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Vases on Monday with a purple haze

There is a bit of a purple haze over my vases today!  The dendrobium orchids (actually rather more magenta than purple) were a lovely surprise in the post the other day, sent as a thank you from friends who stayed in our cottage while we were on Colonsay!  Gorgeous, exotic creatures who couldn't be more different to the single twisted, grey branch of heather, picked on a Colonsay hillside.  My third vase will be, possibly, the sweetpeas last hurrah!  They might be diminishing in size, but still smell delicious and outrank the other two vases with their perfume!

Comments

  1. Stasher16 September 2019 at 15:54

    Love the woody structure of the heather...a lovely souvenir.

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    1. the running wave16 September 2019 at 16:50

      Heather makes a great souvenir of somewhere special! It lasts for ages, and even manages to keep its colour. I love the grey twisted woody stems! A

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  2. Cathy16 September 2019 at 16:47

    I send my Mum orchids like this from Bunches, every Mothers Day, and she loves having them - such good value cut flowers too. Your sweet peas have been fantastic this year - well done! I have just ordered seeds of my early flowering ones, but must plan for the later ones instead of just using whatever mix sounds OK - what variety are yours?

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    1. the running wave16 September 2019 at 17:01

      These orchids came via Bunches too! Such a lovely surprise to receive in the post! I often use Scilly Flowers on the Scilly Isles, especially at Christmas when they send out their narcissus. Re the sweet peas, I just bought some packets, nothing special, probably Thompson Morgan Seeds. The two-tone Cupani is a favourite of mine because it is so fragrant, and as for the others, I chose as many dark colours as I could because I get a bit tired of the white ones! They seem to prevail in the paler seed mix packets. I have been really pleased with the sweet peas this year. I did pull out the two big pots of plants yesterday. They had had their day! The survivors are growing in the ground! Won't bother with pots next year! A

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  3. The Shrub Queen16 September 2019 at 21:52

    The twisty heather stems are neat -but, the orchids are gorgeous. Love it. I should try some Sweet Peas this winter. Yours sound wonderful.

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    1. the running wave17 September 2019 at 14:31

      I must admit this year's sweet peas have been really lovely! Lots of dark colours and terrific perfume. Hope to repeat next year! A

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  4. Eliza Waters16 September 2019 at 22:17

    Sweet peas can't be beat, for sure. I still have a few hanging on. Now that it is getting cooler, I hope maybe they'll push out a few more blooms.

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    1. the running wave17 September 2019 at 14:33

      I gave mine a little bit of a tomato food last week. It might help them hang on a bit longer. I once managed to keep sweet peas going until early November in my last garden! Nothing to do with me, of course, probably just a really mild autumn which the plants were enjoying! The first frost knocked them out in the end! A

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  5. Kris Peterson16 September 2019 at 23:56

    Three very different plants but they make wonderful companions nonetheless, Amanda! I'll be sorry to see the end of your sweet peas. In my part of the world, September/October is the time to plant sweet pea seeds for late winter bloom but I'm waiting a bit longer in the hope of putting the hot weather behind us first.

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    1. the running wave17 September 2019 at 14:36

      I will be sorry to see the end of the sweet peas too Kris! They have become a bit of a fixture on the dining table! The branch of heather will hang on for ever! It dries well and the wooden stem is more or less indestructible! I am happy about that because it will be a great reminder of our recent holiday on the little Hebridean island of Colonsay. Lots of photos in earlier posts from the last couple of weeks! A

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