Having spotted a few more viable blooms on Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ I cut them for today’s vase and added a sprig of near-neighbour Hamamelis vernalis ‘Amethyst’. The latter was a mere stick when I bought it a little over 5 years ago but has been growing 3-4″ 
every year and is now covered in blossom. The flowers are smaller than the intermedia varieties and although a beautiful shade of purple they do not stand out in the way that their orange, copper and red cousins do, but they are distinctively different which is why I like them and have spared a single sprig for today’s vase.
Joining the viburnum and witch hazel are the remnants of flowers from Rosa ‘Snow Goose’, white with a delicate hint of pink which is not always obvious, more buds of Rosa ‘The Mayflower’ (I am so looking forward to sharing a summer with this rose if it proves to be as generous as its buds suggest), and 
foliage and a few pink berries from the D***l’s Plant which still appears in the hedge periodically. The resultant neat little posy was popped into one of my many Caithness Glass vases and accompanied by a sickly sweet pink cupcake, purchased for a few pence as a potential prop and which actually contains some sort of cheap lip balm, presumably strawberry flavoured.
My green vase from last week is still looking green and moderately healthy and with a small degree of culling will look good for at least a few more days. As the remnants of Christmas are cleared away even small offerings from the garden will make an impact, both visually and in the case of this viburnum through their fragrance. Pressing my nose against the witch hazel tells me there is fragrance there too, albeit not as readily evident. Whether foliage or blooms, twigs or fruits or cones, with fragrance or without, see what you can find in your gardens today to pop into a vase or jar or other receptacle to bring inside to enhance your week – then share it with us by leaving links to and from this post.
Rambling in the Garden 
Good morning and Happy New Year Cathy! Snap – we both have witch hazel in our vases today. It is one of my most favourite things and at this time of year, the flowers are even more welcome. Your vase is literally pretty as a picture, and I love the very dark colour of your witch hazel. I don’t think I have seen one that colour before. I have three. The one in my photo, another with rusty red flowers, and the third blooms last with rather acid yellow flowers. My favourite is the one in today’s vase! Amanda https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-first-2019-vase-on-monday.html
And the same to you Amanda – hope you are feeling more yourself now. I too am very fond of witch hazels and have a few (ahem,,,12!) . My favourites are Harry ( large chrome yellow flowers) and Jelena (floriferous copper blooms)
Twelve is an impressive number of witch hazels! To see them in such quantity I usually go into town (Edinburgh) and see them in bloom in the Botanics. They have a lovely group of bushes (trees?) there. Several years ago they relocated them all to make way for a new sort of hanging gardens exhibit, but all the plants seemed to survive well, but their original space doesn’t really look the same any more. I loved the grouping of all the witch hazels and when they were in bloom they were a real sight to behold. Hey ho!
They must have been lovely when they were all together. Most of mine are in a similar area in the streamside grass or the adjacent shrub border, so I can see them from the house. I bought my first 2 or 3 from someone about 25 miles away who held a National Collection – that was way back in 2003 and I didn’t really know much about them then but they were a sight to behold. Sadly the house and land have since been sold but I hope the collection was rehoused somewhere else
I have so few blooms on my bodnantense Dawn that I dare not cut any but I can see how lovely it would be if I did. Definitely next year. A lovely vase of flowers.
Mine is still fairly new (4 or 5 years?) but seems to have established better in the last couple of years, Julie, but this season is the first time I have had any flowers that were not affected by the weather
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A very pretty pink themed vase, Cathy. You’re right that just a few blooms in a vase in January are worth as much as armfuls in summer. Here’s my link: https://myhesperidesgarden.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-a-freezing-january-2019/
And we will have armfuls again before we know it!
Let’s hope so.
Happy New Year! I am always surprised to see gardens north of mine with plants flowering far before. My viburnum is still lying very, very dormant right now, but it is lovely to see yours!
I cheated this month by posted a photo of a wreath I made for the holidays, but at least it give me something to post. And, as it is my first wreath, I am quite pleased. https://ladyoflamancha.blogspot.com/2019/01/in-vase-on-monday-wreath.html
May 2019 be your best year yet!
