Wecome to ‘In A Vase On Monday’ when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join her challenge to pick a vase of flowers from the garden every week. Before I show you what I have made today, I just had to share this photo taken very early this morning – this must be the frostiest morning I have got up to yet this year!
Today’s vase just had to be made in a wonderful old French jam jar holder that I bought at a sale of French collectables on Friday evening. Called The Boule-in, this sale is new to me but apparently happens four times a year in the village of Bildeston, which is about a half hour drive from here. The sale was set up in the house and garden of the organisers and on Friday evening there was a real party atmosphere. The garden had large log fires burning in old brasiers to keep the chill off and the trees and shrubs were decorated with fairy lights.
My finds on Friday included two of these rusty old jam jar holders, which are a perfect fit for the Bon Maman jam jars that I tend to save. These will have plenty of use for summer evenings filled either with flowers or candles and I could not wait to give them a try today. The garden is full of spring bulbs right now with more appearing every day, so I was spoilt for choice.
Into the six jam jars I have placed six individual posies of spring flowers. I love the rusty look of this holder and the idea that it may have been used for many years in a French home. I can almost feel the sun on the outside dining table in the French countryside and smell the lavender in a nearby field!
The first posy was made from the very last of my Paperwhites. I dug the bulbs out of the greenhouse bed today and replaced them with early spinach and lettuce. This should keep me going with salad greens until I need the space for tomato plants in May.
A mix of anemones made up the second posy. Mr Fokker and Sylphide have been joined by the white anemone The Bride in the garden and all three clumps are now pumping out flowers.
The next posy was made from the latest narcissi to flower – White Cheerfulness and Actaea. I cannot believe that I am already dead heading the yellow trumpet daffodils and the tiny Tete a Tete. Once the garden starts to move everything seems to come and go so quickly.
I have great swathes of muscari (also called grape hyacinths) flowering this week. Today the clumps were literally buzzing with bees. I had not realised that this flower was so attractive to bees, but I would now recommend it to anyone planning a bee friendly border. I just hope those bees are also visiting my peach and apricot blossom!
I still have a few of the yellow daffodils in flower and I combined them in the fifth jar with hyacinth “Delft Blue’ which is a favourite of mine.
My final sixth jam jar is full of the white hyacinth L’Innocence. This is my favourite for pots and containers. Every year I order new bulbs for my container display and every spring I find homes for these bulbs in the borders. After three seasons here the border display is starting to grow in substance, allowing me to pick a few stems for a posy.
So there you have it – spring in a French jam jar! I hope you will pop over to Cathy’s blog to have a look at what she and the others have made this week.
