About my garden

Monday 26 August 2019

Showing off again In a Vase on Monday

This Saturday was the 50th Doulting annual Handicrafts and Produce Show. 
I think it's a great show given the size of the village and there are entries from the village and the wider area. I thought there were fewer children's entries this year but on the whole it was well supported and there was lots to see. Some classes only had one or two exhibits but as there are 130 classes, including the children's, that's a lot of choice. 
I managed to get some entries in this year and here are a few:


 First is my vase - 'An arrangement of at least 4 herbs' First out of 2! 
I was pleased to find so much to put in and there is so much colour, not just green- purple sage, feverfew, flowering mints, parsley, basil, nepeta, pinapple sage, marjoram, rosemary and lemon verbena. 


'Corsage'. I dared to enter the Floral Art category and was staggered to win with this corsage. I thought it was way too un-traditional. 


Panicum 'Frosted Explosion', Jacobea maritima, Nigella seed head, Achillea ptarmica, Zinnia flower, purple sage, white Sedum, Argeratum and tiny Ammi head. Only the Zinnia was wired and I'm happy to say it still looks ok after 48 hours!



'A vase of cottage garden flowers and foliage' No comment but guess which one was mine?

There were amazing vegetables which I wished were mine, but weren't:


The beetroot and potatoes here are normal size. 

And amazing flowers and arrangements (again not mine):




Of course there were also cooking and baking, knitting and photographs, etc, etc. Lot's of fun though hard work for those staging it. Some people take the growing very seriously and the classes are hotly contested. 

This morning I was out very early to beat the soaring temperatures due again. Lots of cutting back is necessary not and planning for next year. It's too dry to move and plant just now but I can plan. 

Join in with In a Vase on Monday with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. 

14 comments:

  1. I love a good flower and veg show! Yours looks really great, and congratulations on your wins! Love the corsage - the colours are soft and pretty, and there are so many flowers and textures tucked into that tiny posy - lovely! Amanda
    https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-wild-flower-vase-on-monday.html

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    1. Thank you. When I first made it I wasn't sure but often if you walk away and come back you see how it really is, don't you?

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  2. Me too...a good show! I have my diary open for next year ready, just to visit though and admire...That corsage is superb and the herbs 'supherb' I love the little flutter of the heart when you see the certificate. Isn't it HOT!

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    1. I should have invited you. You can enter too! Most of the classes are open to anyone - knitting, baking...
      Thank you. It's been so hot but cooler now thankfully.

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  3. Oh how wonderful Alison - I love all the flowers in your arrangement of at least 4 herbs - I am sure that will be ehat has wowed the judges. Your corsage, however, is absolutely stunning - it reminded me of heathery tweed colours, and I could see viuslaise it on a kilted groom and his entourage. The different elements are inspired - and well done fr it lasting at least 2 days! That was the only thing I was disappointed with when I did them for my younger daughter's wedding, as they flopped quite early on in the day (made the night before)

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    1. Thank you. Yes, some things do flop and it's frustrating. I tested a couple of things to see how they fared but not the wired Zinnia. Some people keep them in the fridge overnight.

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  4. I'd love to attend an event like this but sadly the US in general, and Southern California in particular, doesn't have the same kind of appetite for horticultural events that the UK does (except perhaps for succulents, which seem to be drawing more attention with each passing year, at least in droughty SoCal). Of course you won the corsage classification - your entry was extraordinary! (I planted that same Panicum but it's failed to make an appearance, possibly because, once again, I was late in sowing the seeds.) If I was to venture a guess, I'd say the shorter cottage garden flower and foliage creation was yours.

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    1. That's a shame. Succulents are very popular here too, even going into wedding bouquets. My Panicum was slow to germinate and then patchy but i finished up with lots of plants. I'm hoping it will self seed but I'll save seed anyway and store it away with all the rest I'm saving. ( far too much). Your guess is correct.

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  5. I think your corsage is very modern compared to the other pictured. It looks fresh and lively. No wonder it won! What fun to have such a challenge and to win! Congratulations.

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    1. Thank you. Maybe next year I'll venture one of the other classes.

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  6. Well done. Really love the corsage! - Allison @Frogend

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  7. Congratulations on your win - what a beautiful Corsage! What a fun fair - would have loved it, I am sure!

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