It is always a pleasure to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her weekly meme. Sometimes it is tricky to find anything suitable for a vase in winter, but when I ventured out today it was clear that some Iris reticulata had to come indoors.
They stand out so well in my winter garden and I am slowly planting more of them in various spots. They seem to be untouched by the mice too, which is an added bonus. I have several different shades of deep blue, simply because they show up best against the woodchip mulch. A few brave violas are also flowering, but they – along with the hellebores – are looking a little tatty after some hard frosts.
The little blue vase seemed just right. But there is another vase in the background… can you see the lovely hare peeping around the iris?
This gorgeous jug was a surprise sent over from my Mum last week. 😃 So naturally I had to find something large enough to go in it immediately – some bright and cheerful yellow tulips from my local supermarket!
I adore it! And it will be used more frequently once I have some tall flowers in the garden. (Perhaps my own tulips? Roll on Spring!)
Wishing you all a great week, hopefully with a better weather forecast than ours! 😉
Words and Herbs 
Love the yellow tulips and vase!
I often buy myself tulips at this time of year, so the vase came just right!
Both vases are wonderful! I love the little Iris and tried growing them in pots last year, sadly with relatively poor results. I adore your new jug – the bunny will look good with anything. I appreciate bunnies much more on crockery than in the garden 😉
I agree on the bunnies, or rather it is hares we have here. They have been nibbling my French Broom and our younger fruit trees this winter!
The Hare is great and hooray for Iris from the garden.
Yes, hooray for any colour! A few primulas are opening now too. So spring is finally getting going.
The blue and yellow are both lovely bright colours. Yes roll on Spring.
I think blue and yellow are the best spring colours, especially together. 😃
I love the little irises Cathy and also have some in my vase today. They must relish your hotter and drier summers. Mine generally don’t do too well in the garden so I plant them in pots. You must be delighted with your mum’s surprise gift 😀 Winter is returning with a vengeance here this week 🥶
I hope you don’t get snow Anna, and these later frosts are the more damaging as things are starting to come out of their winter dormancy now. The vase was such a lovely surprise, and perfect for some cheerful spring flowers – I do treat myself to tulips fairly often at this time of year. 😃
Ooh, what a lovely surprise! Your mum knows you well. 🙂
She loves hares too! 😃
Wow! After all the crazy weather here, I forget what time of year it is.
The Iris reticulata are one of the earliest flowers here, along with crocuses.
I can not imagine why it is not more popular here. It may be so early that it gets ruined by the rain. We do not get much rain, but it all arrives during winter, when early bulbs bloom.
Is saffron crocus popular there, and if so, does it bloom during autumn as it should? Mine bloomed late in winter, with the Dutch crocus. I thought that it must not be saffron crocus, but it looked just like it, and my neighbor said that it tasted just like mild saffron. I suppose that it does not matter now that the flood took it away. I might try it again, since it was happy here, although perhaps confused.
I have never grown saffron crocus so cannot say. I think I am the only person I know who doesn’t appreciate the flavour!
I am almost another. I sort of like it, so I suppose that I appreciate it. However, the major allure escapes me. I do not see what all the fuss is about.
Exactly!
Beautiful vases. The iris are lovely, the tulips my favorite color of tulips. In fact, the shutters on my house are painted in a yellow quite like your tulips, that’s how much I love yellow.
Oh, those shutters must look so cheerful! I agree, yellow tulips are possibly my favourite too, but I don’t have many yellow ones in the garden. Must remedy that! 😃
💛 Couldn’t find a yellow flower so the yellow heart will have to do….I wish you many yellow tulips your whole life through.
Oh thank you so much! Wishing you the same! 🌼
Both the irises and the tulips are so colorful. They really cheered me up. Thank you!
I am glad they cheered you Beth. They are doing the same for me!
Beautiful Cathy! Your mom knows just what to chose for you! The tulips are lovely. Your small blue irises are gorgeous. I finally established some here and will follow your lead and try to keep adding some.
Thanks Susie! I always forget how early the iris are and am surprised when they appear.
You must have been thrilled to find some blooms to share on IAVOM but even more thrilled with your fantastic hare jug – what a great surprise for you! I have never had enough of these little iris to share in a vase, but I am hopeful things might improve if I start planting them deeper as people have suggested. The shop-bought tulips make a great splash too, and no doubt remind you what an asset tulips are for our vases. Mine are all sending up shoots now – how about yours?
Only the odd shoot here and there so far, except for those planted in pots which are a bit further as they were sheltered over winter. I will definitely be planting moreof those iris this autumn. Anna had a lovely purple one in her vase this week and I have already found two possible sources for them. 😃
It’s remembering to order them that can be an issue – I used to have a list stapled to the previous Peter Nyssen catalogue, but they no longer automatically issue catalogues now…
I keep a list going all the time on my iPad, which can be updated constantly, and write on my calendar when to check it and order. I made the mistake of waiting too long one year and almost everything I wanted had sold out!
Yes, without the reminder of PN catalogue I could do with a prompt too! I used to use the vrtual sticky notes on my laptop for jotting down plants I was interested in, but they have been tucked away somewhere else in Windows now instead of on the desktop – I suspect I can probably opt to keep them at hand though, so must sort that out now we have had this useful exchange…thank you 👍
So very pretty !
Aren’t they! And so welcome too. Thanks Gwennie.
They are just lovely! I have a vague memory of having planted more around my house last fall; I can’t wait to see them! And that bunny jug is just adorable! I can see it filled with forsythia.
That’s a great idea about the Forsythia Kimberley. I must cut some soon – it’s not flowering yet but will come out in a vase within a few days I think. 😃