A few days of warm and thundery weather with rainshowers every few minutes has meant the tulips are practically over and everything is about ten foot tall… ok, I am exaggerating, but you know what I mean!
The last of the tulips to open was this elegant peachy one that has turned a deeper shade over the past day or so. It is ‘Menton’ from the Peter Nyssen Harlequin Collection (which I would certainly recommend).
I was actually hoping the Geranium phaeum would make the vase look a bit more dramatic, to justify the title, but they just look soft and pretty instead!
The flashes of white are the Moon Daisies, which are beginning to open now (and we have so many again). There were in fact a few flashes of lightning as I cut them.
A single Geranium macrorrhizum ‘czakor’ …
… a Hellebore, the last white Narcissi actaea and one Spanish bluebell were added, as well as some red/purple Heuchera leaves as a collar.
The vase was chosen intentionally to highlight the deep purple flowers of the Geranium. There is one with plain leaves in here too, but most have lovely chocolatey markings on the foliage.
You can see the stormy sky in the background here. Have you had thunder this May?
Thanks to our lovely host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. She has a gorgeous pink Aquilegia in her vase today. 🙂
Words and Herbs 
Yes, thunder here last week. Matching your vase to the Geranium was inspired. Lovely effect. The tulip is pretty amazing.
I was a little underwhelmed with the tulip at first as it was so pale, but it has slowly turned this rich peachy colour and I do like it!
Cathy’s flowers are wonderful and the vase gives the special touch to the whole. The Tulip has a very beautiful color that stands out in the composition. The flowers of the two types of Geraniums are precious. Heuchera is like the brooch of the bouquet. I love. As they have to operate on my Father I am not in the country house. But here in Madrid fell several rays last week that was raining. Now it no longer rains and temperatures rise. Have a very happy week. Greetings from Margarita.
Oh, I hope your father gets better soon, Margarita. It is very warm here now and we should get more rain at the end of the week. So the garden is flourishing!
Yes, we have had thunder here. A perfectly thundery purple vase, with glimpses of sunshine – that tulip! Phoarrrrrrr!
🙂 I hope these tulips last a little longer in the heat as they are the last.
Yes, we have had lots of thunder and lightening this May. I also have 10′ weeds if that is what you are talking about. 😉 Love your choice of vase to set off those deep chocolaty leaves and flowers. Yummmy.
😉 I had the tallest ground elder ever this spring! LOL!
I think soft and pretty sums things up. I love that tulip and it is funny that suddenly things seem 10 feet tall even here! We have had a few stormy days, but for the most part it has been unusually dry here. Lack of rain records are being broken in Central and South Florida.
I suppose the warmth alone encourages growth, but I hooe youbget some rain soon too. We are set to have more rain at the weekend, but in the meantime we are enjoying some wonderul warm May sunshine! 🙂
That vase is indeed just right for the G phaeum and the heuchera leaves, and the centre of the moon daisies seem to pick out that subtle flush of yellow on the tulip. I had this collection of tulips last year or the year before and shoved them in a pot after they had flowered but they didn’t really do anything the following year – is it really worth lifting and drying them, do you think? Or just buying new each year?
I remember you had this collection and used one of the tulips in a vase… that was what inspired me to look for it and order from P.Nyssen, so thanks Cathy! I have had no success in pots, and will report back next year if these particular tulios return. Generally I lose one or two in ten each year but just keep replanting. I think mine like being baked in the summer on the dry well-drained soil.
Oh – that’s good! The information exchange on our blogs is so useful, isn’t it?
I’m a daisy fan and loved how they were brought out by the dark vase and framed the tulip. I’m cultivating Shasta daisy and crazy daisy this year with high hopes of course.
Good luck with your daisies then. I suspect the Moon Daisies will be in my vases for the next few weeks! 😉
We had quite a rain storm today, Cathy, and it was a surprise! I was caught without an umbrella. I love those striking daisies and they make such a happy statement despite the stormy weather. I’m sorry to hear the rain pummeled the tulips but your growing garden seems to have no end to beauty. Another lovely base to enjoy!