Sorry about the errors – Spanish spell-checker. 😦
Thanks Karen, and a happy new year to you too. I too am always intrigued by the variation in flwering times, even within the UK. Well done on your first wreath – mine was reycled yesterday but it still looked as good as new!
How lucky to find some colour and to still have some rose buds. You know those pink berries from the Devils Plant are sought after by florists! Probably not enough to change your opinion of it. My one Witch Hazel is not yet flowering, though it has plenty of buds, so here are some twigs. I must look harder for some colour.
https://ablogaboutcompost.blogspot.com/2019/01/twiglets-in-vase-on-monday.html
For some reason there are never more than a handful of berries, regardless of how many new suckers are popping up, so the florists needn’t come knocking here!! Since I discovered that witch hazels produce their flower buds befor the autumn I find it reassuring to know that mine will flower in due course, as every so often some of them don’t. They don’t seem to have been troubled by the hot summer as all mine have masses of buds this year (I am pleased to say!)
Happy New Year Cathy…and with such an arrangement as yours it got me wondering what is the Devil’s Plant? Do tell…..At least IVOM gets us looking round the garden in detail: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2019/01/in-vase-on-monday-getting-outside.html
Thanks Noelle and happy new year to you too. The D’s Plant is a variety of symphocarpus (snowberry) although the berries seem to be much smaller than the white version, and very sparse too
In Maine, there are no blossoms anywhere to be found outside. Instead, snow and cold. Lovely to see how you are “in the pink.”
Glad to hear we can bring a little brightness into Maine through our vases then Laurie!
So nice!
Pink in January is a wonderful thing. I have not seen a purple Witch Hazel before- it looks a bit like Loropetalum to me. What is the Devil plant, I have many of those in my garden, and have used them in vases. The vase is perfect with the flowers. Here is my pink vase http://theshrubqueen.com/2019/01/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-cheers-to-2019/
I know what you mean about the lorepetalum whch we might call ‘Chinese witch hazel’, but Amethyst’s blooms are much smaller than those, and of any other Hamamelis I have seen. The D’s plant is a form of symphocarpus, and I christened it as such when I decided on a whim to clear it from a scrubby bit of hedge. It is, of course, trying to return…!
Oh, interesting, sometimes purple plants can be hard to use. I have forgotten about Loropetalum being called Chinese Witch Hazel. A favorite plant when I lived further north. We have the Symphocarpus here – just a different kind!
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Hi Cathy and Happy New Year! Looks great and bet Dawn smells fabulous!
Here’s mine. The rose is scented but it’s not exactly filling the room…
duverdiary.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-still-rosy/
The vase is only a few feet away from me as I write and I was just thinking how powerful the fragrance was – that’s just from three little blooms! Happy new year to you too 🙂
What a beautiful start to a new year. I love seeing your “winter” vases as they give me a real sense of the differences in our gardens and climates. I did not know there even was a purple flowered witch hazel! But I can see where those flowers would not jump out the way the brighter colors do.
Yes, witch hazels are always stalwarts in the winter, but these stray roses are not a regular occurrence but in milder winters some do hang on
Of course, I always forget to include my link! Here it is: https://www.lindabrazill.com/each_little_world/2019/01/ivom-christmas-roses.html
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Beautiful pink-ness, Cathy. I love the scent of V b ‘Dawn’ and witch hazel. I’ve managed to cobble together a very simple vase this week: https://wp.me/p5Pz00-259 Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement to get outside! Sam x
Thank you Sam – I was pleased to find a few more viburnum blooms as they are mostly past their best and worse for wear. Glad you were pleased to have made the effort to get outside 🙂
The Devils Plant can’t be all bad if it produces such pretty berries. Your vase is a delight to both the eye and nose. How special to have both roses and Hamamelis blooming at the same time. My vase is here: https://outlawgarden.blogspot.com/2019/01/in-vase-on-monday-blow-blow-thou-winter.html
It produces them only very sparsely, Peter – I could only find three berries and one dropped off before it made it to the vase! The roses are really only there in a ghostly form, but that is better than not at all, I suppose!
