Altar frontal for Ipsden Ch. Oxon: Chinese lantern (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
It has been a difficult week so getting down to embroidery has been particularly important. Not only is the act of sewing soothing in itself but the designing, stitching and completing of even just 2 little flowers has felt like a major achievement.
Altar frontal for Ipsden Ch. Oxon: Chinese lantern (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
Honesty and Chinese lanterns are 2 plants we know better as skeletons than in full flower. In fact, I only recently realised that the flowering honesty has delicate racemes of white or purple flowers – rather like night-scented stocks, albeit without the scent. Both are tough plants, greedy of space and capable of bullying other plants out of existence. Ominously, from Carol Klein (one of BBC’s gardening presenters, for non UK readers), “This gregarious plant is a wonderful addition to a bleak garden”. Not so great then if your garden is a notch up from an unwelcoming moor and is actually rather nice (and I’m not so sure gregarious means friendly with plants other than itself).
Altar frontal for Ipsden Ch. Oxon: honesty (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
The Chinese lantern has a similar habit, also invasive and capable of strangling other plants given half a chance – once again it’s ideal for poor soil where not much else will grow. But be warned, planting it in a manicured pocket handkerchief garden is tempting fate to far – most gardeners advise you to think twice and then think twice again and only if you still find them irresistible make sure you plant them in a bottomless bucket to limit root spread. After these great recommendations I’m surprised to find their colonisation of the vicarage garden has been so limited – over-hyped after all or perhaps we’ve just been lucky.
Altar frontal for Ipsden Ch. Oxon: honesty (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
But what is certain is that these two plants are definitely to be found locally and as such they merit their place on the altar frontal. Their sculptural form has also made embroidering them fun – the flat honesty seed cases catching the light like hammered silver, while the caged Chinese lantern seed looks like a jewel in a cage of gold filigree. Not many living things look better dead – a strange compliment but that’s as charitable as I feel I can go after the stresses of this week.
(Apologies for the photographs – will try to take better ones. Any advice as to how to avoid the watered silk effect on the plain yellow diamonds, would be very gratefully received.)
6 Comments
Hmm–perhaps I should try them. Those plants that are said to take over I often have trouble getting to grow. Although then others that no one ever warns about have thoroughly monopolized the garden. Mint, which everyone warns to plant in a pot, etc etc I can barely get to come back from year to year. Oregano, which I have never seen a word uttered about being aggressive has taken over the entire right half of my herb garden. Although I witnessed thuggish oregano in other gardens, so perhaps it is only an undeserved good reputation?
I do remember Chinese lanterns taking over a bit of my mother’s herb garden, but not as much as some others. Although this was in New England, so the climate may have helped control its behavior as well. One of my favorite things was always peeling back the outer husk to find the seed inside.
Jennifer, how lyrical you make your sadness about your garden sound – it mad me laugh out loud. Best of luck with any new planting – or digging up.
Hello Mary – I hope your weekend has been a relaxing one after what sounds like a long week.
Todays embroideries are a delight – I remember very well the feel of dry papery honesty seeds between my fingers from way way back when I was little. They grew next to the water butt on very poor soil, you are quite right, and as far as I knew had no care at all.
We have a new baby girl arriving in August so I am embarking rather ambitiously on a Liberty print quilt for her…. very very simple with magical animals as the little one to be’s sister calls them…..
I watch Gardener’s World every week – someone very kindly puts it on You Tube so Monty’s crumpled charm, I have to say, is a great encouragement.
Lovely to hear from you Lydia. Still getting to grips with a new computer, so relaxation is interspersed with mystified frustration – thank goodness I still have daughter No 3 here.
All the best for the awaited baby and good luck with the quilt which will go very nicely with a diet of soothing Gardener’s World!
Of course the advantage of embroidered plants is that they can’t get out of hand!
How true.