Cool metallic colours dominate today’s vase.
Years ago, before I had pierced ears, my favourite screw-on danglies were a pair of long iridescent anodized titanium rods purchased from a very boho craft fair (of the kind that I seem to spend half my weekends visiting). Metallic blues and purples swirled along their length, shimmering in all but the dimmest light. Well, the colours in my vase today remind me of those earrings and if I still had had them I would have used them as a prop. Sadly, I’ve no idea what happened to them. In any case, I am joining Cathy for In a Vase on Monday, using the last of my narcissus (Actea).
Striking, late-flowering Narcissus ‘Actea’ – Irresistible!
One of the plants romping away in the garden (growing best in the driveway gravel – Typical!) is Cerinthe major and it, more than any other of the flowers I’ve used today, reflects the rainbow sheen on those distantly remembered titanium jewels.
Cerinthe major
I’ve picked a few stems of bluebells from our shady front garden and I’ve been staring at them wondering if they are natives or not. They tick many of the boxes: scented, blue pollen, highly reflexed petals, flowers mostly on one side of the arched stem … but they are fairly pale blue in colour and are vaguely two tone, which might mark them as hybrids. Well, it doesn’t matter for a vase of course, but it would be nice to know.
Bluebells
I’ve included some white alliums, which I think are A. cowanii. They are multiplying quite nicely and are a lovely clear white. However, they are rather floppy and twisted, which I am putting down to dryness and temperature fluctuations this spring?
Allium cowanii
Supporting acts are provided by some purple honesty branches and a few forget-me-nots. See, I didn’t!
So that is my vase for today. Indoors you can detect a gentle scent, coming from the bluebells and narcissus.
Don’t forget to drop in on Cathy to see her classic tulip mix and then browse some of the other beautiful arrangements via the comments section. You’ll get ideas, I guarantee it!
Frogend dweller's Blog 
The cerinthe is perfect for your titanium mix and I wish it would selfseed reliably here – even the autumn sown ones I planted out before the winter didn’t survive, so I won’t be doing that again! Interesting inspecting the bluebells to determine the parentage – I think of the natives as having arched stems, such an obvious feature, but of course a hybrid of the two might have the same… I had forgotten about later narcissi like these actea, a useful addition to the garden. Thank you for sharing your titanium vase, Allison, full of such useful blooms
Yes I’ve had variable success with autumn transplants off self seeded cerinthe. Luckily I moved enough this year that now they’ve grown big I can’t see the loses.
I wonder if it’s weather and soil dependent…
Think it is a lot to do with cold and windy weather in my experience.
Hmm, I know that the autumn sown ones I planted out before Christmas disappeared…
I think your bluebells are probably hybrids. My garden is full of Spanish bluebells, they are chunkier and more upright with broader leaves. I have given up trying to get rid of them. They are pretty in a vase though. Your arrangement is so pretty, the narcissi are gorgeous.
Having been to the woods now, I can only agree about the hybrids. Even down the alleyways in the village they look closer to the spanish form.
Very pretty – I love these colors! I’ve always been attracted to rich, jewel tones.
Thanks Eliza. This is a favourite palette. I sometimes have to force myself to select other colours!
If your arrangement is an indication, those must have been some earrings! I love that Narcissus and the Alliums.
Thanks Kris. I was duly proud of the bling!
Cerinthe is amazing, always growing not quite where you would like it. In Puglia Chloris and I saw the native Italian yellow Cerinthe, sadly there were no seeds yet!!!
How lovely. For years I’ve gone through thinking there was only one kind of cerinthe. Live and learn!
I love the description of your earrings. Nice to see Actea too. Mine are finished.
Thx. The only narcissus still in flower now are the custard yellow petticoat hoops.
I had some of those titanium earrings in the 1980s too and the colours are quite the same, I agree! I love Actea and it is nice to see it in a vase with some pretty mauve/blue/pink shades. 🙂
Thanks Cathy. We’ve both dated ourselves of course!!
Beautiful – I absolutely love ‘Actaea’ but mine have sadly not performed well at all this year. Loads of cerinthe here, too, though. I have some definite native bluebells which I’m guarding fiercely – they’re definitely darker than these – but the majority of mine are a mishmash of colours and forms. I think it’s nigh on impossible to stop them hybridising.
This is my first year with Actea, so I don’t yet know the come back rate, although I believe that they naturalize so I am hoping for more next year! Since posting this case I have visited a bluebell wood and am now quite clear that my front garden patches are hybrids. I discovered that I have a few pinks, but don’t really like those!