Each Little World

In a Vase on Monday: The last Peony

I knew our weekend of heat and wind, followed by rain and cold was likely to put an end to the flowers on my remaining Peony. When I brought P. 'Soft Salmon Joy' indoors, it was loosely closed and covered in raindrops. I'd barely got it into this blue gray tea bowl before it opened so wide I thought it might lose its petals. 

It didn't, which gave me time to add Heuchera foliage and Tulip stems to the Tea bowl. It has been sitting on the mantle partnered with this vase by the same artist, so I thought I should fill the vase to let them remain a pair. 

I used more of these Tulip stems which I discovered by accident out in the Traffic Island garden, where I'd forgotten to cut the dead flowers off. I love their curves and the green color fading into cream and pink. 

The vase includes Peony foliage and two stems of Heuchera 'Blackberry Crisp'.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what other gardeners from here, there and everywhere have put into a vase today. 

IVOM: Japanese containers

A perfect Peony in a pickle jar! I put this Peony in the bamboo vase-within-a-vase that is intended to hold the water and a flower and fits inside one of my Japanese Ikebana baskets. Alas it leaked. So the flower enjoyed this temporary home until I jerry-rigged a solution.

Ikebana basket + Peony = Tea House arrangement.

Despite both doors and windows of the Tea House being open, it was cloudy enough outside to make it a bit difficult to get a good picture. 

The Peony spent the rest of its days in the living room. 

This is a contemporary interpretation on a traditional flower holder by Madison artist Richard Jones. 

The flower is Geranium phaeum 'Joan Baker', a mourning widow, which makes a substantial clump.

We bought this wall container many years ago at a Japanese emporium in Boston. Both this one and the one above are perfect for narrow end walls and corners which makes photographing them awkward. This one hangs on the wall between a hallway to another part of the house and the stairs leading down to our front door. That space has a cherry display shelf currently holding a small Japanese chest. 

The flower is Clematis 'Guernsey Cream'.

To see what other gardeners have put in a vase this morning, join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to share our creations from our gardens. Cathy is the creator of this totally enjoyable meme. 

IVOM: This and that

Despite a lot of rain and cool temperatures, it is May. That means the garden is full of blooms and the house is full of bouquets; so many that I've lost count. It also means that this is a very photo-heavy post. These bouquets were all done in the last few days and most of them are still in place in the house. 

It's hard to find a blank wall in our house to use as a backdrop so the flowers stand out. I took these photos in the front hall using a Chinese bench to hold the vases. I was on my knees with my feet going into the coat closet directly behind me! It was the only way I could capture the vase as well as the flowers.

The vase is Scandinavian from the local antique mall. It has dwarf Iris 'Cherry Garden,' Muscari paraadoxum, prairie Trillium and unknown Heuchera and Epimedium foliage. The Muscari are very large, almost navy blue with a bit of yellow edge showing. 

This vase ended up on my bathroom vanity. 

I love the look and colors of this vase’s tubes but each must be filled individually. That makes it a chore and the flowers drink up the small amount of water quickly. Epimedium 'Lilac Fairy', Fritillaria pontica and Heuchera 'Marmalade' foliage. This Frit seeds around nicely. 

It went on the shelf above the kitchen sink. A great location if impossible to photograph.

Muscari 'Valerie Finis', Tulipa sylvestris and a bit of vine from Clematis alpina 'Stolwijk Gold'. This particular tulip was popularized by Jefferson at Monticello, according to Brent and Becky Heath. 

The same little bouquet on the soapstone sink-surround in Mark's bathroom with an African mask. Everything is reflected in the mirror behind the sink.

The rain meant I kept cutting more flowers to enjoy rather than let them get beaten down. This is Peony 'Nosegay', a second generation cross between P. tenufolia and P. mlokosewitschii ("Molly the witch"). She's a sensuous beauty.

Since this Chinese stone statue had his hand on his hip, I couldn't resist letting him hold the Peony.

It has been a spectacular year for Trilliums in my garden. They've been so plentiful, I haven't hesitated to pick them for bouquets. Trillium grandiflorum with Convallaria 'Hardwick Hall'.

It wouldn't be spring without daffodils and Tulips. 

The colors work well with this wall and the big guy!

It may be a national holiday here, but that won't stop many of us from joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to share our creations from our gardens. Cathy is the creator of this totally enjoyable meme. 

