dahlias - the new peony?

With the garden remodelling we have started this year, I was determined to include many dahlias for autumn colour and of course for cutting.

Next week I'll be showing you my favourite varieties, but for now here is my brightest star, cut and popped into an old fashioned pudding bowl as a vase!

I bought the tuber for this dahlia quite by chance.  In a local supermarket, late in the planting season, they had thrown together all the unsold bulbs and I happily sorted a few.

This baby produced such stunning blooms that I was careful to lift the tuber at the end of the year, and label carefully before storing in our wine cellar, away from the frost.

When I pulled it out in spring it was big enough to divide into four separate plants, so this year I'll have plenty of blooms.

I just love the gentle colour of the petals and
 their texture and generosity ....

so I ask you:  is the dahlia the peony of autumn?

the bedside posy

A small posy for the bedside table of a loved one taking some enforced bed rest.

A couple of roses, a few lace headed hydrangeas, some green sedum and a lovely grey foliage that may be convolvulus,

 but don't hold me to it!

When a gal can't get out to her garden, 

you just have to bring the best of it in to her!

smiles and flowers - good medicine at any age!

tea and roses in england

tea and roses, 

what could be more british?

in the uk for a couple of days

the weather is fine

the roses are glorious

.... and I am drinking tea

hope you are having a lovely week

taking stock of the garden and orange flowers in a bowl

One of the nice things about being away and so busy for the past week, is taking stock of the garden when I get back.

 It is very warm and dry here, with a slight wind.  This means we are having to water the garden every day, especially on the new plants.

As we move through July the roses gently fade, and the very first dahlias kick in.  My annual poppies are still showing well, but they also offer hundreds of the green seed heads that I love to use in arrangements.

 So I made this bouquet, to brighten the dining room.   Some tiny white Felicité et Perpetue roses, a highly scented orange rose whose name I don't know, and the green poppy heads, with the first fennel flowers here and there.

As usual ten minutes only required to put it all together, and the cutting time is taken as I walk around the garden early in the morning.

Wishing you a good week ahead!

strawberries and roses - the red and white bouquet

Roses are blooming,

strawberries  are fruiting,

the sun is shining

and the evenings are warm....

 two outsized bouquets on my table,

in white tureens

a little buxus,

five different roses,

some chamomile, or feverfew (I can never remember)

a couple of peonies .....
and the strawberries

 candles,

champagne,

good food,

charming company ....

it's not much to ask is it?

hope you had a lovely weekend 

with something pretty on your table too!

taming the rambling rose

I apologise if the blog is a tad flowery at the moment, but hey!  it is June after all, and Normandy is at its most fragrant time of year.

Our climbing rose in the middle of the garden has exploded this week, and although I know it is difficult to use the flowers in an arrangement, I thought I'd have a go ...

I placed one large and two smaller vases on my mantelpiece, and cut branches of various lengths from the fragrant rose.

This exercise could be more accurately described as a balancing act than as a flower arrangement.  Those rose branches have a will of their own, and persuading them to face the right way required .... patience!

The dogs, in the meantime, feigned indifference to the rose bush lighting up the garden behind them, and faced with my resistance to their pleas to go for a walk, they lost the will to protest and fell asleep on the terrace!

peonies in the rain

 Days are warm and nights are stormy this week, which may sound good but it is bad news for the peonies, out in full and heavy flower.

There is no choice but to cut the blooms and use them in the house.

Here I teamed the huge peony blooms with sprigs of climbing hydrangea, a few branches of cow parsley and the tips of lupins that were going to seed and needed cutting back.

As usual, putting the bouquet together is a moment of true pleasure for me. A flowery interlude in a busy day, just enough to recharge my batteries and set me up for the next task to hand!

I hope you are enjoying your garden too, and managing to bring some favourite flowers indoors.

coaxing peonies into bloom

Do you remember the basket of peonie buds I bought at a fair last week?  Some readers wrote asking whether I really thought they would ever open.

Well, it took 10 days of gentle coaxing, but we got there.  Their stems were trimmed each day, and their water changed regularly, and finally they gave in and revealed their beautiful shape and colour.

As an added bonus, their perfume is divine!

Rather than creating a fussy arrangement,  I simply shared the blooms between a group of antique white ironstone jugs.  The flowers have more breathing space and they can be moved around too.

Just tell me, what could feel more luxurious 

than fresh peonies around the house?!