My youngest daughter came home from uni last week, to celebrate her 22nd birthday, having graduated she’s stayed on to take a Masters. All of this is incredible to me, firstly I am sure I’m only 35 and secondly when I was 22 the university of life was my place of choice rather than a disciplined place of much higher learning. To say we are proud of her maturity and dedication is an understatement.
Scented Hyacinths and Sarcoccoca
In November, I had purchased from Lidl several flimsy pots, each filled with one white Hyacinth bulb, no more information than that on the label. The intention to place and group into terracotta pots and bring them indoors late in January to fill the house with scent ready for the birthday festivities. Everything went to plan until the last week, I brought them from cool dark to bright windowsill too quickly and they bolted, the stems reached 20cms long and heads of 15cms gave me 35cms of toppling Hyacinth, I propped with chopsticks and then decided to cut them and fill vases together with Sarcococca hookeriana. Its a simple arrangement but smells wonderful. This Vase was given to me many years ago by my husband and I filled it with glass marbles and placed a glass jar inside as the neck of the vase is too wide to support the Hyacinth and Sarcococca stems.
Recycled glass vase and scented white Hyacinths with Sarcoccoca
We always have a family lunch for birthdays, this year my father-in-law in his 81st year and wanting to get the most out of the NHS fell on an icy path and broke his femur a week before Lottie’s birthday, so celebrations were in two halves, lunch at home and then an en-masse hospital visit. Lottie’s film of birthday celebrations this year mean we can share everything he missed including the board games and especially the singing game Humm, they gave to us this Christmas.
Family holiday to Southwold – our eldest daughter Josie sharing a joke with my inlaws.
These wishes are for Lottie and Gordon, who is doing well and continuing to make the nurses laugh, and also for Ronnie at Hurtled to 60 and beyond who sang the praise of family board games a couple of weeks ago.
Please take a look at Cathy’s Rambling in the Garden blog for more accomplished Vases. Thanks Cathy as always for hosting your lovely meme.
Gardening Jules 
Lovely photography and words.
RIGHT ON! xx
Thank you, I’m very glad you approve and I love that Right On expression too, enjoy the Spring sunshine up there. 🙂
Beautiful vase, beautiful family, beautiful celebration. Birthday blessings to Lottie and very best wishes to Gordon in his recovery. And thanks for putting a big smile on my face first thing Monday morning; it’s such a nice way to start the week.
Thanks so much for all of your good wishes, we have some sunshine today and its up to 9 degrees here, I hope you have some sunshine there too, have a lovely week Marian.
Julie this was a vase that made my heart sing….I adore hyacinths and swoon every spring when they bloom. With another storm burying us already with another foot of snow, I needed this vase….And what a vase. Beautiful color of glass that accents the arrangement perfectly. You have a lovely family and some wonderful traditions. I recently pulled out our board games too. A joyful fun time of play found. Wishing you and yours many lovely days and have a wonderful week.
Donna, another foot of snow! I remember your post on Trivial pursuit, its a game we love here, especially the original versions, where the older generations can team up against the bright young 20 somethings and have a chance of winning. Hope you have a wonderful week too and that the snow does not cause too much disruption.
What a lovely celebration. Congratulations to your daughter. Obviously you were a child- bride like me. That is what I always tell everyone anyway.
I love your vase and it must smell divine. I think hyacinths are better in a vase anyway. I have some creamy white ones like yours and they are all growing in different directions and seem very reluctant to grow straight.
Haha, yes a child bride! You are right about the Hyacinths, next year I shall grew them indoors for cutting and long stems and be happy about it.
Hyacinths have a mind of their own I think, either sulking (like mine in glasses) or raring to come and show off like yours! Glad you rescued them and your vase looks lovely – I am coming to the conclusion that most forced bulbs give better value if cut and put in a vase. I am glad you had lovely family celebrations – and what a happy and close-knit family you appear to be 🙂 ps Upwords is our game of choice
Upwords looks a great game Cathy and one I had not heard of, I’ve just looked on Amazon, new from £45!! I shall look for a second hand one. Why are board games so expensive? I think its partly a shared love of an outdoor life that helps keeps us as a close knit family.
£45?!!! That can’t be the list price these days, surely? Try eBay or car boots for 2nd hand
I shall Cathy, to command such prices, its obviously good!
