Hello Everyone
As you may have guessed from the title I've been to this year's Flower Show at Southport. We travelled down on Friday and went along to the show on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Returned to Scotland and home to find the garden looking a bit bashed about from the wind and rain so spent much of today deadheading and removing the worst of the damage. Only once that was done was I able to go foraging for today's vase allowing me to participate in Cathy's meme,
In A Vase On Monday.
Before setting off for England on Friday I noticed that the recently planted
floribunda rose Amber Queen had quite a few blooms on it, at last, and decided that if they had survived the weekend I'd cut a few for today's vase.
As luck would have it they had and, better still, the colour of this orange jam/jelly jar (bought from Jonathan Moseley's stall ... florist to Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, and perhaps more famous for his stint on the Big Allotment Challenge) looked just right for yellow of the roses ...
... and the orange yellow of
Crocosmia 'Okavango', in flower at last!
I wanted to keep the colour combination simple so just added a couple of sprays from the everlasting sweet pea,
Lathyrus latifolius 'White Pearl' - a very appropriate name for the masses of glowing white flowers.
The unopened green buds of the sweet peas look good too so I added a few sprays and a couple of the delicate flower sprigs from
celery leaf, also known as
herb celery and a wild relative of the more commonly cultivated vegetable. The little bird that you can just about see peeking out from behind the vase is another purchase from Jonathan Moseley's stall.
I've put together a couple of collages of photos from the flower show that might be of interest to you ... click on the photos to see them enlarged. The first is from the cutting flower garden that has been developed by a local florist,
Petal and Twig, together with members from the
Flowers From The Farm, an organisation working to promote British flowers.
Lots of familiar flowers growing in the beds and a few new ones too, for example that lovely fluffy headed grass centre right. And I am now suffering from serious shed envy after spotting this little blue number :)
During a particularly heavy downpour I took refuge in a tent where, to my delight, Carol, of
Carol's Garden, was giving a talk on flower arranging using the flowers we grow in our cutting patches. She reasons that with a little imagination and some ingenuity we can use 'what is in season and enjoy the variety this brings – no peonies at Christmas'. The lovely arrangements on display around the tent were the work of Jonathan Moseley - many of the flowers used came from the cutting garden outside.
Finally, I brought just two plants back ... very restrained of me!
Echinacea 'Tomato Soup' ... a hardy herbaceous perennial with the most unusual red cone flower and Hypericum 'Magical Red Flame', bought for the crimson red berries.
I could go on and show many more photographs but I think yet more restraint is called for. If you've read this far, many thanks. I wish you all a good week and happy gardening.
6 comments:
A beautiful little vase of flowers Elizabeth, the yellow rose looks gorgeous. Lovely photos of the flower show as well, thanks for sharing them. I like the new cone flower.
Jean x
How nice to have blooms on your new rose, and don't those white perennial sweet peas look lovely with them? I bought seeds to grow the latter after seeing them in someone's vase last year (was it you?) but have to confess that I haven't sown them (yet) :( Your account of Southport Flower show and particularly about cutting beds and flower arranging made interesting reading - preaching to the converted about using flowers in season of course! Thanks for sharing
So pretty hgus x
The orange of the Crocosmia ties in well with the orange vase, such an usual color for glass. It goes well with the yellow and white blooms, an elegant vase. I like it with the weathered wood background and bird.
Came over for desk viewing, Elizabeth, and ended up down here.
..no doubt you've been evicted from your room by now! What fun!
... and love your Rudolph day offerings well done indeed, mine is still being made as was laid up a bit today so came to a grinding halt.
And your case, love all the stories behind it.. Being a garden lover. I never knew you could get everlasting sweet peas. Mine .. Annuals have just started flowering, do they have the same lovely fragrance??? And also,you probably knew but your echinacea makes a lovely tea. Great flower show too.
Happy WOYWW and flowers in vase day too. I do hope you are keeping well,, Shaz in Ozx.
{Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}
A lovely combination of colours. The white and green are so serene, then there is the delicious rich apricot. Quite perfect.
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