Welcome to this weeks In A Vase On Monday when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join in with her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase for the house every Monday.
This week I am sharing my new love with you. This is tulip Charming Lady and is possibly the most beautiful tulip I have ever grown! I found this tulip on the Peter Nyssen website last autumn when I was looking for some apricot coloured varieties to grow in my cutting garden.
This beautiful tulip has been flowering for about three weeks now and is still looking good. These apricot shades are almost luminous in the garden.
You can see in the photo above that some of the flowers are more towards pink than orange and all have a lovely hint of green in the petals.
Described as a double late tulip, I have been cutting heads since she started flowering and they last perfectly in a vase, aging very gracefully. I particularly like this tulip cut short and displayed in little bottles.
Also on display on the cake plate is my favourite spring shrub Viburnum x burkwoodii. These clusters of domed flowers which are pink in bud but open white are exceptionally fragrant. Although I laid them on the cake stand for the photos, they are now safely in their own little vase. These flowers do not last particularly well once cut but 2 or 3 heads will easily fragrance a warm room. I will cut a few fresh stems every couple of days whilst this wonderful shrub is in flower to get maximum exposure to the irresistible scent. In the garden the scent is always much stronger in the evening, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for some warmer weather so that I can enjoy the fragrance on my evening strolls with the dogs.
Sadly these Charming Lady bulbs are growing in a bed affected by the dreaded tulip fire so I am digging them up and destroying them as I cut the flowers for the house. Ideally I would have left the bulbs in place to see how well they flowered next year, but I cannot take any risks with this horrible virus so all the tulip bulbs are coming out of the cutting beds this year. You can be sure though that I will be placing an order for more of these beautiful tulips to plant in another spot in the autumn - this is certainly a tulip I do not want to be without again!
Have you found any new favourite tulips this year? Do leave a comment and let us know.
Next week I have a very lovely giveaway to go with my 'In A Vase On Monday' post - I was given a copy of a beautiful Paula Pryke book called Everyday Flowers that I already have, so I thought I would offer it here. Make sure to check back next week for details of how to enter the draw.
Thank you as ever to the lovely Cathy for hosting - do pop over to her blog to see what she and the others have found this week. Cathy has a real treat for us today - she has been growing flowers for her daughters wedding and made all the bouquets and arrangements herself. Today she is sharing photos of these lovely flowers. Growing for a spring wedding can be very tricky and it is so good to see how all the months of planning have materialised into wonderful posies in just the colours the bride requested - well done Cathy!!
Welcome to this weeks In A Vase On Monday when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join in with her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase for the house every Monday.
This week I am sharing my new love with you. This is tulip Charming Lady and is possibly the most beautiful tulip I have ever grown! I found this tulip on the Peter Nyssen website last autumn when I was looking for some apricot coloured varieties to grow in my cutting garden.
This beautiful tulip has been flowering for about three weeks now and is still looking good. These apricot shades are almost luminous in the garden.
You can see in the photo above that some of the flowers are more towards pink than orange and all have a lovely hint of green in the petals.
Described as a double late tulip, I have been cutting heads since she started flowering and they last perfectly in a vase, aging very gracefully. I particularly like this tulip cut short and displayed in little bottles.
Also on display on the cake plate is my favourite spring shrub Viburnum x burkwoodii. These clusters of domed flowers which are pink in bud but open white are exceptionally fragrant. Although I laid them on the cake stand for the photos, they are now safely in their own little vase. These flowers do not last particularly well once cut but 2 or 3 heads will easily fragrance a warm room. I will cut a few fresh stems every couple of days whilst this wonderful shrub is in flower to get maximum exposure to the irresistible scent. In the garden the scent is always much stronger in the evening, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for some warmer weather so that I can enjoy the fragrance on my evening strolls with the dogs.
Sadly these Charming Lady bulbs are growing in a bed affected by the dreaded tulip fire so I am digging them up and destroying them as I cut the flowers for the house. Ideally I would have left the bulbs in place to see how well they flowered next year, but I cannot take any risks with this horrible virus so all the tulip bulbs are coming out of the cutting beds this year. You can be sure though that I will be placing an order for more of these beautiful tulips to plant in another spot in the autumn - this is certainly a tulip I do not want to be without again!
Have you found any new favourite tulips this year? Do leave a comment and let us know.
Next week I have a very lovely giveaway to go with my 'In A Vase On Monday' post - I was given a copy of a beautiful Paula Pryke book called Everyday Flowers that I already have, so I thought I would offer it here. Make sure to check back next week for details of how to enter the draw.
Thank you as ever to the lovely Cathy for hosting - do pop over to her blog to see what she and the others have found this week. Cathy has a real treat for us today - she has been growing flowers for her daughters wedding and made all the bouquets and arrangements herself. Today she is sharing photos of these lovely flowers. Growing for a spring wedding can be very tricky and it is so good to see how all the months of planning have materialised into wonderful posies in just the colours the bride requested - well done Cathy!!