The roses are back and even though only two roses from R. Lavender Lassie are out I couldn’t resist taking a step outside in the rain and snipping one. Also within reach of my scissors was Heuchera, Erigeron, dianthus, bronze fennel and hydrangea, all now contained within my Caithness glass vase bought in a little junk shop in Emsworth earlier this summer.
In the stone bottle is a stem of Rosa Fragrant Cloud picked at the allotment last week and the green pottery jug contains some leftovers from last week’s vase and fresh pickings from the allotment on Friday of dahlia and anemone.
Yesterday and inspired by Vic Brotherson’s book “Vintage Flowers” on loan from the library I made a freshly-picked hand-tied bunch of allotment flowers and foliage for my daughter’s boyfriend’s grandmother’s birthday. This lady is Italian and grows an amazing variety of vegetables in her garden. Her grandson Luca tells me she came to England as a young woman in the 1950s and if she wanted to cook and eat good food her only option was to grow it herself. I find her story inspirational and it puts my moans about disappointing yields and harvests into context. I didn’t take a photo of the flowers but it did look very pretty. And the fact that I made it for my daughter to give as a present shows how far I’ve come in the last few months. This confidence is all down to Cathy and her marvellous meme, In a vase on Monday. Why don’t you come with me to Cathy’s blog, Rambling in the garden, to see what she has found for her Monday vase?
homeslip 
Lovely vases Sarah. I particularly like the last photo – those anemones are gorgeous and I really like your green jug. You should have every confidence in making flower arrangements for gifts.
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Each vase is so beautiful…I love that it is still summery there…definitely slipped into fall here now. My Italian ancestors all had gardens to grow many of their own veggies as did my parents.
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I am so pleased you have been inspired to make a posy of flowers to give as a present – and I suspect it is something we are all getting better at now we are more used to picking our blooms. I haven’t bought any flowers since I started this meme, mostly as a matter of principle I suppose, but I think that when given as a gift, even though simple, they are appreciated all the more because they have been picked specially. Your ‘just by the door’ selection of blooms are lovely – and you have some gorgeous clematis seed heads in there too. I might have to invest in some fennel again after routing out my badly behaved bronze one a few years ago as it is so useful in a vase. Thanks for sharing – both flowers and the inspirational story of Luca’s grandmother
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My eye too was drawn to the clematis seed head! Those pinks are just perfect. I used to post about my posies before I came across Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday. Your story of the Italian Lady reminded me of the lovely Italian people who used to have allotments when I had mine. Thanks for sharing this and rekindling fond memories.
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The pink anemone are charming and look delicious with the dahlia.
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Each one of your vases this week is so lovely and I wish I could smell the rose in person! The dahlias and anemones are such a gorgeous color!
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I’m envious of your roses, Sarah, not to speak of the lovely Dahlias. And how nice of you to send posies along with your daughter for her boyfriend’s grandmother!
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The roses are lovely and I love the fennel, I will try using that. I think hand picked flowers are like homemade cake – much much better than bought ones. I would love to know more about hand tying flowers.
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Gorgeous flowers, they’re such a treat at the end of the season aren’t they. I love the story of the boyfriend’s Italian grandmother, inspirational as you say. I know someone who made a garden in the sixties to feed her family as well, and I’ve always loved that story too, I find it quite inspirational. Thank you for reminding me of it. CJ xx
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I think you have perfectly matched the colours of the vases with those of the flowers and putting them together is a joy for the eyes.Very, very inspiring, thanks for sharing such beauties, Sarah!
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Each of your vases is nice, but I’m especially swooning over the dahlia and anemone vase. I imagine the grandmother was touched and delighted with your handiwork.
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Oh all most pretty in various shades of pink and that anemone is particularly a striking colour Sarah. I especially enjoyed your tale about Luca’s grandmother as my mum is Italian and she arrived in England in 1950. She found it almost impossible to find many of the vegetables that she was used to eating but that we can now purchase readily. My dad became a bit of an allotment trendsetter being the first on his site to grow courgettes or zucchinis as we grew up calling them,
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What pretty pink combinations, I like the way you’ve used the clematis seed heads, what a good idea.
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such a pretty vase with all manner of shades of pink! The vintage flowers book has been on my wishlist for a while now (my library doesn’t have a copy) – maybe I will put it on my Christmas list …
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What a beautiful gift, so much nicer than a shop bought bunch. I am sure it was well received. X
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There is so much colour to be had in your garden in late September! It’s all beautiful but those anemones are particularly gorgeous. x
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It is always lovely to see your weekly vase of flowers, the flowers are always pretty and so are your arrangements! xx
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A gift of flowers from your own garden is heart felt, always. How lovely!
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