Ha! Did I fool you? Yes, let me be honest and remind you that it IS the first of April and I am pulling your leg! 😜
But I do have two real vases to share today, as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her addictive Monday meme.
Last week I did some tidying up in my old and sorely neglected garden and apart from an abundance of welcome seedlings (neglect/i.e. not weeding can be good!) I also discovered some Honesty still looking good after the winter. I placed it in a new bargain vase that unfortunately seems to have a non-waterproof base. Adding dried grasses saved from last year – which I won’t even attempt to identify – created a simple and pleasing arrangement.
The weekend was full of sunshine and my butterfly bed is definitely springing into action. Perhaps there will be enough flowers to cut next week, but in the meantime I can enjoy this lovely bunch of daffs and hellebores that dear friends brought over yesterday from their somewhat more sheltered and established garden.
Have a good week, and I do hope you are also enjoying signs of Spring in your gardens!
I love your honesty seedheads, and they are a particularly elegant shape! I am used to the rounded ones, which I love, but maybe yours have a slightly different coloured flower? I am in green mode today! https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2019/04/mondays-vase-on-nature-table.html
Amanda
The honesty is the perennial one, which always has elliptical seedheads. It has pale mauve flowers in April- May. 🙂
I thought you meant Honesty flowers, as mine are flowering like crazy at the moment! Amanda is right your Honesty are a very elegant unusual shape, I wonder why.
My honesty flowers a bit later. It is the perennial Lunaria rediviva, with very pale mauve flowers, and the seedheads are elliptical, unlike the annual ones. The plant itself was just showing green when I removed these old stems.
That’s interesting, I’ll have to look for that one. Thank you for the info.
Fun! And your top photo is outstanding.
Thank you so much Laurie! 🙂
What a curious honesty seedhead that is and I am pleased you have elaborated on what it is as it is nort smething I have ever come across before. I will look it up and see if it is worth introducing. They look very elegant with your dried grasses, and how nice that your friends shared some of their bounty with you
I would say the honesty is worthwhile Cathy as it doesn’t take up much space once the flowers go over and the seedheads turn green and then gold before finally turning slightly transparent. I found one growing in the woods once, with an orange tip butterfly on it, and that convinced me I must plant one!
It is readily available in certain nurseries, I see
Good April Fool’s joke. At first, I thought you’d received hothouse peonies as a gift. 😉 Your two vases encompass the border season, winter into spring. As the snow melts here, I am beginning to see bulb leaves pushing through – I’m so happy to see them!
Oh, I am so glad your winter is finally coming to an end. 🙂 Snow and frost can be beautiful, but the colour green is even better!
Agreed!
Ha!Ha! Yes, you got me! I must look out for those perrenial honsety pods.
🙂 Yes, the perennials are lovely, flowering a bit later than the annuals.
I did feel an instant jolt of envy at the sight of those peonies, Cathy! Your “honest” vases are a good way to welcome Spring. I love the Lunaria seedpods. I tried growing the plants once but they didn’t last long once exposed to our summer heat.
I wonder if the perennial ones would last better in your climate. (Lunaris rediviva). I know they like cool and damp spots (mine are under a yew tree) but heatwaves and drought haven’t finished them off yet and I have had them for several years.
Nice to have friends like this 🙂 Are you going to give up the old garden eventually or sell the place? I always find it hard to leave a garden behind as it’s usually its sure end but that’s life. All that counts is that you’re happy in the new place. Have a lovely week and yes, I’m looking forward to seeing something of the new place, I’m soooo curious!
Hi Annette. I want to keep the garden going as long as possible, but realise it isn’t really realistic long-term. It is extremely low maintenance though. We are keeping the house – it needs a lot of work done on it and we are not in a hurry to start another building site, so it can wait for now!
Thoroughly enjoyed looking at the bright spring flowers in your beautiful vase
I am glad you enjoyed it. The hellebores have lasted surprisingly well and the daffodils smell lovely. 🙂
Sounds so nice. You inspire me to bring a flower bouquet in my own home.
