In a Vase on Monday – Endings and Beginnings

Chris Mousseau

We’re now in the last month of spring, which means the last of the spring bulbs are fading while late spring and summer shrubs and perennials are starting to bloom. I love daffodils and grow quite a few varieties, beginning with the dwarf Tete a Tete and ending with Quail (shown last week, here) and Actaea, now also starting to fade. Actaea, also called poeticus, or The Poet’s Narcissus (something to do with various poets, over the ages, waxing rhapsodic about it), is very pretty and, nicely surprising to me, has a slight fragrance of cloves. Here they are in the garden:

If the daffodils represent Endings, the chives (everyone with a garden has chives, right?), Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ and of course, Lilac, represent Beginnings. Here’s a closeup of the four blooms:

Here’s the bush I snipped the lilac from – it’s a bit too close to the driveway so my excuse for mutilating it was to ensure it doesn’t get side-swiped. :

I’m hoping all these pink/purple hues don’t clash with the my amethyst hued Hyacinth jar. I haven’t forced a Hyacinth in many years – it’s nice to be able to put the jars to use again!


I cut the flowers for this vase yesterday morning, during a bit of a drizzle. In the afternoon, I brought it to a friend’s meditation room, where the fragrance filled the air as a small group of us silently attempted to think of…nothing:

Also now ending are tulips, not represented in my ‘official’ vase today but rather in this epilogue – a tiny vase of tiny Tulipa saxatilis:

…enjoying yesterday afternoon’s sunshine in the kitchen window.

That’s my vase for the first week on June. I may have to find a larger container next week – the iris and peonies are just starting! To see vases filled with flowers from all over the world, head over the Cathy’s site – Rambling in the Garden. You won’t be disappointed!!

16 Comments

  1. So surprised to still see daffodils this late in spring. They look lovely with the alliums and lilac. Your lilac bush is just gorgeous, so abundantly smothered with blooms. It must smell heavenly in your yard.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Your purple hues look lovely with the lingering narcissus, Chris – I sometimes use my hyacinth glasses as vases too, as I gave up trying to force them, from lack of success! And I thoroughly approve of using your vase in a meditation session

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Your lilacs are SO rad! I will be putting an old fashioned lilac (which is not rare here) out in the landscape over autumn to bloom next spring. It is a copy of one I grew years ago, which was a copy for another garden where it lived for many decades. So many here believe that those old lilacs need more chill than they get here, but mine has always done well. So have those I grew up with. French hybrids have better color, but I still prefer the old classic!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Nice to see the last of the spring bulbs. I love poeticus narcissi, but mine often succumb to the heat before they bloom. My lilacs went by so fast, I only had one vase, alas. Your lilac bush looks so healthy, I bet you have enough to fill many vases!

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.