I turned to shrubs for In a Vase on Monday today, starting with a sprig of Skimmia japonica ‘Kew Green’ with its greenish flowers which helpfully pollinate the nearby ‘Kew White’ and enable the latter to give birth to a clutch of shiny white berries in due course. The rich dark green leaves contrast with the smaller and brighter crinkly leaves of Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Gold Star’ and also with the thinner leaves of Sarcococca humilis with their amusingly turned up tips, like pert noses or Persian slippers. And yes, these two tiny sprigs of sarcococca still fill the kitchen with fragrance!
Props are some wax crayons in four shades of green, a surprisingly large percentage of the pack of 16. The crayons were purchased for the use of The Troops when they arrive for Grannie Day but in hindsight they have been relegated to supervised use at the kitchen table after deciding the wallpaper in the room they are corralled in might be at risk of impromptu artwork. At the tender ages of 2 and 1 they are not yet exhibiting any early signs of talent in art…
A North American blogger commented this week that it was good to see some green to tide them over whilst their own garden was covered in snow. This is something we perhaps take for granted in the UK in this day and age (although I do remember the months of snow and ice in my childhood Edinburgh in 1962/63), where snowfall for most of us would generally last only a few days – and this winter so far we have had NONE! Here, we can enjoy green throughout the year and as I mentioned on Friday the green is suddenly looking greener as the sun slowly gains in intensity; I am happy therefore to divvy up some of it today, as we get in the queue (Kew/queue…) for our own share of green when it becomes available in our part of the world. Have you got some to share today, or any other colour even? Pop it in a vase and leave the usual links to and from this post if you like.
Rambling in the Garden 
I find your lovely vase of green to be very soothing Cathy! Thank you. We need soothing at the moment and your foliage does just the trick. And I also love your dancing girls from Saturday! A glamorous troupe! Amanda https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2020/02/a-reassuring-vase-on-monday.html
Thank you Amanda – perhaps in a few weeks I might put some hellebores in a vase on Monday, but not yet!
Lovely greens and aroma too. Your Kew/queue is inspired. Given the ages of the troops I should imagine it is a tad early for signs of artistic flair. What fun lies ahead
Thanks Dorris – I suspect my tongue was in my cheek when I referred to the artistic flair…. but yes, I am sure you are right that there will be much fun to be had although it is hard to get used to one of them being a boy… 😉
Boys are great fun! May not want to sit to do colouring though😉
Don’t really know much about little boys so I will take your word for it, Dorris!
Yes trust me. Great fun
OK, I will remember that and trust your judgement, Dorris…
Cathy, those are dark, rich greens you have presented. Very compelling. Must get out and find a sample of Sarcococca so I can learn that fragrance. Crayon supervision is probably wise, but good for you for priming the young ones’s artistic spirits early. Thanks for hosting today and have a fun week.
https://pbmgarden.blog/2020/02/03/in-a-vase-on-monday-hellebores-and-brass/
Yes, I was struck with how glossy and intense the colours were.
It was when a corner of wallpaper was removed (by the younger one) that I decided that crayons were probably still too risky! Despite the wallpaper risks, at this age it is still the ‘safest’ room to entertain them in
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I went to bed thinking about Garrya Elliptica last night which motivated me to join in this morning….. slowly finding my blogging mojo again and it feels good to be back in the IAVOM fold.
I remember the snows of 62/63, my Dad, a farmer, got helicopters to feed his cattle which seems extraodinary now – my brother and I built an igloo in the garden.
https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/in-a-vase-on-monday-garrya-elliptica/
Do you often go to bed thinking about plants Sandra? I hope you slept. I picked up from one of your posts that you have had blogging problems, which I am sorry to hear about and hope have largely been resolved. Apart from changes in editing WP have brought in I haven’t had any issues but space will increasingly become one although I did pay for a space upgrade and learned how to reduce the size of my pictures.
I nearly always go to bed/sleep thinking about some creative project or other and the garden is sometimes one of them.
It has been a useful discussion over on my blog about the different ways people read and comment on blogs and the difficulties and possible resolutions. I expect all will settle eventually.
WordPress isn’t allowing me to comment directly on your blog via Google, Sandra, so I’ll do so here:
I adore your Garrya elliptica. While it’s supposed to grow in my climate, the small plant I put in 3-4 years ago has yet to do anything, although it hasn’t actually keeled over either – perhaps that’s a sign I should try it elsewhere in my garden. Your arrangements are gracefully and creatively displayed. The blue box vase on the preserved wood is an inspired touch.
Thank you Kris. I hope your Garrya enjoys the move, it is such a graceful plant at this time of year.
I am so sorry to hear you are having trouble commenting. I’m not sure if it is WordPress, Safair, or my latest Apple Update that is causing the problem. All very annoying.
Although the ground is under a blanket of snow here, we have loads of green foliage thanks to an abundance of coniferous trees and shrubs. Broad-leaved evergreens, where they grow, aren’t nearly as lush and healthy looking as yours! I have a taste (or whiff..) of spring this week/
https://countygardening.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/in-a-vase-on-monday-hyacinth/
Good to hear you still have some green amongst all the white!
Less is more. An elegant arrangement which must smell divine.
Here is my posy for this week
https://thirdageblogger.blogspot.com/2020/02/
Thanks Linda – sarcococca is always a winner in the fragrance stakes!
