Tag Archives: 2019vase

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Bauble

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

As 2019 comes to a close I chose small bits and baubles foraged from the garden beds for the year’s final Monday vase. Motivated to create a small design so I could feature two fresh, tiny blooms of Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red,’ I selected two petite but heavy, bowl-shaped glass candleholders as containers. I attached floral pin frogs to the candlesticks using florist sticky clay to make it easier to hold the materials in place.

Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’

Spiraea this December has buds and a few white flowers. The fern-like greenery is Tansy. Several of its leaves came with a bonus streak of purple along the vein to pick up the color of one of the vases.

Spiraea Flowers and Leaves

An unusual find is a dried carcass from a daylily fruit, the loculicidal capsule. The daylily seed pod’s walls dry out and once the seeds are ripe the walls split apart. The fruit dehisces longitudinally through the locules. This three-valved chamber continued to dry, forming a conversation starter and interesting accent for today’s vase. (I welcome your corrections to my description of this process.)

Daylily Capsule

In late October I had discovered one still holding its seeds; I am not sure if this is the same one that found its way into today’s vase.

Daylily Seed Pod October 24, 2019

The last ingredient looks like pine needle, but actually is grass, an unidentified oddity, the second clump I’ve found growing in the garden. The leaves are quite stiff and long, over 18 inches. It’s rich green color appealed to me and I decided to use it in an abstract way, formed into bundles and cut to even heights to form vertical pillars. Unfortunately the sharp prongs of the floral pin frogs were not closely enough spaced to hold all the grass securely. Next time I might bind the bundle with twine to keep the needles from spilling away.

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Bauble

The candleholders are 2 ½ inches in diameter. The contents in the clear one measure 6 inches tall; the purple, 7½ inches.

Materials
Flowers
Daylily seed capsule
Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’ (Wallflower)
Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)
Foliage
Stiff grass (unknown)
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Container
Small glass candleholders (2) fitted with florist pins

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Bauble

My 2019 Monday vases are collected into one place to see the year at a glance or to step though a slide show. I was able to participate 43 times this year.

Deep thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower-filled vases across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place In A Vase On Monday.

Happy, Happy New Year! Peace, calm and joy and may you grow!

Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Song

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In A Vase On Monday – Winter Song

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Song

My garden has been a one-trick pony lately, offering up only camellias to fill Monday vases. Of course I am grateful to have them blooming this time of year. It was 27 degrees F. when I left the house early Sunday morning, yet Sunday afternoon I was able to pick a few fresh blooms of Yuletide and one Hana-Jiman.

Pink Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’ and Red Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’

Nearby the camellias stand several gardenias that a former neighbor rooted for me many years ago. Yesterday I discovered two gardenia hips, orange fruits that only rarely appear on my gardenias.

Gardenia Hip

Scouting for other materials I managed to find one tiny red Erysimum and a small Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ plant which I pulled up, including roots, from the soggy soil of the meditation circle.

Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’

Foliage of Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’

To add seasonal interest I gathered greenery from a ‘Carolina Sapphire’ cypress in the back northwest corner of the garden.

‘Carolina Sapphire’ (Arizona Cypress)

I decided to include spiraea after noticing a few white flowers on the mostly bare stems. The spiraea must be confused by the mixed messages the weather has been sending recently, with temperatures sometimes warm, sometimes as I mentioned earlier, 27 degrees. This week is due to be mild and in the 60s.

A rustic wooden box serves as the container this week. The arrangement looked fine just using the items I found in the garden, but I have lots of flowers on hand that I bought for a luncheon I hosted last Monday. Adding few pale green carnations and stems of hypericum berries helped fill out the design and lifted the color.

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Song

Materials
Flowers
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Carnation (purchased)
Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’ (Wallflower)
Gardenia jasminoides hips
Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)
Foliage
‘Carolina Sapphire’ (Arizona Cypress)
Hypericum
Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Beardtongue)
Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)
Container
Wooden crate lined with plastic container holding floral foam

In A Vase On Monday – Winter Song

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower designs across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Green

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Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

Happy to find a few camellias to share, I’m off to prepare for a luncheon I’m hosting for long-time yoga friends. These women have been a strong source of inspiration and laughter for many years, and this year especially, a well of support.

Materials
Flowers
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Foliage
Container
Ikebana

In A Vase On Monday – Camellialabra

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In A Vase On Monday – Camellialabra

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Camellialabra

Grateful to find a few camellias Sunday afternoon I searched through vases for inspiration and found it in the form of a tall glass candlestick. Using a special floral foam adapter that inserts into the candleholder I began arranging a few bits of foliage: shiny, deep green camellia leaves and fresh light green hellebore leaves. Scavenging from last week’s Monday vase I rescued and reused stems of gaura.

Next I positioned the recently gathered flowers. Most were red Yuletide camellias. There were a couple of pink and cream Hana-Jiman. Twice as many camellias would have been nice but when all were used I was satisfied. The morning, after all, had been below freezing.

