Each Little World

IOVM: Hellebores

I read a long article from the U.K. about how to use blooming Hellebores as cut flowers. After trying the tips, I decided that if I want a fresh Hellebore flower in a spring bouquet the best idea is to float it. The flower is facing up so you can see it and they last for days this way. 

I love these little 19th C. teacups with no handles and deep saucers. They're perfect for floating a flower — or two.

H. 'Kingston Cardinal'

A pair of H. 'Royal Heritage Strain'

I always buy a few pomegranates in December for holiday decorations. I continue to use them as they slowly dry and are preserved.

Since rain was forecast for the weekend, I decided to do a bowl of Hellebores. I concentrated on pinks and pinky reds with a few whites. Love the bit of carpet that's visible at the edge of the coffee table where I set the bowl. 

The coffee table is always covered in books and magazines. I had to move them to take the photo above and decided it made more sense to move the bowl and keep are piles of reading material in place. 

I was shocked as soon as I set the bowl down in its new location to see that the blossoms were all red-violet and the pomegranates definitely were not. How did I not realize that before?

Early spring in the garden

Monday was sunny with a high temperature of 72°F., absolutely gorgeous. It was so bright I had trouble shooting any photos before it started to rain Tuesday morning. The rainy weather is forecast to continue through Friday. It's too early to try to do much in the garden, so I am just sitting back and enjoying the rain. 

This Aidiantum venustum emerged from the snow bright green. Usually the foliage is brown and needs to be cut back. I'll be watching to see what it does next. 

This Helleborus niger was blooming from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I cut so many stems for indoors that these are all that remain.

It's twin across the path never manages a winter show. It's sending up all its flowers now.

Galanthus 'Magnet' was pushing up faster than any of my other snowdrops. Here's hoping the rain doesn't damage them before i have a chance to enjoy them. 

The hardy Begonia

I am having such serious rabbit damage in my garden this summer that I have been quite demoralized. So I went looking for a bright spot to lift my spirits. This is what I found: Begonia grandis on fire from the late afternoon sun. 

I tried this plant three times before it finally decided to stay! Maybe that's because it's a Zone 6 plant and I never realized it when I bought it. But it is increasing beautifully and seems totally happy. So I added another one on the opposite side of the garden last summer and it seems equally happy. 

IVOM: Before the next rain storm

Suddenly the house was empty of flowers and yet another rain storm was on the way. So I went out to see what I could find. 

The Martagon lilies were on the downside but I brought a few indoors anyway. The Alliums were also past their peak. I don't have many, but as they no longer provided a worthy note to the garden scene, I clipped them as well.

The Heuchera flowers were just starting. I love this unknown variety with long stems and lots of flowers. They made the bouquet for me.

The fact that the lilies started dropping petals almost immediately proved their sad condition. 

What I ordered: Perennials for my 2020 garden

I fully intended to keep myself well in hand and not order too many plants during the winter months. My favorite mail order nurseries will tell you I failed miserably. I did, however, mainly order plants that I have had good luck with over the years: Epimediums, Geraniums, Hellebores, a Primrose and Toadlilies. (These photos are all from the nurseries where I purchased the plants, as most of them have  not yet arrived at my garden.)

. . .

I bought a few Epemedium 'Pink Elf' from Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery that were on sale last fall. I planted them in a spot that is quite dry.  The Geranium cantabrigiense 'Biokovo' that has been there for years, has never liked this location. I am hoping this Epimedium and the next two are happier with this spot. 

E. fargesii (Edelweiss Perennials)

E. 'Shadow Dancer' (Edelweiss Perennials)

Geranium phaeum 'Langthorn's Blue' (Digging Dog Nursery/Salmon Creek photo). I've rarely met a "mourning widow" Geranium I did not like and this one is a beauty.

G. phaeum 'Raven' (Digging Dog Nursery)

G. 'Azure Rush' (Bluestone Perennials). This should be a star performer on the order of G. 'Rozanne', but I prefer this softer color. 

Priumula kisoana iyobenii (Edelweiss Perennials) This Japanese primrose is the reddest of all P. kisoanas and does not spread as fast as the species. I have had wonderful luck with this species and love the color. 

I grow four different kinds of Toad Lilies: Tricyrtis formosana, T. hirta, T. latifolia and T. macrantha. I have been growing most of them for years. I was a little disconcerted last month when local gardening legend, Frank Greer, said that T. formosans is the least hardy for us. Most of the varieties I ordered are T. formosana. On the other hand, I have a gorgeous clump of T. formosa that I've been growing almost as long as I've been gardening. So I remain hopeful. 

T. 'Taipai Silk' (Digging Dog Nursery)

T. 'Empress' (Digging Dog Nursery)

T. 'Autumn Glow' (Digging Dog Nursery). I obviously ordered this one for the foliage alone. 

March weather has been giving us a taste of spring, making me very excited for all these lovely plants to arrive at my house. But that won't happen until the end of April. I'm not taking any chances on early shipping dates and having my house filled with plants that can't go outdoors because it is too cold or snowy. 

A vase on Monday: No flowers needed!

The moment I saw this vase at Anthropologie I knew it was coming home with me. Though it has held flowers on many occasions, it really looks its best just being itself. That huge red flower exploding from the teal vase needs no competition to create a floral statement. 

The red bag held a holiday treat. It was such a lovely size and color that I decided to display it rather than stashing it to hold a gift for someone else. After I added the red bag, I needed one more item to fill that empty space on the red tray.

I found the wire full of coral at the local antiques mall; buying it with the intent of using it in some kind of jewelry project. At the moment, I like the way it looks as an object in its own right. 

I pulled the vase out into daylight for a moment so you could see its true tone. Taking a photo in the red room is always a color challenge. 

IVON: Bathroom bouquets

This little bouquet in Mark's bathroom is on its second week. I removed the faded flowers but the foliage is attractive enough to stand on its own.

I went out Friday afternoon as the temperatures were falling and the wind was rising to make a few bouquets before our anticipated first frost of the season. It got quite cold Friday night but most things were still standing Saturday morning. I couldn't resist this last stem of hardy Begonia, though I believe these are seed capsules and not flowers.

I moved this vase from my bathroom to the living room mantle for better light. Plus we just redid all the artwork in that room and I thought my bouquet would work with the infusion of red art. 

Mark bought this little folk art figure last year. He's perfect for Halloween.

The last Heuchera flowers added a lighter note.

The Begonia leaves are dramatic even without the sun shining through them to highlight the red underside.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Gard who hosts this Monday meme to see what other gardeners have put in a vase today.

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. 

. . . 

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. 

Art for lovers: 2.14.2019

This lovely couple are snuggled up at the moment, but she easily slips out of his embrace whenever she's feeling independent. 

Origamai figures by Rumi O'Brien of Madison. 

Wednesday vignette

I spent quite a bit of time in the red room over the weekend. As I was photographing a few of the design changes I'd made in there, I glanced down. I could not resist this shot of all the red details.