Like many other countries, the UK ‘changed the clocks’ on Saturday night, in theory losing us an hour; for me, nowadays waking up increasingly earlier every day as the days lengthen, it doesn’t work like that as I just went to bed an hour earlier and woke up as normal. Not so in the autumn, when, despite ‘gaining’ an hour, it really upsets my body clock for 2 or 3 weeks. Personally, I would prefer to do away with any adjustments at all, which studies have shown would be a healthier option for all of us.
Anyway, I have seized the hour and the day too to pluck some hellebores at what I hope is peak plucking point, when they have been pollinated and the ovaries are beginning to swell, but before the original colour of the blooms has completely faded. So often, one bloom on a stem has been at this point whilst another is just opening, but hopefully I have got the balance right today and they will keep for several days in the vase. Close to this unnamed white hellebore, a division from my elder sister’s garden more than 20 years ago, is witch hazel Hamamelis ‘Arnold’s Promise’, whose bright green leaves were just unfolding around the remnants of the flowers, in a similar balance between life and decay.
The stems were placed in my traditional Polish ‘blue eyes’ pottery vase, a pleasing contrast with the white and green hues of the hellebores. As well as a small sprig of the witch hazel, snipped from the main stem, I added a redundant watch as a prop, no longer used since I began wearing a Fitbit tracking device. It was only when I picked it up that I realised it was no longer ticking – despite it being more than five years since I had my first Fitbit, the watch’s battery kept it ticking until sometime 
recently…an unintended moral for this post perhaps, reminding us that it makes sense for us all to seize the day, especially as we get older and the balance between life and decay shifts, just like the hellebores and witch hazel and the watch’s batteries…
Whew, that’s a bit heavy for a Monday morning! If you would now like to lighten and brighten your day by creating a vase of your own from material in your garden or foraged nearby then please do so by leaving links to and from this post.
Rambling in the Garden 
I too wish that the clocks did not change.
I also wish for drier weather – my garden is a swamp.
Pretty vase. 🙂
There is periodically talk of dropping it – and I am fairly sure it is something the EU agreed on at one time but they must have dropped the idea as it hasn’t happened. I hope your garden dries out soon Sandra – makes me realise how fortunate we are here, as it is never an issue for us
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Lovely hellebores, and definitely the best stage for picking. I have had some last three weeks in a vase! Seizing the day is certainly a good motto, especally as we get older I think. Have a good Monday and a great week Cathy!
I was hopeful of cracking it with the hellebores, Cathy, but sadly some are drooping now…
Oh, what a shame. It really is just luck it seems!
And if so then we just need to enjoy them as they are, either in the garden or when freshly picked, I suppose!
Haha, I had to chuckle at your “heavy” Monday morning talk, Cathy. You have given me an idea for next week’s vase prop today, as we end daylight savings here next weekend. I must try to remember your watch idea.
I do love white flowers, and your hellebores are simply stunning! I have some white flowers in one of my vases this week as well, but unfortunately they are not hellebores. Still pretty flowers though. 🙂 https://homelifeonlineblog.com/2024/04/01/in-a-vase-on-easter-monday/
I hadn’t intended it to have a moral, Joanne – but that’s how it ended up, somehow…and seemed to slot into place too. I am curious about your prop for next week, now!