Then I glanced over at the Thanksgiving arrangement sitting nearby, made from purchased bouquets.

After nearly two weeks those flowers were still amazingly fresh. From among them I chose a white with pink-accented Alstroemeria to fill out today’s design.

In A Vase On Monday – Camellialabra

Materials
Flowers
Alstroemeria
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Chrysanthemum
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Foliage
Helleborus
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Lavender
Container
Glass candlestick with floral foam base adapter (4.5 inches diameter)

In A Vase On Monday – Camellialabra

In A Vase On Monday – December’s ‘Passionate Blush’

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In A Vase On Monday – December’s ‘Passionate Blush’

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

December has arrived with the garden in a soggy state. Camellias are beleagured from successive bouts of cold and rain. Snapdragons and violas that were planted to add color to bleak November (and December) refuse to bloom. For Thanksgiving I had purchased a couple of mixed bouquets and created a table arrangement which I considered calling into duty for today’s vase, but I decided to explore the garden first.

So for inspiration this week I returned to ‘Ruby Slippers,’ the oakleaf hydrangea featured several weeks ago. Its deep red leaves are cheerful and welcome this time of year. Everything else seemed woefully unusable until several plants of Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ offered up possibilities—flexible and energetic stems of burgundy with a few flowers and a few leaves. I do not remember noticing gaura at this time of year before, but this day the stems danced in my hand, begging to star this Monday.

Using an Ikebana vase I inserted the hydrangea foliage low in front, then added several multi-branched stems of gaura. The gaura flowed gracefully. It was limber enough I could wrap and twist pieces into shapes of circles and ovals. I liked the rhythmical effect and felt it was done, but could not resist adding a lime green chrysanthemum plucked from the Thanksgiving bouquet.

In A Vase On Monday – December’s ‘Passionate Blush’

Chrysanthemum, , Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ and Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’

In a second Ikebana vase I clustered a bunch of gaura stems to the right side in back, placed the remaining red hydrangea leaves low to left and center, pleased with the breezy looseness. This time I wondered how some red alstroemeria from the Thanksgiving vase might look against the red stems and leaves. Fine, yes that will do.

In A Vase On Monday – December’s ‘Passionate Blush’

Alstroemeria, Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ and Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’

Materials
Flowers
Alstroemeria
Chrysanthemum
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Foliage
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vases, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Wave. Triangle Blue Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)

Alstroemeria, Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ and Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’

In A Vase On Monday – Late November Selections

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Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

The garden’s seasonal transition away from floral abundance left me unenthusiastically inspecting stems and sticks yesterday. Finding a bright leaf here and there lit my spirit, small clusters of berries brought a smile.

Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)

Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)

Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry)

When from among my large planting of passalong chrysanthemums left raggedy from cold and rain, I was able to glean several fresh blooms, I felt encouragement enough to assemble a vase and then another.

In A Vase On Monday – Late November Selections

Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)

Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)

Materials
Flowers
Button Chrysanthemum
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Foliage
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry)
Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)
Itea virginica ‘Sprich’ LITTLE HENRY (Virginia sweetspire)
Spiraea prunifolia (bridal wreath spiraea)
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vases, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Black Wave, Triangle Blue Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)

In A Vase On Monday – Late November Selections

In A Vase On Monday – Leaves and Camellias

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In A Vase On Monday – Leaves and Camellias

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens. Camellia sasanquas had enjoyed several weeks of pleasant weather but temperature dips into the twenties now have left the shrubs covered in faded blooms. Plenty of buds remain. They seem in no hurry to open but I managed to find a few flowers in good condition.

In A Vase On Monday – Leaves and Camellias

The light was so poor at 5 p.m. Sunday evening I photographed outside against the front door. I like seeing the flowers against the blue background.

In A Vase On Monday – Leaves and Camellias

The inspiration for today’s vase was actually Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ which is taking on a nice red hue. Sprigs of silvery-green lavender and surprisingly fresh leaves of native columbine contrast with the deep green, glossy camellia leaves.

In A Vase On Monday – Leaves and Camellias

Materials
Flowers
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Foliage
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Lavender (Lavandula)
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)

In A Vase On Monday – Leaves and Camellias

In A Vase On Monday – Celebrating Six

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In A Vase On Monday – Celebrating Six

I am late, late joining the party this week, but wanted to acknowledge a milestone. For six years Cathy at Rambling In The Garden has been hosting In A Vase On Monday, encouraging us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens. Since she started this I have looked forward to Mondays as never before.

In celebration of the sixth anniversary this week, Cathy posed a challenge to create a miniature arrangement, no more than 6″ (15cms) in each dimension. I tucked Erysimum into a tiny white oval ceramic vase and Dianthus and Antirrhinum into a heavy glass purple dish for a simple presentation.

Happy Anniversary Cathy and thank you!

