding and making Pumpkin dishes.

If anyone has grown this one, and visits this site, or has cooked  Ironbark Pumpkin  I shall be delighted to hear your experiences.