Oh that’s a really full to bursting vase of beautiful hellebores Cathy. It will be interesting to hear how long they last for. Hopefully you’ve picked them at the optimum point. I do like that spotty blue vase. I’m with you on your thoughts on ‘seizing the day’ and on the time change business. Still it bought a smile to my face last night that I could nip into the greenhouse at 7.30pm not needing a torch 😂 My vase is here :
https://greentapestry.blogspot.com/2024/04/iavom-april-come-she-will.html
Ooh yes – and I was aware that when I go singing tomorrow night it will be in the light…whoohoo! I love this china and would like more – they have a very wide range of pieces in a wide range of patterns, and I bought Elder Daughter some pieces with dandelion seedheads on for a recent big birthday
Lovely white hellebore blooms for an Easter Monday. We changed our clocks a few weeks ago. I do get what you mean about just leaving it all alone and not changing the clock. Wouldn’t it be nice to be in sync with nature naturally. We are just seeing blooms finally, but as my husband brought me tulips for Easter I used those instead. The cool temperatures predicted for this week will keep many more early bulbs blooming for a while. https://gardenseyeview.com/2024/04/01/in-a-vase-on-monday-easter-views/
I think my body clock must be in tune with the natural world, certainly in spring, even with the bedroom blacked out as much as is possible! Good to know that your early bulbs will be blooming for a while – we have certainly had no hot days yet here
And do all US states change the clocks at the same weekend?
If they change the clocks yes it is on the same weekend. Arizona and Hawaii don’t change clocks.
Oh that’s interesting – I wonder why Arizona and Hawaii don’t change?
In AZ it is because “shifting an hour of daylight to the evening, when temperatures typically are warmest, means one more hour of air conditioning, which means increased energy consumption.” In Hawaii it is more a function of them being close to the equator and the island lifestyle.
They say “it’s a reflection of an island lifestyle that moves with the natural ebb and flow of the sun rather than the man-made constructs of time.”
“Moreover, the rationale behind DST, which is meant to conserve energy by reducing the need for evening lighting, doesn’t hold as much weight here.”
Oh yes, that makes sense in both cases, Donna – thank you
Beautiful, beautiful. Seize the day, indeed. Thanks so much for hosting. 🙂
https://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2024/04/frozen-flowers-in-vases.html
Glad you liked them, Beth
Beautiful hellebores. I’m still searching for a spot they will like year after year. Here’s my vase, the tulip is Copper Image and whilst short of stem it has returned every year http://lifeonalondonplot.com/2024/04/01/in-a-vase-on-monday-01-04-2024/
I must be lucky here as hellebores do well in several different parts of the garden. Copper Image is a lovely name for a tulip and I wonder of it looks like I am imagining?
I hope you will give us a hellebore update. Interesting if timing the cutting works. I agree about the time shifting and wish it would stop. We are just recovering from our time shift a couple of weeks ago, it really throws the dog off! Thanks for hosting. https://theshrubqueen.com/2024/04/01/in-a-vase-on-monday-eggcentric/
Throws the dog off, but not you…?! So far, some of the hellebores are drooping – so perhaps I was a little premature still…
The dog wakes me up early because she hasn’t realized the time change. How the dog tells time is beyond me. It throws me off as well. Hmm on the hellebores. I read somewhere that filling amaryllis stems with water and putting a cotton ball in the end makes them last longer. I am going to try this as mine are flowering.
I have heard that about amaryllis too, but haven’t tried it (yet!)
I just tried it! the jury is out.
Such a pretty vase, Cathy! Polish pottery is a big collectible here. ‘Springing ahead’ can be challenging for most, but being retired, I’m no longer tied to a schedule, so it goes more smoothly for me, hurrah. Here’s my vase today: https://wp.me/p3O3z4-3cJ
Strangely, I go to bed earlier and get up earlier than I ever did before I was retired, Eliza!! Interesting to read that Polish pottery is is a big collectible in your part of the US – the company I buy from only deals with the blue and whote patterns, but I know others have more colourful designs too.
Our local area and the Midwestern US has large Polish immigrant populations, so that might explain the popularity.
Ah yes, that sounds logical – when would the main period of immigration have been? Are we talking post-war, or way before then?
The biggest wave I’d guess was 1880s to 1920s, but immigration is ongoing, just not as much as it was back then.
Thanks for that, Eliza – I am always interested in these little snippets of information
My pleasure. 🙂
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I really don’t like time change and wish they, whoever they are, would just settle on one or the other…any way…your vase on Monday is beautiful
In the UK it was originally to suit the northern farmers, so they wouldn’t have to be working in the dark as much
Oh pooh..
