Welcome to this weeks ‘In A Vase On Monday” when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling in The Garden to join in her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase every week. It is hard to believe that this is the beginning of my third year of taking part in this challenge!!
Life is very busy here right now – not only am I working hard to clear all my borders before the bad weather sets in (and get the tulip bulbs in the ground), but we have also just started a big decorating project which I am very excited about.
In amidst all this gardening and preparing a room for decorating, I made a discovery about honesty. This year was the first time I have grown honesty (lunaria annua). Whilst I have seen the lovely white seed cases in arrangements I have never had my own to use before. After flowering in early spring I have been leaving the plants in their beds waiting for the seed cases to turn white, but I read last week that it is best to harvest the stems in September or October and then manually pull off the seed case covering. By doing this you ensure you have the lovely white cases without any weather damage. Although a little late, this weekend saw me out in the garden cutting off a few stems of honesty and then spending a relaxing hour peeling the outside coat off each seed case. This produced a surprising quantity of seeds which I will save and sow in June next year.
So todays vase is quite simply the stems of honesty with a few grass heads. Hopefully this collection will last throughout the winter. The remaining stems will be cut from the plants this week and hung in my potting shed to keep them dry until I need them.
I loved the way the grasses photographed with my macro lens.
Honesty is a biennial, meaning that seed sown in June or July will provide flowers the following spring. The plant then sets seed over the summer and dies. I have found honesty a very easy plant to grow – as long as you remember to sow the seeds in June in a seed bed or in plugs you will have plenty of plants to add to your flower beds in autumn. Although honesty is primarily grown for its seed cases, the spring flowers are also very pretty – below you can see a close up of the honesty flowers in an arrangement I made in May. They will form large plants – around 2ft tall and almost as wide so give them some space.
By July the seed cases were developing and were ready to use in summer arrangements. These have gradually dried and browned throughout the summer and are now ready for harvesting.
Every year I am amazed by how differently my plants perform in the autumn. This year the garden seems to have shut down very early – the leaves have almost all dropped from the trees and very little is flowering despite the continued warm temperatures – is the garden preparing for a cold winter I wonder or is there a lack of flowers purely because I was not able to keep dead heading in October?
Last year the vase I posted for the equivalent week in November was full of late season colour. The chrysanthemums were from the greenhouse, but they are paired with dahlias, achillea and the annual salvia clary sage – and just look at that sunshine lighting up the kitchen!
The year before I used fuchsia in my very first vase. This year my annual fuchsia plants stopped flowering a few weeks ago. It is interesting to see how different all three vases made in the third week in November have been.
Finally for today I had to share these photos that I took of Nelson this morning – he was not very happy to have the decorators in!
I will be back later this week with the next in my series of Growing Great Vegetables. In case you missed it, you can read the first instalment here. In the meantime I hope you will pop over to Cathy’s blog to see what she and the others have made this week.
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Oh I love Nelson’s face and he is precious….just finishing up here too but I wish i had more time and energy….love the honesty….my Aunt had it in a vase for years as a good luck symbol. She called it the money plant.
Nelson is as lovely in real life as he looks in his photos Donna. I do agree about time & energy – however hard I plan the garden always beats me! I love the idea of honesty as a money plant – it is certainly staying in the vase now!!
Poor Nelson! Glad you explained about the lunaria harvest. I no longer grow it but the silver dollar pods never looked as nice on mine as I’d seen on other people’s. Your arrangement and setting are beautiful.
I kept looking at my plants in the garden and wondering why they were looking a bit ragged and grubby – now that I know what to do I will harvest the seed cases much earlier. Nelson has cheered up today now that he is used to the banging and music coming from our drawing room.
Variegated white flowering honesty and a purple leaf form are two types of honesty that are also well worth growing.
Thank you Brian – I will look out for those when I am ordering seed next year.
Poor Nelson, I share his pain.
Unlike you I have had lots of late flowering this year which I ascribe to a very radical cut back in early August, but my borders were a bit rubbish mid/late summer
I think your late haircut did the trick Anne – I didn’t even manage the chelsea chop this year and I think I am paying the price now.
I just love the way the grass heads mirror the encased honesty seeds in the third photo.
And as for Nelson, well, I know that feeling!
Thank you Jen – I love it when people comment on particular photos – it makes me go and take a closer look! Nelson is much happier today – back to his sunny self!
Your honesty and grass vase is is lovely, so atmospheric – and makes me realise that I didn’t think to save any seed heads myself for winter vases. I grow a white flowered version and let it self seed which of course is very haphazard! I Haven’t checked when what was in my 3rd week of November vases but must do so – no doubt something very different!
Is Lord Nelson as friendly as he looks? The grass seeds add an etherial touch to your arrangement. Very imaginative.
Honesty is such an interesting plant, my grandmother used to grow it. Hello, Nestor!
Wow! Th Honesty in the lovely crystal vase surrounded by sparkling glass is quite magical Julie, made me think of Christmas, which is fast approaching. I think I will have to find some space for a few plants next year.
What a brilliant way to show off the grass seed heads with the honesty seed cases. Stunning!
Lovely images. I must grow Honesty next year so have made a note for sowing seed in June in the gardening diary.
Very interesting to see the three vases in comparison with each other. The Honesty is really pretty and I will try to save a few stems of mine next year. They got a bit singed in the summer heat this time round! Good to learn when I should cut them.
Oh, I just love Nelson, and the honesty and grass seed heads match his colouring perfectly. When we watch Gardener’s World, we call it The Nigel Show. My husband, not quite so interested in gardening as I am, watches this programme with me, and watches out for all the ‘Nigel’ moments. Sadly we no longer have a dog, but still love to see them. Both Nelson and your vases are very handsome.
Oh, we do have a snap this week. I love that you added grass seed heads – a nice, delicate touch. It’s great that you had photos of both the flower and early fruit to add. Full circle!
Your Nelson is a doll! 🙂
Nelson is SO cute! (Even if he does look a tad bit annoyed.) I’ve never tried Lunaria but I think I’ll try to grow some next year.
Poor Nelson 🙂
It has been very warm here too, but my dahlias are all over. Since it’s my first year growing them, I didn’t know what to expect. We will see what winter brings us.
Your honesty vase is a star, Julie! Just adorable. While I’m here, I wanted to let you know that the cutting has taken but I’ll grow it on over the winter so that I can send a strong little plant.
Your post has reminded me that I still have some honesty stems out there in the garden Julie. Hopefully the wind has not shredded them to pieces. It’s too dark and cold to go out to check but I will have to come morning. Luckily I’ve already saved some seeds. If you would like to try the purple leaved variety mentioned by Brian I could send you some seeds.
Just lovely….