Show your support Blue and yellow is a great flower combo. As opposing primary colours they make an energetic, lively mix. They are also the colours of the Ukraine flag so we have been reflecting on the humanitarian crisis, and the proceeds from this week's posies will be going towards essential supplies as part of the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Thank you very much to a local resident who allowed me to trim her mimosa this week. Mimosa is very popular at the moment and has overtaken pampas as the 'bloom du jour', so rest assured with your posy you are a dedicated follower of fashion! I will also place some boxed posies in local parks today so do keep...
Homegrown Winter flowers
As we head away from Winter and towards Spring it's satisfying to create a homegrown posy (everything except the hyacinth!). We've got homegrown hellebores, snowflake, winter honeysuckle, daffodils and forsythia. Busy in the garden, we've put a couple of rows of nigella seeds in, trimmed back the ivy and put lots more leaf mould in and around the shrubs. The good thing about our sandy soil is it's great drainage, the bad thing is it needs lots of organic matter to keep it tip top. All this rain will help it all wash in nicely.
What's in the posy?
Forsythia, hellebore, winter honeysuckle, euonymus, hyacinth, snowflake, rosemary, box, viburnum, daffodil.
What's fragrant?
Winter honeysuckle, hyacinth, rosemary.
Because we care With real flowers, a little extra care makes all the difference. To get the best out of your posy, display somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight. Water should be changed to ensure the stems always have fresh water to drink, at least when the water's cloudy, but every day if you're a keenie!It's also good to recut stems every few days with sharp scissors or secateurs. The exception to this rule is narcissi (mini daffs). The sap from their stems can sometimes affect the vase life of other flowers so I try not to recut these ones at all!It's also essential to clean your jar well after use with bleachy water and a good brush to remove any build up of bacteria on the inside.Not all...
Ranunculus It's lovely to have the ranunculus back in season. This cultivated buttercup is packed full of petals and a welcome sign that Spring is on its way. The pink and peachy tones neatly compliment the two tone snapdragon and tulip, and we have fragrance from winter honeysuckle and narcissi. After a windy week, it's time to tidy up any broken branches in the garden. Mum's been burning them and using the ash in the garden for its potassium content. We've been trimming shrubs, and spreading leaf mould around the bulbs to help them put grow nice and big for next year. Mum's also moving some of our gypsophila plants from the garden over to our new plot to join the...
Snowflakes Making the Collins English Dictionary's 'word of the year' in 2016, a snowflake refers to young adults viewed to be less resilient than previous generations. If this is indeed 'a thing' then I'm sure the last couple of years has helped to reduce the number of snowflakes around! Also of course, snowflakes are the beautiful long stemmed snowdrops that pepper this week's posy. This week I've been able to photograph the posy in my workroom, thanks to Mum re-finding my shelves for me after my messiness reached tipping point. Not sure if my inability to sort out my own mess makes me a snowflake too but thank you Mum for helping out once again. There's not many places you can...
