In a Vase on Monday

Joining in with Cathy’s wonderful group of gardeners for In a Vase on Monday

I have a few very confused little wallflowers in the garden. They are a variety that are supposed to flower in Spring and again in Autumn, but having looked quite pathetic all year, they are flowering now. Also in the tin ‘vase’ are some viburnum,  equally confused hebe, and some fennel fronds.

The containers are re-used items of household waste.
Last week I included my experimental ‘moss-on-a-plate’ and my cousin who lives in the Netherlands told me that Moss-on-a-plate is a thing. I Googled it and yes, lots of inspiring images came up. This spurred me on to make some more.

I managed to find some tiny fern plants in my garden. I just love all the shapes and textures of the moss and how it creates a little world of its own.

The Higgidy Pie dish was filled with grit and sandy compost

I used a torn brown paper bag to cover the plastic edges and a piece of rotting wood with moss on it, which I found in my rotting wood pile. Then I added some broken terracotta pot, a couple of tiny primrose plants, a celandine and a piece of lichen – all found in my garden.

I wondered where to keep the dishes, to give them the best chance of surviving and have put them in my new potting shed.

It went up in October and has very little in it so far. It smells all lovely and new and I need a few more shelves and hooks in there. I am sure Cathy would have filled it with cuttings and seed trays by now, but, being a fair-weather gardener, I am happy to gaze at it and enjoy its newness until I get a burst of enthusiasm for the garden again.

Do you like to find things in your garden or nearby hedgerows to put in a vase at this time of year? If so, pop over to Rambling in the Garden for some delightful inspiration.

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In a Nest on Monday

Hellebore and Hebe in a Lost Garden.

This little hebe is the star of the show in my garden at the moment, I just love it’s pink tips.

The hellebore sits in one of last year’s blackbird’s nest found in the loganberry which is trained against a wooden fence.

The crochet mandala is a pattern by Helen Shrimpton, called Lost Garden and inspired by the Lost Gardens of Helligan. It will be a blanket.

I had a play with the photo to create a more vintage look

Which do you prefer?

Do you think either would make a good greetings card?

Pop along over to Cathy’s Garden blog and see what gardeners all over the world are putting in a Vase this Monday.

Edit:

I’m adding a close up for Cee’s Flower of the Day

Mandala Monday

Happy Holiday Monday!

Joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her wonderfully heartwarming ‘In a Vase on Monday’. Pop over and visit her post and in the comments you can click on links to visit vases from gardens all over the world – and bathe in a flurry of flower petals.

I’m playing with primroses, hebe leaves and hyacinth pips to create a couple of mandalas

I’m caught up in a meditation of mandalas at the moment

This is a paid for pattern:  Illusion Mandala designed by Tatsiana of Lilla BjornCrochet.

It made my brain ache the first time I made it and it took me a week to make – but it is a fantastic pattern with very clear instructions and a photo tutorial.

So I started another

and another

All made with Stylecraft Special DK and a 4.5mm hook

I do hope you are having a bright and happy weekend wherever you are

Also joining Cee’s Flower of the Day.

 

 

Snow and Vase on Monday

I could only light the candle once inside, the wind is fierce today.

Happy Sixth Blogging Anniversary Cathy!!

This is where the hellebores came from this morning

and the hebe

Other flowers had snowy hats on too

The hyacinth above is my entry into Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Not exactly Easter Island weather

and this dear little pot seems to have a white fluffy stole on to keep warm

Pop over to Cathy’s and see what others have found to pop in a vase this Monday.

Vase on Monday: Hellebore

Each Monday Cathy invites us to find something from our gardens to pop in a Vase.

Her vase this week has inspired this post as she used some old glass inkwells.

The bottles in my photograph were found in a bank by my house circa 1974. I had masses more but have gradually downsized the collection with each successive house move.

The ‘vase’ contains hellebores that grow in my roadside border under an espalier pear tree; a variegated arum leaf and some twigs from a pretty little hebe given to me by a neighbour

The bottles sit on a shelf in my bedroom that was in dire need of dusting and sorting out – a perfect candidate for the 17 for 2017 List in which my target is:

“13 – drawers, cupboards, shelves or boxes sorted out.”

The bedroom was created in the roof space

I wanted the sides to be left open to give a greater feeling of space

I had such a battle with the builders to keep this space open. I really like the way it gives the room size, and provides a place to keep the things I love having around me. Like a mini art gallery space. The photos below are looking one way then the other – you can see it had become a bit jumbled.

When the shelf was cleared there were pale marks where items had been

What to do?

Turn to Permaculture : “THE PROBLEM IS THE SOLUTION”

The problem is the effect of light, the solution: make use of this with some leaf shapes cut out of paper.

Maple Leaf shape.

Each time I clear the shelf I will move the leaf shapes and gradually I will have a pattern of various shades of wood – eventually it will look like the dappled light through a maple tree – well that’s the plan anyway.

Also joining in with Cee’s Flower of the Day