Joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme is so much fun. 😃
A strong ice cold north-easterly wind over the past few days has provided material too, with several Narcissi being bent flat and the hellebores looking decidedly fed up with the constant battering!
First I cut some of my Hellebore ericsmithii ‘Shooting Star’. I decided it looked best alone in my mini vase bought in Norfolk a few years ago. 🙂 I love the way Shooting Star changes from pale creamy white/yellow to pale pink.
The background plant is my dear Maidenhead fern, which has forgiven me twice in the last year or so for not watering it and has bounced back each time!
Then I used the second matching vase for the other oddments rescued, including the battered Narcissi. I will make a mental note not to plant any more tall ones on windy corners. 😉
Since moving out further into the countryside away from street lights and motorways we have been able to see more stars than ever on clear nights, and more shooting stars in the past two years than in my entire life up to then! My first memory of a shooting star was in Blakeney, Norfolk, where my vases come from. I was only about 8 years old and I spied the star through a pebbled stone archway looking out to sea. Magical!
So, not only do I have some pretty flowers to look at, but pleasant thoughts to go with them. I do hope you are all able to have some pleasant thoughts today despite these difficult times.
Keep smiling and take care.
xx
Words and Herbs 
Lovely hellebores Cathy. I love the creamy yellow color. We are just only recently been able to find hellebore varieties in any color other than pink here in my area. I did find a white one at the grocery store about a month ago, but I’ve barely been able to keep it alive inside until the weather warms to plant it outside.
I also love your maidenhair fern in the background! They are my favorite of all ferns.
It has improved slightly here in the last few years Cindy, with some nurseries offering a better selection (albeit often not labelled!), but Bavaria is not a flower-growing state! Orchards and vegetable gardens are common, but flowers are seen as an extravagance I feel. 🤪
I also thought the maidenhair fern made a good background. I can grow them outside here, but it is too hot for the hellebores.
How lovely to be able to grow the ferns outdoors. 😃 My hellebores would prefer some summer shade, but they do get through nonetheless.
I laughed about the Maidenhair fern, I’ve always had the same trouble with them. Seeing stars is certainly magical, we get good views here too. The gentle colouring on these hellebores is very pretty.
Glad I am not the only one who has problems with Maidenhairs. I bought mine after being so impressed by my Mum’s… only to hear a week or two later that hers had died completely after drying out too! This is my latest hellebore, planted only a couple of weeks ago, and it is possibly going to be a favourite. I hope it settles in well and that this north wind drops soon! Brrrr!
So pretty Cathy I have a Maiden hair I can not seem to make happy maybe too warm or too cold I am not sure 😦
They must be pretty sensitive ferns, but I do love them. 😉
I keep ine moist and give it light but no bright sun hope it begins to like me 🙂
The ericsmithii hellebores fade to all sorts of different shades, don’t they? This single sprig looks perfect on its own. I have read today that maidenhair ferns are happy sitting in a saucer of water and that you can’t overwater them…
This is the only ericsmithii I have come across so far Cathy and it has certainly made a good impression on me so far. Do you have any? I will try and leave some water in the base of the fern‘s pot, but indoor plants are not my strength! I should try harder! 😉
I have Winter Moonbeam and Winter Sunshine, plus another whose name I can’t remember as I haven’t had it long. They are are all fairly similar – but have gorgeous leaves! I used to be an ace with houseplants before I ‘properly’ gardened outside but not now and have successfully neglected and composted many in recent years – but now have two fairly sizable foliage plants in the back sitting room which do get attention and actually seem to be thriving!
The names alone are lovely! We are slowly getting more choice in our nurseries, so I will look out for more of this sort next year.
Here, the ericsmithii and Rodney Davison ones get snapped up very quickly
You live in a magical place, Cathy. I enjoyed your recounting of your first shooting star. It prompted my own memory of seeing one on a summer night as a teenager. Thanks your sharing your lovely little vases. They’re a balm for the tired soul. xo
Dear Alys, I am glad to share my vases and do hope they bring you some cheer. As they say in England, chin up! Take care and look after your foot.
Thank you, Cathy.
