Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The healing power of muscari...


Hi everyone!

I hope your week is going well!  I am busy here, both house-wise and work-wise.  I am about to undertake a small consulting job, which I am quite looking forward to.

I have not really decorated for Easter, though if truth be told, it is a pretty quick affair, as I don't put much out.

However, I did steal an idea from the wonderful blog An Anglo in Quebec, and filled a soup tureen with muscari, or grape hyacinth.  Donna got her flowers at the grocery store, I found mine at the local hardware store and they have cheered my up considerably, especially since - not a word of lie - it snowed all morning again.  I feel like I am in an endless loop of the winter in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers....




My handiwork:






















Honestly, just seeing the muscari in my little sitting room is making me giddy, given how long it will likely be before I even see a crocus blossom!

And if I had planned well enough, I could have bought Barry the matching tie:

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They got me all dreamy about fields of them...

River of Muscari at the Keukenhof. Also beautiful with yellows of daffodills.

Dreaming of violet-blue Muscari and the scent of sweet Phlox and Daphne x burkwoodii in May. thegardenerseden.com


Spring garden ~ so ready for some pretty flowers!! Come on Spring time!!!


I think tomorrow I am going to steal Donna's idea for store bought hydrangeas....

I have never used my tureen for anything but soup, but that is all changing now...

How about you?  Are you all decorated for Easter?  Or are you celebrating Passover?  I'd love to hear!


28 comments:

  1. I've never heard of muscari before, I must google them.
    People here don't really decorate for Easter but I have a Lindt bunny calling my name.

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  2. This year i have not really decorated for easter yet,as imhave just redone my livingroom. I have added some color to my grey/black/white scheme:indigo and pops of orange. It turned out well and i am still waiting ofr a chair to be delivered in like about 6 weeks.
    The only thing easter-y that i have up right now are the eggs that my .ittle one decorated in a Easter Egg decorating class:)
    Love the idea with the tureen! In Germany i had a hyacinth glass where the bulbs are kind of hanging(if that makes sense) and the end is in water and grows roots. Kind of like the amaryllis,just with hyacints and smaller bulb glasses.

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    1. HI Ina! I do that at Christmas - I have the same glass bulb growers. Loved this, as they were already in bloom!

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  3. I love hydrangeas in the purple and whites but we have "tried" three times to have them and they don't last more than a day. We have bought at Scott's and at Co op and am now gun shy about purchasing them.

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    1. I hear you! I checked Home Depot first, and their easter lilies were lovely, but the rest was wretched! So hied me over to Kent and they had lovely pansies and hyacinths! I may have to take a trip out to Scott's just to get warm!

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  4. Wowza girl!! That looks fabulous. I think it is a great way to use the soup tureen and any other decorative piece that you have around the house. Brightens your space up perfectly.
    I am with you on the Easter decorations... they are limited here and really only in the flowering plant variety. Glad you got inspired.

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    1. Thanks Donna! Everyone was impressed here and I gave you full props! Happy easter!

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  5. I love "grape hyacinths", which is what they are known as here; I've never had them in the house, must look for them. Nothing except snowdrops here, very unusual, and yes, we had a white ground cover this am too! Low 20's tonight!! At least you have that pretty arrangement to cheer you, hooray!

    I have not done any decorating for Easter *hangs head*. My grandmother used to have a quince branch in a cachepot hung with decorated eggs, each one blown out,festooned with gold braids, tiny rickrack, paint etc. I can;t compete with that.

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  6. What a lovely arrangement. You are a woman of endless talents, I bet you can straighten out the Middle East if given a chance. I can't wait to see your garden bloom again. I just saw my shopping comment in your sidebar. When did that happen? I'm thrilled, it's like getting published.

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    1. Ha! I think you've been there for at least two months! They were words of wisdom!

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  7. That is such a pretty arrangement. I used to love Seven Brides as a child. Not sure if I'd still like it or if it would strike me as too Sabine Women now...

    Our place is Eastery now but it's so cold that it feels out of place!

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    1. We are crazy fans of that movie here! We all love it!

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  8. Never heard them called muscari. Ours have came and gone already. My three poor tomato plants I planted Sunday are toast. Someday I will learn not to plant before May 1st. This flighty weather...hang in thee baby.

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    1. we can't plant here will at least the Queen's birthday in May, but for safety sake, June 1 is best!

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  9. I love muscari! I wanted them for my bridal bouquet but my wedding was in late June, so it was a no-go. Excellent idea to use the soup tureen! For me, Easter is not a huge deal, but it's a big deal for my husband's family. You're not the only one getting more snow. It snowed in Toronto yesterday and it was freezing today. Some of my crocuses that came up last week looking a bit frost bitten now. When will spring get here?!

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    1. Louise - mine are so far under snow it is amazing! And now we have terrible flooding here in New Brunswick, so it is bad, bad, bad!!! We will have a quiet weekend I think, just the 5 of us for dinner, but that will be nice!

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  10. I am all packed and ready to head South, so no decorating here.

    If I don't 'see' you, have a Happy Easter, Wendy! :)

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  11. Hello Wendy,

    The Muscari in your sitting room look so very pretty. The perfect way to display them in the soup tureen and, of course, so many other possibilities too. These tiny Spring flowers just call out to be displayed in something which lifts them up so that they can be viewed at close quarters. What great ideas you can have now for continuing the floral display throughout the year.

    We do not decorate specially for Easter but love to bring into the house long wands of Pussy Willow from the local market. Somehow the buds when they burst forth have such hope and promise for the year ahead!

    Happy Easter!

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    1. Hi Jane and Lance! I wonder if there are any pussy willow out here; they still seem closed up due to the snow! I love them as well - they remind me of my childhood and how we would gather them and flag irises up and bring them home. Have a wonderful Easter!

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  12. Muscari were in my wedding bouquet (April 29) along with white tulips and lily of the valley. Really they were the most gorgeous arrangements.
    I bought a pink hydrangea and it immediately withered. I guess I'll stick to cut flowers, I do so poorly with any kind of plant.
    Your arrangement is so pretty, a real sign that spring is on the way even if it doesn't seem like it!

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    1. I think that hydrangea do not want to be inside - so persnickety! Your wedding bouquet sounds amazing!

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  13. Gorgeous! I have never seen these and in the close up thought, oh my gosh, they are like little bluebells, a word I only know from nursery rhymes, and so I looked up bluebells, and sure enough, they are hyacinth! Love them. I wonder if they grow well outside. We have hydrangea everywhere in the backyard, and these would love beautiful along with them!

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    1. Sorry, obviously, they grow "well" outside. I really meant, would *I* do well with them: I can only manage easy plants!

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  14. I love your arrangement in the tureen with the moss or whatever it is. Spring is trying very hard to make its way but it is so slow this year. By the way, if anyone has pussy willow, it is easy to root and share. It will grow roots in water and then layer can be potted or planted outside.

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  15. They look lovely in the soup tureen, such a great idea. And you can plant them out after they finish flowering. They are very hardy. I find they multiply quite easily. Don't you think they smell heavenly, very fresh and sweet at the same time

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