Tag Archives: ‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

Our twenty-year-old river birch was on my mind this week. We have had to call to get an estimate for trimming several branches that are wandering toward our neighbors’ roof. Reaching up from our driveway I was able to snag a few stems with male catkins to include in today’s vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

But what I had had my eye on for days was to feature a generous number of white Dutch iris. They finally opened mid-week, several dozen, and I selected fourteen stems. Fifteen would have been better.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

I collected cerinthe to accentuate the lavender streak in the iris and snipped candytuft to soften the edge of the vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

Arranging flowers often takes much more materials than I first estimate. Eventually I returned outside for extra amounts of cerinthe and candytuft and ending up with hellebores as well. Now aged to a a rich lime green, when it first emerged the double hellebore was creamy white. This became one of my favorite sections of the design.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

I had not seen originally how strongly the color of the river birch catkins would affect the other flowers.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

The idea of white, lavender blue was overtaken by golden catkins.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

Materials
Flowers
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Iberis sempervirens (Candytuft)
Iris × hollandica (Dutch Iris)
‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe
Foliage
Betula nigra (River Birch)
Heuchera villosa ‘Big Top Bronze’ (Coral Bells)
Container
Crystal pedestal dish (floral foam in plastic 6-inch Lomey dish)

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

In the end I was satisfied with the way this turned out. While I was playing with flowers my husband had been patiently awaiting lunch; I really wanted to get that fifteenth iris (or more) but it was time to stop.

In A Vase On Monday – Iris With Birch

As always thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for providing this opportunity to to share our vases. Visit her to discover what garden surprises she and others are offering this week.

In A Vase On Monday – Cerinthe With Pink

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In A Vase On Monday – Cerinthe With Pink

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.

I noticed some of the cerinthe is beginning to set seed. It’s the first time I’ve really seen it bloom so I’m not sure if cutting it will help it keep growing, but it seemed like a good choice to feature in this week’s vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Cerinthe With Pink

Small stems of redbud and spirea were used as color accents.

In A Vase On Monday – Cerinthe With Pink

A Fenton handpainted glass vase echoes the colors displayed in the cerinthe and makes the redbud pop.

In A Vase On Monday – Cerinthe With Pink

Materials
Flowers
Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud)
‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe
Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)
Foliage
‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe
Container
Hand painted Fenton Glass Vase – USA

As always thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for providing this opportunity to to share our vases. Visit her to discover what garden surprises she and others are offering this week.

Friday Blue And Whites

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It has been a busy week of weeding and mulching the garden but there is more to do, always more. Several hours before dawn we awoke to a powerful lightning storm but it carried little rain so far. I ventured outside around eight o’clock to secure the tarp covering my mulch and to catch a few quick pictures.

In the past couple days the spirea has opened even more fully.

Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)

Muscari is finally visible above the greenery of this bulbs planted in 2018.

Muscari ‘Armeniacum’

Anemones are awesome flowers. I have planted many over the years but few actually have made it to this stage. These were planted several years ago.

Anemone De Caen ‘Mr Fokker’

More of the cerinthe flowers have opened. Hope they seed all around.

‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe

Candytuft is one of my favorite groundcovers. This is a small patch planted 20 years ago in a front sidewalk border. Try as I might I cannot seem to get it to thrive in other areas of the garden for very long.

Iberis sempervirens (Candytuft)

Have a safe and happy weekend.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tea

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In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tea

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.

I gathered the first Thalia Daffodils this morning thinking they would feature in today’s vase. Stems of spirea, camellias, snowflakes and bits of foliage of different sorts, including fresh rosettes of unfurling columbine–all collected up as well.

Narcissus ‘Thalia’ (Thalia Daffodil)

Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)

But hellebores being conditioned in a drinking glass engaged my attention and inspired me to use them on their own without adornment.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tea

For a container today I had already decided to use my grandmother’s burgundy teapot so I shifted the hellebores into it.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tea

Three sprigs of Cerinthe seemed to add a nice final touch.

Helleborus x hybridus

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tea

Helleborus x hybridus

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tea

Materials
Flowers
Helleborus hybridus
‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe
Foliage
Container
Grandma’s Teapot. McCormick Tea, Baltimore Md., Made In USA (some history of this teapot)

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to try arranging flowers to share. Visit her to discover what garden surprises she and others are offering this week.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

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In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.

More spring-like weather moved the garden along this week so there was a bit of choice as to what could go in this week’s vase. I gathered various flowers but settled on a large bunch of summer snowflakes to serve as background for cerinthe.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Only two stems of cerinthe proved ready to cut but I forged ahead, styling the flowers in a very pretty blue wine glass I thought would complement the cerinthe.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Unfortunately the distinctive blue color and etched pattern of the glass disappeared once filled with the green snowflake stems and the vase turned rather bland. The glass was a bit too tall as well, making the proportions seem off.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

I shifted to placing coral-hued camellias in little containers, thinking I could group them with the glass of cerinthe and snowflakes. The effect was still not what I had in mind.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Eventually I settled on using just the trio of camellia flowers, two in vodka shot glasses and one floating atop a milk glass punch cup.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

I was happy with the camellias but not quite satisfied that the cerinthe didn’t make the cut. So I tried the snowflakes and cerinthe in a Caithness bud vase. The vase color worked this time but the opening was much too small to hold many stems.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Materials
Flowers
Camellia ‘Coral Delight’
Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake)
‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe
Foliage
Camellia
Container
Assorted glassware; Punch cup paneled grape Milk Glass (Westmoreland); and Caithness glass bud vase

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Regardless of vase styles or arranging collections of vases, at this time of year each flower seems perfect—all make the cut.

In A Vase On Monday – Spring Tryouts

Approaching Mid-March 2021

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More hellebores are in flower. These, planted along the north side of the house in 2016, came from Pine Knot Farms (PKF) in southern Virginia. They have not bulked up much in all these years but I am happy to see them again.

Helleborus ’Black Diamond’ (Winter Jewels® Black Diamond)

Helleborus x hybridus ‘Apricot Blush’ (seedlings)

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Also in the northern side garden this camellia is looking fine today. Just a few days ago its buds barely revealed color so I was surprised it opened so suddenly. Last year it bloomed 10 days earlier.

Camellia ‘Coral Delight’

The weather has been delightful all week, spirit-lifting really. On several days I managed to spend a few hours weeding and performing general clean-up. It is taking longer than expected but far from being a chore this year I am finding the tasks to be immensely satisfying.

Unknown Narcissus (Daffodil)

I showed these cerinthe flowers recently but am compelled by their rich colors to share them again. I planted seeds last May in two locations. There is no sign of them in the back garden location, but this spot beside the house and next to the driveway is where they found happiness.