A Purply Kind of Day

It has been a semi-sunny semi-rainy May long weekend.  You can tell it has rained today. 

I have this succulent on my patio table, bought at the Toronto Botanical Garden plant sale last week.  I have no idea what it is called or how it grows or anything, but the form and colour caught my eye. I haven't found a suitable pot for it yet - one that compliments the colour of the leaves - a purpley colour as you can see.

I also have a big glazed pot full of chives on the deck.  The chives live year round in the pot.  I just cut them back in the fall and pull a green plastic garbage bag over everything and tuck the ends underneath the pot.  They start to grow very early in the spring due to the southern exposure and the micro-climate generated by the plastic.  I have to be quick about getting plastic off before the chives get too tall or they are all bent and crumpled in a Hunchback of Notre Dame sort of manner.

I often forget to cut the flowers.  I have never remembered to snip the flowers while they are still buds.  I understand they are good in salads.  Some year I'll remember in time.  But today I did remember and cut a bunch and found a great little vase for them.

This is a hand painted thrifted vase bought years ago. The maker's mark is a curved Czecho-slovakia around a little vase with a lid on it.  In the middle of the vase is a W.  And the painter's initials are E.R.B.  I like the chive flowers in it.