Monday brings an opportunity to practice flower arranging by joining in Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday to fill a vase using materials gathered in one’s own garden.
I offer today’s vase as a thanks for the many get-well comments and inquiries I received while recovering from an unexpectedly prolonged winter flu. Time seemed to be the remedy, assisted by homemade soups and other comfort foods, tea with honey, and lots of sleep.
Five pots of cyclamen helped lift my spirits during this time. So undemanding, nearly year-round they bloom and bloom and bloom. Several of these plants are a decade old. The flowers of this plant have joyous rhythm and personality in all stages. I never tire of watching them unfold.
Today’s simple vase features a couple of cyclamen flowers, one red and one white, along with one of the variegated heart shaped leaves. I placed them into a glass Riedel espresso cup. On the saucer a few sprigs of sedum suggests a change in texture while reflecting the red and green hues from above.
Materials
Cyclamen
Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ (Angelina Stonecrop), 3 sprigs
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Please visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
I am glad to hear you are back on your feet and feeling better….a simple and elegant offering. I do not have indoor cyclamen but will be remedying that next year. I have found during this awful winter that I am able to deal with it better with more blooms and greenery.
Thanks Donna. I do recommend you give the cyclamen a try. Mine sit under a large window where they get lots of indirect light.
So glad that you are better. I love the red and white of your very stylish arrangement.
Thanks, I hope I’m on the mend at last. The red and white cyclamen work well from Christmas through Valentine’s Day. Several of mine are pink, but the white is my favorite.
Your glass cup arrangement looks so stylish Susie and I am very glad you are feeling better too, you have been missed. My cousin has pots of Cyclamen she has nurtured for a decade in a cool porch but I am not as successful.
Thanks so much Julie! I’m happy to be back. Don’t know what to advise about your cyclamen. It must be a fluke that mine are happy here, because I don’t have much patience with house plants. I would like to try cyclamen outdoors sometimes.
I’m so glad you’re feeling better Suzie, the influenza this year seems to have struck many people (myself included) very badly. It must have been a good month before I felt completely well. Your cyclamen are delightful, I love their foliage as well as their bright flowers, they are so tough for such a delicate looking plant.
Thanks Christina and I’m glad you’re feeling better too. It’s been exhausting. Glad you like the cyclamen. I’d love to try cyclamen outdoors in the garden too, but never seem to get around to it.
I’m sorry to hear that the flu hit you so hard, Susie, and I’m glad you’re on the mend. You nonetheless managed an elegant creation. I hope the flu is soon a distant memory!
Hi Kris, thanks for the good wishes. So glad you liked today’s vase.
Glad to see you are back. The colors in your vase are beautiful.
Nice to be back. Thanks John.
So simple and yet so elegant. Good to have you feeling so much better, Susie
Thanks Cathy. Feels wonderful to be back in touch.
Really glad to have you back Susie – I missed you! Just hope you are taking it easy for a while. I love your cyclamen vase – simple and elegant and with the twist of sedum quite ingenious. You are such an inspiration.
Thank you–I missed you too Cathy and am grateful to be back. I picked that sedum and some other little things for a vase last week but didn’t have the energy to follow through. It has lasted so well all week I felt it had earned its way into this week’s vase.
Oh Susie, so glad you are feeling better…and now, just in time for our ice and cold weather! It is very very icy out there. Nice to stay inside, sipping tea. Love these colors and that very brilliant red!
Thanks Libby. I’m planning to hang around indoors a few more days and yes, drinking lots of tea. This ice and cold is no fun. Stay safe.
Simplicity is always best! And I’m so glad to hear you are feeling better. Take care and stay out of the horrid weather we are having.
Fortunately I don’t have to go anywhere for the next few days so I’m staying out of the ice and am hoping the plants can tolerate the upcoming frigid temps. I do enjoy simplicity. I’m pretty much a minimalist at heart.
Stunning. It is so simple yet so beautiful it took my breath away. It is gorgeous. No wonder you are feeling better. 🙂
Judy, you are so kind! Thanks. I love these little cyclamen flowers and they cooperated nicely so this arrangement went together quickly.
What a rich shade of red!
Yes, it’s a strong one. I saw a nice burgundy one for sale in December but hesitated and now wish I’d bought it.
The colors are so joyful and striking; what an amazing treat for a Wednesday morning.
So glad you found joy in these little flowers.
So glad you are feeling better. And such great colors on those cyclamen, a really clean white and rich red.
Thanks Jason. I agree, those cyclamen do have wonderful hues.
Glad you’re finally feeling better.
The colors in your arrangement are perfect for this cold weather. Have you ever posted on caring for your cyclamen? Mine never seem to make it long, let alone live to see and bloom another winter!
Thank you, it is nice to be feeling better. I am probably the last person you’d want to give advice on taking care of cyclamen or any houseplant. Truth is these sit on a corner of the bathtub underneath a large window where they receive lots of bright, but indirect, sunlight. Most are still in the original containers. I never feed them or anything like that–just give them some water ever 2 or 3 days (or 5 if you forget). If they get too wet or too dry they will die all the way back, but just leave them alone and they start up again before long. You probably won’t find this matches any official advice about cyclamen care, but hope it helps!
Thanks Susie! I bet I’m going wrong with the watering, I’ll try and hold back a bit with the next one.
I’m glad you’re feeling better. Missed seeing your Monday flower arrangement. Lovely red cyclamen.
Thanks. I really appreciate the value of cyclamen blooming indoors this time of year.
I like the simplicity of the red and white. It makes a very bold statement.
Thanks sweetbay! The red one is still going strong in the vase a week later. The white one lasted only a day, but they came together for a time.