In a Vase, On Monday -a summer snapshot

Chris Mousseau

I started three annuals from seed this year that I haven’t grown before, but have seen them in various Monday vases and wanted to give them a shot: Stock, Calendula and Corn Flower. The corn flowers have done well and are just starting to open; the Calendula have done well but the stems are short, and the flowers seem to be crawling with tiny, microscopic almost, insects; the stock, Matthiola incana ‘Vintage Brown,’ is also doing well and is perfect for the cutting garden. I was surprised to discover it has a light, very pleasant, clove-like fragrance.

Every Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens. As well as the stock, I added some snips of Echinacea – grown from seed, a hybrid of E. paradoxa x tenesiensis – a few almost spent sprays of Big Blue Salvia (Salvia longispicata x farinacea), a single self seeded Snapdragon (Antirrhinum), several smallish Drumstick Allium (Allium sphaerocephalon) and, to set them all off, a common weed here, Annual Fleabane (Erigeron annuus). It’s not a very thoughtful arrangement, I fear, nor the right vase, but it provides a snapshot of the colours and textures of my garden this week.

11 Comments

  2. A very summery bouquet, and it sits well in its vase. It looks relaxed and at ease, and the wood pile indicates a fair amount of work done.

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  3. I like the idea of it being a snapshot of your garden, Chris, and it it is interesting to read that you have been inspired to grow some different annuals after seeing blooms in other vases. I have learned so much and added so many things that I have seen or heard about from fellow bloggers – all part of the joys of blogging! Thanks for sharing today

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  4. Lovely vase– very summery and happy. My purple echinacea is showing off this year and I am loving it. Usually it gets attacked by the corn rootworm beetle, but this year the field is transitioned to soybeans so so far, we have not had to deal with it. Fingers crossed!

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    1. Thank you Angie! The corn rootworm beetle looks kinda pretty, but then I read about it…ugh! I also read the #1 way to mitigate it is…drum roll…”Rotate crops. Plant soybeans when possible to break up corn-on-corn rotations.” !!! Farmers…Respect!

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  5. Ah, stock! It is one of my favorite annuals here, although mine lasted several years at my former home. They happen to look good in white, although all of their colors are distinguished. Stock used to be a common cut flower crop on the coast.

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  6. I love that pink stock with the green center, and I can just imagine the spicy scent. I’ll have to watch out for seeds of ‘Vintage Brown’. I love the fleabane as well. I haven’t seen a yellow Echinacea – I can’t grow them at all for some reason.

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