In a Vase on Monday: Create your own sunshine

‘Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine’ Anthony D’Angelo – American Educator

The weather has been a bit chilly and windy here in Salford, so for today’s vase I picked the brightest colours I could find in the garden – lots of different kinds of dwarf daffodils, including a solitary frilly one. Most of the Daffodils came from a mixed bag of bulbs from my local garden centre Bents. I added some bright yellow primrose, which opens as orange, and a frond of blue scilla. I matched them with an aqua glass vase, which I bought at the Eden Centre a few years ago – it’s made from reclaimed glass, has a metal hanger, handy for wedging stems against. The vase is really a tealight holder – it’s appeared before In a Vase on Monday, with daffodils but I didn’t realise that until I looked it up on the blog. There’s rain drops on the Primula and one of the Daffodils has been munched – oh well that’s Nature for you.

I probably sound like a broken record, but the weather has been very backwards and forwards in April in Salford. It’s been even more changeable than usual for April, – and not many April showers either. There was the brief hot, sunny 70degrees for a few days mid week, which ‘might’ have been our Summer/Spring. It was rather wasted as I was at work, but it did give me a chance to take some photos around Oxford Road. Doesn’t it look awesome and I love the living wall on the side of the Physics building. I wish there were more of these, and more Cherry trees around campus.

Manchester and Salford look stunning at the moment with the many ornamental blossoms – I counted over 50 trees on the way home in so many shades of pink and white, on my 6 mile commute (and two miles in motorway in deep concrete cuttings). I must take some photos of the local ones around Monton – there’s four mature cherry trees on our Green, which definitely isn’t big enough for a cricket match.

As usual I’m linking up with Cathy from Rambling in the Garden; she has a beautiful collection of many shades of white, with streaks of green when you look closely. Like many things, if you look closely you see more. A good reminder for life generally – and doing this helps me be mindful too. I’m expecting to have Tulips in my Vase on Bank Holiday Monday, there are many coming though.

Blurt Foundation #blurtselfcareathon April

This finished today -Monday 30 April 2018. It’s been a reflective day for me.

I’ve enjoyed the challenge of finding photos to represent the topics – sometimes it was very thought provoking, other times the photo and description were straightforward – some photos I had already and some I took especially for the prompt. I made a couple of collages too.

I’d definitely do another of these prompts again. Have you seen anything suitable? Would you have a go? Let me know in the comments.

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Instagram: @becinmonton
Twitter: @becinmonton

Follow the Instagram hashtag – #blurtselfcareathon

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Thank you to The Blurt Foundation for all they do to help people like me – I’d have been a mess if I hadn’t found them. I’ve written about them a few times on the blog.

• In A Vase on Monday – old rose, new year plans…CompassYear
• In a Vase on Monday – good enough when not ‘in the pink’
• In a Vase on Monday -(journaling) old favourites and new memories

Follow Blurt Foundation on Instagram @theblurtfoundation
Follow the Instagram hashtag – #blurtselfcareathon

Follow Blurt Foundation on Twitter @BlurtAlerts

More resources and help for depression and anxiety at: www.blurtitout.org

The Blurt Foundation’s CEO Jayne Hardy knows so much about self care, she wrote a book about it :-). It’s available from bookshops Self Care Project

Follow Jayne on Instagram @jaynehardy_ and twitter @JayneHardy_

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I can see my neighbour’s stunning cherry blossom from my front door. Isn’t it gorgeous? It lifts my mood.

In the meantime enjoy National Gardening Week – hope you can get outside to enjoy some gardens, flowers and plants… or just a walk in the sunshine or doing something you love. It’s due to be a sunny Bank Holiday weekend so we’ll be making the most of it.

I’ll be taking notice of the small things too – #mindfulness. I’ve tapped into more of my inner sunshine despite being ridiculously busy.

We go to Australia in less than two weeks to see our awesome relatives so we will definitely see some genuine sunshine (inner sunshine too).

Carpe Diem,

Love Bec xx xx xx

In a Vase on Monday – Bee Kind this Spring

‘Be happy for this moment, This moment is your life’. Omar Khayyam (1048-1132) Persian mathematician, astronomer and poet.

Over the last month or so, I’ve been concentrating even more on my mindfulness practise – and being more in the moment. But, it feels a bit like groundhog day at the moment, Winter (and snow) re-appearing and Spring receding into the distance again (much like it was at the beginning of March). Once again it was a very cold weekend, with snow forcast, so I thought about what I might find the garden; most of the plants are looking a bit sorry for themselves (especially the Camellias) but plenty of bulbs coming up.

