My vase this week is very light weight! Airy fennel, a few stems of verbena bonariensis, three floaty grasses and some rosebay willowherb, which, much to our neighbours disapproval, is growing in the flowerbed outside our sitting room window! I love it, so why not! I love the white version even more, Chamerion angustifolium Album, and I had some glorious snowy spires growing in a long-ago garden. I must seek it out and get some seeds for next year!
I love the lightweight airy-fairy and natural effect of your vase, Amanda, with or without the willowherb! Having just discovered broad-leaved willowherb in one of my borders and not recognising it till it was mature enough to start flowering it is (was!) definitely a persona non grata here...grrr! Don't think I have seen a white version before...
ReplyDeleteThank you Cathy. Seek out the white version of rosebay willowherb - it really is a lovely elegant plant, especially in a darkish corner of a garden. I had some when we lived in Edinburgh. The garden was only small and the plant didn't travel - as its wild magenta cousin does! Worth seeking out. A
DeleteI think the purple willow herb is lovely, but it is apt to spread. The white form is a delight too, much less robust. It is growing in the Bishop's Palace in Wells against some dark green conifers which give a lovely combination. I just happened to look out for it on Sunday, and it has already set seed. I like the openness of your arrangement, and the way the fennel and other items are themselves creating a three dimensional see through effect.
ReplyDeleteThe white rosebay is really beautiful isn't it! I am going to try and get some for next year! A
DeleteWhat a lovely, airy and graceful arrangement. Like you, I love rosebay willowherb and allow it to grow here and there in my garden. I've not seen the white version but I think it would, if it is as tough as the pink one, be a welcome addition to the white flowers I grow already.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the white version is as invasive as the pink Definitely worth giving it a go! It's so lovely! A
DeleteSometimes less is more! My IIVOM is so crammed full the vase was screaming mercy! I like the airy look of your choices.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I can't take any credit - the stems did it all by themselves! A
DeleteI like the airiness of today's arrangement, Amanda. I had to look up Chamerion angustifolium, which I discovered is called fireweed here in California because it tends to colonize areas that have been recently scorched by fire. Pink or white, I'd be tempted to grow it too but it seems to prefer the coasts of Northern California and the Sierra Mountain area of Central California rather than my area in the southern part of the state.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I only knew rosebay willowherb as fireweed! It got that name over here because it was the first plant to appear in the bombed out areas of London, and other cities, across the UK. Now you can see it growing profusely in all sorts of places! At the moment there is a huge brownfield site, just outside Edinburgh, next to the railway line which is just a sea of magenta! Lovely! A
DeleteI think the fairies were dancing under this vase while you weren't looking! It's ethereal. Love it.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I do love flower arrangements with lots of space through them. This one arranged itself but it is very pleasing, sitting on the dining table now! A
Deleteoh gosh! so beautiful..i love your photo of the yellow clustered flowers from the top....swoon!...looks a bit like wild carrot .. but yellow.. Could you tell me what it is?
ReplyDeleteThe yellow flower is fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. It is a member of the carrot family and has the lovely seeds which are so great to cook with! One of my favourite ingredients! I use the feathery leaves in cooking too. It has an aniseedy flavour. A great plant! A
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