Each Little World

IVOM: January flowers in a cold climate

A roundup of flowers in my house in cold weather.

It was a rare occurrence that I was able to bring Hellebore flowers from my garden into the house in December. All of my other indoor blooms were hot house flowers. I love Cyclamen for the intensity of their color and the fact that I can buy small plants that don't overwhelm a display.

Pomegranates are one of my go to items for display and not just at Christmas.  

I wanted this area to have a Christmas vibe but be able to work after the holiday as well. Thus I made the centerpiece a large glass box filled with warm toned textiles.

The box is holding a part of my collection of hats from India, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere. 

Quirky necklaces and an Indian carved figure are also in there. 

The hats are pieced and embroidered and many of them are as interesting on the inside as the outside with stitching or Russian cotton lining. The display on these tables will continue to look good through Valentine's Day.

Two friends stopped by with flowers for me when my sister died. 

As those flowers started to fade, I added the best ones to the bouquet I got for the dining room table. 

I added the rose and some tiny mums from one gift bouquet . . .

and lilies from the other gift flowers. 

I got a ridiculous amount of pleasure from re-arranging things, adding more evergreens from my garden and even a couple of big leaves of Arum italicum. 

As flowers continue to fade I removed them and reduced the bouquet. 

But I think it still looks good as the flowers mature and change. 

This little bouquet has been moving around the house since the fall when I clipped a stem of Coleus and one of Kale.

I added a couple of evergreens and moved it into my bathroom after the Hellebores died. I was surprised to see how well it fit in with this bowl of beads from the nearby antiques mall. 

The same items have a completely different feel when the white Hellebores and pale blue vases are replaced with this darker display. 

IVOM: Another book for bouquets

"The Land Gardeners Cut Flowers" by Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld is the polar opposite of "Ikebana Unbound." It is a big, extravagant, pricey book that is drop dead gorgeous ($60.00, Thames & Hudson). I am a sucker for British gardens and gardeners, so I was thrilled to be able to borrow this from my local library.

It is an elegant and beautifully designed volume with red and white striped endpapers, calligraphic title pages and recurring chapter motifs that are taken from the interior of Elworthy's 15th C. house. That's where the two women headquarter their business; specializing in cut flowers grown on the site for London florist shops and private clients. They also design walled gardens. 

The book is endlessly inspiring and at the same time overwhelmingly frustrating for most of us home gardeners. Even those who have enough space to allocate for cut flowers will be speechless at the sight of the multiplicity of gardens devoted to various kinds of flowers grown for cutting by the two women at Elworty's evocative Arts and Crafts estate, Wardington Manor (below).

I have a big brown and white pitcher that belonged to my grandmother that's reminiscent of the one on the book's cover. That was enough to convince me I had something in common with Elworthy and Courtauld. As I went deeper into their book I discovered that, despite the age of their house and the size of the gardens, these two women are serious gardeners. Serious about soil, compost and green manure. Their motto is "it all begins in the soil." Despite the gorgeousness of their surroundings, the two are not dilettantes. 

The book has a good map of the property and gardens to help you understand just where they are growing different groups of flowers. They talk about "your cut flower garden" and offer advice on subjects ranging from tools, seed collecting, creating the garden beds, paths, potting sheds and staking. They offer a "year of flowers" based on the four seasons and information on a wide array of plants from annuals to trees and shrubs. 

I don't have a dedicated cut flower garden and I am not going to create one. So I was most interested to see what kind of things they put in vases. For starters, Elworthy and Courtauld devote a section of the book to their "flower room." They cover gathering and preparing flowers for arrangements and potting up bulbs for seasonal displays.

I have as many vases and containers as they do, with a sink as big — though not as antique — as theirs. What was most encouraging is that their containers were filled with things most of us can grow: Lilacs, Peonies, Daffodils, Dahlias, Winter Berries and even, Rhubarb. 