Farmers work from sun up til sun down. DOESNT have anything to do with time.
🤣
Our clocks moved ahead 2 weeks ago so we’ve (mostly) adjusted but I’d prefer we just stick to one schedule too. I love the white hellebores in the blue vase you’ve assembled this week, Cathy. Spring continues to provide a bounty here as well: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2024/04/in-vase-on-monday-my-version-of-faberge.html
It seems to be a universal feeling that we should drop the changes!!
The blue and white vase is such a perfect foil for the white and green of the hellebores and hamamelis. I love the elegance of this combination, Cathy.
I’m so grateful that we don’t turn the clocks this way and that here in Arizona, though it makes for all sorts of scheduling issues when dealing with people in other states. Those frustrations are well worth it, in my opinion… 😉
The flowers and seasons certainly have their own timing and rhythms, and they can astonish the gardener too, so I’ve been thrilled to have overlap between narcissus and roses this spring, hence today’s vase: April Showers, April Flowers.
I am doing my usual late catch up, Amy, so have only just read this. Thanks for your comments on the vase – and it’s interesting to read about the effect of clock changes for you in Arizona where it doesn’t change
Cathy I love your white hellebores. The Polish vase is divine, beautiful. I don’t agree with the time change either, the only thing it does is alter our biorhythms. I love the clock representing the passage of time: every time I get older, time passes faster… We have to live every second! Cathy hasn’t written on your blog for a long, long time, I loved doing it. I hope you and the golfer are in good health. Happy Easter. Wish you all the best. Very loving greetings from Margarita xx
Good to hear from you Margarita, and I hope you and your mother have not had a difficult winter. Yes, the downside of the clock changes are well-documented
I’d much prefer if we stayed in summer time all year too. Doubt any politician will be brave enough though!
I suspect the public would be right behind any proposal to keep to the same time all year
Oh, such splendid white. Rhody and I are in Washington now, so I can see why hellebore is as popular as it is. It would be nice if I could grow them like this at home.
Do you seek out gardens and the like when you are on your travels, Tony? I know I do
Yes and no. I try to avoid the obvious choices, such as arboretums, because I find home gardens, such as Scooter’s Garden (Tangly Cottage Gardening) to be much more interesting. I suppose that I should eventually go to Butchart Gardens, since it is relatively nearby, but that would involve going to another country! I purchase almost nothing for my garden, and very little for the landscapes. With very few exceptions, everything that inhabits my garden and the landscapes has history. It came from ‘somewhere’. Gladiolus papilio is presently one of my favorite perennials, not only because it is my first species Gladiolus, but because it is from Skooter’s Garden.
Yes, it is good to have these connections – my Persicaria ‘Red Dragon has ended up in several other bloggers’ gardens, for example, and I have had numerous plants and seeds from our blogging community
I could compose an entire garden with fancy perennials from Skooter’s Garden alone!
Sounds a wonderful place!
I’ve just realised I haven’t worn a watch for 20 years. I used to have to work by every second when I worked in radio. A news report was so many seconds and no more. Much editing went on! When I gave up I symbolically removed the watch and put it in a draw. I too am waking up earlier as soon as the birds sing. What a wonderful sound this week as they seem to have ramped up the sound. Lovely vase Cathy. The hellebores have been the best they’ve ever been here. They at least have loved the rain.
You were full time in journalism, Karen? Not just gardening features? I like and admire your symbolic gesture… 😉
Yes, before I had two children. Then I had a few years off to look after the girls. I decided to write for gardening magazines and that’s how I got into garden design by going to college and taking the RHS courses and garden design options. Loved every minute of it and could work from home.
Really interesing to read this Karen – making choices when we are younger can impact our whole lives, although it is probably much easier to change direction these days. I was determined to go into horticulture at 16 but was persuaded to stay on and do A levels which took me in a different direction – who knows what I would choose if I was starting out again now, because of course I am very much a different person.