In a Vase on Monday: Ice Flowers

Frozen Hellebore buds

Although it hasn’t been extremely cold so far this winter, it has been cold! Temperatures have been below freezing almost constantly since the first week of January, and we have also had some strong wind making it feel even colder. I haven’t been near any lakes recently, but I imagine they are frozen… which reminded me of this photo on my perpetual calendar. I made this about 25 years ago, long before I had a digital camera. (I originally made it for the year 2000). And although the photo is no longer as vivid as it was, you can still make out figures on a frozen lake, with the sun setting behind them.

Ice skating, curling, ice hockey or just an afternoon stroll across the winter lakes here in Bavaria is an invigorating way to celebrate this brief spell. And it should be celebrated as you can’t count on it happening every year. We have had a few milder years recently, so we were due a cold one. I think the coldest we have ever had it since I came to Germany was -23°C, while this year the coldest has been about -13°C.

Our forecast is mild and stormy this week, so I imagine the ice will melt quickly. But here are a few images of it before it does, taken on a sunny day last week…

And my tiny vase today contains the dried white spiky flowers of Anaphalis, looking quite icy themselves.

The calendar currently stands on a bookshelf, along with another vase of dried flowers that I daredn’t move for fear of them disintegrating! (I think that’s a Scabiosa seedhead leaning into the photo!)

The violet jug is about 6 cm (2.5 inches) tall, so you have an idea of scale.

I wonder how cold your winter has been so far?

I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme, where we are invited to share a vase of materials found in or around our gardens. I love taking part as often as possible, but today I was not tempted to go out and search for something ‘fresh’! 😉

In a Vase on Monday: Winding Down

The snow we had over the weekend has melted, but more is due later today… just in time for the start of Advent and the Christmas Markets. I always think Advent is celebrated so nicely here in Bavaria with the markets and with people putting up lights in their gardens and hanging wreaths on their doors. Advent wreaths for the table, with four candles – one for each Sunday in Advent – are also really popular and are on sale everywhere.

The garden season is winding down, with the last tasks completed just before the snow arrived; mulching tender plants, putting garden equipment away, and tucking my pots up tight against the barn wall in case of snow ‘avalanches’ falling from the roof. So, although it was bright and sunny yesterday, I opted for a vase that would reflect the fact that the garden is now resting.

I have been adding to this vase since the spring, and it has been waiting for its moment of glory on In a Vase on Monday. 😃

The fluffy round seedheads are Pulsatilla, gathered late spring. It was a gamble whether they would remain intact, and some did in fact disintegrate, but I must have picked and dried these specimens at just the right time. I love the tall, dark and rather dramatic Siberian Iris seedheads.. There are still a few standing in the garden. And I managed to save some poppy seedheads too – they often get bent in the wind or burnt by the sun, but these were picked fairly early and hung upside down in the cellar for a few months.

On the right is some Calamagrostis and Pennisetum. I find that the grasses last better if picked just as they are starting to ‘flower’. On the left is a golden sprig of Stipa gigantea. (Have they changed that name?) The dried pink flowers in the photo above are Helichrysum’Silvery Rose’.

And tucked into the vase on the right you can see some little white flowers which I dried successfully for the first time this year; Anaphalis triplinervis ‘Silberregen’ (Silver Rain). Again, these are best picked early if you intend to dry them, just as the tiny flowers are starting to show their golden centre.

Do you dry any flowers or grasses from your garden?

Do visit our hostess, Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden to see her vase today. We had a lovely zoom meeting yesterday with her and some of the other contributors to this Monday meme – I feel very self-conscious on zoom, but really enjoyed seeing your friendly faces again and hearing about your gardening experiences. ❣️A big thank you to Cathy for organizing it, and to Karen for her slideshow. 🤗

Finally, a reminder that my Week of Flowers 2023 will begin on Friday 1st December. Please join me in posting a photo or two each day for a week, to brighten up this dark time of year. Hope to see you then!

A Week of Flowers 2023:

Starting Friday, December 1st through to Thursday, December 7th.  