I’m fascinated by witch-hazel and would plant some in a snap if it’d grow here but my climate isn’t even remotely suitable. I admire Viburnums too but I’ve none of those either, even though there’s at least one species that might grow here. There’s a relative shortage of flowers in my garden now, excluding the large-flowered Grevillea which are at risk of over-exposure in these IAVOM posts, but January has delivered a few new blooms and, with some more rain, I’m hoping there will be more in the coming weeks: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2019/01/in-vase-on-monday-usual-suspects.html
And you of course have a long list of things we can’t grow in the UK!! Good on the grevillea though – we need plants like this sometimes, don’t we? You must be thrilled to have more rain!
It is indeed the devil’s plant and quite impossible to eradicate. I have the white one popping up all over the place. I love all your pinkness including the pretty vase. I am intrigued by your purple Witch Hazel. I have never seen that for sale. I bought another orange one yesterday, it is probably ‘Jelena’ which I already have. But it was wrongly labelled ‘Pallida’ and so very cheap. Who can resist a cheap Witch Hazel? Not me.
I shall try and keep the DP contained in the hedge but I am sure it will think otherwise. Amethyst came from Bluebell Arboretum but I have not seen it anywhere else either. As you know Jelena is one of my favourites – was it blooming when you bought it? Don’t tell anyone but I know I can confess to you and you will understand…I have just sent an enquiry to Junkers Nursery about witch hazel ‘Rochester’ which was mentioned in the recent RHS magazine (in flower at Kalmthout). Just an enquiry mind you, but shhhh, just in case…!
Yes, it’s in full bloom that’s how I can see that it isn’t Pallida. I’m off to have a look at Rochester too. It never hurts to have a look does it?
And it doesn’t hurt to do more than just have a look, not much anyway 😉
Oh such a pretty vase Cathy. That witch hazel is a most attractive colour. Interesting to know that your pink snowberry is sparse with berry production – just like mine. If only it was sparse when it comes to producing suckers! Lip balm in a cup cake – whatever next?
Perhaps I need to feed it up if I wanted lots of pink berries…and lots more suckers too!
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I am in awe of your witch hazel collection Cathy and ‘Amethyst’ looks especially to my taste. I was intrigued to find out what your Devil Plant was. I am in the unhappy position of continuously digging out the runners from an infestation in next door’s front garden. I always like the look of the berries in the vases I see though … particularly with that pink blush!
Here is my vase: https://wp.me/pM8Y1-7in
Thanks Allison. Apart from my most recent witch hazel (which cost an eye watering amount but is a small tree) they were all bought as little more than twigs – the first 2 in 2003, I think, which shows how slow growing they are as they are not much more than a meter in height now. They are invaluable for winter colour but of course have attractive leaves in autumn too. Having discovered a good white-berried symphocarpus source in the car park of the ‘health club’ I go to I am happy to pick these but would much rather there were none of any colour in my own garden of course!
Cathy is your first and magnificent vase of the year. It is divine. The purple flowers of Hamamelis vernalis “Amethys” are spectacular. The Bodnantense Viburnum “Dawn” has some lovely pinkish flowers. The Rose “Snow Goose” is very beautiful and the Rose “The Mayflower” is a marvel. It’s great to be able to have roses in January. The berries of the Devil plant (I read the blog about it) are beautiful. It is a jarron that I like very much and the pink cupcake I hope you will enjoy it accompanied by a tea. Take care. Greetings from Margarita.
Thanks Margarita – I was pleased to ave these winter bloomers to share. The cupcake is plastic and I shall not be having it with my cup of tea!
Cathy, the cupcake looks real! 🙂 Greetings from Margarita.
Hello and best wishes for 2019 Cathy. Such sweet pinks apart from the cupcake. Very relieved to read it is not edible, that would be shocking in that bright pink
Hello and best wishes to you too, dear Dorris. I am sure as children we would have loved cakes with such a vivid pink icing!
You make it look so simple with what is available. If I were not intentionally avoiding another meme, I might give it a try.
Lovely!