Welcome to this weeks Monday Flowers, when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join in with her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase every week. I must say a big thank you to Cathy for her ongoing weekly inspiration to go foraging in our gardens – particularly in January!
What a wet week this has been – wet, wet & wetter! Just as the snowdrops are opening and the daffodil buds are starting to show some colour the whole garden has disappeared under water and mud – not to mention my kitchen which is gradually turning from cream to muddy brown as the dogs bring most of the garden inside with them. The saving grace of this wet January are the beautiful hellebores which are shining out in all this muddy grey weather!
Last week I showed you my hellebores arranged in a vase. This week I have used the same hellebores, but I have cut off their stalks and floated them in a bowl. This is probably my favourite way to display hellebore flowers – not only do they last for a very long time but you also get to see their beautiful faces.
These flowers have been in my house for over a week now and are still looking good – a testament to what great plants they are. Not only are they filling the garden with their beautiful shades at the gloomiest point in the year, but they also last for ages as cut flowers in the house as long as you display them in a bowl of water. These hellebores looked lovely in the milk bottles for about 4 days and then started to droop, so I quickly chopped off the flower heads and put them in a big bowl of water – they have looked stunning since.
In a few weeks I will have far more shades available so a bowl of floating flowers will look much more varied, but for now I am delighted with these lovely pastel colours.
Feeling rather lazy today, I photographed these flowers in situ in my dining room rather than carrying the bowl to a window. You can see the yellow colourcast that has resulted. Particularly at this dark time of the year it is always best to photograph your flowers in the morning and by the light of a window – even my tiny fairy lights which have a very white light have been given a yellow hue in these photos despite shooting in the early part of the day.
The other slightly odd effect is the reflections that are created by looking side on at the bowl. Floating flowers photograph very well from above, but it is difficult to capture the image when shooting at the water as the reflections alter the view so much. Still I hope you can appreciate what an eye catching way this is to use hellebores.
I cannot finish today without saying something about the sad death of David Bowie. I was shocked to hear the news this morning – I have been a Bowie fan for as long as I can remember and am so sad that the music has ended. Peter Gabriel summed it up today when he said
“I was shocked to learn of David Bowie’s death this morning. He meant so much to me and to so many. He was a one-off, a brilliant outlier, always exploring, challenging and inspiring anyone who wanted to push the boundaries of music, art, fashion and society. There are so few artists who can touch a generation as he did, we will miss him badly”.
All I can add to that tribute is to say thank you David for the music – you will be missed.
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I was shocked by his death as well…a great sadness is all about me to know his creative genius is gone….and your floating hellebores. Well they are perfection!
Well said Donna and I am delighted that you liked the hellebores.
Hellebores are lovely flowers, I just wish I could grow them here. I must look for some of the hardier species that are native here, not as delicately coloured as your beauties but a great flower for the garden non the less. Love the glass you’ve used too.
Thank you Christine – I am sure it must be possible to grow them where you are – although they might need to be in an irrigated part of the garden. Perhaps you should contact someone like Roger Harvey or another specialist grower directly to ask their advice.
Hi Julie, another lovely vase. One question I had was that I’m sure I read that the flowers last longer if you,pick them once they’ve been fertilised. I can see in your vase you have a mixture. Have you found this to be the case, or do you just pick what’s looking good?
And, yes, couldn’t agree more about David Bowie.
Hi Jenny – I have found this to be the case, and they still look endearing as the colours fade too
How wise to reuse the hellebores. I too really do like them floating. Yours look wonderful in your bowl this week.
Such a feminine selection of pictures…feels like silk and diamonds..really beautiful
Hellebores are such great flowers! I started cultivating them only last year, but I am definitely going to plant more in the near future.Your vase is lovely, Julie!
I was thinking as I rambled this morning how long it was since I floated hellebores – but I had prepared my vase already so it wasn’t going to be this week! Yours look just as nice as they did in the vase, and of course your excellent photographs (despite what you say about the light!!) enhance them further – very lovely 🙂
I love the way you’ve captured the flowers’ essence. I’d planned to float hellebores today but found only a couple in bloom. Mine are slow to open this year.
I love those ethereal colors, Julie, and I’m glad you’re not letting the flowers go too soon! I was surprised to hear about Bowie this morning too – I’d been reading about the release of his new album just last week.
Your photos are as lovely as ever, even if your light was not ideal. I shall have to wait a bit for my hellebores, but floating them is always a kind of special spring ritual now! I agree, David Bowie’s death was sad indeed – he was such a great influence when I was growing up and his artistic creativity has endured time.
Very beautiful. I love the colours, and there is so much variety in the patterns and markings. It was a shock to hear about David Bowie. He did stand out and he always seemed young.
Inspired by you I’ve ventured out into the very cold garden and can see hellebore flowers pushing through the soil-at last.
Yes I too am very sad that David Bowie has died -we need such unique and individual people on the world stage.
How pretty your hellebores are – like sugared almonds!
I agree. So sad about David Bowie. Did you ever manage to see him in concert, seeing as you were such a great fan? I’ve been kicking myself for years – nay decades- for turning down the chance!