In A Vase On Monday – Moody Blush
Each Monday brings the chance to join Cathy’s In A Vase On Monday to share an arrangement using materials gathered from the garden.
Two of my sisters visited recently bringing a gift of several beautiful hydrangea stems from their yard. The hydrangeas have been rooted in water and are ready for me to plant.
Taking care not to damage the roots I loosely combined them with Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’ (Purple Heart) for a quick and easy arrangement.
In A Vase On Monday – Moody Blush
The purple heart is pass-along from my friend and work colleague Kathryn. Planted among monarda and aquilegia, it has little chance to shine until those taller plants die back. I photographed a purple heart flower in the Saturday’s early morning foggy light. The green background is the underplanting of fresh new columbine leaves.
In bright sunlight, the dusky wine leaves pick up the purple and red of the hydrangeas.
In A Vase On Monday – Moody Blush
Materials
Hydrangea
Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’ (Purple Heart)
In A Vase On Monday – Moody Blush
I would have enjoyed keeping this vase intact, but afraid the sap of the purple heart might affect the hydrangeas I separated them into different containers after photographs were complete. Hope your vases last longer this week.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly chance to express our flower arranging passion. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday. Feel free to join in.
pbmGarden 
That dark purple foliage is quite striking Susie. A lovely combination – a shame you had to disassemble it afterwards. Those tiny violet flowers are very pretty too.
Thanks Cathy. Didn’t want the risk ruining the hydrangeas which I hope to pot up this week (now I have two vases). I tried to feature a purple heart stem in one of my Ikebana vases a few weeks ago but it wouldn’t stand up, so glad I found another way to use it in keeping with its natural habit.
Sooooo elegant.
Thanks Ann. So nice to hear from you.
You have the perfect vase for every arrangement!
Thanks Marian. My daughter selected that vase for me at a show at the NCSU Craft Center when she was in college, so of course I cherish it. It has a nice lid and is a perfect piece all on its own.
I love the way those stems are flying off into space. I didn’t realize Hydrangeas would root in water!
My sister rooted these Hydrangeas but I have successfully rooted some in the past. Just can’t seem to establish them in soil. Hope it works this time.
The tradescantia is so effective – and looks more like the tradescantia that is used as an indoor plant in the UK, but I could be wrong. Interesting about the sap – I am sure it was the oca leaves that saw off the dahlias in last week’s vase. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the hydrangeas!
This one is frequently used indoors here also Cathy as a house plant, but since it can survive outdoors it has a better chance of survival than under my care. I will try hard to baby the hydrangeas though.
A very appropriate title.
Hi Brian. Glad you like the title. They’re fun to invent and this one just stuck.
A beautiful combination – it creates the perfect autumn mood!
Thanks Eliza. Sometimes I just think of autumn as going brown but it doesn’t have to be that way does it?
Not at all!
Gifts of plants are the best! The Hydrangea flowers and the Tradescantia made nice companions, even if the match was temporary. I hope the Hydrangeas thrive in your garden.
Thanks Kris. It would be lovely if the hydrangeas would do well. I’ve not really had luck doing this other times though.
Will you remove the flowers before planting the hydrangeas? Usually stems with flowers are more difficult to root. I love the arrangement even if it was only temporary.
Thanks Christina. I thought I would trim off the flower heads and maybe use them dried for another vase sometime. Really not sure how they’ll do. There are no leaves remaining on the stems. Worth a try though.
I love the antiquey shades of hydrangeas at this time of the year. And what a perfect match the tradescsantia is. Lovely Susie.
Thanks so much. My own hydrangeas simply turned brown, no lovely traces of color to admire.
I would call the Purple Heart Setcreasea? Oh well, a very good use of the Purple Heart and it looks wonderful with the Hydrangeas. I have that in my garden and will occasionally use it in a vase, it has not been detrimental to anything so far.
Yes, I am no authority but read Setcreasea purpurea or Setcreasea pallida is still used by some but Tradescantia pallida is gaining acceptance. It seemed the right color to combine with those hydrangeas. Glad to know you haven’t had any problem using it with other plants in vases. Thanks.
Great combination. I really like the muted colors for this time of year. I wonder if the Tradescantia would be a problem (as you mentioned) over time. It would be an interesting experiment. 🙂
The range of colors in those hydrangeas makes it easy to pair. I’ve become allergic to spiderwort (skin rash) so I may be overly worried about this sap.
You hit the jackpot with a family visit, a beautiful arrangement and new plants. You’re living large. 🙂
Thanks Judy. It’s true.
Love the color and composition.
The colour coordination and contrast between the puffy hydrangeas and the spiky Tradescantia is very artistic and beautiful. And you had new hydrangeas to plant out too – how wonderful!
Thanks, these worked together quite naturally. Hope I can pull off nurturing the hydrangeas.
So elegant, been watching the models on the catwalks? Very ‘designer’.
Thanks Noelle.