Still more rain this week (will it ever be summer?) which has meant that the cooler season blooms such as Nigella damascena and larkspur Consolida ambigua 'Imperial Mix' continue to bloom happily (when we get a heatwave, the nigella in particular, tends to go straight to seed). I made two bunches this week, both to give away to friends. The first features flowers and foliage from my own garden: This bunch featured: catmint Nepeta 'Walker's Blue', larkspur Consolida ambigua 'Imperial Mix', love-in-a-mist Nigella damascena, Rosa 'Camp David' , apple mint Mentha suaveolens , liquorice plant Helichrysum petiolare , lamb's ear Stachys byzantina and statice Limonium sinuatum My arrangement briefly looked good sitting on our red kitchen table until it was given away a couple of hours later. The bowl of fruit on the right are loquats Eriobotrya japonica , one of my favourite fruits, given to me by a friend. I've never seen them for sale in a ...

Firstly, a big CONGRATULATIONS to Cathy of Rambling in the Garden for initiating the IAVOM meme and keeping it going for an astonishing 9 years! Though relatively new to this meme, I have enjoyed participating and seeing the weekly creations of others around the world.  The weird weather continues this week in South Australia. After a brief hit of summer temps last week, we're back to cold and wet. A full-on storm arrived Saturday, with horizontal rain and winds gusts in excess of 106kms (65 miles) per hour!  Luckily, we had little damage at our place and the garden held up well. Others in the neighbourhood were not so lucky. Lots of trees lost limbs or were completely uprooted and many households are still without power.    Today's bunch features cool blue flowers to reflect the cool temperatures. I love larkspurs and have planted them from punnets for the past few years. This year, however (most likely due to all the rain we've had) they self-seeded everywhere - ...

Our weather here in South Australia has been pretty nuts lately. Last week, we had a dusting of snow on a section of the Mt Lofty Ranges (our house is located at the base of this mountain range). Tomorrow, after barely any warm weather, it's 33 degrees! (91.4). This is not at all hot by Adelaide standards, but it feels like a shock after so much cold weather and rain. I think the plants are very confused, including the sweet peas featured in this week's simple bunch.  Sweet peas: the stripey variety is 'Tiller Girls' and the others are from Yates' 'Colourcade' mix. The sweet peas have only started flowering in the last couple of weeks and do not enjoy the heat, so I'm not sure how long they will produce blooms for. I'm enjoying them and their beautiful fragrance while I can! Thanks, as always, to Cathy of Rambling in the Garden for hosting the weekly In a Vase on Monday meme. Perhaps you would like to share a seasonal bunch from your own garden?