Skip to main content

In a January vase on Monday

I feel as though we are well into the new year now.  There are green shoots pushing through the leaf litter in the woods, with a peep of white and the promise of a snowdrop.  The witch hazel is in bloom, I have seen viburnum in flower in other people's gardens, and now catkins on common alder are very much in evidence too.  Plant life is stirring.

It is also the start of my annual campaign to rescue as many bunches of supermarket daffodils as I can afford.  So to accompany the alder catkins, I have a few flowers from the first three bunches of daffodils I bought during the week!

Comments

  1. Cathy13 January 2020 at 16:57

    Lovely photos, Amanda! I had to smile at the thought of you rescuing the supermarket daffodils - since I have been doing IAVOM I have not bought any cut flowersfor myself or anyone else apart from an occasional bunch for my Mum because flowers from my garden might not enjoy the 420 mile journey to get there, but I used to always pick up a bunch of daffodils once they started appearing. They look lovely with catkins, don't they?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave13 January 2020 at 17:27

      I feel so bad about the bunches of daffodil buds lying in dry heaps in every supermarket at this time of year. The bulb follows its intelligent star to produce a bud and flower and I feel that if the bunches are not bought, all that wondrous process just goes to waste and the flowers cannot reach their full potential. That really makes me sad! So, lots more sunshine dotted about the house to look forward to over the coming weeks!! A

      Delete
  2. Stasher13 January 2020 at 17:17

    Alders are fabulous trees. They are one of the things I admire when cycling on the levels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave13 January 2020 at 17:28

      With their feet in water, they will love your part of the world!! A

      Delete
  3. Jennifer Tetlow13 January 2020 at 18:01

    What a delight - the wind is raging so fiercely here and now it brings with it cold rain. Your catkins are cheering, and a beautiful reminder that yes, things are stirring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave13 January 2020 at 20:03

      It's been blowing a gale here too (East Lothian) with rain and generally been absolutely foul today!! So, we look to our vases on IAVOM for some joy! It never fails! A

      Delete
  4. Kris Peterson13 January 2020 at 19:01

    I love the catkins. I've got nothing in my garden that produces anything like them. I planted Garrya elliptica, a California native, just for its catkins but it stubbornly refused to grow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. the running wave13 January 2020 at 20:07

    I'm sorry that the Garrya isn't co-operating! Very frustrating because it is such a splendid plant. I was looking at one the other day on one of my walks in the grounds of Gosford House (see previous posts of mine). Catkins are rather lovely things! I love the pools of pollen they drop once they flower! A

    ReplyDelete
  6. Chloris14 January 2020 at 08:46

    Alders are beautiful in winter and perfect with the daffodils. I might just go and liberate a few myself. Lovely harbingers of spring.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Susie @ pbmGarden14 January 2020 at 11:30

    The close ups of the catkins are amazing. Enjoy your sweet daffodils--such cheerfulness in them.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In a vase on Monday - colour

The intense colours in my vase this week come from nasturtiums, sweetpeas and a single glorious zinnia! Their beauty and love of life speak for themselves and need no further words from me! Enjoy!
8 comments
Read more

Coastal walk from Gullane to North Berwick

By the time I have walked about four miles, my toes are screaming at me - it's the arthritis, you see.  One of the joys of being that little bit older than I was.  However, for a long time, I have been keen to walk along the beaches, and follow the coastal path, between Gullane and North Berwick. So, having worked out the tide times, I decided today was the day, and off we went. Below is our starting point, the bay at Gullane.  It's a lovely beach, very popular with dog walkers. This is looking east, the direction Tilly and I were going to take. Looking back, up the Forth, the unmistakable bulk of Arthur's Seat, and Edinburgh's skyline, just clear enough to see. For most of the walk, there is the choice between wandering along a series of beaches, or following a path along the top of each. There's no denying it, at heart I am a shell-seeker.  I have loads of shells at home.  We lived on one of the out islands in the Bahamas for a just over a year, a lo
7 comments
Read more

Possibly the last post and a sizzlingly hot vase on Monday

The border in our tiny garden is in an in-between phase at the moment and not very colourful, but elsewhere there are pops of high summer colour and I have brought them together in my vase today. The running wave uses Blogger as it's vehicle and they are changing the way a post is created but unfortunately I cannot make the new format work. I can't progress beyond the title! I cannot navigate to the main body of the post to create text. The new template has no prompts for adding photos, weblinks, to format the text, change font etc. It may be my old MacBook that's as fault but I can't do anything about that!! Are any other IAVOM bloggers who use Blogger having the same problems? I have tried, three times, to contact Blogger through their 'Help' prompt and received no feedback or contact whatsoever. This post is using the old 'Legacy' format, which no longer permits any kind of formatting of text, and so after four attempts I have finally manage
15 comments
Read more