Late spring flower bouquets

It’s always a happy day when the first roses can go into the flower bouquets.

My Gertrude Jekyll roses are just starting to bloom.

They go into small vases first and then some of the longer stems get put front and centre into the main weekly bouquets.

And I have started to ‘harvest’ the alliums now too this week.

Harvest? Bless. Showing off. All I mean is I am walking past with secateurs and shoving them into buckets.

They have a great height to add to the gladiolus buds. And the just emerging Hesperus which seems a bit slower to bloom this year. We have not had great blasts of heat yet. So things are a touch shy.

Not so the cerinthe which is my favourite garden weed.

But it’s floppy so that gets propped up with the rest of the flowering stalks.

I went for a different colour scheme for Melanie’s bouquet last week. I want to try and propagate this fantastic …. long pause, head scatch…. continus. Phew.

We have tried cuttings and are now going down the route of just shoving it in water and see what happens. If anyone has had success I’m keen to learn. It’s a great plant in among all the relentless green of spring.

The rest of the bouquets are more typical of my spring schemes. (And poor photographing techniques.)

That mad mix of cassias, the last tulips, quince blossom and iris.

I have given up on the white lilac that once grew near the guest house. Instead Solène (next farm over) very kindly cut me branches from her gorgeous lilac coloured one. The scent is sickly and divine.

And also indoors last week I managed to nab the viburnum ‘snowball’ before a storm blew the petals all over the east garden.

And I decided that the giant pots in the living room hosting the olive branches were in serious need of a ‘refresh’. I was dreading this job as the desiccated olive leaves drop at the merest touch.

And I need a step ladder to reach them.

But it had to be done. The last thing one wants is a dusty display.

And my final bouquet this month was my first ever anemone tall enough to fit into a vase. I bought these bulbs last minute when Peter Nyssen were announcing their 70% off December end of season barrel scrape of the warehouse.

I have planted them out in numerous spots in the garden to try and evade the mole rats munching the lot. If they bulk out over the seasons and I can harvest this sort of vibrant blue it will be a wonderful addition to the bouquets.

So pleased with that.