Stormy view across Well House Meadow on the afternoon walk
I’ve been dodging rain showers all day. This afternoon it came down to a decision between nipping out to look for a few flowers or going for an immediate dog walk round the village (I couldn’t face a second deep-mud onslaught across the fields today) to miss the rain. Ah, poor dog!
In the meantime I managed to find these floral snippets:
Snippets in an inkpot
A little bit of beauty: A pristine snowdrop
A little bit out-of-season: Limonium suworowii spikes and the mexican daisies
A little whiff of perfume: Winter honeysuckle and viburnum bodnantense
Winter honeysuckle
A whole lot of cheerfulness: Smiling violas and in-your-face polyanthus ‘Firecracker’
And a handful of fresh green: Dianthus ‘Green Trick’
Luckily, the dog and I missed the downpour shortly afterwards, but only just.
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the garden for hosting the motivating In a Vase on Monday meme. Why not use the link to pop across to her blog and explore the beautiful vases around the globe.
Frogend dweller's Blog 
We had the strange stormy sky here too. I love the photo you took of it.
You found some pretty flowers for your nice ink pot. The pansies and polyanthus look made for each other.
At least stormy skies are interesting. Today it is homogeneously grey and wet. I love those little violas. The polyanthus does work with them, but is an acquired taste on its own I think!
Love this little collection – very pretty. Very seriously stormy weather here today, too. No rainbows for us, though, sadly; just rain, wind and more rain. I’ve a few unseasonal blooms in my garden as well – nigella, ammi and cerinthe! Bonkers.
Ah, shame for you, ‘cos those little breaks of sunshine really lift your spirits. Nice to see your unseasonal blooms though. The cerinthe in the borders here are looking tremendously tatty. Yours must be protected?!
Wonderful rainbow! I can just feel the moisture and smell of earth, something I am yearning for. I love your little ink pot of treasures– good things do come in small packages. 🙂
Stormy weather with rainbows is much more fun than unremitting rain (which we’ve got today). It has definitely got to that stage of the year where we are all looking forward a bit of spring!
Lovely! Looks like spring – magical, especially with that rainbow!
If only it were! I am enjoying watching the patches of snowdrops emerge and turn white though.
You made great use of your dog walk! I adore that Dianthus and I’m keeping my eyes open in hope of finding it here. While your rainbow photo is lovely, the photo of the stormy view at the top of your post is spectacular. Still, I hope your weather improves, for your sake and the dog’s.
Good luck tracking down some Green Trick. The rain continues and in fact the local rivers are beginning to burst their banks for the first time in a while.
I like the way you have framed the first picture with the catkins, Allison – and well done for capturing the rainbow too! I noticed the odd patch of blue sky today but I don’t think we had any rainbows today. What a lovely collection of blooms you have found – so may different things in your tiny inkpot! I hope your dog appreciates them as much we do!
If she can’t eat it, she is indifferent! I love having a camera in my phone to snap things like rainbows. Those little violas have been worth much more than I paid for them.
It’s good to get out even in the rain, although I don’t often follow my own advice. Love the blooms you found for your vase.
Thanks. A good waterproof coat is a thing of beauty!
I’m always entranced by the snowdrops. I’ve never seen one in real life, and think it must be wonderful to have them around. Of course, we don’t have daffodils, or hyacinth, or such either — unless they’re babied beyond belief. It’s just too hot here: although many of the lilies and amaryllis do very well.
They certainly help us through the dark, dull days of winter. What are your earliest plants to flower in the winter? Lilies are a bonus though. I’ve given up growing them here due to continuous fights with lily beetles (you only have to go away for a couple of days and the plants are in tatters). Too heart-breaking.
Buttercups are up already, and in some places the ten-petal anemones are flowering. I found a little wildflower only days after our ice and freezing temperatures, but I haven’t identified it yet, and I’m reluctant to post photos of flowers I don’t know. More research is required!
A fabulous photo of your brooding sky. I love your little vase, it is pure joy.
Thanks Alison. They brought a bit of sunshine inside!
Our violas do not look so good following the snow. Great picture of the lightning.
😦 The ones I have in the garden are similarly afflicted, but these were from a container.