Porcelain Vase with Meconopsis cambrica or Welsh Poppy

Honeycomb Vases - SHOP

These are made from porcelain clay, using a honeycomb pattern for decoration. They are ideal for a single stem, or to display on their own, in a small group.

The flower here is known as the Welsh Poppy. It looks like a poppy, but is actually Meconopsis cambrica (which is in the Papaver family). Anyway it looks lovely in this vase, whatever it’s name.

Crumpled Porcelain Vase with Drooping Narcissus

Crumple Vases

Daisy Vases - SHOP

Honeycomb with Geum

Porcelain with Hesperis

Daisy Vase with Myosotis

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Hardy Geranium

Crumple Vase

'Mrs Kendall Clark'

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(Posted on Instagram on 8th March 2021)
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What does this flower have to do with International Women’s Day, Clarks Shoes, and maybe even the suffrage movement?
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It’s a long-stemmed (handy for displaying in my porcelain vases) Hardy Geranium, called Geranium pratense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’. Who Mrs Clark was has long been lost to history (sounds familiar?), but thanks to a lucky discovery via the Internet today, I happened upon a reasoned argument that she was in fact Lucretia Hasseltine Kendall (1853 - 1937).
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Lucretia Hasseltine Kendall (born Kimball) was an American who married a member of the Clark shoe family. She and her husband James had met whilst studying Natural Sciences at Heidelberg University. Around the 1930’s they were living near to the nursery of plantsman Walter Ingwerson in East Grinstead, and it’s believed Lucretia took him a sample of a native cranesbill she thought he might be interested in propagating.
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Anyway it seems he did just this, and named the variety after her, making it commercially available sometime after 1938.
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It’s a cracking plant, sometimes blue, sometimes verging on lilac, depending on the light. I’m so glad it was collected.
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And the suffrage movement? Well, when she lived in York Lucretia apparently spoke “entertainingly” on the subject. What her position in the movement was is not recorded.
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My thanks to Dorset Perennials for this information.

Akebia quinata

Teapot Handles

a.k.a. Chocolate vine

Open for More Info on Akebia quinata

In the top left section of this photograph is a small section of entwined material. It shows a couple of long strands of a magnificent climber beginning to curl round each other. It’s this property that makes them ideal for making handles for teapots.

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The climber is called Akebia quinata, and about this time of year it produces very beautiful chocolate scented flowers, hence it’s other name, Chocolate Vine.

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I’ve collected some of last years growth, which I have stored, in order to try my hand at forming a decent handle, and I will post my efforts when this is done.

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I’d hoped to cut some of the blossoms for display in vases, but a blackbird has taken advantage of the thick growth, and has built a nest. I have to keep my distance for now.

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The second photograph is a small selection of pots where the potters have used akebia. I hope they don’t mind me posting the images.