You can’t go wrong when Mother Nature selects blooms for a vase on your behalf, Cathy! I’m glad you have a wonderful place to enjoy during this very odd time. Best wishes.
Thank you Kris. Best wishes to you too. Not sure my comment got through to you again – loved your golden Freesia this week. Take care and keep gardening!
Very pretty vignettes with the lacy fern background, Cathy. My hellebores are only now just emerging, although I covered them up because we’re getting a snowstorm today and overnight. As it catches on everything, it sure is pretty. I don’t mind it, as I know it won’t last and I’m certainly not going anywhere!
Let‘s hope that will be the last of your snow and that you at least get some spring sunshine to go with it! Take care Eliza!
Thanks, Cathy. Total was 7″ of the wet, heavy stuff. (Groan!) Guess gardening is on hold ’til it melts!
Your vases are lovely, Cathy! I’m especially admiring your hellebore as mine have also been horrible battered by winds and rain–just as they were beginning to open, too! Yours look much happier!
I think mine had a chance to put some growth on between cold spells, but they are looking a bit battered now after a week of strong north winds!
Beautiful vase and wonderful story 🙂
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who ‘tests’ ferns every now and then!
😉 I like that… just ‘testing’ to see from an experimental gardener‘s point of view just how long a plant can survive without water… 😜😃
Isn’t it nice how the vase brought back such pleasant memories of sighting your first shooting star. Lovely.
I have moments of slight panic where I need to cling to such memories Karen! Hope you are well.
Cathy I hope the freezing wind disappears very soon and you have good weather. I love your Hellebore “Shooting Star”, its colors are charming and how they change. Fern is divine. The narcissi in her little vase is adorable. I am very glad that the vases bring you very good memories of shooting stars. I see so many stars in my country house that many nights I lie in a hammock to admire its beauty. Cathy positive thoughts and take good care of yourself. All the best. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita xx
Margarita, it is much warmer today and the wind has dropped but not gone completely yet. We are very fortunate that we can get outside this weekend and my thoughts are with you and your mother shut up in your flat in the city. Wishing you continued health and good spirits Margarita! xx
Cathy your words of encouragement for my Mother and for me reach my heart. Thank you. I hope you are well and that finally the good weather comes and stays for you to enjoy it. Take care. Loving greetings from Margarita xx
Maidenhair fern grow wild here. There was a cliff in the canyon at home that was covered with it. It is nice to see that others enjoy it as a potted plant.
That must be a lovely sight. We have various ferns and bracken in our woodlands which I also love to see through all the seasons.
It is, and to those who are not familiar with our ecosystem, it is surprising. It looks sort of Eastern, but not very Californian. The crazy foliage is much of what I would like to see if I ever get off the West Coast again. There is some of it in the Pacific Northwest, but it is a different flavor from the East and all the various ecosystems of Europe.
Oh those flowers must have enjoyed the treat of coming indoors Cathy. I think that after a spell of warm sunny spring weather that cold north early wind is returning here this weekend 😱 I like the delicate pastel shades of your hellebore. Will be looking out ‘Shooting Star’ in the future.
That cold wind has finally dropped Anna. Hope you can get outside to do some gardening this weekend. There is not much else we can do now anyway! 😃☀️🌷
That fern makes the arrangement feel very spring-like. so delicate and green! I am beginning to appreciate that aged hellebores make sterling vase material.
The night skies have been wonderful. You might be interested in this BBC article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-52120114
Thanks for that link Allison. Aren‘t they lovely shots. We see lots of stars here as we are far away from any larger towns and street lighting in smaller places is much less intrusive here than in the UK. Happy star-gazing! 🤩
Oh nice emoji!
Cathy, this is a sweet arrangement. The fern gives it a nice softness and delicacy. Enjoy your hellebores–just lovely. Take care.
Thanks Susie. The hellebores are at their peak now and have been lovely. But warm weather is forecast so they will no doubt start to fade!
The colors and the fern combo are so lovely. This is an interesting type of fern… I think most people don’t think of including ferns in a bouquet, so this is a nice reminder to think “outside of the box” and create a unique and or creative arrangement,
Peta
Thanks. 😃 The fern is not actually in the vase with the hellebore, but in a pot behind the vase. 😉