Today’s boozy vase shares some elements with last week’s although lacks its fullness, containing less than an armful but more than a small posy, although with more time at my disposal it could have become more fulsome than it is. Having achieved my personal challenge of creating a vase with such a large number of blooms, I feel more confident of repeating the exercise and the garden is certainly proving the material to do so.
Today, however, the contents are limited to a narrower range of blooms, this week on a burgundy/dark red spectrum, and include Dahlias ‘Geoffrey Kent’ and ‘Bishop of Auckland’ (the latter bringing memories of Dorris), Helichrysum ‘Bright Rose’, Antirrhinum ‘Black Prince’, Amaranthus ‘Opopeo’, Knautia macedonica and foliage of Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’. Observant readers might recall that the helichrysum and knautia were also in Julie’s armful last week, but they seem to work equally well within this darker spectrum. In hindsight I can think of other annuals in the cutting beds that would have worked well today, had they been in bloom, such as Sunflower ‘Velvet Queen’, Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’ and Scabious ‘Black Knight’.
With a prop already in mind, a little fridge magnet with miniature bottles of wine (purist wine buffs might object to bottles of Bordeaux representing those from Burgundy, however), my search for a vase brought me to a pottery beer stein, brought back from Germany by the Golfer many years ago without realising it said ‘Made in Japan’ on the base, thereby generating the title of the post.
If you would like to join us with a vase on Monday, with material from your garden in any kind of receptacle, with or without a prop, then please do so by leaving the usual links to and from this post.
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Six NHS staff have worked for an hour tonight to help a very angry, psychologically troubled man who, from his abusive language, definitely doesn’t want to be helped. I’ve not seen the Noddy Holder voiced gentleman at the end of the ward, but he’s very loud and very abusive. I’m not sure if he’s violent, but a nurse here tells me it’s common to be punched or to be on the receiving end of a cup of hot tea. I visualise this noisy chap as a large viking, such is the depth of his voice.
Deadheading your hydrangea blooms can help your plant use its energy to produce more flowers and new growth. This is why it is essential to know how to do it the right way, which is what this article is about.
Three weeks ago I posted an ‘Armful For Julie’ on IAVOM, blooms scheduled for my retiring Pilates teacher but, thwarted by her illness, not given. After battling a nasty bout of Covid, her third and worst, she will be calling into our class tomorrow to say a belated goodbye to those who have known her a long time, so I am trying again and have created a slightly smaller armful of blooms to go with the vase that is wrapped and ready for her.
Picking out the right pest repellent among the dizzying array of bottles, sprays, and pellets at the store isn't easy—but there's something you may already have in your kitchen worth testing.
Ever since my grandpa passed away this past May, my family has been processing our grief by sharing stories and wiping the dust off the many photo albums piled up in my grandparents’ garage. At one point, their dining room table was completely covered in photos dating all the way back to the 1930s. Most of them had multiple copies, too, and when we talked about how to best preserve and store them, I immediately thought of Amanda Titchenal, the organizing pro behind full-service organizing firm Well Organized.