That would be good…. do it! 🙂
Your use of the expression “pulling one’s leg” led me to this interesting article about the phrase’s origin:
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pulling-ones-leg.html
Thanks for that interesting read Steve. I always assumed it had something to do with making someone laugh by literally pulling their leg! I was actually going to write ‘I’m having you on’ but wasn’t sure if that is too British… 😉
We say “putting you on” In American English.
Lovely and so is your Honesty. Happy Spring.
Thanks Amelia. Happy Spring!
You had me fooled! 😉 I’ve been following you via bloglovin but I’m back to following through WordPress reader. I seem to be missing posts by following in both locations. Your vases always inspire, Cathy. Have fun with your new garden.
Thanks Alys. You’ll have to come and see it! 😉
I like the elliptical seed heads of Lunaria rediviva. Mine don’t seed around as much as the ordinary honesty. I am looking forward to seeing your new garden.
Oh yes, that’s true. Mine has only produced one second plant after several years in an unweeded corner of the garden.
Cathy I love the three vases. Honesty is divine, I have never seen an equal: I have read the variety that it is. The dried herbs are beautiful, especially the lunaria. The peonies are wonderful. The beautiful hellebores. I’m very happy that your butterfly bed is growing well. And I feel that your new vase that is so beautiful is porous below. I have loved your flowers, they are a treasure of Spring. That you enjoy your new garden if the weather accompanies. Very good week 🙂 Greetings from Margarita.
Thank you Margarita! Wishing you lots of spring sunshine! 🙂
Cathy, thank you very much for your wishes, but we have a Greenland airbag and a lot of cold and finally: rain and snow !!! I wish you a lot of Spring sun for you. Greetings and memories of Margarita.
Oh dear, stay warm Margarita!
Ha ha! You are funny! All three arrangements are lovely. Funny what we can find when we think we’re just cleaning out the garden! I finally have buds on one of my hellebores! I’m about to be away from home for two weeks, so I fear I may miss it blooming! Maybe I’ll catch the other one that hasn’t sprouted any buds yet, though. Happy Spring and sunshiney days to you!
Glad your garden is waking up at last Kimberley. I am sure the hellebore will still be in flower when you get back. I am also away next week for a whole 8 days and am worrying about what I will miss in my garden too! 😉 Happy Spring! (And let’s hope it doesn’t gallop along too rapidly this year! )
Your arrangements are very lovely, Cathy, but this week I’m praising the vases! I really love them. I haven’t heard of “Honesty” before, but it’s really nice! Your pink and white theme is definitely a winner. I can’t wait to see what you’re growing in your butterfly garden. 🙂
Thanks so much Debra! I just learned that Honesty is called Silver Dollar Plant too, somperhaos you have heard that name before.
That honesty looks very different from ours. The seed . . . . whatever those things are . . . . are more circular, lie spectacles. Yours are long and drawn out, even more than overly stylized spectacles. We used to have more of it, I should have collected the seed to toss in more favorable spots.
It is Lunaria rediviva – a perennial which does have elliptical rather than round seedheads. The flowers look the same as the annual Honesty, but are generally much paler – well, those that I have seen anyway. Mine is a lovely pale mauve and flowers at the end of April or in May.
Perennial would be nice. Ours are a bit less abundant every year. Someone who worked here years ago used to collect the seed, and then toss them about where he though they would be happy. It would be nice if someone else continued that tradition.
My mother loved Honesty and was always cutting the dried seed heads for vases. She had a different name for it, though – she called it Silver Dollar Plant.
I like that name Jason. I love the flowers of this plant but the seedheads last so much longer! 😉
Two beautiful vases Cathy. I grew lunaria rediviva from seed and it flowered for the first time last year. Sadly it produced very few seed pods but that could have been down to the drought. It is just coming into flower now and I’m really looking forward to enjoying its fabulous scent again.
Oh yes, I forgot that it smells nice too. Mine took a few years to develop good seedheads, and last year was the driest year ever so it may be more due to the maturity of the plant. Hope it flowers well for you this year Anna!
Good one! The only 4/1 prank I faced (and fell for).
😉 But peony season is not that far off now! 🙂
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