It’s a lovely vase Julie – I can almost catch the scent across the miles! I’m glad you were able to enjoy your family celebrations despite your father-in-law’s mishap. Best wishes on his recovery and congratulations to your daughter!
Thanks so much Kris for your kind wishes, its the icing on the cake when flowers are fragrant too. Hope you have a lovely week.
Many birthday wishes to Lottie; what a lovely way to celebrate a birthday. The hyacinths looks great in the vase, I always think they don’t look quite right growing!
Thanks Christina, I do know what you mean, the flower head is too large for a short stem and long leaves, just a nuisance that the stems when they get tall are not stout enough. I am going to experiment with a stick inside the cut stem to keep them upright and see if that helps.
Hi Julie, your vase is beautiful – I love white hyacinths. And Sarcococca is another wonderfully scented plant too so I can just imagine the gorgeous perfume coming from your vase. The vase I put together two weeks ago had the tiniest sprig of Sarcococca in it. At the time it had just one tiny bud on it which I wished would open in the warmth of the house. I got my wish and more … it’s a mass of tiny white flowers that smell divine. Happy Birthday to your daughter. I wish her great success in her Masters studies.
Thank you very much Elizabeth, this is my first year of bringing stems indoors to force into flower, I am delighted like you by the results. Sarcococca is so fragrant and inviting, everyone who has visited lately has been amazed such an understated plant can pack such a wonderful fragrance.
Best wishes to all your family, it is good to get together for a celebration lunch, when you can with all the generations within a family.The vase is very spring like arrangement with the white Hyacinths.
Thanks Brian, eating together is one of my favourite things. Temperatures are starting to rise here, Spring is on its way!
What a lovely post Julie – I am sending birthday wishes to Lottie and condolences to Gordon – what a shame to have to have such a mishap – I am glad he is doing so well. I know how you feel being 35 with a 22 year old daughter – mine are 23 and 21 next month – it is not possible that I can be old enough to be their mother! A lovely arrangement – I can smell those hyacinths & what a good idea to cut them and support them.
Time has passed much too quickly, I love that they are becoming independent young women but miss their younger days. Both the girls love being outdoors and really appreciate gardens, wildlife and plants, so I feel we still have lots in common. Except age!! 🙂
Such a lovely post! Belated happy birthday to your clever daughter and I hope your father-in-law recovers quickly.
Thanks so much Clare, there are builders in putting in a downstairs loo for Gordon as mobility will be tricky, hopefully he will be back home soon.
A lovely vase and such a nice post too Julie. Hope your father-in-law makes a rapid recovery and all the best to your daughter too. 🙂
Thanks Cathy, I hope your snow melts soon, we are moving forward temperature wise over here and yesterday 9c, Spring is slowly on its way.
Really pretty bouquet 😉 Spring’s coming 🙂
Yes its hopeful isn’t it, Spring is coming Christiane! 🙂
That’s such a lovely vase – so fresh with the White and dark green. Definitely a case there for “smell-o-vision! Congratulations to your talented daughters, and get well soon, Dad!
Thank you, fragrant plants are a real bonus especially at this time of year, the forecast is good here with decent working outside temperatures, I hope its good where you are too.
A lovely arrangement, those Hyacinth do tend to get too big for their boots and then fall over. The smell must be almost overpowering. And i love your family messages. So great to hear happy stories and how fab to be looking on the bright side of life no matter what happens.
I am naturally a cup full person but occasionally there is a ‘you cannot be serious’ moment at life’s ups and downs. The fragrance is making us all swoon here – literally!
Ah, lovely hyacinths – I feel I can smell them from here. And best wishes to your daughter. I know the disorientation of having adult children – mine are 27 and 24, and the youngest is a good 4″ taller than I. “Who are these enormous strangers?”, I always think every time we get together.
Ha, that made me laugh, I know exactly how you feel. 🙂
What an interesting, wonderful post, Julie.
Congrats to your daughter.
I hope your father-in-law got the most out of the NHS too!
And that’s a beautiful arrangement. Well done.
Thanks so much Cynthia, and yes he did, Gordon was allowed back home yesterday after 4 weeks of care he won’t be running a marathon but he is delighted at being able to climb the stairs again and getting into his own bed!