IVOM: Color

We've had so much cool, gray and wet weather that spring ephemerals and bulbs have lasted a long time. In the case of many of my Tulips, it's more accurate to say that it has taken them a long time to come into full bloom. Now it feels like overnight they've exploded into bright bursts of color.

These are 'Prinses Irene' with a single red one that may be 'Rococo'.

T. 'Purperkroon' is joined by a slightly shorter black parrot type Tulip while the redder T. 'Rococo' continues to hold the bottom line. 

To see what others have plucked from their gardens to put into a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this addictive Monday meme. 

IVOM: Tulips at last

Peony japonica, Tulip 'Schoonoord' and the last Hellebore 'Sparkling Diamond' all blooming at once. More signs of a quirky Spring. 

P. japonica has flowers all open about this far. The cool weather is keeping them from exploding which is nice; but I am ready for some warmer days. 

The lovely yellow dangling bells (above) are Fritillaria pallidiflora. This stem grew in a marvelously twisted direction so it hung down when put in the vase. 

Hellebore 'Sparkling Diamond' looks as good going to seed as it does when it first blooms. 

To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, stop by Rambling in the Garden where Cathy hosts all of us who don't mind clipping a few blooms from our gardens to put in a vase indoors. 

In a Vase on Monday: Snatched out of the snow!

It started snowing fairly heavily about 10 a.m. on Saturday. It let up a few hours later and what was on the trees and the ground almost completely disappeared — until it started again! I wasn't too worried about the snow since I could go out and shake it off the plants where its weight was bending them down. The real problem was the frost warning overnight.

I spent a good two hours covering anything that I was not sure could make it through this radical temperature change. The garden was a mess of plastic pails, pots, cardboard boxes and garbage bags and old sheets draped over a network of bamboo poles on all the species Peonies and my tree Peony. Since I really did not know what would survive, I cut a random group of blooms for the house. 

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Trillium erectum in a vase by Richard Jones of Studio Paran. Note the red band around the opening of container. This one has a built-in metal frog. 

Another Trillium and another Richard Jones vase.

Trillium sessile with Fritillaria ruthenica. Note the red dot on the front of the vase, which I decided meant it had to have red(ish) flowers. The Frit is quite a bit darker than it appears here. 

Helleborus 'Sympathy' and Paeonia mairei in a vase that belonged to my late mother-in-law. That red tray was just too strong a color contrast for this delicate vase, so I changed locations. When Mark saw where I'd put his mother's vase, he snapped this photo. He liked the fact that my bouquet reflected the floral theme of my collage hanging on the wall above it. 

Helleborus 'Sympathy' is my most impressive and longest-flowering variety while P. mairei is the first of my species Peonies to flower. 

To see what other gardeners have put into a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this addictive Monday meme. 

First signs of life in the garden

Our weather is rather up and down at the moment, mornings in the 30s and afternoons in the 50s. In general, it is a bit early to start doing too much cutting back. I don't want to have to go out and try to protect things if we get snow or some really cold overnight lows because I exposed emerging plants too early. But there are signs of life everywhere I look. This Hellebore right next to the house is the only one with buds making an obvious appearance. 

Cyclamen purpurascens that were just plant last fall are looking great.

Euphorbia martinii 'Tiny Tim', another new plant last fall, also looking good. I am hoping the lively appearance of these plants means they are, in fact, alive!

My Helleborus niger, a Thanksgiving bloomer, tried to make an appearance last November but weather conditions were not cooperative. Buds were opening but it was so cold I just piled leaves on top of them. 

Across the path, its sibling is doing equally well.  

I'm not sure that "first signs of life" is the right title for this post since only the Hellebore at the top is make its initial appearance. Everyone else has been hanging out under the snow and is actually re-appearing! Since it is supposed to rain for much of this coming week, I decided to cut a couple of these flowers and some of the snowdrops that are up. First vase of the year with flowers from my garden!

Artists AND gardeners

 

Before Women's History Month is over, I want to share some images of work by a few of my favorite women artists. They work in different media but all use the garden as subject matter. Most of them had gardens themselves. It's difficult, however, to find many photographic images of their gardens compared to images of their art. Clare Leighton, Evelyn Dunbar and Valerie Finnis are all deceased. Elizabeth Blackadder and Frances Palmer are still working. You can easily find images of their work and information about all of them online. 

