This week I am popping in very quickly with my Monday vase – I have already checked into my lovely accommodation where I am staying for the next two nights for the Wedding Flowers Intensive Course that I am on tomorrow and Wednesday. As usual 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 in the house every week of the year.
As June is the month to sow biennials for flowers in late spring and early summer next year, I thought I would pop a few of these lovely flowers into my favourite jugs to serve as a reminder to make sure that you have ordered your biennial seeds and are ready to get sowing before the end of the month.
The flowers above are foxgloves and Sweet Williams – both cottage garden favourites. Foxgloves are at their best in June, but the Sweet Williams will flower for some time yet. I treat Sweet Williams as short lived perennials and so this batch came from some plants that were sown in June 2014 and flowered well last summer.
The foxgloves self seed prolifically, but I still sow some fresh seeds every year to ensure that I have plants in the colours that I want – the self seeded plants flower in a random mix of colours which are always welcome, but it is nice to have some planned white, apricot and rose coloured plants as well.
Foxgloves are particularly loved by the bees which can be seen disappearing inside the flowers to search out the pollen. The insides of these flowers are so beautiful to photograph.
Sweet Williams come in many shades of pink and white and are always beautifully scented.
I am sorry to be so brief tonight, but I have a dinner to get too and then plan an early night so that I will be refreshed for the exciting day at the Green & Gorgeous cutting garden tomorrow!
Thank you as ever to Cathy for inspiring this lovely Monday habit – do pop over to her blog to see what she and the others have made this week.
Insert your profile info here, by going to Users -> Your Profile -> Biographical Info. Profile image (avatar) comes from gravatar.com. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam faucibus ornare lectus nec cursus.
I wish my foxgloves would self seed…maybe one day. My Sweet William keep growing and flowering year after year here in my garden and meadow. I am lucky!
I have my biennials so thanks for the reminder to sow them. I’m intrigued that your Sweet William are scented, mine had no scent at all and although they were still flowering well I pulled them out in favour of other things. Whose seeds did you use?
Sweet William are among my favorites and yours look so beautiful with the foxgloves.
Two of my favourites this Monday, summer wouldn’t be the same without them. Enjoy your course Julie and I hope it is very productive for you.
Beautiful as always Julie. Have fun on your course!
Gosh Julie – that one picture with the foxglove (4th one) makes it look as if it coming off the page! It definitely has a 3D look about it – brilliant! And those pastel shaded Sweet Williams afe even prettier than mixes that contain red. Thanks for sharing – and enjoy your course
Oh thanks for the timely nudge to sow sweet williams Julie. I must get cracking. Hope that your course is enjoyable and inspirational.
How nice to bring your foxgloves indoors….yes I agree, biennuals are a delight. I am waiting to see what my self seeded sweet Williams will look like…probably a bit feeble if their parents were F1!