In A Vase On Monday
Monday brings the chance to practice flower arranging by joining in Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday, where the goal is simply to fill a vase using materials gathered in one’s own garden.
I made lots of simple arrangements last week for a family get-together but did not have time to photograph them most of them. One of my favorites was this earth tone ceramic pot filled with purple and green leaves of Canna, Purple Heart and Pink Muhly Grass interspersed with a few stems of Verbena bonariensis. This became the starting point for my today’s vase.
This vase was the foundation for this week’s arrangement.
After removing everything and discarding the Verbena bonariensis, I rinsed the leaves and the container and inserted a florist’s frog in the bottom.
Next I headed outdoors to gather Zinnias, currently the main source of color in my late summer garden. They are almost all orange or pink.
Zinnia sp.
I found a couple of small Dahlia flowers as well.
Dahlia and Zinnia
To get started I placed the Canna leaves toward the back, then added a few of the tallest Zinnias, followed by the groups of Pink Muhly Grass.
Canna and Zinnia
A stem of Autumn Joy sedum from last week or maybe the week before, nicely filled a blank space and added a contrasting texture and some extra height.
After placing the rest of the flowers and Purple Heart, the arrangement seemed crowded. I trimmed away some of the foliage, rolled some leaves down and furled some vertically.
Sedum, Canna and Zinnia
In A Vase On Monday
Materials
Canna sp.
Dahlia sp.
Hylotelephium ‘Herbstfreude’ Autumn Joy (Stonecrop)
Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass)
Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’ (Purple Heart)
Zinnia
I placed the cheery Zinnia arrangement on a cherry table in the hallway, designed and crafted by our daughter, where the play of sunlight brightened and enriched the colors of the flowers.
In A Vase On Monday
In A Vase On Monday
In A Vase On Monday
In A Vase On Monday
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. It is always fun to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
Oh Yes! This is my favourite vase. I love how you manipulate foliage which adds so much to the flowers. I loved your daughter’s table when I saw it; she is obviously as talented as you. I’ve just finished my vases for this week, all I need to do is write the post. Have a great week.
Thanks Christina! I appreciate that. My canna haven’t bloomed in a few years but the foliage is still useful. I’m glad you got to see my daughter’s furniture. We’re lucky to have some of her pieces (and so lucky to have her). I’m headed over to see your vase now. Hope you have a nice week too.
Zinnias are one of my favorites. A dear friend who has passed planted them every year and tended them faithfully. I never look at one without thinking of him. 🙂 This is a lovely arrangement in a solid vase that tends to remind me of the ground they grew in, and I mean that as a compliment. Happy Monday to you. 🙂
Judy, I love how flowers or plants can spark a memory of a dear one. The vase is a nice solid one–it holds up well on its own even without flowers. Happy Monday!
Again a very nice arrangement with excellent flowers. The leaves are well places, and really much more than the supporting cast.
Thank you Noelle. I’ve used zinnias many times before so the leaves were useful today to add a different character to the arrangement.
Isn’t it useful to recycle existing arrangements? You have really freshened this one up with the zinnias and the simple trick of rolling the leaves adds an intriguing extra touch. Thanks for sharing
Yes, recycling is good! The canna leaves seem to last a long time so I was happy to give them another chance to shine.
Very elegant. I love the structure provided by the grass and how you have curled the canna leaves changing their shape and colour.
Thank you. It’s interesting how materials like leaves and grasses can change the character of a vase.
Zinnias are one of my favourite flowers, they look so nice! I like their colours in your vase!
Thanks Anca. Zinnias do have a lot of charm and such rich colors.
such an artistic display of beautiful flowers! I love the grasses too.
What a lovely comment. Thanks so much Ann.
Susie I adore this vase…perfection again with the choice of vase, foliage, bloom sand table!. It all works beautifully…all earthy!
Donna, I really appreciate your generous comments. Seems like today’s vase just fell into place and it should keep well this week.
The vase looks deceptively simple at first glance, Susie – I’m glad you showed some of its construction. Your use of the Canna and purple heart leaves – and the grass – was inspired. And I love your Zinnia collection! (I’m newly in love with Zinnias after finally getting some to bloom in my garden with extra water.) The stone-colored vase is the perfect companion too. Nicely done, all around.
Kris, I’m so glad your zinnias responded to a bit of water. I just take it for granted there will be some in my garden–sometimes they just reseed–but this year mine didn’t germinate well so there are only a handful of plants. I love the orange, but now find myself wishing for a yellow one.
The stoneware vase has such an organic appeal, it would go with any flowers, very cute. I like the purple leaves and tiny flowers so much, very sophisticated. The zinnias are quite colorful and I like the effects of the fine textured grass, it adds a lot of pizzazz.
Thanks Hannah. It’s amazing how something like the grass can add some extra pizazz. I bought that vase many years ago from the potter at a street fair. It’s one of my favorites.
Zinnias are such a perfect late summer flower and they go so well in your stoneware vase this week. What a clever daughter you have – that table looks beautiful!
Thanks Julie, I’m so excited by my daughter’s creations. We have several pieces of furniture and some sculptures she made before turning to architecture. Zinnias are a rather old-fashioned but tried and true and full of delight.
This arrangement really has a polished look to it. I think it accents the table perfectly!
Thanks. The warm sunlight against the flowers and table helped highlight them both this week.
I love the colours you have put together.
Hi Malc, the oranges and pinks have been useful together this year.
You are so talented! The rolled leaves are interesting. I would love to do a watercolor of this image!
Thanks Bev. Canna leaves are pretty interesting subjects.
I enjoyed reading about how you created your vase. I think I forget that once cut flowers and leaves can be manipulated to a certain extent. I especially like the different heights in your vase and I love the colours of the zinnias together. The cherry table is gorgeous. Do you oil the wood to keep it looking so lustrous?
It’s fun to manipulate leaves but I often don’t think to do it either. The cherry does have a beautiful sheen.
Love the rolled and curled leaves!!! What a great idea and perfect to “redo” an arrangement. My zinnias are not looking great, unfortunately. Kind of small and the colors are not really that bright or clear; I rely on the Carrboro market each week!
I should try to get to that market sometime. It’s been years since I’ve been.
Oh I do like those zingy zinnias but this week I think that I’m more taken by your fabulous stoneware vase. I’ve been left wondering about the identity of the flower that appears in your header Susie. Is it a salvia? Will you put me out of my misery please?
Thanks Anna. The flower in my header photo is Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm). Time to update that image as there’s not much bee balm blooming now.
I love zinnias and I am growing them for the first time this year. They are wonderful in your arrangement. But your folded canna leaves make this whole thing look very professional. Fabulous, I love it.
Hi Chloris, Hope you’re enjoying a good first-year crop of zinnias. They’re one of the very few seeds I grow. Canna leaves have such interesting patterns–very useful in arrangements, but I rarely remember to use them.
That’s lovely! Zinnias are a personal favorite, and now I must have them in my garden every year! I skipped a year once and regretted it!
Beth I know what you mean about having to have zinnias. Wouldn’t seem like summer without them.
Zinnias – such a great flower. Orange ones are my favorite.
The orange zinnias have been great this year. I planted a green one that didn’t come up. Would like to have seen it with the orange flowers.