power plant

For the last few weeks my Monday vases have been showcasing some of the plant materials I dried last summer; drying flowers was a goal I had for 2025 after reading a couple of books I had received the previous Christmas. So here is a little summary of my experiences. First of all, these are the books I used for help and inspiration: ‘Forever Flowers’ by Ann Lindsay And ‘Everlastings’ by Bex Partridge In ‘Everlastings’ there are some beautiful ideas for how to use both pressed and dried flowers, most a little beyond my talent! However, I found the information on the process and above all the list of flowers and foliage that can be dried extremely helpful. I was unsure of myself and how my flowers would dry, but now that I have a year of testing things out I will definitely try some of the ideas presented here, such as a floral brooch, a gathered bouquet, and perhaps even a wreath. The tone of the book is very calming and friendly, and I feel it was written by a kindred spirit!...

I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her weekly meme. Since I am unable to find any fresh flowers in my garden for a vase this cold January, I am using dried materials again, and have put together a collection of oddities for my shapely vase, all collected from my 2025 garden. I think the lack of colour in this arrangement is perhaps compensated for with the mixture of shapes, which become even more pronounced with the light from the snowy garden behind them… The very tall spike is a Cimicifuga seedhead. These are spectacular flowers late summer, with a divine scent, attractive too butterflies as you can see below… … … and by late September the seedheads were a beautiful pinky green…   I cut just one to try drying it, along with a spiky seedhead of a Morina longifolia. This is one of the few spiky plants I grow, because it is simply so pretty! Here it is in the summer… Both plants dried well, but the colour did fade. (Earlier cutting may help). The A...

Captured on a beautiful walk in the woods earlier this week. (Turn the sound up!)

Ten Days of Plantness, running from the 12th to the 21st, is coming to an end. If you have missed my previous posts, this is an annual event thought up by Frank at Sorta Like Suburbia a couple of years ago, so do go and visit him. He has already posted about his plantness adventure 2026, which involved braving a snowstorm! A bonus photo of another Primula picked up at my supermarket. Basically, Ten Days of Plantness means buying ten plant/garden-related items in January. The rules are extremely flexible, as Frank explained in this post . I really enjoy joining him and his partner in crime Kimberley (from Cosmos and Cleome ) across the miles. Such a shame I don’t live nearer to join them on their plant-searching outings! So, to wrap up this year’s event I am sharing three more things I picked up at a garden centre last week on my own little ‘Plantness’ outing. For Day 8: A new pot. The light shade of green (the colour I am craving most this month!) simply cried out to me, and ...

As I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for our weekly vases, the sun is shining but the temperatures are low and once again I find myself sorting through some dried materials in my cellar. I wanted colour in my vase today, so I picked out some more of the pretty pink everlasting flowers – Helipterum – and added some dried golden grasses and dried meadow flowers. The lampshade to the right of this scene cast an attractive shadow. On the left is my bowl of dried Helichrysum flowers. Moments later I came back to take more photos as the sun had moved lower in the sky, illuminating the arrangement! — Some clover and Melica ciliata caught my eye, and another grass too… — And there is this seedhead, which I have found in the meadow two years in a row. I have no idea what it is, as it is clearly an insignificant flower that only stands out when the seedheads form. Any ideas anyone? The Pulsatilla seedheads dissolved into a ball of fluff when I picked them up, but placing them...

Ten Days of Plantness, running from the 12th to the 21st, is a brilliant way to brighten up a cold and snowy January. Frank at Sorta Like Suburbia thought this up a couple of years ago and I am pleased to join in the fun. If you want to know more, pop over to Frank’s blog, or take a look at my recent posts for days 1 to 4. So today, for days 5, 6 and 7, I am sharing some purchases made on my visit to a large commericial garden centre on the other side of town. I usually prefer my local nursery, but they have almost nothing at this time of year. Even though many shelves were empty and the outside section was closed, the garden centre managed to fill out the houseplant section with mainly orchids and peace lilies etc.  So, for Day 5, this is where I found a bargain Cyclamen for 2,99€! It is a lovely deep purple colour (it looks paler and redder in the photos), but I chose this one for the added interest of its pretty leaves.öx For Day 6 this gardening magazine, strategically pla...