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. 

Recovering In a Vase on Monday

As Noelle has mentioned, we opened our gates this weekend as part of Flower Farmers' Big Weekend. We had no idea what to expect and I was certainly worried about it last week. 
Of course, it turned out fine. We had plenty of visitors who were interested in all aspects of the garden and flower farm and they all ate lots of cake and raised £150 for our local hospice, Dorothy House. 
Will I do it again? I'm not sure, we'll see. 

Here is my vase:

This is a quick snap with my phone and now looks a bit grey. I definitely have no energy for fiddling with cameras. 
The aster at the front is Blue Ice which I like very much. 
Also included are other Asters, Dahlia 'Karma Naomi', Phlox 'Sugar Stars',  peachy Limonium which I will take out and dry, Argeratum and Limonium suworowii which is heading out of the picture. 

In fact, I may dry a lot of this. I'm trying all sorts as dried flowers are having a resurgence. Look out for dried flower/foliage wreaths on here soon!

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

All for me In a Vase on Monday

Often now I make arrangements for other people and my own vases are either left overs popped in a vase on the kitchen windowsill or a few bits and pieces jammed in together. 
I made this for myself. 

I started with the Dahlia ' Apricot Star' and walked round cutting things to go with her. 
 I chose Sweet Pea 'Heaven Scent', Phlox 'Cherry Caramel', Amaranthus 'Velvet Curtains', Scabious 'Which one is that again?', Perilla, Antirrhinum 'Dark Monarch' and a couple of trails of Love in a Puff. 
I'm testing the Perilla - red/green large leaves, as a foliage plant. It has grown huge in my poly tunnel, perhaps to big to use and I think it might flop. Perhaps better outside but  I think it would probably get eaten there. Hmm.

I think it's a little tight and squashed in and I should have left more gaps but I love the colours. 
10 min to make and 20 min to photograph!

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday to see what everyone has chosen this week. 

One shade of pink In a Vase on Monday.

I've become even more obsessed with the weather and thankfully we have had some rain after 6 weeks with hardly any. Our water tanks were empty and I was battling with hoses. We had a fair amount and we may get more this week along with soaring temperatures. I am not so keen on those. The rain should perk everything up though, it was all looking dry and starting to brown. 
Again I have just one thing in my vase this week. 

Malope trifida 'Grandiflora Choice Mixed', or so it says on the packet but in fact, so far, they are all this same pink. There should be pale pink and white as well. 

I'm trying these flowers to see how well they last in a vase. Some drop but more open higher up the stem. They flowers are very delicate and I'm not sure it's really something I can use for sale but it's nice and showy in the garden. In fact, I've just realised I could move some to a spot where I need a bit more colour. 
Has anyone tried it and have any advice?

Thanks for visiting, for more fun and fancy vases visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a vase on Monday. 

Scaled down In a Vase on Monday.

Even though we are in the season of abundance, I have chosen to make a tiny posy this week. 
I saw a mini-bouquet on Instagram here and wanted to have a go. 

I posted one on Instagram last week and here is another. Quick to make and, of course, you can use all kinds of tiny things. 

I used Achillea ptarmica, Linaria, Briza, Catananche, White lavender, Oregano, NIgella heads, Lemon balm - which incidentally is a great foliage plant for vases. 

Thank you to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday. Never ceasing to entertain with her inventiveness. 

One more thing I found on Instagram, for people with nothing better to do - have a look at this: One Bouquet Per Day - flowers and vintage dresses!

You can see that our babies are barely ducklings any more and are nearly as big as their parents. 

The white patch is the wing feathers growing out. They are mostly feathered now with just a little fluff. 6 weeks old. 

They have graduated from the washing up bowls and are now allowed in the paddling pool. I've let them out a few times and to hoover up the slugs. 

Froth In a Vase on Monday

Just one thing in my vase this week. Ammi majus. It has just started flowering here. It's a little tricky to know when to cut as it can droop if you cut too soon. So far, so good with this lot. 
I'd forgotton how much I like them. I gaze at the tiny florets, each is a perfect copy of the full head like little fireworks. 

They also drop bits on the table but I forgive them. A cat has just been trying to get her head into the jug so didn't help and I may have to move it. I'd stopped putting flowers on the table when we got kittens in November, I thought maybe I could start again, but perhpas not yet. 

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for leading the way and encouraging us to put something, anything, In a Vase on Monday. 

Here is a quick look at my dahlia bed.

 All planted up now and it's a race to the start to see who will flower first. I think it's going to be Wine Eyed Jill. Most are no-where near but looking OK. 

We just need to finish the netting which goes horizontally across all 4 beds for support. Supporting before things fall over is a new thing I'm trying! 
I have all colours ranging from whites, cream, pinks, purple, red to orange and yellow. I've tried to plant in colour groups but I have't grown them all before so they may not be as expected. 
Some of the ones I'm growing are Wizard of Oz, Gerrie Hoek, Jowey Winnie, Jowey Mirella, Karma Serena, Karma Lagoon, Arbatax, My Love, Nicholas, Jowey Nicky, Rip City, Cafe au Lait, Penhill Autumn Shades, Penhill Dark Monarch... There are plenty of others hopefully I'll be able to show them sometime soon. 

Snippings In a Vase on Monday

I've got a couple of pictures of vases here. 

 This one has foxgloves (not too huge so fine for vases), a white cornflower, Briza mazima and Atriplex and a calendula I'm testing. I have Atriplex seeding everywhere and I think I can use it for foliage if it lasts well enough at this stage. There is also poppy peeping in. I seared the stem with a flame and it's lasted about 4 days so far. Probably not much longer though. It was an unusual colour. 

This is Phlox drummondii 'Silver Stars'. It's trying to flower at about 10cm tall so I cruelly pinched out the top. I had to save it though. I can't wait for some taller stems. This is a shot glass. 

Do join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday. 

Here is a new bed half planted. The phlox are at the front. I think they were in trays too long due to me going away at the wrong time. It's very quick to plant as there are no weeds and the compost is loose. 

Not nearly as tidy. Cornflowers, stocks, sweet rocket, straw flowers and Calendula with new plantings of sunflowers and other things. The plastic at the back is to cover the soil until planting to keep the weeds down. 

Finally ducklings:

We've had to add another bowl as they barely fit into one bowl now and they do like water! Apparently their fluffy feathers are not waterproof yet but the water does seem to run off in true duck fashion. Our two ducks did have a paddling pool which was perfect for a pond. It sprang a leak but I'm going to try and seal it today as I think the ducklings are big enough for it now. The they'll have a bit more room.