Having cut spent flowering stems from all the hellebores over the weekend, amassing a large trugful of them, rather than compost them all I decided to use several stems in today’s vase. Not only was it the last opportunity this year to use hellebores in a vase, but this time I could also be sure, with seedpods well-swollen, that the stems will remain upstanding, unlike vases when the blooms were fresher. I wish I could tell you what colour the original blooms were, but I can’t; now, they are a very pale green with dark speckled centres, giving them a kind of vintage appearance.
The bundle of stems, perhaps 20 or more as there were several multi-stems amongst them, were placed in one of my Caithness Glass ‘Ebony’ vases, always a pleasure to use but generally too big for my usual more modest bunches, and joined by a Playmobil cowboy (or cowgirl, more likely, judging by the hair), which came to light during a sort-through of childhood toys belonging to my now very grown-up girls. I am sure he or she could soon sort out any trouble in their local saloon!
If you would like to join us today on IAVOM with a vase of gleanings from your own garden or foraged nearby, then please do so by leaving the usual links to and from this post.
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