In a Vase on Monday: Something in the Air

It was a glorious morning yesterday, with clear blue skies, a definite feeling of warmth in the sun, and temperatures here up to at least 14°C. It was the culmination of a week of noticeable changes in the garden, of buds breaking, bulbs pushing their way out the soil and tightly closed snowdrops and gnarled witch hazels opening fully. It was a week when many UK gardeners found themselves suddenly active in their gardens again, their creative sap rising as if in tune with that of the precious plants in their gardens. There was almost something tangible present or, at the very least,something in the air.

Here at the ‘Pink House’, there has been a single cheerful bloom on one of my early indoor narcissi, ‘Erlicheer’, and no amount of cajoling was going to add to their number this week, so to avoid a lonely week in a vase by itself a few friends had to called into service. Not that I had to look far, as my Sunday morning ramble in the garden was surprisingly punctuated by the sight of the first crocus (Have I had crocus in bloom in January before? Not sure…) – then a second…and a third…and… An uninvited stray in one of the old borders was the first sighting, then a tiny clump in the streamside grass, then a number dotted around the shrub border, all coaxed out by the relative warmth and sunshine. Three little blooms were joined by the same number of snowdrops, Galanthus ‘Blewbury Tart’, and a sprig of witch hazel ‘Magic Fire’.

The new season blooms were popped into a tiny green crocus vase, never a successful vessel for growing crocus, I have found. The little yellow ‘cocktail umbrella’ was initially a nod to the sunniness of the time they were picked, but could easily also hint at the inclemency of the weather which has seen a real mix of dampness and sunshine during the previous week – ideal weather for kickstarting the growing process perhaps, despite the initial morning coolness.

I know some other bloggers are also enjoying ‘firsts’ of the season at the moment, and I wonder how many will appear in vases on IAVOM. Whether or not you have any ‘firsts’ this week, do consider picking blooms or other material from your garden to pop into a vase or jamjar – most of us are by and large plonkers so don’t ever feel that you are ‘no good at arranging’ as that is not what this meme is about. We just want to encourage people to extend the enjoyment of their gardens by bringing the outside in – so do consider joining us if you haven’t done so before; by including links to and from this post we can then all share in the pleasure your vase has brought you. See you soon!

ps ‘Dancing Queen’ did last almost the full three weeks so she was definitely worth cutting