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A trio of vases on Monday

I have three vases this week.  The largest is the work of Devon potter John Maltby and it contains some stems from the only garden plant we inherited when we moved to our cottage at the end of 2016.  It's a very handsome shrub called Tasmannia lanceolata, mountain pepper.  The only other place I have seen this plant is in the lost gardens of Colonsay House, on the Hebridean island of Colonsay (our favourite holiday place!)  The pot with primroses is another by John Maltby, and I'm afraid I can't remember who made the little stoneware pebble pot, but I have put a single blue primrose in it to celebrate the arrival, yesterday morning, of our newest grandson.  He is fit and well and he and his mum should be home later today.  Hooray!

Comments

  1. Congratulations on your new grandson! I love the pottery and have never seen a Mountain Pepper until this morning. My mother's greatest gardening frustration was never being able to grow Primroses, yours are lovely. Happy Monday.

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    1. There is a little bit of woodland near home and I picked those few primroses this morning when I went out with the dogs. My next post will show them in a lovely series of flowering clumps! There are some cowslips coming along there too! They are for another vase, another day! A

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  2. This shows you don't need lots of blooms for a pretty vase and I especially like the pebble pot with the blue primrose. The taller John Maltby vase is an intriguing thing and at first I couldn't see where the vase ended and the contents started. Your inherited mountain pepper plant sounds equally intriguing. Good to know that another grandchild has arrived safely

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    1. We have been very fond of John Maltby's rather quirky work for a long time! Back in the 1980s we visited his pottery quite a few times and always came away with another treasure or two! A lovely man too, always enjoyed our visits and chats!

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  3. The blue flower seems the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of a new grandson - congratulations! I tried growing that Tasmannia in my garden but moved it when I decided to rearrange its bed and it didn't respond well. I should try to find another place for one. I love its flowers.

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    1. The flowers are very dainty aren't they! I am rather fond of this plant. I wouldn't have planted it there myself but now that you have told me that it doesn't transplant very happily, it will be staying put! Apparently it doesn't object to pruning so I might have to have a snip at it at some point!

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  4. Oh, congratulations, how exciting! That shrub is a new one to me. Is it growing outside?

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    1. Thanks Alison! Yes, the shrub is growing at the corner of the house, where the winds whistle past and it seems to be as tough as old boots! I had never seen it before we came here but rather like its very handsome dark red stems. Apparently you can cook with it! Might have to investigate that possibility further! A x

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