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I wrote about Clare Leighton here. I have a 1935 edition of this book whose cloth cover is greatly faded. I have to admit that I would love to read what Carol Klein has to say about Leighton in her introduction to the reprinted book from Little Toller Books. Leighton is known for her wood engravings.

Clare Leighton

 

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Evelyn Dunbar

Evelyn Dunbar is famed for her mural work and garden art. She also was the only only salaried female war artist commissioned by the British government during World War II. Dunbar is noteworthy because she recorded women's wartime work in her paintings. She documented the war efforts of women on the home front, with the Women’s Land Army, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, and the nurses of St. Thomas Hospital. 

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Valerie Finnis

Valerie Finnis was a famed gardener, teacher and photographer. She captured many well-known horticulturalists on film as well as taking plant portraits. A few of her garden photos are displayed on the wall of her workroom in the photo below. A number of plants are named after Finnis as well. Ursula Buchan's book on Finnis is a great place to start if her work interests you.

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Elizabeth Blackadder

Elizabeth Blackadder is one of my favorite botanical artists because she paints loose, lively portraits of plants, her cats and any of her other treasure that catch her eye.  You never know what will appear in her work. She appreciates Irises, in particular, and is known for her paintings of them. But my eye was delighted by the Toad Lillies in this work. 

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Frances Palmer

Frances Palmer is the only American in this group of women artists. She has a spectacular garden on the east coast and is known for her Dahlias. But Palmer is a potter and grows flowers and foliage that she uses to showcase her vases and containers. Much of her work is glazed in white or pale celadon. These blue and white pots are among my personal favorites. But I don't think my finances will ever allow me to splurge on one of her creations. Instead, I look at her website and Instagram for inspiration on putting together floral bouquets. 

IVOM: Cape Fynbos Flowers

Given our recent killer cold weather, I obviously don't have anything from my garden to put in a vase this week. It's even been too cold to try to get flowers from the grocery store to the car to home without damaging them. But I've had this "vase" ready to pull out when I needed it and that time has come. 

One of our good friends accepted a job transfer from Madison to Cape Town, South Africa. He and his husband were home a few months ago for a friend's wedding and brought us this gift when we got together. We are all gin drinkers (mostly Martinis) and like to try different types. Fynbos, meaning fine-leaved plants, is a small belt of natural shrubland vegetation in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is described as mainly winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate. 

According to the blog, Notes from a Cape Town Botanist (and Wikipedia), Fynbos is known for its enormous diversity of species from several families: Restionaceae (restiads and restios), Proteaceae (Protea, Banksia, Grevillea, and a few others), Ericaceae (heaths and heathers), Rutaceae (rue or citrus) and Iridaceae (freesias, gladioli and crocuses to name a few). Table Mountain alone — which overlooks Cape Town — has more plant species than the entire British Isles. The Fynbos Biome has more than 9,000 species of plants within an area the size of Portugal. Two thirds of them occur nowhere else on earth!

Cape Fynbos Gin has "elements from more than 30 indigenous botanicals, sustainably hand-harvested for their bark, roots, berries, flowers, stems, peels or leaves." It prides itself on being hand-crafted, small batch and copper distilled" as well.  

It's a lovely reminder of our absent friends, an excellent gin and it's in the most beautiful packaging I've ever seen for a bottle of booze. All those images of plants on the label, nicely named in Botanical Latin, are a magnet for a gardener. 

To see what other gardeners have found to put in a vase today, jump on over to Rambling in the Garden where Cathy hosts this weekly floriferous meme.

Fiber Friday

The two galleries in Nancy Nicholas Hall on the UW-Madison campus were filled with visitors last Sunday afternoon. Despite the cold temperatures, everyone came out to enjoy the beautiful textiles on display before the next storm hit. I snapped these two images because I was charmed by the ideas they encapsulated and thought they might inspire other party givers.

Given that the event was a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the new Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery, the table with hors d'oeuvres and desserts was decorated with spools of fiber appropriate to celebrate the weaver whose memory we were honoring. 

And many of the foods were fiber-licious: Candy cotton, French Silk (chocolate pie), Red Velvet Cake and Brownie Buttons (chocolate cookies that looked like big buttons with four holes in the center where one would stitch a real button). As clever as they were delicious.