Ah, but you do love the rain, don’t you? It can be a bit inconvenient if you are not dressed for it though! 😉 The tulips have been wonderful and lasted well, despite the rain. But once the petals start to droop it doesn’t take much to make them fall. This is the last one – but there are plenty more flowers to come! 🙂
Beautiful tulip and I love the combo of vase, G. phaeum and the heuchera leaves. Such a lovely delicate blossom, mine have only just leaved out. Soon!
Probably sooner than you think Eliza. You always catch us up really quickly! 🙂
Your vase is dramatic with the dark Geranium; clever choice of vase makes it! Yes, we had some thunder here and a little rain but not enough. I have grown Menton and there are a few left in the garden. I think it is one I should grow again, it’s beautiful, thanks for the recommendation of the mix from PN, did they all flower at the same time?
Hi Christina. I think the ‘Sun lover’ tulip was the first to open, early April, then the red ones (National Velvet and Jan Reus), and then the parrot and the lovely pink Attila. Menton was possibly the latest because it is in the coldest spot in winter and doesn’t get much sun until mid-April.
Such a dramatic vase and I like the stormy theme, maybe the lightning in the air added a special touch? You are very lucky to enjoy so many moon daisies, they are so pretty. Although the grow well around here in meadows and verges, they don’t seem to want to set up home in the garden.
Our big ‘lawn’ is made up of mostly moon daisies – and other wild flowers or weeds – not much grass at all! It is very poor soil and they grow in the sunniest spots.
This is such a pretty bouquet, Cathy, and I love the actual vase! I have a couple of ‘Menton’ tulips in my little patch, as part of a pre-packaged mix. It is more pink than peach right now, but tulips are very good a changing color as they mature, so we’ll see what happens! The daisies are so bright and cheerful–I’m sorry, but they are too happy looking to remind me of lightning! Our wild ox-eye daisies won’t bloom here for another month. I don’t know how many I’ll have this year–I’ve been pulling them out of the garden at record rates! Some will no doubt survive, though. And yes, we’ve had thunder here. Can you believe we had thunderstorms and even a tornado in the area back in February? We even had thunder snow in March! THAT was really weird!
Thunder and snow is very weird, but we had the same strange weather here early April too. One day the sky turned yellow and we knew it meant snow or hale, well we had a bit of everything! Luckily there was still little that could be damaged in the garden. The moon daisies (ox-eye doesn’t sound quite so romantic!) would take over the garden if permitted, but we mow it down. 😉
I love that ‘Menton’ so big and such a rich color.
It’s a nice sturdy one, quite tall too. I might add a few more in fact. 🙂
Oh that’s a peach of a tulip Cathy. I think that those heuchera leaves illustrate the title of your post. How brave of you to be picking for your vase in a storm. I would be quivering indoors. No thunder here yet so far this May 🙂
I enjoy a good storm, especially if I can be outside in it! LOL!
Lovely, Cathy. We so rarely get thunderstorms here, though I wish we did. We’re in a valley and they seem to prefer more open planes. I love the stormy skies in your picture.
I love watching the stormy weather approaching as it usually comes from the west or occasionally from the south-east where the river Danube is. If it is a really good thunder storm it rolls around the valley echoing. Love it!
What an incredible experience! I would love that. I think the air becomes super-charged as well, adding to a sense of exhilaration. Amazing!
So fresh looking, I can never resist a daisy. I really like the look of Menton Cathy, a good strong colour
Yes, I like Menton more and more – nice and sturdy too.
Someone had tulips growing wild at the edge of their lawn, here. I loved it and was so every disappointed when as they mowed their lawn, they mowed down the tulips! Ack, maybe next time they’ll leave the tulips BE!
How terrible – sacrilege to mow down a flower… unless it is a dandelion of course! 😉
So pretty!
Thanks Sheryl!
Lovely vase. Menton is a beauty. I can’t believe that you’ve still got hellebores!