In a vase on Monday – Orange yet again

Monday means a vase of flowers from my garden for Cathy.  Yes, in a way I do feel that these vases are a gift to Cathy and all those who join her meme; they are also a gift to me as I’m sure sometimes I would think I was too busy to pick flowers just for myself.  Today is a good example; I have a dental appointment and lots to plant in the garden so without Cathy I wouldn’t have produced this arrangement.

The cuttings garden in August

We have had perhaps the hottest summer since we moved to Italy.  I spent most of July and certainly the first half of August hiding from the heat and sun.  What made this year’s temperatures particularly difficult was that the night time temperatures were not very much lower than mid-day.  So there was no relief for me or for my plants.  But through it all the cuttings bed has produced masses of flowers for me to pick and enjoy indoors.

In a vase on Monday – Airy Perovskia

For the first time in months I didn’t have to go into the garden at first light to pick flowers for my vases to join with Cathy at Rambling in the garden’s Monday meme; today is cool with a strong wind that manages to desiccate the plants as much as the hot sun but it is better for me!

GBFD – Changes to the garden 4

Welcome to Garden Bloggers Foliage Day, the place to share all the things you love (or even hate) about the foliage in your garden.  To join in just leave a link to and from this post; whether you want to share all the beautiful foliage in your garden, or would like to highlight one plant, or tell us about how you use foliage in your garden; you are most welcome

Wordless Wednesday – Newly emerged

This is natural light, no flash

I thought I’d link with Flutter and Hum and her Wednesday Vignette, visit to see some interesting combinations and there aren’t always plants!

In a vase on Monday – August colour

The cuttings beds continue to provide me with enough material each week to fill several vases, so I am again able to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden where she asks us to share a vase we have picked from our own gardens.

Changes in the Garden 3

I would like to thank everyone who has contributed with their thoughts, suggestions and ideas.  This for me is like having a good gardening friend at my side; mulling over ideas with a cup of coffee or perhaps you’d prefer a glass of wine?  Don’t be afraid to leave a comment with your thoughts.

In a Vase on Monday – The same but different

Monday is the day when Cathy from Rambling in the garden asks us all to join her in picking flowers from our own gardens and plonking or arranging them in a vase to enjoy during the week in our homes.

Again there were a lot of flowers to pick and to be honest a lot of spent blooms that needed dead-heading, I really do need to do this job every couple of days as this morning I cut off more dead blooms than fresh ones from the Cosmos (all kinds).  There is an interesting balance between having enough of any one kind of flower to be able to produce the kind of vase I want and having so many flowers that they aren’t picked at all; I do enjoy them in the garden though as not much else is flowering in the heat.

The formal garden now – Changes 2

My mind is full of ideas and plans – just what I love!  In my post outlining some of the options for changing the Formal garden, here, I failed to show you any currant images; I think it is always difficult to imagine exactly what a garden is like to be in without seeing it in person.  However much I follow blogs regularly and think I know them when I have had the pleasure of actually seeing them I have always been surprised by what I didn’t know or realise.

2015.08.03 In a vase on Monday – summer!

Monday is when Cathy from Rambling in the garden asks us to pick flowers from our gardens to enjoy in our homes so very early this morning before it became too hot to go outside I picked three buckets of flowers and let them have a long drink while I did other things.