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Green is good in early February Cathy. Although we have barely had any snow this winter the countryside is brown and yellow at this time of year! Enjoy the scent of the Sarcococca. 😃 Here is my vase for today – a flower at last! https://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/in-a-vase-on-monday-hello-hellebores/
We do have some brown fields too, Cathy, but lovely rich brown ploughed ones! Glad to read you have a bloom, even if it is only a single one…
Beautifully lush greens! I think green foliage is underappreciated and there is a everything must bloom spectacularly unwritten garden code somewhere..I know of Skimmia but never lived where it will and wonder about the fragrance?? Here is my vase this week http://theshrubqueen.com/2020/02/03/in-a-vase-on-monday-february-love/
Thanks Amelia, yes, I believe the skimmia does have a fragrance but I haven’t detected it yet. It is only since blogging that I have really come to appreciate foliage and am a real advocate of it now
Green is always a good thing. If they can hold a pencil and make a mark, with such an early start your little cuttings may well be attempting botanical drawings in a few years time! Here is my contributions this week: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2020/02/in-vase-on-monday-harmony-in-blue.html
Haha – yes, any talent will emerge when it is ready, but they wouldn’t get any drawing talent from their Grannie!
I love your description of the Sarcococca. Green is always welcome. No snow here! My own garden is moving clearly and seemingly without hesitation toward Spring. I’d like to see some more rain but, at the moment, there’s none of that in the forecast. We’re VERY windy this morning and fingers are crossed that we won’t see any fires. Here’s my post: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2020/02/in-vase-on-monday-sending-you-some.html
Thanks Kris, and I do hope there are no fires to be whipped up by that wind…
Lovely. Winter shrubs are so special, I still need to collect many more! Oops perhaps hide the crayons. My daughter tried drawing on the walls once but turned out to be very creative. Plenty of time. I do appreciate the green and am thankful to see it again if it disappears only for a few days. Thanks for sharing. https://ablogaboutcompost.blogspot.com/2020/02/buds-in-vase-on-monday.html
It’s William Morris paper (modern repro!) so even more reason to be cautious! I have added a number of shrubs in the last few years after learning through blogging to appreciate them
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Green is beautiful in all its shades Cathy. A most subtle and pleasing vase. I remember that 62/63 winter. We had a fair covering of snow even down south in East Anglia. I have photos of myself and rosy cheeked siblings all kitted out in those statutory duffle coats and wellies playing outside. What fun! I think that supervised play with those wax crayons is a must for now 😄 My not quite a vase is here :
https://greentapestry.blogspot.com/2020/02/in-vase-on-monday-not-quite-what-box.html
We seem to have very few childhood pictures, sadly – and we never had statutory duffel coats either!
This is first ever contribution to IAVOM, having been blogging on and off for year (more off than on!). What a lovely fragrant posy that must be – and you have a little brown pot almost the same as mine. We also have no snow here in Yorkshire, but in previous years it has arrived as late as March so there is still time yet!
Here are my pickings: https://thecowparsleydiaries.home.blog/2020/02/03/in-a-vase-on-monday/
And a very big welcome to you for your first contribution – you are joining a very supportive blogging community 🙂
Thanks Cathy, here’s to many more beautiful flowers in the coming months! Claire
Cathy is very sorry to have been withdrawn from blogs for so long, but I am very depressed and have been sick with viral gastroenteritis. Today I write, but I don’t know when I will do it again. I love your vase full of fragrant green foliage: it is relaxing and divine. It hasn’t snowed where you live. It has snowed a lot here and now we are at 17ºC in Madrid and on the Mediterranean coast at 25ºC where a week ago they were with snow at 20 kilometers. We will be like this all week, 10ºC above what corresponds to normal temperatures: it is Climate Change. I wish you the best for this week. As for the crayons, I really liked to draw with them: give your artists a little time to discover that facet, they will love it. I did not stop painting snails to my niece ….. Margarita’s affectionate greetings 😀
I am so sorry to hear that you have been poorly and depressed too. Margarita. What a variation you have had in your weather, which cannot help people’s constitutions. I do hope you will be feeling better soon
Thank you very much Cathy for your kind words of healing. But I’m still very depressed. Reading his blog and seeing his beautiful vase has given me encouragement, such as seeing Cathy’s Hellebore and the ride of Karen and her Sweet Peas. Flowers and plants have the power to give me lots of encouragement and make me smile. Maybe he sees his blogs and is not in the mood to write and I just give him my regards: with that it is not my intention to belittle him, his blogs are wonderful, it is just so he knows that I have read him. Thank you very much for your understanding Cathy. Greetings from Margarita.
Yes Margarita, and of course it is fine that people might read blog posts and not comment on them, so it is good to know that you can still find some comfort in talk of flowers and plants. Do you have any plants flowering at home, either inside or outside?
No Cathy Here in Madrid I only have two plants of Chlorophytum comosum my sister’s gift this fall to my mother, because she has a lot of them. As from May to early October we spend it in the country house, we cannot have plants in Madrid. Thanks for your kind words. You are a good friend. I will make small or large comments on the blogs I read, I have been thinking about it. Thank you for your understanding Cathy. Take care Greetings from Margarita.
And you are so thoughtful, Margarita, with all your comments which you put a lot of thought into
Green is a good color! And it’s just starting to show in my northern garden. Spring is just around the corner. Your arrangement is pretty, and the crayons add a special touch!
Thanks, and it’s good to hear you have some green too!
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