Tag Archives: late winter garden

In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores With Shades Of Blue

In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores With Shades Of Blue

Every Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase with materials gathered from our gardens.

A quickly assembled vase for today in blue (more purple really), pale green and white was not quite balanced when I took the photos. (Later I removed the hyacinth on the left and was somewhat more satisfied.)

My friend since college, Susan, brought me pansies last fall for a bit of color throughout winter. With the warmer weather the blue/purple, white and apricot flowers have come into their own. For this vase I connected several of the the bluish ones with strongly fragrant hyacinths of similar shades. In contrast, white summer snowflakes and greenish white hellebores stand tall above the darker layer.

In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores With Shades Of Blue

In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores With Shades Of Blue

In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores With Shades Of Blue

Materials
Flowers
Helleborus x hybridus
Hyacinth Orientalis ‘Shades of Blue’
Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake)
Pansy Grandio True Blue’
Pansy Grandio Deep Blue W/Blotch’
Foliage
Helleborus
Container
Textured, incised ceramic pedestal vase, rice or bone color. 5×6-inches, with floral pin holder

In A Vase On Monday – Hellebores With Shades Of Blue

My husband’s medical issues continue to be a challenge, but I managed an hour in the garden Sunday afternoon, sprinkling some seeds and imagining and designing and reaping the benefit of just being outdoors. I dug some summer snowflakes to share with our caregiver’s mother. Passing along plants is gratifying, especially since I’ve so often been the recipient of gardeners’s generosity.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting each week. Visit her blog to see her hellebores and check out others’ vases from many parts of the world.

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

Every Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase with materials gathered from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

‘King Alfred’ daffodils continue to open around the garden. I grabbed a few minutes this afternoon to pluck a couple handfuls and place them in an earth-toned ceramic container. I bought the vase one spring day many years ago at an Apple Chill Festival on downtown Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street. I scanned back through pictures and I believe the last time I used it for a Monday vase was 2015.

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

Narcissus ‘King Alfred’

One non-Alfred with pale yellow petals made its way into the vase as well, it’s name long forgotten.

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

In A Vase On Monday – Lightly Scented Yellow

Materials
Flowers
Narcissus ‘King Alfred’
Narcissus sp.
Foliage
Gardenia jasminoides
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Lavandula (Lavender)
Container
Glazed ceramic pot

The daffodils are nicely scented and it’s hard to overstate how cheerful they are. Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting each week. Visit her blog to see her hellebores and check out others’ vases from many parts of the world.

Wordless Wednesday – Early Risers

Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake)

Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake)

Helleborus x hybridus

Helleborus x hybridus

Helleborus x hybridus

Helleborus x hybridus

Helleborus x hybridus

Helleborus x hybridus

American robins arrived with flock of Red-winged Blackbirds over the weekend. Blackbirds can be heard in background in the video.

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Hyacinth Orientalis ‘Shades of Blue’

Hyacinth Orientalis ‘Shades of Blue’

Iberis sempervirens (Candytuft)

Iris Reticulata ‘Harmony’

Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)

Viola

In A Vase On Monday – First Daffodils

In A Vase On Monday – First Daffodils

Every Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase with materials gathered from our gardens.

Late in the day I plucked a handful of flowers, a joyful signaling of the awakening garden.

In A Vase On Monday – First Daffodils

Daffodils began opening last Thursday followed by a few more each day. First were Narcissus ‘King Alfred,’ tall trumpets and quite fragrant.

Narcissus ‘King Alfred’

Suddenly today a little patch of N. ‘Tete-a-Tete’ were in full bloom along with a medium size one whose name I’ve lost.

Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’

In A Vase On Monday – First Daffodils (no name)

Materials
Flowers
Narcissus ‘King Alfred’
Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’ (Tete-a-Tete Daffodil)
Foliage
None
Container
Glazed ceramic and small glass cylinder vases

Hope you all have a great week.  Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting each week.

February Trend

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

February days flow between winter’s cold and the warmth of early spring.

On the warm days one can sense the bustle of life underground and know things are happening.

Garden With Meditation Circle

Hellebores seem weeks late this year. At last some are coming into flower.

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

I ventured out a week ago, my first garden center trip in two years. To state that in writing seems absurd.

I bought a Euphorbia x Martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ and 72 pot-bound pansies for the meditation circle at greatly reduced prices. There were plenty of temptingly fresh pansies but the tired ones are greening up nicely after receiving some attention. They have yet to make an impact from afar, but up close they are strong.

Pansy ‘Delta™ Berry Tart Mix’ (Viola × wittrockiana)

Pansy ‘Delta™ Berry Tart Mix’ (Viola × wittrockiana)

Pansy ‘Delta™ Premium Pure Light Blue’ (Viola × wittrockiana)

Pansy ‘MG II Clear Mix’ (Viola × wittrockiana)

Pansy ‘Panola® Purple’ (Viola × wittrockiana)

I wonder should the euphorbia be cut back?

Euphorbia x Martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’

One of my favorite ground covers was in stock (and not on sale). I had much luck with Candytuft in the early years of this garden, but of late it is short-lived.

Iberis s. ‘Alexander’s White’ (Candytuft)

As I await many new fall-planted bulbs to appear, I have seed packets on hand and mail orders scheduled to help fill the garden this year. As February days trend toward spring everything seems possible, even lupines.

Perennial Lupine (from seed)