Welcome to this weeks ‘Flowers on Sunday’. This weekend is very busy with family staying, lots of cooking and entertaining and also a few trips out, so I am sharing lots of images this week with just a few words!
I have a new vase of tulips to show you, a look at this weeks new tulips in flower in the Cutting Garden and a few photos of the easter baubles that decorate our ‘tree’ every year.
Whilst I usually like to fill my house with flowers, I am very careful at family gatherings as we have a couple of visitors with allergies. This is a particular problem in the hay fever season, when indoor arrangements can exacerbate their allergies. This week I have restricted myself to a single vase of tulips placed in a secluded spot. These tulips are Violet Beauty and you can see that they have a lovely form and colour as well as a very long stem length. These are an late single flowered tulip and should repeat well if planted deeply.
Following last weeks ‘In A Vase On Monday‘ a comment from Cathy at Words and Herbs inspired me to use my moss ring as a support on top of a wide necked vase. It has worked perfectly to support the stems and hold the arrangement in place – thank you for the idea Cathy!
Violet Beauty is another tulip that is new to me this year. These were cut yesterday and are looking lovely today. If they do well in the vase I will certainly include them again in my plans for next spring. Lasts weeks tulips all lasted the whole week and were only disposed of this morning as I was getting ready for lunch.
Above is our easter tree, an annual family tradition.
We have been collecting ornaments for quite a few years now and the ‘tree’ is growing in size with the passing years. Like Christmas there is always excitement as forgotten ornaments are unwrapped. We have a mix of handmade decorations and baubles that have come from various markets and shops. Many are painted glass eggs like the one above.
There is a collection of tiny flower fairies made by my daughters when they were much younger.
The tree is made up of twigs from the garden, pussy willow left over from Christmas and a few branches of fake blossom that I bought at the Country Living Spring Fair a few years ago.
Another tiny flower fairy.
Similar to my glass eggs, but this time a bird.
Above is a hand painted blown egg bought in Austria on a ski holiday many years ago. It was part of a set, but they are so delicate that this is the only one remaining so is handled with great care these days.
In the Cutting Garden there is another wave of new tulips in flower. Above is Violet Beauty, which I used in my arrangement above.
Tulip Black Hero is a double late tulip – I love these deep maroon black beauties.
This is a tulip I bought from Bloms Bulbs at Chelsea last year. Sadly I have lost the label, so need to do a bit of research to identify this one.
Carnaval de Nice is another late double that I love. It is great on its own or mixed with other red tulips. In the background you can see Rococo, which is still in flower.
Finally for this week tulip Upstar, which is a double late peony flowered beauty.
I hope that you are enjoying the long weekend and wish you a happy Easter. I will be back tomorrow with something from the garden for ‘In A Vase On Monday’.
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I just discovered your blog and am already an avid fan! I love your Easter tree, especially the flower fairies that your daughters made. They are beautiful. A perfect tradition for the holiday. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Thank you and welcome Elizabeth. I am really pleased that you have enjoyed Peonies & Posies and hope to see you here again.
Such a cute idea to create flower fairies.
Thank you Susie – I love those little creations. It is so nice to unwrap them every year and remember the afternoon my girls spent making them.
Sorry I’m so late with my comments here, it has been a busy week. Your Violet Beauty looks just like T. Barcelona. The tulip from Chelsea is I think T. Sorbet, I ordered it after seeing it at Chelsea last year.
Thanks Christina – I am finding it is getting much harder to keep up now that the weather is better! I have checked the records and it was actually called Kingsblood – there are so many similar looking tulips that it is hard to identify them without a receipt.
Julie- I would love to read a post on how you keep your records – what you plant where and when. Are there good computer programs available or do you use a simple notebook. Do you keep the tags that come with the plants? I have always wondered what most gardners do since my system is so haphazard.
I just use a pretty notebook Elizabeth. I keep all my receipts on files – internet purchases are saved into a document file and paper ones to a ring binder. I keep a written date order record of all purchases in my garden notebook. The system is not perfect however – when I am busy I forget so I do have plants, flowers, bulbs etc that whose identity I am not sure about. I think most amateur gardeners would say the same thing. I don’t keep the tags as I can so easily find the information I need on the internet these days – as long as I know what the plant is!!