The Botanical Garden in Regensburg, July 2023

When it comes to garden-related visits (or buying wool!) my friend Simone is always in on it. In fact it was she who suggested we go to the Botanical Garden in Regensburg!
Neither of us had been before, and we were not expecting very much as I had been very disappointed on a visit to the Botanical Garden in Munich some years ago. But Regensburg got a big thumbs up from us both. 👍👍

There are three small greenhouses at the entrance, which were even hotter and more humid than it was outside, but it was interesting to see things like coffee plants, peanut plants, cactii and palms up close. A few things caught my eye in particular; firstly the Turmeric plant Curcuma longa. I had never really given it much thought where the yellow spice comes from, assuming it was from the seed. But the information sheet told me the roots are dried and ground.

And then this pretty Oxalis also made me stop… Oxalis is considered an invasive weed by some, a pretty pot plant by others. I saw one in the garden centre two days later, sold as ‘lucky clover’! This is Oxalis triangularis, originating in South America but now much more widespread.

And this pretty little Echinopsis in full flower… I find I am drawn to cactii, but only have two tiny ones. I should remedy that!

We then moved on to the ‘test’ area and pharmaceutical plants, all laid out in square beds, clearly labelled. That was one thing we loved… the labels. We both like being able to put names to plants.

We zig-zagged between the beds…

Pulicaria dysenterica

Discovering beauty everywhere we looked…

Inula

I was fascinated by this blackberry flower (the label was hidden, but I think it is Rubus ulmifolius ‘Bellidiflorus’…

It would be impossible to study each plant in an afternoon as there is such variety. Here are two different Lythrum next to each other.

And here is one of the Hydrangeas under the shade of a leaf-covered gazebo.

Hydrangea macrophylla

The next larger area of the gardens is like a park, with huge old trees – many of which I had never heard of or seen before – and grassy areas in between with sections devoted to different continents, climates and growing conditions.

The Botanical Garden was established only in 1977, and yet there were some enormous trees, including a huge Mulberry Tree and this…

… Idesia polycarpa, also known as the ‘Wonder Tree’. It has these beautiful leaves…

Fortunately the trees provided us (and some plants) with much needed shade…

Ligularia

But here the weather got the better of us, and after a brief rest on a shady bench we ambled back the way we had come, deciding we would return on a cooler day.

From the map, we possibly saw about half of it, but as entrance is free and it is easy to drive to, we will probably visit again early autumn.

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Do you have a botanical garden near enough to visit, and have you been there? Did you enjoy it?

Thanks for joining me on this brief tour! 😃

 

 

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: 21st June, 2023

As it is the summer solstice today I have chosen St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) as my weed/wildflower of the week.

It started flowering a little earlier than usual last week – as you may have guessed, it gets its name from St John’s Day on 24th June, and usually opens just before that. This pretty yellow flower, with its characteristic reflective shiny five petals, spreads everywhere here, and has recently also started invading my flower beds. Although, I must admit I do have some I planted specifically in my Herb Bed as well, as you can see in this photo below. 😉

And here it is growing wild in the meadow…

I believe Hypericum perforatum is indeed classified as an invasive weed in North America, where it is a neophyte. Like many of the plants growing wild here, it has been used medicinally for centuries, primarily as an antidepressant and for anxiety or sleeping disorders. It is also anti-bacterial, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory, and Hypericum oil (hypericin) has been used for treating bruises, burns, rashes, rheumatism and sprains. Like many herbal remedies, the pharmaceutical industry has tried to play down its usefulness, but data from 2004 showed it is the most frequently prescribed anti-depressant in Germany and for light to medium depression has the same effect as other drugs. (I read the other day that over 8 million people in the UK take anti-depressant medication – hopefully hypericum is sometimes prescribed there too).

The oil is in the leaves, and the glands can be seen when the leaves are held up to the light, looking like tiny perforations. (Hence the botanical name Hypericum perforatum.)

