Skip to main content

Climbing the walls in a vase on Monday

Today I have three wallflowers, Erysimum Bowles Mauve, soft apricot and an orange one!  There is also some santolina, which fell victim to some judicious pruning during a spell of weeding and tidying up the flower bed, in what I call the outer garden.   I love the four colours together, vivid, warm and sunny, and they sit in one of my favourite vases, by Totnes potter, Colin Kellam.

Comments

  1. Cindy11 May 2020 at 11:24

    Lovely deep jewel colors that really capture your attention. I know there are two other items in the vase, but I don't notice them so much, but I think they have a calming affect giving the vase a restful place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave11 May 2020 at 21:43

      Yes, just there to temper the vibrancy of the other two colours! That makes it sound as though I planned it - but I didn't! That's what I love about flowers, they just get it right without any help from me!

      Delete
  2. Cathy11 May 2020 at 13:47

    Indeed, the contrast of the 'mauve' and orange is lovely - and I do love your Colin Kellam vases! I did Google after the last time to see if I could find any available to buy, but couldn't

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave11 May 2020 at 21:45

      I have had Colin's vase for donkey's years! I am sorry you didn''t manage to find his work. He is more or less retired these days but still knocking out a few pots I believe!

      Delete
  3. Kris Peterson11 May 2020 at 16:09

    It's a lovely color combination, Amanda. I love Erysimum, a genus that's surprisingly difficult to find here (even when there isn't a pandemic in process). I had a variety with variegated foliage ringing my back garden fountain for a few years but I haven't been able to find that plant locally in recent years. I ordered an orange-flowered variety by mail this year but it hasn't thrived, perhaps because it arrived at the tail end of our rainy season and doesn't get the water it wants in my border.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave11 May 2020 at 21:49

      Thank you Kris. I love the colours too. The Erysimum has been flowering quietly since last summer, all through winter, and picking up again now. Our winter was very mild, but even so, it's a pretty tough plant and just keeps going! I know the orange variety you refer to. I haven't seen one for a while, but I do like them. As and when we are allowed out, and garden centres are open agin (in Scotland) I must have a look out for one! Thank you for reminding about those! A

      Delete
  4. Stasher12 May 2020 at 07:32

    Lovely rich colours....nice to be reminded how good Erysimum's are. Should our hotel in Totnes decide to open in time for our booked slot, I shall try and seek out this potter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave12 May 2020 at 08:49

      I love Totnes. I lived there for a short spell when I was 20/21, and I have cousins who have been there since the 1960s. You may find Colin's work at the gallery at Shinner's Bridge, Dartington, when you do manage to get to Devon. I am sure there will be other places in Totnes where you can see Colin's work, but his pottery and showroom in the centre of the town closed many years ago, but he is still working a bit I think, out in the nearby countryside.

      Delete
  5. Anna12 May 2020 at 07:58

    Oh the orange and purple are such an attractive contrast Amanda. The santolina provides a perfect feathery finishing touch . I have a serious case of vase envy - the shape is most appealing and it looks the sort of vase that you couldn't possibly knock over by accident,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave12 May 2020 at 08:49

      You're right! It is a sturdy vase. One of my favourites. The deep bottle green is always a good colour with any flower or foliage! A

      Delete
  6. Anonymous18 May 2020 at 09:39

    Great colours , Amanda. The sing together beautifully . I will pass on the
    possitive comments about the vase. S.x.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Shrub Queen18 May 2020 at 20:18

    I love complementary colors and the grey foliage sets everything off so well. I was wishing for a vase like this...I have never had any Wallflowers, though I think they can be grown in Florida during the winter. Hmm, plans for next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave19 May 2020 at 08:59

      Love wallflowers! Good luck for next year! A

      Delete
  8. Cindy18 May 2020 at 22:42

    Is this the same vase you showed on Instagram today? I saw comments about a book and I didn't remember reading about a book on your blog post that I accessed via your link and my phone. I guess I'm a little confused, but it doesn't take much to confuse me the older I get.
    Very lovely vibrant colors!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the running wave19 May 2020 at 08:56

      Hi Cindy, I am wondering if the book I mentioned might have been Spell Songs, which is a companion book (and CD) to The Lost Words, written by Robert Macfarlane (my hero) and sublimely illustrated by Jackie Morris. Even if it is not the book you are thinking of, they are both worth checking out! The book is fabulous, and the CD is heartbreakingly beautiful, especially if listened to while reading the spell songs! A

      Delete

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

Colonsay postcards - on arrival

The first thing I do, once we have unpacked our car, which has been groaning with all the stuff we need for a week's stay in the holiday cottage, is head for the outer gardens of Colonsay House. It is a place of wonder for me! I particularly love the leaves of the giant rhododendrons. There are many different varieties, all planted in the early 1930s. The outer gardens are generally overgrown, having had little tending over the decades. That makes them even more magical! The old woodmill falls apart a little more every year, but that's fine by me because I love corrugated iron and especially if it's rusted! And of course the bees. Colonsay's beekeeper, Andrew Abrahams, has one of his apiaries on the edge of the pine wood. So lovely - the hum of busy bees and the heady smell of the pines. We are here - finally! Delayed by four months by the wretched virus, but now I am on holiday! Hooray!
Post a Comment
Read more

Found items IAVOM

I am on holiday on the Inner Hebridean island of Colonsay. It is my happy place. Thoughts of Colonsay rattle around in my head each and every day I am not here! I haven't got a vase to share this week but some lovely things I have found over the past few days, which are just as beautiful as a vase of flowers! I hope you agree! Here are some leaves of giant rhododendrons, growing in the outer gardens of Colonsay House. Some skeleton leaves of magnolia. The dried stem of a kelp seaweed. A couple of conkers (can never resist those!), and a branch heavily populated by a number of lichens. The air on Colonsay is so clean that lichens flourish here!
9 comments
Read more