The scent of wintersweet flowers is warm and spicy, which is perfect for a chilly winter’s day. A few flowers are just opening on my shrub, so I pruned a couple of wayward sprigs to bring indoors. Hopefully the numerous buds will start to open up in the warm house over the next few days.
In the meantime my vase needs something for interest, so I added some grasses and the fluffy seedheads of Japanese Anemones, as well as some rather wild looking Crocosmia seedheads.
I managed to capture some sunshine and blue skies in my photos this morning, before it turned grey and overcast again. My gardening diary tells me we have 18 minutes more daylight today than last Monday. 😃
Cathy at Rambling in the Garden hosts this Monday meme, where she invites us to pop anything we can find in a vase to share. We were on the same wavelength today as she has used wintersweet as her title, so do click on the link and pay her a visit too.
Have a good week, with plenty of sunshine!
☀️🌼☀️
Words and Herbs 
So creative to find enough to fill a vase in the winter. The sky is such a winter blue.
It is blue skies again this morning. Winter sunshine is simply wonderful!
It always seems astonishing how quickly it starts getting lighter, much more in the afternoon than morning though. Hope you enjoy your real wintersweet as it opens – do you recommend it as a plant? Seedheads are great for adding to vases, aren’t they, and it was good to see your crocosmia, as mine gave up flowering and although I split them they never thrived again and I got rid of them…must give them another chance! We finished with blue sky today which means a cold night and it is below freezing now…
When you lift crocosmia corms you need to replant just the top two corms (they grow on top of each other) then they should regrow.
Oh that’s really interesting Jude, as I have never heard that before and would never have considered it – no wonder my attempts failed, and thank you so much for educating me! 😉
I have had plenty of them in this garden, mainly wild ones! I did transplant some, but they get flattened by the wind here so I have pretty much pulled them all out now.
I am rather envious as mine are only just getting established!
The ‘original’ montbretia are fairly established around where my Mum lives in W Scotland too – and in her garden!
The wintersweet shrub took a long time to start flowering, but seems to cope well with heat and drought as well as cold damp winters (and mice!) so yes, I would recommend it – the scent is lovely and the autumn foliage is nice too. I likewise have a job getting crocosmia established, yet I often hear from other people how invasive it can be! There must be a big difference between different varieties.
It grows quite tall though, although I suppose I could keep it more compact by pruning. Definitely trying crocosmia again this year, which has been a bit thuggish here too. Did you read Jude’s comment about replanting when you divide it? Really helpful to know that
Yes, when my clump gets big enough I will have to remember that.
We learn some useful things from each other, don’t we?
😃
I like your combination of fresh and dried flowers. At first I thought you have immersed some Forsythia twigs in your vase, but perhaps it is the decoration.
Funny you should say that Noelle as I did actually cut some Forsythia to force, but decided the vase (with Forsythia painted on it!) would be too crowded. So the Forsythia will hopefully be coming out really soon indoors. I have already removed some of the anemone and crocosmia seedheads from this vase as they were spreading themslves all over the kitchen!
If it was poppy seeds you could add those to bread if you make that or even cakes. I found when I combined dried and fresh flowers in water, the stem of the dried flowers went mouldy. Mine ended up being trimmed and sprayed with silver for my Christmas Wreath, so all’s well that end well. Looking forward to seeing the Forsythia, and thanks for reminding me about forcing it.
😃 Now that IS forward-thinking Noelle, preparing for next year’s wreath. Great idea to gather materials well in advance.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the fluffy seedheads of Japanese anemones but maybe that’s the reason I’ve never seen the plants spread here either 😉 I expect the lengthening of daylight is much more pronounced in your part of the world than mine, although I’ve noted a welcome, if slight, progression here too. Best wishes for more blue skies and sunny days ahead!
Thanks Kris… blue skies again this morning. 😃 I noticed the difference in light when I got up this morning – just before sunrise.
The yellow of the blooms and the blue of the sky are lovely together. Yay for longer days!
😃 Absolutely! Have a sunny week Beth!
Perfect container for forcing. I love the seedheads and wish I could smell it! Longer days are most welcome here.
The scent is a bit like a Christmas cookie with vanilla and allspice in it, just warm out the oven…. 😃
MMMM, I love baking with allspice.
In two weeks, we’ll be at the mid-point of winter, then it’s just a short jaunt to the equinox. Yeah, light at the end of the tunnel! 🙂
Literally! I don’t mind winter if it is sunny (like today), but low cloud is just miserable!
Your photos are just excellent, Cathy. I really enjoy the winter light! And those seed heads are a wonderful addition. Spring is coming! 🙂
Thank you Debra! The sunshine makes winter bearable – shame it isn’t sunny every day though. Hope your rain has passed now. As they say, ‘it never rains but it pours’!
Wintersweet is another species that I have never encountered. It seems to be popular in other regions.
It is lovely for a winter garden here and provides early pollinators with a treat. 😃
Beautiful blue skies to serenade your attractive vase Cathy. I have dithered about planting a wintersweet 🤔 Apart from the scent it looks such an interesting flower close up. What does it do in summer if that isn’t a silly question?
Actually it is rather insignificant in summer, just pale green, but has lovely golden foliage in autumn. The leaves are quite long, and hang downwards, but I like the overall look of the shrub. Mine has taken several years to flower (planted autumn 2018), with only a few flowers last year but loads of buds this year!
Have them in my garden they have gone a little wild 😜
That’s nice! 😃
Gorgeous vase, Cathy, and good to know that the days are getting longer. Although I must admit that I quite enjoy our hibernation. Our Chimonanthus is looking fab this year, lots of flowers, love the scent. Haven’t been down to see it since it’s got so frosty but I think it’ll get over it. Frost will stay until the weekend.
I am really noticing the longer days now and it feels good, but I have been enjoying hibernating too. So much to read or crochet before the gardening season begins! 🌷
yes, I agree, I feel the same 🙂