My daughter and her family have been away for a few days and I wanted to put some flowers on the table to greet them on their return, but right now my garden doesn’t have much to offer. (Must do something about that for next year.)
Sometimes something quick and simple hits the spot nicely.
and I like the way the fennel echoed the spectacular light fitting in their sitting room
Fascinated by the delicate lines of the fennel flower heads I had a play with them against a rust-dyed background
Placing a piece of glass over them to flatten them against the fabric.
Now it is decision time – do I recreate these shapes in stitch, or paint, or try some other method, using them as a resist. My sister suggests Brusho paints – I had never heard of them before, so that is an exciting new media to experiment with.
I am also wondering about using the Cyanotype Process, but that would take some practice. I am going to allow the thought to bubble away on the back burner of my mind for a while.
Onto the Irises – I am including this bit as a Garden Diary entry to help me remember the names of the new Irises I have just received from Chailey Irises
4 new Irises
Grindelwald, white, fragrant, mid to late flowering with some blue markings
Hi, white, mid season and fragrant
Summertime Blues, pale blue and highly scented
Raspberry Blush, pink with a long flowering season
Irises are my favourite flower, especially when they are scented. I love their sculptural shapes and the way they look like flamboyant dancers with wide wavy skirts. I have cleared a patch of ground to fill with irises and bulbs, these are the first ones to go in – looking forward to Spring!
Now to think about planting for some colour in August. I look forward to seeing what others have in their vases for inspiration – I need something perennial, bug and slug resistant and low maintenance.
Joining Rambling in the Garden and other garden bloggers for In a Vase on Monday.
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Asters, sedums, and hydrangeas are all good at this time of year and are generally pest free. Echinops and Sanguisorba are my suggestions
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Thank you for your suggestions Dorris. My garden gets very wet and is not well drained, so I think sedums and echinops might struggle. I have lost both in the past. I had to look up Sanguisorba – is that the same as Persicaria? I have one Persicaria, which again doesn’t seem very happy, it has been sulking and only just produced 3 flowers, although it seemed quite happy last year.
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My soil is very heavy clay and Echinops bannaticus and ritro should manage well. E. Veitchs blue has more silver foliage and prefers well drained. Sanguisorba do really well on heavier soils. The Persicaria do need watering during dry spells as they prefer better drainage.
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Ah! Thank you!!! I guess the Persicaria got too dry in the heatwave we had. Lovely – lots more possibilities now. 🙂 ❤
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The fennel makes a very nice welcome home note! I love your fennel under glass, especially the one stem stretching into the center of the circle created on the rust-dyed cloth – it makes me think of a tree branch backed by a full moon.
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Ooo thank you Kris, yes, I saw similar – there is quite a dreamy romantic sort of feel to it which I don’t want to lose.
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Fennel and similar umbellifers always look so architectural, so great in a vase. I will be fascinated to see what direction you go in now!
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I am still pondering on it, more experiments first.
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But I know how much you enjoy your experiments! 😁
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HaHa! Yes indeed! 🙂
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The irises sound wonderful, they are my favorite too! I hadn’t realized that fennel looks a lot like dill, so there’s my new thing for the day!
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A new thing every day – nice!
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A lovely way to welcome the family back! Irises are my favorite flower, too. So elegant.
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They are elegant, yes, and so unlike any other flower – from another realm.
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Interesting post Sandra. What a thoughtful way to welcome family home with the lovely fennel vase. The Cyanotype Process looks interesting with lots of possibilities.
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I think the Cyanotype blue will go well with rust, but I expect I will need to practice quite a lot before I get the combination right.
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A lovely arrangement. 😃 You need some Sedums and Asters. Nothing could be easier and the bees love them.
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Thank you Cathy – I have some self-seeded asters which are not very spectacular and a bit invasive, so I dismissed them, but I will have a look at some different varieties and give them another chance.
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Oooh, I love cyanotypes, I hope you do give that a crack, because I think those heads of fennel would make a fantastic fabric design 🙂 It’s also such a beautiful shade of blue…
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I have been drooling over Cyanotypes on Instagram and have got the kit, but oh my – it looks quite a performance – I need a clear day when I know I will have no interuptions and a sunny day too. It will come!
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There are some utterly beautiful results out there… If you do get round to it, I’d really love to read a post on the topic so I know if it’s something I’d be capable of!
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There are quite few tutorials on YouTube, I know coz I’ve watched loads, trying to get in the mood to have a go! 😉
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Yes… I was hoping for a ‘real life’ take on the subject, from someone who hasn’t done it before!
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Will keep you posted. 🙂
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I adore fennel and dill, so architectural and delicious to eat too. You are going to LOVE Brusho! My only regret is breaking the seal to open instead of turning them into a pepper pot sprinkler with a push pin. Top Tip ~ If you decide to open the seal, do so over a sheet of water colour paper so that anything that falls out can be immediately spritzed and not wasted.
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Thank you for the top tips Deb!!! feeling even more excited about ordering some Brusho now!
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I am excited for you! So looking forward to seeing what you do, and remember, a miniscule amount goes a very long way. oh, and it is permanent so don’t get it on anything wooden lol which tells you what happened to me.
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Ooops!
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Not sure what happened to August! Hardy fuchsias are good for colour summer into Autumn.
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Thank you, I have a couple of small ones in pots – maybe they will shine next year.
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I like Mrs Popple.
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Just looked her up – yes, pretty! 🙂
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Hydrangeas?
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Ah, ok, I’ll have a look. Thank you.
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