Well, this is my first IaVoM post for the year. It's not my first vase, as I made one a few weeks ago, just Heuchera foliage and a few dried grasses, then failed to get photos, therefore, no post.
I checked the Heuchera again today as a good starting point for a vase, but the leaves are now thoroughly mud-splashed and tattered from our last few storms. No new leaves are large enough to pick; but it's worth noting that the plant has never gone fully dormant, instead producing fresh foliage off and on all whole winter long. This, despite our occasional nighttime excursions into the single digits. I think the lowest we've gotten was 2 F/-17 C, but temperature swings have been wide all season--admittedly, quite normal for the area!
But enough of my admiration for Heuchera! Today's vase is all about a tiny wildflower because it is pretty much the only thing flowering at the moment.
Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is an introduced weed here, but apparently a harmless one. Suffice to say there really aren't any native plants that go to the trouble (or risk) of blooming when the weather is still this unsettled and often still quite bitter. It has taken its place at the start of the bloom cycle on our still rather unkempt hillside. It likes to grow in the disturbed soil right around the house. A brand-new garden border has not yet cramped its style much.
So I pulled up some stems with blooms on them and slipped them into my smallest bud vase.
I still think they are quite pretty, if you look closely. Very closely... They are such tiny flowers; but after months of winter, they are quite welcome.
Pale pink to magenta with vivid blotches, they are actually a bit exotic in both form and color. But you have to get right down to see them!
I suppose this would be classified as a foraged vase: picking weeds out of my own border...!
Happy new week, and do check the vases at Rambling in the Garden. Spring is in full cry elsewhere in the world!
Weather Diary: Partly cloudy; High: 57 F (14 C)/Low: 41 F (5 C); Humidity: 62%-94%
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Cathy (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 03:45)
Lovely tiny flowers. :-) Spring is coming your way soon too Amy. The weeds always flower first and make me feel guilty about pulling them! ;-)
Graham Wright (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 11:48)
They're like tiny orchids. Or Streps. Makes you realise how much we're missing when we don't look at the detail.
Lovely photographs too.
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 12:59)
Cathy@Words and Herbs - They do make me feel a tad guilty at this stage as I wonder why I don't just think of them as seasonal groundcover! Later in the season I remember why lol...! But they are quite refreshing at the moment.
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 13:10)
Graham Wright - Yes, surprisingly like a very, very miniature Strep, though I won't be potting them up for my windowsill! ;-) Thank you very much; I'm not sure I would ever have noticed the details if I hadn't been photographing them. Makes one think...
Kris P (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 14:14)
On first glance, the flowers reminded me of Hypoestes aristata, aka ribbon bush. I'm glad you've got some color to catch your eye until you have more to grab attention in your garden, Amy.
Diana Studer (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 15:01)
Early flowers must be feeding some early insects?
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 22:07)
Kris - I wasn't familiar with the Hypoestes; it looks like it should be better known! It's curious that henbit's slender, pink blooms and bright blotches are reminiscent of a number of showier tropical plants. These are so small that one hardly even realizes they are in flower, especially as the foliage is a dark red. But they are braving the start of the new season and definitely have my attention at the moment!
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 18 February 2020 22:11)
Diana - I don't see native bugs out yet, other than a few flies. The henbit having been introduced from the eastern hemisphere, perhaps there aren't any bugs here to live in symbiosis with it? But the henbit lasts for many weeks and will surely feed some early pollinators as they emerge. To be honest, it's a weed/wildflower that didn't occur in my first garden, so I'm only learning about it now. ;-)
Cathy (Sunday, 23 February 2020 01:51)
It's a joy to celebrate these teeny tiny blooms Amy - and yet it's so easy to take 'weeds' for granted. The little bud vase is perfect to show them off - have you been able to begin potting again yet? Hope things are settling down for you both in your new life and that you are happy and at peace