The flowers shown are usually identified, so you could potentially grow something you like in the book. But I've learned over the years that many lovely varieties of plants are not available in the U.S.; or take a lot of effort to find. But some flowers the two showcased — like Peonies — included many varieties that are easily found here, like 'Coral Charm' and 'Pillow Talk.'

I'm growing one of the three daffodils in the vase above and I've already found sources for the other two varieties they mentioned. I'm looking forward to doing my version of that display and using my assorted blue and white containers to exhibit spring bulbs with white flowers as Elworthy and Courtauld do. 

I can't quite picture myself buying this book. But I know that I will be checking it out from my library again. And probably, again.

GBBD: 12.12.2021

It's December in Wisconsin so it's not exactly the moment to find flowers in my garden. We are not buried under snow like last year, however, and so I did unearth a few things hidden under the leaves yesterday afternoon. It's foggy this morning with a forecast of rain and possible severe storms. The temperature at 8 a.m. is 52°F.

I clipped enough Helleborus niger flowers to fill three small Heath vases that I put in my bathroom. I used their colors as the theme for a bit of holiday decor. 

The buds in this vase on the other side of my vanity sink haven't opened yet. 

I love the pattern on this vase against the tissue holder's faux shagreen. 

I used Hellebore foliage in two of the vases. 

In the third I put a leaf from a Hepatica and a frond from a Hart's Tongue fern.

I've been cutting Hellebore flowers from one plant for over a month. Each one lasts at least two weeks so I should be able to enjoy these right up to Christmas. 

IVOM: A book for bouquets

I recently discovered a wonderful little book for those of us who post every Monday about the bouquets we make each week. It was a serendipitous find on the "new books" shelf at my local library as I had not heard or read anything about it. Authors Amanda Luu and Ivanka Matsuba, of Studio Mondine, describe their book, "Ikebana Unbound," as "a modern approach to the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging." I was hooked from the moment I looked at the image on the cover.

The book opens with a brief introduction to the history of Ikebana and a helpful section on basic techniques of flower arranging. There was not a lot of information that was entirely new to me, but it was a good reminder that I could be doing a lot more to create the kind of floral displays that I am drawn to — and don't quite manage to create. The book ends with a nice list of resources I perused online for a quite a long time, making notes and contemplating tools and containers. 

"Ikebana Unbound" is divided into four sections: Naturalness, Movement, Balance and Simplicity. Each one begins with a brief introduction to a specific concept of Japanese philosophy as it relates to the flower projects and techniques. Each arrangement has a title that illustrates the theme and a paragraph that explains the ideas behind the arrangement. Each one lists the flowers used (not always with botanical names) and shows in a series of photos and descriptions how to recreate that display. 

The names the pair have given to each arrangement perfectly encapsulates the concept of that display. A few of my favorites: Into Spring, Cresting Wave, In the City, Alone Together, Haystacks and Oudolf's Meadow. What really excited me about the arrangements in this book is the fact that many of them use flowers and plants I am actually growing in my garden or have something similar to use for the desired effect. They use spring blooms like Tulips, Daffodils. Fritillary, Muscari and Hellebores as well as a lot of grasses and dried material. I even saw 'Diablo' Ninebark and 'Black Barlow' columbine — two stars in my garden — in various displays. 

I have a number of books on Ikebana and even took a workshop on the subject. But reading "Ikebana Unbound" is the first time I've felt like the concepts and themes made sense to me. I look forward to trying my hand at any number of the ideas within its pages. Definitely a book to own ($24.95, Artisan/Workman publisher).

IVOM: November bouquets

I always have some kind of arrangement by the kitchen sink and in the bathrooms year-round. Given we were having one or two people over on Thanksgiving and on the weekend, I made sure those highly visible locations all had something in place. The Hellebore niger flowers that I cut and brought in on Nov. 11 are finally starting to fade. At the opposite end of the space is an antique jug with seedheads of Begonia grandiflora.