27 March 2018 – Hellebore, tête-à-tête daffodils (with ice) photographed on 18 March 2018

On Sunday 18th March, there was about 3inches of snow in our garden, the sky was blue, but it was very cold. It certainly concentrates your mind when you have to bundle up in your thickest coat, scarf, hat and gloves (and walking boots), just to explore what flowers are out in the garden. So I dashed out, and I found more than I was expecting. It made up for the pain from my arthritis, which doesn’t like the cold at all. I’ve struggled with the cold, with pain, which makes me tired all the time. That’s probably why it took over a week to write this blog – oh well I’ll try to be quicker next time.

In a Vase on Monday -A Cold, Snowy, Salford Spring?

‘No Winter lasts forever, no Spring skips its turn’ Hal Borland (1900-1978) American author and naturalist

No one in Britain can have missed the weather the last few weeks, #thebeastfromtheEast, #StormEmma and more snow due this weekend. I hope you don’t mind, but some of this post was written a couple of weeks ago, and the rest today, as another wintery weekend looms. Also I’ve been a bit stuck, very tired and osteo-arthritis aching but I’ve been plodding along. I feel a bit like Spring, stuck around the corner, nearly in reach but not quite. I saw something on twitter today, which made me laugh:

Winter this year, is like a person who leaves the room in a huff, only to come back in ‘and another thing…’ only to leave again… and return…

#theBeastfromthe East brought about 4 inches of snow to Monton, it’s very unusual to have this much, usually it’s about two inches, as it’s very flat around here with many canals. It was THAT cold and icy our local Parkrun (Worsley woods) was cancelled… this never happens as its under trees and very protected compared to most Parkruns. Fortunately my Chap was OK about this, as the air was far too cold for running – you wouldn’t think to look at him that he has asthma 🙂

The wind chill dipped to minus 12 during the night, and minus 8 during the day. I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold in the middle of the city. I’m very used to cold, when I’m up a mountain and layered up. It reminded me of the very cold day in January 2015, when we went to Neuschwanstein, in Bavaria with my Brother and his family, who were visiting from Australia – happy memories 🙂

A very cold, snowy day in Monton on 4th March 2018
It wasn’t lost on me that 1st March was the start of the meteorological Spring – so I layered up with my thickest, longest waterproof, gloves, hat, scarf and boots and ventured into the garden to see what flowers I could find. I was surprised to find some tête-à-têtes, and some purple perennial wallflower so I quickly picked the flowers, and put them in a vase with some lavender. The vase has appeared in ‘In a Vase on Monday’ many times, I wrapped ‘bee happy’ washi tape around it. The print is part of a series – the Winter print with descriptions of moons has appeared too (Worm Moon, Pink Moon and Flower Moon) at the start of metreological Winter. Butterflies and bees seem a long way off at the moment, but like most things, they’ll be back.

• In a Vase in Monday – winter childhood memories (and fuchsia too) – with the same vase, and a fuchsia (5th December 2017)
• the perenial purple wallflower has appeared a few times too
  • In a Vase on Monday – Hello from the hardy fuchsias
  • In a vase on Monday – keep calm and carry on
• The iron daffodils have appeared on the blog before too 🙂

In a Vase on Monday – Love, fire and determination

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.

Ann Landers (1918-2002) American Advice Columnist

For various reasons, which I won’t go into right now, we have barely been in the garden this year – it’s been tumultuous to say the least – no time for much apart from pressing issues, let alone gardening or blogging.  From the patio window, I’d seen various bulbs flower and go over, during late winter and early Spring, dwarf irises, crocuses, various daffodils and narcissi, and the early tulips.  At Easter weekend we had a bit more time and some dry weather, we ventured into the garden to see how things were and start tidying up – there were quite a few tulips around. so I picked some which reminded me of fire. There was also tête-à-tête daffodils and some orange wall flower.

My Chap and I have got back to arrangements for our wedding in September this week 🙂 we’ve got a flowery theme – and regular readers won’t be surprised to know it features purple. I CANNOT WAIT to get married to him and continue our life together – happily married.

In a Vase on Monday – daffodils, orange and red tulips, orange wallflower – 19 April 2017

 

They’re are in a vase which I found in the house of my friend, who died in 2015. It was his mother’s but I never saw any flowers in the house, in the 25 years I knew her.  It’s a 1960s crystal style triangular vase – it wasn’t her taste at all so I think it might have been a wedding gift.  She was a very determined lady – a Northern matriarch with a love of crosswords and opera. We always got on very well.  I miss her too, she died in 2013. 

