Cathy at Rambling in the Garden inspires us each Monday to find flowers from our gardens or collected locally to cut and enjoy in our homes. She has encouraged many of us to look forward to Monday as a day to share our vases with many other enthusiastic participants.
We have had a week of two very different weather conditions. For most of the week it was deliciously warm (ideal gardening weather), then at the weekend a ‘Beast from the East’ arrived bringing with it gale force winds and temperatures dipping below freezing. This had its effect on the development of the tulips. The pioneer stems of two varieties began to open and so were picked with the expectation of adding the rest within a few days; the cold temperatures have delayed the rest so today’s vases are not as abundant as I had envisaged.
A collection of vases and pots in the kitchen yesterday
Tulip Negrita has always been one of my favourite tulips, all the more as it has returned in the garden for many years. Last year I added some Double Negrita and for this year I saw that a Negrita has been added to the list available and decided to try them. The first bloom appeared almost a week ago, way ahead of the others in the pot; when I added the others to the vase and changed the water it keeled over as you can see in the image above. I then cut it shorter to give it more stability in the vase.
Today the Irises are finished so just a slim vase of Tulip Negrita Parrot and the fish bowl remain
Last weeks fish bowl arrangement has been adapted by removing the pot of Iris reticulata and adding a single stem of Tulip Blumex Favourite, another parrot tulip.
Last weeks fish bowl with the addition of Tulip Blumex Favourite
Tulip Blumex Favourite
What will you find to share with us today, I wonder. For more vases visit Cathy.
Hope this is a good gardening week for you all.
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
I enjoy seeing your tulips Christina. I think of tulips and wisteria as your signature flowers! This year I ordered Tulip Triumph ‘Negrita’ and seems a few have made it through our wet, wet winter, but no flowers yet. The fish bowl is a dynamic container for displaying flowers. I like how you can swap out materials easily for a new look. The coloring on the parrot tulip is marvelous.
I suppose tulips are my signature flower, I do love how they grow and the colours are always so rich. I emailed you.
Thanks for checking on us. Will respond later today. Hugs!
Love your parrots Christina! Tulips are such good value as they continue to lengthen and move into all sorts of extended shapes! And I love a tulip flower which has gone papery and the colour deepens. Maybe your lovely flowers today will do that! Amanda
If you look back on some of my many past posts about tulips you’ll see that is what I love about tulips too. Thank you for joining in the comments.
The dark tulips look so elegant and I think this slim vase with just a few may well look better than a more abundant vase – I wonder if that is the case with the darker shades? Your goldfish bowl is proving to be really versatile and what fun you will have experimenting – has it ever had goldfish in it…?! Thanks for sharing and for your continued enthusiasm – it always comes through in your Monday vases
No, there have never been any fish, it was bought as a vase and I have used it but it works best with the flowers inside I think.
I am sure you are right 🙂
Your tulips are a delight, Christina, and you’ve arranged them artfully. I continue to love the fish bowl idea. Happy new week!
Thanks Peter, it is such fun experimenting with different vases.
Cathy I feel the heart of the bad weather, you will have noticed a lot the plants. The Bold Tulip Parrot is divine as its color and it looks fantastic in that vase, I love it. As for your experiments with the fish tank, which I love, the Tulip Blumex Favorite has wonderful colors, it’s beautiful. The fish tank with its addition I love, it has been great. Forgive the boldness, but I like the fish tank so much that I have a question: The rest of the plants and leaves that you cast last week have not started to rot? If you answer it or not, a thousand thanks anyway. Have a very good week and do not get too cold. Take care. Greetings from Margarita.
I only put the base of the stems into the water so they haven’t rotted Margarita. The forecast is that the rest of the week will be warmer, I do hope so. Christina
Only the stems are in the water Margarita so they haven’t rotted. The forecast is that it will be warmer from tomorrow.
Christina thank you very much for taking away the doubt. I’m glad that the temperatures rise again. Greetings from Margarita.
I love seeing your beautiful tulips, Christina. The orange parrot variety is absolutely enchanting. I planted 3 small pots of the pre-sprouted tulips offered by my local garden center with the “inspiring” name of “two-tone tulips” a few weeks ago. They’ve got buds now but I’m still not sure what to expect of them.
Two tone could mean anything so I’ll be as excited as you to see your tulips when they flower.
I love the colour of Negrita too. And your tulip in a gold fish bowl looks rather like a gold fish, what fun. I hope you will get some warm weather again soon, it has been been gorgeous here, we are not used to such weather in February.
The warm weather is due to return very soon Chloris, it is the icy north wind that is keeping temperatures low.
So far so good on the gardening front thanks Christina, However I fear a cold snap and feel for your parrots. They may be fewer in numbers than you hoped but they look really lovely. Hoping your weather improves
The parrots are in the frost free greenhouse but it is quite warm during the day in there with the sun through the glass.
It is difficult to control the temperature in a greenhouse but to be able to have tulips now is a real treat. They’re lovely
But it is the chilling of the tulip bulbs that encourages them into flower now not the warmth in the greenhouse.
Yes I appreciate that but doesn’t the warmth then open the petals?
Yes, but I haven’t worked out what warmth is needed to make them flower quickly; but more than a frost free greenhouse gives them. The cold weather started much early this winter (in mid November) so I am predicting that the tulips already in the ground will flower earlier this year.
You really are getting to be the top tulip lady. I shall come to you for tips
Love the fishbowl. Kind of avant garde? I have a purple tulip phobia. Years ago, I had a project with 10,000 purple tulips in the annual beds-the contractor tried the new preemergent herbicide….yes, killed all the tulips.
Oh how awful! I am always worried when the farmer sprays the fields around us that it will drift into the garden and kill my plants.
Negrita is lovely. Must remember that one. I like the tall vase next to the short round one – nice effect. 🙂
The basic Negrita is always perfect, quite tall and the egg shape bloom is the classic tulip form.
Those Negrita tulips are stunning- you are right, its hard to beat. Makes me really keen to see my tulip flowers! Unseasonably warm here, we are enjoying a lovely spring, frost in the morning and sunny days.
Do you have Negrita this year? I would be very pleased to know when they flower in the garden for you. The wind has dropped today and it is very pleasant.
No I went for reds and some whites this year- now of course I yearn for purple! I have just spent the morning outside drawing , the warmth is amazing. A robin singing all the time from a beech tree.
I have a robin here who follows me around all day long.
I love parrot tulips, so sculptural. The deep purple is esp. pretty.
Windy weather seems to be common all around. We are experiencing the end of a windstorm that has brought down some large trees. More firewood!
Some large branches came down around us but nothing significant in the garden.
Didn’t spot your fish bowl arrangement last week, but it is very striking. Love it!
Thanks
You have piqued my interest in experimenting with the use of a fish bowl and a cut glass rose bowl that typically remain on the shelf…what a missed opportunity. You may have wished for abundance but put scarcity to excellent use.
Designing inside a vase is an interesting change from the usual.