I have had good luck with the hardy Begonia and love the papery quality of the seedheads. 

My bathroom has a dried arrangement in a Delores Fortuna vase. 

The Lotus pod was purchased but the pale Hosta leaf and dark Bergenia leaf are from the garden as is the stem of seedheads. They look familiar but I can't remember which plant they came from.

I splurged and bought an assortment of foliage and blooms from the cooler at my favorite local grocery store to use on the table Thanksgiving Day. 

The pale peach Hyacinth has just the right amount of scent that it was not a problem at the table. The stems that look like Astilbe were labeled Solidago. If that is what they really are, I'd love to grow them. They are a beautiful rusty orange with tiny flowers opening to the same peachy color as the Hyacinth. 

I'm putting out Christmas items next so things will look quite different next Monday. 

In a vase on Thanksgiving

A few weeks ago, when we closed up the Tea House for the winter, I decided to re-use the vase and its contents that had been on display there. The ivy had faded and started to dry out, so I added more dried items: A fern and a Hydrangea flower. 

I always get pomegranates as soon as I see them in the grocery store. I love their shininess, as well as the way the red echoes the trim on the gold screen on the wall. They are my not-so-subtle nod to Christmas waiting in the wings. 

Soft faded colors always look good with the big guy. 

Hope you all have a safe and satisfying holiday. 

GBBD: Nov. 15. 2021

It is rare that there are flowers blooming in my garden in November. But these three are reliable performers as late autumn turns cold. 

. . .

Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta changes color from white blossoms to soft lavender as the temperatures cool. 

I started watching this clump of Helleborus niger on Nov. 6. The weather was nice enough that I pulled off the leaves that were hiding the buds. 

By last Thursday (Nov. 11), it was obvious the weather was about to get much colder. So I piled fallen leaves back on the plant to protect it until spring. But first I cut a few buds that were starting to open along with foliage from Vancouveria hexandra, Geranium phaeum and the Hellebore. 

Overnight the Vancouveria foliage faded as the Hellebore flowers fully opened. It's always a thrill to have a little bouquet from the garden indoors this late in the year. 

The warm weather we'd been having kept the leaves on the Hamamelis virginiana, hiding most of the flowers. 

The chill overnight on Thursday and Friday's snow showers got rid of the yellow leaves, letting the flowers shine.

I don't know when this shrub has looked so good in November.

IVOM: Papyrus wand

When our book club meets, those of us with gardens usually bring flowers to the hosts. We were the lucky recipients of a small bouquet with a deep red-violet Dahlia paired with a stem of blooming Lilac. Our weird weather has caused Lilacs all over the area to bloom this fall.

But the treat that's lasted for weeks is this big stem of Papyrus. 

It makes a dramatic exclamation point next to the Lohan.

IVOM: Pink perfection

Once spring ephemerals have disappeared, most of what I see in my garden is green. You have to go out to the edges to find flowers and color. 

Out there, away from the house, there are Anemones, hardy Begonias and a number of clumps of Cimicifuga racemosa. 

As you can see, the flowers are all variations on pink. I usually think of pink flowers as too sweet for me, but clearly that's not the case. 

I planted Anemone 'Max Vogel' last year but the bunnies ate the flower buds. This is the first I've seen the plant in full flower and the pink is a bit more intense than I anticipated. But the Hellebore growing in front of it helps to tone the color down while it supports the Anemone flowers. 

I adore everything about Cimicifuga racemosa: Dramatic foliage, a whiff of fragrance and flowers that are always in different stages of bloom on any given plant. I have been moving these around the garden to create a couple of focal points. 

I complained to a garden friend recently that the Begonias were all facing the sun and away from the garden path. 

She laughed at the fact that I had the perfect setup: All the leaves were growing so that I approached them from behind and got to enjoy their dramatic backlit beauty without having to maneuver around trying to get this view. Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of your eyes. 

September splendor