I’ve used the vase and daffodils before for in a Vase on Monday:

• Red glass vase
  In a Vase on Monday – sunny yarrow, oranges and reds – 10 August 2015
• tête-à-tête daffodils In a vase on Monday – daffodils and dreams  – 29 February 2016
• In a Vase on Monday: yellow and purple in bottles 23 March 2015
• In a vase on Monday – tête a tête daffodils and mini iris – my first ever In a Vase on Monday – 15 March 2015

In a Vase on Monday – reminding me of fire – 19 April 2017

I’m joining Cathy from Rambling in the Garden who hosts this worldwide link up of people picking flowers and foliage from their gardens or locality – she has a lovely fresh pink and blue vase – with a tulips in it too (as Cathy says – a hazard of this time of year but I don’t mind as I love tulips).  It SO helps me to look at other people’s flowers and arrangements- it lifts my mood even in the darkest times (metaphorically as well as physically). Cathy, and the other gardening bloggers, have been been lovely to me during all the tribulations I’ve had over the last few years – so many supportive and positive comments.  Thank you everyone – it means such alot to me.

Just some of the things my garden means to me – 19 April 2017

Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of.
Bethany Hamilton (1990 – ) Professional surfer who lost her left arm in a shark attack aged 13.

I’m a grown woman and many people would say I’m a determined person, with bucket loads of resilience – but gosh it’s been tested recently, with everything that life has thrown at My Chap and I over the last few years – once again I’m feeling chronically exhausted, with a lot of physical pain, especially from my arthritis.

I’m channelling all these attributes Bethany speaks of, and the determination of my suffragette granny, to keep going one day at a time, gradually getting better again.  All the women in my family are resolute, tenacious women – whatever their age 😉

I am SO looking forward to spending our wedding day in September with these women, with my female pals from all across the world some I’ve know for decades and some much more recently. The blokes I know are pretty awesome too.  It’s going to be a day of fun, flowers, cake, music, dancing but most of all love and laughter.   Fingers crossed for no rain as we are planning an outdoor ceremony.

I am grateful every day for my family and friends, but most of all I am grateful my wonderful Chap pitched up in my life nearly seven years ago.  I would be in a pickle if he wasn’t here holding my hand.  Fire in our hearts always – I definitely agree with theAnn Landers quote.

I’m determined to get out in the garden more too – It’s my solace and I know it will help me.   And pick some more flowers for vases too.

Have a lovely week.

Carpe Diem

Love Bec xx

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday -daffodils at Alnwick Castle

A sea of daffodils at Alnwick Castle – #100happydays – 26 April 2016

In a vase on Monday – daffodils and dreams

You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.
Alain De Botton – Philosopher

It’s been an eventful few weeks – all the changes at work are becoming very real now, and all the legal issues around my friend’s death are nearly done.   I’m recovering well mentally and physically, though there’s a while to go yet – I know I’ll get to where I want to be – and can regain my inner and outer calm soon 🙂

I’ve always loved Daffodils.   I lived in flats for many years and often had vases of daffs around the house.
Once I got a garden (with a house) they were the first things I planted – there are many species around by garden.  My tête a têtes are always the first to flower (in late January this year!) and when they do – I know Spring is on its way.   There’s a great show from my crocuses and irises so maybe they’ll be in the vase next week.

I’ve also got some wall flowers still flowering from last summer (in a very sheltered part of my garden) – so I wanted to showcase them too.

In a Vase on Monday – tête a tête daffodils, wallflowers, helichrysum, curry plant and rosemary – 29 February 2016

I picked dark green rosemary and silver grey curry plant because, I liked the contrast of colours and textures.  I thought they all went well with the blooms and Vase.

Herbs and spices are a huge part of our cooking. We’ve got 10 different kinds of mint in pots so it doesn’t spread around the garden.    My chap has been taking care of me by cooking great food – it’s one of the ways he shows his love for me (and others).  I wrote about him and all the other ‘chefs’ in my life in December.

• In a Vase on Monday – Love and rosemary for remembrance – 31 December 2015

The helichrysum had very small yellow flowers, and it was only it seems appropriate, that it is used in  ‘Everlasting’ and ‘Immortal’ Essential Oils.

