In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement using materials collected from our gardens. December gifts are those special wonders one finds in the landscape this time of year.
Yesterday a friend mentioned some of her hellebores are already full of buds so I though I might find some to feature today. None were available but I did harvest some of the hellebores’ young, tender, pale green foliage, along with some lovely patterned leaves of Arum italicum and a few stems of fresh aquilegia greenery.
In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
The red and black container is from my collection of five red and black raku pots by North Carolina potter, Charles Chrisco. I inserted a tall drinking glass into the vase to help hold and support the stems without using floral foam.
The foliage took no time to set in place. With the dynamic shape and texture of the arum, the green materials could have stood alone if necessary. There is very little blooming now so the choices were chrysanthemums (fading), Erysimum (scarce), or sasanqua camellias (best potential).
In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
Many readers have been enamored of this red Yuletide camellia when I have used it in the past. It has been a prolific bloomer this year. The weather has not been too severe yet so many of the flowers were in good condition this morning.
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Of the two sasanquas in my garden I favor the more fragrant and delicate looking Hana-Jiman. It blooms earlier though than Yuletide and is nearly finished for another year.
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
The camellias cooperated without much struggle and I was satisfied with the result. I snapped one portrait in the kitchen before moving the arrangement to the foyer to catch the natural light of early morning.
In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
Materials
Flowers
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Foliage
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)
Arum italicum
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Container
Red/black raku vase, Charles Chrisco, Chrisco’s Pottery
In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
A black and white view is always instructive. This one is from overhead.
In A Vase On Monday – December Gifts
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and encouraging our flower arranging passion. Visit her to discover what she and others found this week in their gardens to place In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
Exquisite, perfect arrangement for the lovely red vase. Festive without being obvious.
Thanks Christina. I haven’t been looking ahead to the holidays much yet–guess this vase is the kick-off!
Your raku pot is wonderful, so 5 of them must be 5 times more wonderful, Susie, and you couldn’t find a better bloom to complement this one than your ‘Yuletide’. The arum leaves set the shade of red off perfectly and just s Christina says, the result is festive but not overly so. Love it 🙂
Thanks Cathy. If I hadn’t retired when I did I’m sure I would have picked up a few more raku pots along the way. They’re usually all on display together so when this arrangement is taken apart I’ll try to show you the whole group. I just love Christo’s glazes.
Oh I would certainly like to see them all together – are they different shapes?
Stunning arrangement – perfect for the holidays. 🙂
Hi Judy. Our neighbors have decorated already for the holidays but the mood hasn’t hit yet. It will happen.
Lovely and I love them,been waiting for your Yuletides!
I remember you’ve spoken highly of Yuletides and they certainly are remarkable. Like dogwoods and azaleas around here, camellias are everywhere and many have Yuletide. I remember an enormous one grew in my grandmother’s front yard, like a tree really.
My favorite Camellia – wish I had seen your Grandmothers.Must be a NC type. I don’t remember them in Georgia til the 80s.
So nice, Susie. Yuletide lives up to its name. I too am limited now to camellias.
Thank you John. Hope you and your family are doing well. We could have worse problems than being restricted to camellias, right?
R planted 4 ‘Yuletides’ last year. No sign of blossoms as yet but boy, will I be happy when they show up. You’re right: the Arum foliage could easily stand alone, especially in that stunning vase.
Hi Rickii, best of luck with those 4 ‘Yuletides.’ Should be spectacular. (I’ve been trying to leave comments on your blog but not sure if they’re going through.)
That vase was made to be paired with your spectacular ‘Yuletide” Camellias, Susie!
Thanks Kris. I took the vase off the shelf wondering if the reds would class too much and was glad they got along!
Is that vase making its debut here Susie? I don’t remember seeing it before – it is beautiful! The fresh greens of the foliage are perfect, and the Camellias too of course. Very festive! 🙂
Thank you Cathy! Yes, I think this is the first time for this particular vase, although one of its sister vases has been used before. They’re similar in color but vary in shape (https://pbmgarden.blog/2017/04/24/in-a-vase-on-monday-felicity/).
A stunning raku vase, Susie – its red glaze is gorgeous and your choice of arum and Yuletide camellias complement it perfectly!
Thanks Eliza. The red glaze is the star of the arrangement.
Nothing is more useful at this season than Hellebore foliage and Arum leaves. The red flowers and red and black vase are a match made in floral heaven.
Thanks Linda. I was afraid the reds would clash but they got along. May be depending more and more on foliage for a while.
Oh, that is so very pretty–I like everything about it, from the vase to the flowers to the colors. Red Yuletide Camellia…sigh…just wonderful.
Thanks very much Beth. I was happy with how this turned out and it didn’t take very long to assemble. Have a good week.
Beautiful combination Susie.
Thanks. Necessity of using what I have sometimes seems limiting but forces me to try new things.
Two thumbs up!
Thanks.
Love the pottery. You’re lucky to live where Camellias grow in December.
December here can bring 0F. or 70F. temps within a day or two or each other. We had snow this weekend but no really cold temps yet.
Those camellias are gorgeous!
Thank you! Hope you’re doing well!