In a Vase on Monday: Winter Rescues

Every Monday I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her lovely meme, where she invites us to share materials from our gardens in a vase. This becomes tricky in winter as – here in Bavaria – daytime temperatures have mostly been remaining below or around freezing point.

So the lovely Hellebore I bought last autumn and planted in a large pot was looking extremely thirsty – the soil was frozen solid. I brought it into the cellar to thaw out a couple of weeks ago, cut off a few dead bits and it has now rewarded me with lots more lovely flowers! Rescue accomplished! Here are three of the flowers in a small vase with some Narcissi I had growing on the windowsill.

The vase matches perfectly!

But I also had to rescue something else this week. While doing a bit of reorganizing, vacuuming and dusting in my room, I disturbed a Hummingbird Hawk Moth – maybe it was behind a shelf or sideboard? I have no idea why it chose such a warm room to overwinter. It immediately flew to the Hyacinths I had on the windowsill!

I made a little video of it too.

I decided it was far too cold to release it outside, although it was flying against the window constantly. So what to do? I caught it in a glass, took it up to our attic and placed the pot of Hyacinths next to it. Another rescue accomplished! It is cold and dark up there, but with plenty of nooks and crannies for creatures to snuggle up, and spaces showing daylight too. The Hyacinth was going over. I wonder if the moth will survive. I read that cold garages, frost-free sheds etc are ideal places for them to overwinter, so I think the attic was the best option.

Anyway, many thanks to Cathy – do go and visit her to see her vase today, as well as many other vases linked in from around the world.

 

Happy February!