The Vase is actually a recycled glass tealight holder which I bought at The Eden Project in 2014.  It’s made an appearance before:

• In a Vase on Monday -Lilac and tulips with recycled glass – 19 May 2015

My Chap and I have been making plans – we’ve booked a holiday to Cornwall in May.  I’m sure we’ll be visiting The Eden Project again, Heligan, Caerhays and some of the other great gardens of Cornwall – we didn’t get to Lanhydrock last year but will go there definitely.   I think we’ll be spending alot of time by the sea too.

I’m hoping I can get some more garden ornaments on our trip.  I’ve got quite a few rusty iron flowers and other decorations around the garden.  I really must write about them in a blog – as they’re carefully chosen, with memories and love associated with each one.

In a Vase on Monday – 29 February 2016

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden has a wonderful vase this week in a Japanese style and has written about weddings and promises.   Do have a look at everyone’s vases from around the world and join in if you can.   These vases and all the blog writers lift my mood and inspire my planting 🙂 Thank you so much everyone – I’m trying to comment more in 2016.

tête a tête daffodils, helichrysum,  and a new variety of Daffodils 😉 – 29 February 2016

Today I am thinking of promises made both long ago, and more recently but most of all – promises for the future.   I’ve only ever tried to do my best – I hope I have.

It seems appropriate to dream on the ‘extra’ day we have this year.  My ideas about what to do this year are coming together – which is helping me feel more content, but it’s scary at the same time.   I just know I need to be brave – and take the first step.  I know I need to believe in myself and ‘seize the day’.

As ever,  My Chap is always holding my hand (sometimes metaphorically) through all of life’s adventures on the ‘nice, uneventful days’ as well as the most challenging days.   I would have been in a real pickle if he hadn’t been here in 2015.

I am dreaming of the sunsets by the sea in Cornwall.  I hope things will be clearer by then… and I’ll be feeling less ‘bashed about by life’.

Have a lovely week – what have you done with your extra day?

Carpe Diem

love
Bec xxx

In a Vase on Monday: yellow and purple in bottles

Here is my ‘In a vase on Monday’ with tête a tête daffodils making a re-appearance;  this time with a pansy (with Yoda). I hope you like it?

Daffodils, mini milk bottles a pansy and Yoda too – 23 March 2015

Cathy over at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/ hosts this weekly challenge to pick and display flowers from your garden in a vase.  This week she’s got sweet william, tulips and some aquilegia.  I think it’s a lovely natural posy and a great vase too.

I’d seen Gwirrel’s garden using mini milk bottles with crocuses and Cathy use mini milk bottles in a crate a couple of weeks ago – with Hellibores – Don’t they look great?

It was pouring with rain this morning in Manchester but I had my eye on a few flowers around the garden and was hopeful I could do something with my milk bottle set.  I nipped out when I got home from work and picked these flowers.   It was fairly sunny when I took these photos but I definitely needed the flash to see the colours properly.

Here’s the arrangement on my mantlepiece in my lounge.

Tete a tete daffodils, a pansy and mini milk bottles – 23 March 2015

It’s a great idea #In a vase on Monday and I hope I can find some flowers for next week – I don’t have a greenhouse so we’ll see what’s flowered.   It’s fascinating seeing which plants are flowering, who’s got flowers growing in their greenhouses and also who’s gardening in more extreme conditions than here in a small suburban garden in Manchester.

Have you had a go this week? I’d love to see what you’ve done.

In a vase on Monday – tête a tête daffodils and mini iris

Tête a tête daffodils and mini iris – 16th March 2015

My first ‘In A Vase on Monday’

They’re tête a tête daffodils and one dwarf iris. I don’t know the variety I’m afraid.  I bought the bulbs in Wilko last year; they’re a northern chain rapidly spreading south who sell all sorts of things, a bit like Woolworth’s did in the 1970s.  They have a really good garden section so do pop in if you’re local and have a look around. The bulbs were planted in a trough in the garden last autumn, which you can see in the distance, and have spent all winter outside.   Apologies for not finding a better background but I took these photos in a hurry before rushing out to work this morning – it’s a peek into my garden too.  Not much going on at the moment.

Mini Daffodils and Iris – 16 March 2015

The vase got a lot of use last summer with Sweet peas from the garden – I have a feeling it will be getting a lot of use this year too.   It was a gift from my chap and is only about 7 inches high – I did wonder about putting navy ribbon around it but I wasn’t sure if it would be too over the top. What do you think? I’m very lucky as my chap works in the florist industry (wholesale – everything except the flowers basically).   So I have a lot of vases – they’re a lot bigger though.  I hope you get to see some of the vases on a Monday – just hope I can grow enough suitable flowers. He buys me flowers often – yes I know I’m a very lucky –  think he enjoys the flowers as much as I do and he knows more about flower arranging than me for sure.

