Monday 8 February 2016

In A Vase On Monday - Harbingers of Spring

Hello Everyone,

It was drizzling when I ventured out into the garden this morning to see what was in bloom, if anything, for In A Vase On Monday, and was delighted to find I could pick a little posy of spring flowers at last.
First I spotted some Tete-aTete daffodils peeping through in the rose bed. These were transplanted from a pot after they had finished flowering last year. It looks as though they have increased in number; they seem to like the spot I've chosen for them.
Further down the garden, in what I rather grandly named the woodland area, I discovered a few pink and white cyclamen, blue iris reticulata and snowdrops. My husband has  planted these with crocus and muscari all around one of the apple trees where he hopes that they will naturalise and spread to give us spring colour year after year.
Finally, I cut a sprig from our newly purchased Jasminum nudiflorum, winter flowering jasmine. I was gently reminded of reading, some forty years ago, a wonderful description of this plant and deciding then that no garden should be without it, Sadly, I can't remember the title of the book or the author but he, and I do recall it was a he, said of winter jasmine that it was the fragrant harbinger of spring. Irresistible!
We are having new flooring laid in our hall, where I display most of my  my collection of vases and jugs. Result, most have had to be packed away safely out of harms way so I found myself a bit stuck for what to put my wee posy in today. The wee brown jug I did find doesn't look quite right but no matter, it has to do. The antique Chinese puzzle ball just happened to be nearby. A gift from an old friend who, after retiring from the military, was an antique restorer. The ball is made up of several concentric balls of carved ivory enclosed one within the other but all able to rotate freely. I can only begin to imagine the time and concentration it must have taken for the artist to create it!
I'll leave you with this photo of the little Tete-a-Tetes as I found them this morning.

4 comments:

brenda said...

The world is upside down I think Elizabeth and nature doesn't know which way is up. We've had daffodils since Christmas, some of the Tinus in flower for several weeks along with a few other shrubs, yet the snowdrops are being shy still. But isn't it lovely to be able to cut a few pretty blooms.

B x

Carole Pollard said...

Gorgeous flowers today love the spring flowers such pretty colours love and hugs Carole x

Anonymous said...

It's so good to be able to pick some of these early spring blooms just because you can, Elizabeth, and you have managed to find a lovely selection. Could that be on eof the nsnowdrops I sent you...? Hope they are settling in well anyway. I love seeing these little puzzle balls - so intricate...

scrappymo! said...

So pretty! You must be so far ahead of us weather wise. I have most of the bulbs I planted last fall, breaking through the ground. No buds yet, let alone blooms!

Over the winter months, I picked up a few narrow mouth vases at the thrift shops. So I am ready to display a few blooms from the new garden if anything ever makes buds and ventures to bloom! lol