Spring is growing ever greener here. The new grass is lush, and the trees are just starting to show a faint mist of color across their tops.
The color is echoed in the flowers of Helleborus "Ivory Prince"--not ivory so much as green blushing to pale pink thus far. I had complained in an earlier post about the showing from this, my only hellebore, but it looks as though I spoke too soon. Within a week and after a good trimming, its beauties are more easily seen.
I picked a couple of stems for today's vase--not many as the plant is still small and a bit spare with its blooms!
Their substantial sepals in soft, pale green seem to express this part of spring very well.
The other blooms in the border come from the noID Muscari that was already in the ground when we bought the place. A few stems were plonked into my vase alongside the hellebore.
And to further the cacophony, I added a couple of brilliant burgundy leaves from Heuchera. This is a plant from the "Carnival " series, but more than that I don't know, except that the "Carnival" heucheras have H. villosa heritage, making them more heat-tolerant.
It has been very robust, and its unabashed color holds well through the various indignities the weather has been perpetrating. In fact, just now it is both very bright and getting bigger by the day. A first flowering stem is arching out of all that foliage. I thought it wouldn't hurt to snip a couple of young leaves for the vase.
I have used my stoneware vase, hand-thrown and glazed in a copper-bearing glaze with just a ring of flow glaze at the mouth. This creates a vibrant crystalline look to accent the top of the vase.
Please do check the other vases for this week's In a Vase on Monday at Rambling in the Garden. It is quite the season for flowers!
Weather Diary: Cloudy; High: 70 F (21 C)/Low: 54 F (12 C); Humidity: 69%-94%
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Cathy (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 03:36)
Hi Amy. A pretty poss showing how your spring is progressing. I really love the little vase you have used! �
Cathy (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 03:37)
Oops, sorry. That should be 'posy'.
Cathy (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 06:21)
I was wondering what a 'poss' was...!!
It must be so exciting being able to pick your first blooms after a long time without, Amy, and this little combo works beautifully - the heuchera leaf was the perfect addition to the main players. I hope everything is settling down for you and your sister, Amy, and that you are beginning to feel more comfortable in your new life. Have you been able to set your kiln up again? And do you have plans for English roses in your new garden?
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 10:50)
Cathy@Words and Herbs - We are definitely reaching that lovely mid-spring stage with little frost and trees just beginning to leaf out. I'm sure the redbud trees will be magnificent soon, but unfortunately there are none within my daily view from home. Native, wild Cercis canadensis is one of the great beauties of spring here.
My sister suggests that a "poss" must be somehow related to a tussy-mussy! ;-) So there you have it!
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 11:11)
Cathy@Rambling in the Garden - Having flowers to pick from the garden makes an enormous difference! Things were feeling pretty bleak until I could go out and see my little blooms! There are still a lot of unknowns in our immediate future because this move was only meant as a stopgap while we made further arrangements. The goal is still to return to the southwest if possible. But of course at present we can't go anywhere!
Setting up the kiln is still not feasible at the property, what with wiring and shed requirements. We were just getting ready to work with a pottery group that provides kiln access for members; then Covid-19 arrived, so that is on hold! Aargh! I have a whole stack of pieces ready to fire... Maybe later in the year...
I'm watching the rose situation closely because the wild roses on the property have rose rosette disease, which I was unfamiliar with till recently. So I need to deal with that before I add any English roses to my tiny menagerie; Wollerton Old Hall is at the top of my wish list, but it will have to wait! Meantime my little miniature is doing well and the antique Common Moss is coming along nicely. Hopefully they can be kept disease-free while I sort this out.
Kris P (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 11:42)
I'm glad to hear that Spring is making its presence known, Amy. I love the beautiful blue Muscari, which isn't something that grows well in my own area.
Lynda Price (Tuesday, 07 April 2020 16:21)
Really happy to see your hellebore settling in and branching out. The subtle colours are wonderful.
Libby (Wednesday, 08 April 2020 13:16)
Such crisp and beautiful pictures Amy; and that vase is so very pretty. Really nice. It helps that spring is here and we can all be outside; helps to relieve some of the anxiety doesn't it?
Cathy Thompson (Thursday, 09 April 2020 11:53)
That heuchera picks up the rosy tints on the hellebore perfectly - love your vase! Hope you are keeping well, Amy?
Amy@small sunny garden (Thursday, 09 April 2020 15:27)
Kris - The Muscari have been a great extension for spring flowers. I'm so glad they were already in as I probably wouldn't have planted any yet. Quite a nice blue!
Amy@small sunny garden (Thursday, 09 April 2020 15:30)
Lynda - The hellebore is delightful and will only get better, I expect. So elegant! :)
Rebecca Jones (Thursday, 09 April 2020 16:35)
this is a really cute vase - love the colour of the pottery too. Lovely hellebore too, it's fascinating watching them fade through the colours. I had one in my 'In a Vase on Monday' last week.
Amy@small sunny garden (Thursday, 09 April 2020 17:26)
Libby - Thanks so much! I'm glad you like the vase: it remains one of my favorites, and I'm hoping to return to this glaze combination once I can get supplies and arrange for kiln firing! Meantime, absolutely it's wonderful to have gardens!
Amy@small sunny garden (Thursday, 09 April 2020 17:45)
Cathy Thompson - I wondered about adding that big splash of pink foliage, but I think you're quite right about it working with the hellebore blooms--all the better as they get pinker with age. We're well here and trying to make sure we stay that way! Hope all is well with you too!
Amy@small sunny garden (Thursday, 09 April 2020 17:48)
Rebecca Jones - Thank you so much! I am so glad I managed to get the hellebore planted first thing last year as they do supply so much pleasure watching the changing blooms. So glad you enjoy the vase too! :)
Diana Studer (Saturday, 11 April 2020 17:31)
The delicate detail glazing the neck, totally distracts me from the flowers. I am mesmerised by the two gold rings!
Amy@small sunny garden (Tuesday, 14 April 2020 12:21)
Diana - So happy you like the vase, and I'm so hoping I can return to using those glazes eventually (if we can get the firing situation sorted)! The rings are actually the points where the glazes--the flow glaze in particular becomes very fluid during firing--has mostly run off the rim. So the clay body itself is showing through just a thin film of glaze there. One never knows precisely how they will flow or develop during firing, so this is always an exciting thing to see when the kiln is first opened!