I am joining Cathy (at Rambling in the Garden) for her weekly ‘In a Vase on Monday’ posts, and as we edge into summer I have chosen to use some of my favourite flowers – Salvias – in my vase today.
The backdrop to the whole arrangement is my wonderful Salvia ‘Blauhügel’. It is now in full bloom, and will go on flowering all summer. This is a definite recommendation! The bees love it too.
A second salvia is my stalwart culinary one: Salvia officinalis ‘Nazareth’. It has a lovely mild, rounded flavour, unlike some other sages that can be a bit too strong.
The Nigella are finally flowering en masse, and some rather greyish, spotted white ones have thankfully given way to some spotless dazzling white ones and a some blues of various shades. For some reason I seem to have far more white this year…
Looking at the Nigella flowers up close never ceases to amaze me!
I must sow more of these blue ones…
The first Scabiosa perfecta has opened – a white one. The blue are still in bud. The bees love this plant too.
And I added a couple of Geraniums for a final flourish – the names are lost, but one of them may be Rozanne. They have grown tall this year with all the rain, so are now sprawling rather than standing!
My hare jug is one given to me by my Mum a few years ago and goes perfectly with the colour palette this week.
Hope your week gets off to a good start, and happy gardening!
Words and Herbs 
So pretty
Thanks Sandra. 😃
I love all your blues. My Geranium ‘ Rozanne’ has gone mad this year, probably all that rain. ‘Rozanne’ has a white centre, so perhaps yours is ‘Johnson’s Blue’ or Geranium magnificum
The labels are there, but buried beneath all the foliage! 😆
Such a beautiful arrangement Cathy! I’m just waiting for my self seeded Nigella to open but it’ll be several weeks still.
Thank you Chris! Yes, our mild nights this spring have meant a lot is ahead of schedule.
Those are great colors. I grow several salvia, but don’t have any in that shade.
Most of mine are varying shades of blue and purple as I grow mainly the hardy varieties.
A pretty colour combination.
Thanks Rosie!
What a spectacular vase full of juicy purple goodness with those salvias. I adore nigellas and have a few in a vase this week too. Mine also self-seed all over and what a display they make with all that frothy greenery.
And the seedheads are so lovely too, aren’t they! Thanks Donna. 😃
Beautiful colours 💙
Thank you Cathy. 😃
Beautiful! The shades of blue and purple, including the periwinkle blue, are so lovely. Great arrangement!
Thank you! I love these colours too. 😃
So pretty, all the blues. I don’t have that Salvia ‘Blauhügel’ but will look for it, I’d love to have that in my garden.
Blauhügel will keep on flowering for weeks and weeks. 😃
Like a summer sky, Cathy! What a beautiful collection of blues and whites – everything is so lovely. As you say, nigella are fascinating to inspect close up – I seem to have them reasonably established here now, but could do with some more blues too ps I see what you mean about the knautia in your header
That Salvia really is a lovely one, flowering for so long. I have the white version of it too, ‘Schneehügel’.
It’s good to know which salvia are reliably hardy too – even more important for you!
Beautiful.
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Thank you. 😃
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hat I lovely mix, Cathy! I love the Geranium but the Salvias are wonderful too. Are the Salvias scented? My native Salvia clevelandii cultivars have just gotten started but their scent is so strong I’m reluctant to bring many inside.
The Salvia Blauhügel does smell when you rub the leaves and the S. officinalis smells too, even on a damp day you can smell it just walking by. But in a vase I can’t detect any smell. The S. nemorosa are the strongest smelling ones and I wouldn’t bring them indoors.
You have many of my favorites in your vase today. I love the Nigella and the salvias, blue ones, especially. I hope the garden has dried out a bit for you.
It is slowly drying up, but we have had showers on and off which keeps the weeds coming! LOL! I always think of you and your salvias when I cut some for a vase. 😊These ones are really hardy though and need little to no care – just cutting down late autumn.
It rained once here and now I have weeds where there weren’t any! They are efficient. I love your Salvia.
Beautiful Purple!
Thanks! The salvias are the nearest to blue I can get!
All my favorite blues at this time of year. Thank you Cathy 💙
Thanks Val – blues and purples are in abundance at the moment.
Absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you! 😊
Salvias are real garden-worthy plants, aren’t they? Love the Nigella too. I planted some seeds but didn’t get them into the garden in time. The doily is a nice touch.
My Nigella are all from last year’s seed. I definitely need to scatter some more blue seed this year though!
A lovely purply combo, Cathy, and in one of my favorite vases of yours. 🙂
What is the translation for Salvia ‘Blauhügel’? It sounds like a good one.
You just reminded me to look for my G. ‘Rozanne’… I hope I didn’t lose it over winter!
Blauhügel means blue hill, and I have its white sister ‘Schneehügel’- snow hill. 😃
Hope Rozanne made it. Mine are pretty robust but we do have shorter winters here.
I checked and it did make it, yay! Thanks for the translation… I might see if I can find it here. 🙂
The Nigella are nice also, along with the Salvia. Someone at work recently asked about them. They self sow, but are not very pretty without watering. That is not a problem if they self sow within an irrigated area, but most do not.
I agree that they do look better if they get enough water, but not too much rain as that spoils the petals.
I love your arrangement and the little doily that you have the vase sitting on. Even that matches–I am suitably impressed. That deep blue of the salvias is such a great color.
The doily actually inspired using that vase and then picking those flowers for it! LOL!
Oh that’s such a pretty mixture of blues and dots of white Cathy. Nigellas are fascinating to look at even after they have flowered. I can’t see geranium ‘Rozanne’ in your mix – she has a noticeable white eye but your geranium is most appealing. Your hare vase echoes the colours of your flowers too – a great choice 😀
Thanks Anna. I must try and place my geranium labels so that they are visible when the plants actually flower! But a good tip that Rozanne has white at the centre. 😃
Your mum does have good taste in vases/jugs. That one is perfect for your arrangement. I do like the lovely deep blue Nigella along with the Salvias.
Thank you Catherine. My vase collection has grown over the years since joining in with this meme! 😁
Stunning !!! I love those blue’s !!!
Thanks Gwennie! 😃
You picked the perfect vase for your lovely bouquet of flowers.
Thank you Karen!
Gorgeous, Cathy. I’m also a fan of Nigella. How fun that you have purple and white varieties.