In A Vase On Monday—Tall Summer Color
Time once again to join Cathy for In A Vase On Monday, her weekly invitation to fill and share a vase using materials gathered from one’s garden.
Mondays roll around quickly these days. Last Monday at my house we were preparing for Christina’s arrival, so I am especially happy to share today’s new glass vase. Tall and elegant, it was a gift from Christina during her visit and will be a valued reminder of the time we spent together. The vase is nicely proportioned, 4 inches in diameter at the top, 6 inches at the base and 11.5 inches high. It is higher than what I am used to working with, so luckily a beautiful tall and thick-stemmed red gladiolus opened just in time to experiment.
I searched for foliage with strong, long stalks that could support the flowers without mechanics. The chrysanthemum leaves looked fresh and the buds needed to be pinched back anyway so I cut a few stems. I also found fern-like Tanacetum vulgare or tansy, which always needs containment.
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy) and Chrysanthemum foliage in new vase
Next I grouped and inserted seven tall stems of Allium Atropurpureum and added the dark red gladiolus.
Allium Atropurpureum and Gladiolus added to foliage
Gladiolus
Other long-stemmed flowers, Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower), which was used last week, and Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura), which is just coming into bloom, were added for a bit more textural interest.
My intention was to keep the design rather minimal but I had started with too much foliage. It seemed many more flowers were required, so I began sifting through vases of flowers that I had arranged earlier in the week, pulling out possible candidates. I added a salmon-hued gladiolus and Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) and Echinacea ‘Big Sky Sundown’ from last week’s vase were used to help fill out the arrangement.
Allium Atropurpureum, Echinacea purpurea and Gladiolus added to foliage
Gladiolus
Gladiolus
No longer looking at stem length, I also included some saved peonies. When Paeonia ‘Festiva Maxima’ and ‘Pink Parfait’ were in bud I cut about a dozen and placed them in a bottle of water in the refrigerator. I had taken them out a few days earlier. They took longer than expected to open, but I was able to use several of them in today’s vase.
Paeonia ‘Festiva Maxima’
More lighter flowers or foliage would have been useful. As often is the case the resulting design does not match my original concept, but I think these richly colored blooms work well together.
In A Vase On Monday—Tall Summer Color
In A Vase On Monday—Tall Summer Color
Materials
Foliage
Chrysanthemum
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Flowers
Allium Atropurpureum
Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower)
Echinacea ‘Big Sky Sundown’ (Hybrid Coneflower)
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Gladiolus
Paeonia ‘Festiva Maxima’ (Peony)
Paeonia ‘Pink Parfait’ (Peony)
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
In A Vase On Monday—Tall Summer Color
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for welcoming everyone to join her in this addictive Monday diversion. Please visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
I love this combination of colors – pops right off the page. Beautiful. 🙂
Thank you Judy. Needed these bright colors to stand up to the heat of summer.
A wonderful arrangement this week, Susie. You have created a visual delight.
I appreciate that John. We’ve enjoyed having the colorful flowers indoors.
Susie I think the vase is grand…beautiful glass vase to support the flowers you chose. I especially love glads and mine are a long way from blooming…coneflower just starting and guara too. I really love the foliage and how you prepared this vase….colors all complementing each other perfectly…another real beauty of your creative mind.
You’re so kind Donna. Glad you like the way this turned out. I think I’ll plant some more gladiola bulbs if I can find any on sale. Coneflowers have provided the lion’s share of the flowers in my garden the last month.
It’s an unexpected but gorgeous color combination, Susie. It makes me think of rainbow sherbet. You’ve made great use of your new vase!
Thanks so much Kris. The height of the vase was challenging, but I learned a lot with this arrangement so next ones should be easier.
I love the unexpected colour combinations and this arrangement is so rich in colour and flowers – gorgeous. And how wonderful to christen your new vase with such a striking bouquet.
Thanks so much. It was exciting to use this special vase. The colors probably break all the rules but I had to use what I could find. In the end the rich summer colors worked out.
These colours are so lovely together – those velvety Gladioli are perfect with the pinky red and orange coneflowers. A very nice tall vase too! 🙂
Thanks Cathy. I’m happy to have the vase and was pleased those Gladioli opened just in time.
As usual, you have been so creative, Susie!I like very much the combination of colours.
Kind of you to say so Anca. It’s really fun to work with flowers. Glad you liked these spicy colors today.
Glads add such wonderful structure to a vase. I can hardly wait for mine to come along. This dramatic, dark bouquet with bright punctuation points is truly lovely.
Thanks Rickii. Glads have minds of their own though, don’t you find? Very tricky to get them to stay put. I usually use them in a vase by themselves, so it was interesting to try to make them play nicely.
I don’t think I have ever put together a ‘tall’ vase, Susie – somehow the idea is a little daunting… yours works really well and is so balanced, showing as always what a good ‘eye’ you have. What an appropriate gift from Christina!
Thanks Cathy. I agree it is a bit daunting to work with a tall vase, but it’s fun too. Arrangement sometimes require a lot more flowers than one first imagines. The vase itself is a great keepsake.
This is so beautiful! The colors are scrumptious. And I love how you showed how it was made. 🙂
Thanks Eliza. Glad you found the stages of the arrangement helpful. I should try to do that more often.
I’m so glad you found some long-stemmed flowers for the vase Susie. I love the colour combination. I really like Gladioli as a cut flower, I’m afraid that mine will have flowered and be finished when I arrive home.
Thanks so much for the vase Christina. It is a special reminder of your visit. I tried to use that tape technique we saw at the store, but my tape wasn’t strong enough to work properly so I took it off. Hope you’ll find a few Gladioli waiting for you when you return. My grandmother used to grow them and I have fond memories of helping her cut some for bouquets.
Lovely! It really says summer.
Thanks Pris. As much as I enjoy cooling blues and greens, my summer garden has turned into these hot colors.
You have put together a very beautiful arrangement, thanks for including a list of the included flowers, I love the Allium, jotted the name down to find some for my garden.
Thank you. That Allium Atropurpureum should be easily available. I have had it several years and this is the best it’s ever looked. I really want to add some of those huge ones but they are more pricey.
Your flowers are way ahead of mine. That was a lot of foliage to balance out and the oranges and pinks look smashing together. I like the tall glads with the wispy Cleome and Gaura too, a varied and interesting grouping.
Thanks Hannah. I suppose I should have considered removing some foliage but I needed it to hold the flowers in place. I’m sure your flowers will soon catch up.
Rich and hot with a refreshing spritz of white! Beautiful!
I don’t seem to have any tamer flowers in bloom right now, but the rich colors suit the hot weather.
🙂