If you want to see more ‘In a vase on Monday’ have a look at Cathy from www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com – it’s all about picking flowers growing in your garden and displaying them in a vase on a Monday – simple really assuming you’ve got something flowering.  She’s got some gorgeous purple hyacinths today.  I’ve got a few hyacinths growing in the front garden so lets see how they turn out.  They’re nowhere near flowering though.  I’m enjoying seeing what everyone else has picked and all the pretty vases.   I loved these purple crocuses in the mini bottle vases from Gwirrel’s garden today too.  It’s good fun looking around other people’s blogs to see how their flowers are coming along.  Such alot of variety of when the daffodils and crocuses are coming up. Elsewhere in the garden, the hellebore is flowering, lots of yellow and purple crocuses as well as some really amazing double head mini daffodils – so fingers crossed I can find something pretty for next Monday.

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August 2018 Update

Little did I know that joining In a Vase on Monday hosted by Cathy would lead to me finding many gardening bloggers around the world, with wonderful gardens large and small. It introduced me to many new plant varieties.  Looking through the blogs lifts my mood in the darkest days of Winter.

My In a Vase on Monday posts are here

Cathy’s are here

There are many blog post links below Cathy’s weekly blog post – do have a look around

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Do you follow, or participate, in any links like this?

Carpe Diem

Love Bec xxx xxx

 

 

Hello daffodils… Not just yet

A house with daffodils in it is a house lit up,
whether or no the sun be shining outside. 
A.A. Milne

Mini daffodils in a pot – 2 March 2015

It was horrible weather here at the weekend so I wasn’t out in the garden at all – which made me feel glum.  Instead, I’ve been thinking about positive things.  I’ve been waiting not so patiently for more bulbs to flower… not a lot is happening though. But every year is different in the garden, as well as in life.

Here are the same pots one year apart in exactly the same place – no sign of daffodils and a lot less crocuses this year than last year.

Yoda and the daffodils 1 March 2014

Daffodils and crocuses – 1 March 2015

If I was a more organised person I’d have posted these pictures on 1st March – St David’s Day. Instead I’ll just wish you ‘Dydd Gwŷl Dewi Sant hapus’.

The Met Office have said it’s been the sunniest winter on record (but not in Manchester clearly – we are one of the grey areas on the Met Office maps) – News release.  It just goes to show how much I know, as I thought last winter 2013/14 was cold and wet and that it had been milder this winter.

Statistics matter.

I’d love to have a meteorological station in the garden, but I’d need it to email me the results as I’d forget to take the measurements every day.    I grew up in a town where people knew a lot about the weather so I’ve always been fascinated by this topic.

P.S. Don’t worry Yoda is still around… he’s been at the bottom of the garden at the moment.  He makes me smile everytime I see him.   I’ll write about Yoda and my other garden ornaments another time.

P.P.S. I gave in and bought a pot of tête a tête daffodils from a supermarket – A A Milne would approve.

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Have you got daffodils flowering yet? or do you have different flowers to signal Spring where you live?

Carpe Diem

Love Bec xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

I waited a long time for a garden of my own – well into my 40s

It was worth the wait.  It’s only small.
I bought my house because of the garden –  I can sit on my sofa and look at the view. The view has changed a lot in five years mirroring the changes in my life.
My garden has been my sanctuary and escape from the aggravations of life in a busy Northern city.
Planting, weeding and watering is my relaxation, but most of all, I love sitting in the garden usually with an earl grey or a pint of Pimms.
All sorts of wonderful things happened since I got my own garden including an inspiring, energetic, incredible Chap storming into my life and staying.
I plan a lot of our adventures sitting in my garden.

I think this blog is going to be about:

• where we visit – I love history as well as gardening – there are many wonderful gardens nearby like Tatton Park, Dunham Massey and Bodnant
• what’s been happening in our lives
• the odd bit of cooking and crafting too.
• my thoughts and dreams for the future
• many pictures of the garden, plants, flowers and the veg plot.
• And maybe, just maybe, some campervan adventures…

I am most definitely an amateur gardener though – I’m rubbish with latin names.

Currently, I’m waiting for the daffs to arrive (Feb 2015) – Spring is nearly here.

tete-a-tete daffodil and english lavender in my front garden – Spring 2014

Carpe Diem

Bec