I am pleased to be able to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme again after a couple of weeks off. And I am looking forward to spending more time gardening and blogging in the next few weeks as Spring finally arrives! 😃
My favourite Hellebore – ‘Ice ‘n’ Roses Rose’ -features this week, accompanied by a few primulas that came with me from the old garden and are already starting to spread. With my beloved gardening angel in the background these tiny offerings bring me comfort as the world beyond my home and garden reels.
I also picked a single daffodil which had been snapped off by something/someone… I don‘t have many in flower yet so this was a matter of rescuing a casualty! A sprig of Buddleia is in the vase too – all my buddleia remained green this winter as we didn’t have a big freeze or any permafrost.
I am not sure what it is that sometimes snaps off flowers… birds? I have had hellebore flower heads, Iris reticulata and in past years even tulips snapped off just below the flower. I wonder if you have ever seen this happen in your gardens and can offer an explanation?
My thoughts are with all my blogging friends across the world – stay calm and carry on gardening! 😉
Words and Herbs 
I have never seen a angel with a shovel and I love it. An interesting question, what snaps the flowers – not a clue from me. Amazing Hellebores, as usual! Stay safe.
Thanks Amy. Thank goodness Spring is here and we can work outdoors… looks like there will be a complete curfew by the end of the week. ☹️
I am glad it is spring for your sake! I have gotten my water feature going and have been enjoying sitting in the garden..
Lovely spring cheer, Cathy. I love your twist on ‘Stay Calm’ – just what I intend to do. Gardens and walks keep me in good stead. Wishing you a good week ahead!
Thank you Eliza. Enjoy your walks and hope the weather is pleasant enough now too. ☀️ I saw the first butterflies today – five in one go, probably peacocks which overwinter but they were too fast to see properly!
Oh I do like your gardening (guardian?) angel, Cathy! And such sweet little vases. I still haven’t produced a hellebore vase this year apart from the stem I accidentally snapped. I would blame cats or squirrels for tulip stem breakages here. And yes, those of us with gardens will see even more gardening being done, I think. Take care
We don‘t have any squirrels in our neighbourhood, unlike at the old house. So could be cats, or perhaps birds? Wishing you good health and good gardening weather Cathy!
Likewise!
Happy and cheerful spring flowers, always a pleasure to see them. Not sure what would snip off your flowers, the wind only bends them not snaps them off. I’m curious now too Cathy.
I will be watching closely now the weather is warm enough to be outside more often. Perhaps I will catch the culprit in the act! 😉
You will Cathy 🙂
Rabbits. They are awful about snapping off tulip blooms. Of course I have blamed rabbits for eating lots of things. They usually chop off a plant with an angled cut. I looked out to see a squirrel eating Galanthus blooms the other day so they can be destructive too. Be well.
No rabbits here, so perhaps hares? I need to put a camera up, but this bloom-snapping-off is so indiscriminate I wouldn‘t know where to place it! Take care Lisa.
I recognize that angel! Your flowers are so cheerful, something we all need in these dark days. Spring, warmth, and flowers can’t come soon enough for me.
The sun had real warmth in it today and it was good to be outdoors again. Hope Spring comes your way soon Cindy!
When flowers get snipped off in my downtown planter box, they are gone.
Those hellebores seem to be impressively big, like wide open tulips.
I think they are larger than average Tony. The doubles I have are much smaller. So many lovely hybrids around and this one is so impressive in its second year. 😃
I’m glad to see you join in, Cathy! I’ve never seen anything but bunnies snap off a flower bloom but then they generally eat them. In contrast, raccoons pull up the entire plant – or bulb – and toss it across the garden.
Thank goodness we don‘t have raccoons! No rabbits either, but lots of mice, the odd hare or two and birds of prey as well…. Kris, I think my comments are not getting through to you on your blog. I have been having problems leaving comments on blogspot blogs, but will persevere. Loved the first vase you posted this week. Gorgeous!
A Gardening Angel – perfect. I need more hellebores! Yours are lovely. I was gardening all day yesterday – it was such a tonic to be out in the sunshine at last. A sort of fun to be having shouted conversations with neighbours at a distance.
Glad your weather is better now too… we have had sunshine as well and I spent most of the day outside. It really does feel good to be outdoors again!
What a pretty tableau Cathy. I’m so pleased that you introduced me to the lovely gardening angel. Mine resides on our hall window sill and casts her glow over the orchid sitting next to her. I have not had any problems with daffodils this year but some hellebore flowers have been snapped off which I put down to munching mice 😄
Yes, I imagine it is mice here too. I once watched one dig up a tulip bulb and sit and nibble it a little and then run off. I think I wouldn‘t mind so much if I thought it was starving and ate the whole thing!
Your flowers this week were lovely too Anna. Such a pretty blue vase too. 😃 (I think my comment on your site got lost again!)
Pheasants and muntjaks are the vandals in my garden. Pheasants are very fond of nipping the heads off fritillaries. I like your gardening angel.
Luckily the deer can’t get into our garden and I haven‘t seen pheasants either. Both must be quite destructive from what I hear. But the hares do come up to my flower beds – I had an ornamental clover last year and it was ‘trimmed’ of its flowers first and then ‘mown’ completely at intervals!
That is a very comforting display and those hellebores do look massive. Keep well Cathy!
Thank you – the weather is helping raise spirits here! ☀️
That cheery yellow with the dark red is stunning. Hope you are well.
Thanks Jason. We are well, but my nerves are a little jangly. Looks like a complete curfew except for food or chemist purchases by the end of the week. Hope you are both well too.
A lovely vase Cathy and some warm thoughts too. Thank you.I went through a stage when I had iris buds that just kept mysteriously dropping off. I blamed it on the cat to start with (jumping off a wall?) Never found out and wasn’t so bad last year. Stay peaceful.
Thanks Cathy. It has turned icy cold today so spring cleaning indoors will keep me busy until I can get outside again!
I love Cathy your Hellebore just like primroses. The two vases are adorable and the gardening angel is charming. It does not occur to me who could have cut the precious daffodil: field mice. It never happened to me. Cathy enjoys your wonderful garden and landscaping and of course Spring. I sincerely hope that you have good weather to be outdoors and even eat outside enjoying the sun. Take great care and follow the extraordinary disinfection measures I explained to you, please. All the best. Loving greetings from Margarita xx