The flower buds produce a reddish purple ‘ink’ when squeezed between the fingers, which also explains one of the names used for it in German – ‘Herrgottsblut’  (‘lord’s blood’) – apparently a reference to the blood of the holy Saint John the Baptist.

 The flowers of St. John’s Wort (Johanniskraut in German) are considered to be at their most potent at midsummer and are traditionally used here in wreaths and decorations. These are made with nine herbs altogether and displayed on the door as protection, or the herbs are held over the Johannisfeuer – a bonfire lit on the eve of St John’s Day. One of these other herbs may be Chamomile, which I featured last week. Another is Artemisia, which also grows in my garden. However, the herbs used do vary from region to region. These old traditions are dying out, but in some small communities – particularly further south – the traditional bonfires and midsummer parties still take place.

I wonder if this flower grows wild near you… or if it finds its way into your flower beds like here. I would love to know if it is common in the UK in particular, as I do not recall it from my childhood.

If you would like to join me one Wednesday with a wild and weedy post, please do. And leave a link in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, and happy solstice! 😉

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: 10th May, 2023

This week I have chosen a very pretty wild flower to share, with a pretty name too: Lady’s Smock, or Cardamine pratensis.

These delicate looking flowers nod their heads above tall grass in damp meadows, which is why it has reappeared here this spring after our rather wet winter. And I am so glad to see it.

This is another edible wild flower, full of vitamin C, and quite peppery. It is also called the Cuckoo Flower, perhaps because it flowers just as the first cuckoos are commonly heard. (I haven’t heard a cuckoo yet). The name may, however, be due to the ‘cuckoo spit’ often found on it –  produced by spittlebugs which produce a kind of foam around their larvae as protection. The German name reflects this: ‘Schaumkraut’ – ‘foam weed’.

The colour varies from almost white to a soft lilac. The one above grows in partial shade and is paler than the ones in the full sun. It is a valuable food plant for the Orange Tip butterflies, as well as for various bees including wild bees and for bee flies and other butterflies.

The Flower Fairy’s poem describes it as ‘Dainty as a fairy’s frock’. And that is, I find, a perfect description. 😃

If anyone would like to join me on a Wednesday in posting about weeds/wild flowers in your garden, just leave a comment with a link below. Thanks for reading!

🐝🐞🦋🪲

 

 

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: 3rd May, 2023

Each week I look at a wild flower or weed that is growing in the garden, Well, May is probably the best time of year for the weeds and wild flowers, so I have to be selective for my posts this month!

This cheerful yellow flower has caught my eye in the past week or so: Potentilla verna/neumanniana, or spring cinquefoil. It is only a few centimetres tall, with leaves that are finger-shaped, hence the German name ‘Fingerkraut’. The flowers are relatively small, about 1.5 to 2 cm across. But make up for their size with vibrant colour. It has only been spotted in the meadow so far, but I expect it will turn up in the flower beds at some stage. 😉

Another Potentilla is growing wild in the meadow too, but is not in flower yet. Let me know if you see this one or something similar in your part of the world. And please do share your weeds and wild flowers too. Just post a photo and leave a link here on a Wednesday. 😃

Thanks for reading!

 

Join me for ‘A Week of Flowers’ 2022

For the past two years I have invited my blogging friends to join me in posting a photo of a flower each day for a week at the end of November/beginning of December. And it has been so much fun that I am doing it again! This year I will be starting on November 30th.

November seems to have slipped by, possibly because the first half was so sunny and mild and it felt like October. Now I realize Advent starts this coming weekend!

Last year I made new blogging friends with my Week of Flowers. Connecting to people around the world simply by sharing our passion for plants is certainly a good way to spend a few hours on a dark December evening.

So, from Wednesday November 30th through to Tuesday December 6th I will be sharing the most colourful and cheerful flowers from my garden in 2022. 😃

Please join me in making December a bit brighter. It can be one photo, or more if you like. You can post just one day or all seven. But do leave a link in the comments so that we can all see what you have found to share!

I am looking forward to it!