In A Vase On Monday – Celebrating Six

Materials
Flowers
Corona™ White Dianthus (Dianthus chinensis)
Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’ (Wallflower)
Antirrhinum majus ‘Speedy Sonnet White’ (Snapdragon)
Foliage
Container
Purple glass dish
White ceramic oval vase

Special thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower designs across the world. Visit her to explore all the small designs she and others created this week for In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday – Café au lait

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In A Vase On Monday – Café au lait

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

Finally a Dahlia ‘Café au lait’ bloomed true to its promise. We are very close to our first freeze in central North Carolina and so this may be the only one the garden produces this year.

In A Vase On Monday – Café au lait

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Café au lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Foliage
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Blue Wave (6.5″W x 6.5″L x 2″H)

In A Vase On Monday – Fall Fusion

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In A Vase On Monday – Fall Fusion

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

Today’s vase began as a feature of pink chrysanthemums and camellias and purple cleome. Unfortunately the camellias proved fragile, with all but one losing their petals as soon as I began arranging. Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’ has been blooming for a couple weeks. Perhaps it will cooperate better another time.

In A Vase On Monday – Fall Fusion

There were not enough of my passalong Chrysanthemum ‘Sheffield Pink’ to complete the arrangement. Fortunately I had collected and conditioned an assortment of other flowers, enough to cobble together a finished look. It resembles nothing of the delicate design I had envisioned, but it does illustrate the fair variety of blooms still showing up in the garden the last week of October.

In A Vase On Monday – Fall Fusion

Materials
Flowers
Achillea filipendulina (Fern-leaf Yarrow)
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Chrysanthemum ‘Sheffield Pink’ (Hardy Chrysanthemum)
Cleome hassleriana (Spider Flower)
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea)
Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
Zinnia
Foliage
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry)
Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’
Salvia rosmarinus (rosemary)
Container
Ceramic vase

In A Vase On Monday – Fall Fusion

In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

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In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens. Some of today’s flowers are from my garden, zinnias and a few small dahlias; the others grew a few hundred feet nearby.

This past week several sets of neighbors brought us flowers, lovely surprises. The friendliness and generosity of the gestures left us overwhelmed and grateful. Does anyone still write sentences like, “Such fun I had” and get away with it? Well, such fun I had arranging two gifts of dahlias and another of chrysanthemums. Since mums are coming into bloom around the garden I will save them for another day and focus on dahlias.

The large dahlias in today’s vase were grown by neighbor Eileen, an excellent gardener and first-time dahlia grower. (Somewhere she has their names recorded and I will try to update them later.) Eileen babied her plants all summer with spectacular results.

In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

When my neighbor offered me these dahlias Sunday how could I resist? She even conditioned them for me and brought them to the back door. Choosing a container was difficult, eventually I settled on a black raku pot with a red accent in the front. At first I hid the red accent to feature the orange and black.

In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

Then I rotated the container to return the red accent to front center. I had deliberately used red zinnias along with the orange-sherbet-looking dahlias and decided the red in the pot worked fine with the flowers.

In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘David Howard’ (apricot orange)
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ (sunrise/sunset)
Dahlia (names unknown)
Zinnia
Foliage
Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’
Container
Red/black raku vase, Charles Chrisco, Chrisco’s Pottery

I mentioned we received several bouquets this week. The first gift, also of dahlias from Eileen’s garden, was Tuesday. I made several arrangements and photographed them together and apart, swooning all the while.

Eileen’s Dahlias

Later that evening I noticed some of my small dahlias from last week’s Monday vase had begun to fade, so I began replacing them with the larger dahlias. Before long I had refashioned the entire thing. This may be my favorite vase I’ve designed. My husband and I enjoyed this arrangement all week, marveling at the size, structure and color of the flowers.

Last Week’s Monday Vase Reinvented

Having such a generous quantity of materials for floral designs is fairly rare. As fall moves ahead this past week has felt like a celebration.

In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

This is not the best photo but I include it to illustrate the size of today’s final arrangement, posed here beside a few other raku pots by the same artist.

In A Vase On Monday – Garden Gifts

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

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In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

With dahlias and zinnias vying prolifically to outdo each other, the materials for my Monday vases have become redundant this summer. Yet Dahlias and zinnias meet, I think, the Oxford definition of sublime: of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe; and so they greet you once again this Monday morning.

I remain amazed at their persistence throughout the drought this summer. (We had light showers since late yesterday morning, for the first time since Hurricane Dorian brought a few sprinkles our way a month ago. We need more but it feels such a relief to experience rain again.)

I wanted to challenge myself to do something different with the design this week. Dahlia ‘David Howard’ has such a soft orange hue I chose to feature it in a favorite Jugtown pot given me by a dear friend. My vision was the dahlias would be loosely arranged, but I struggled to keep the stems in place. Three other flowers never made it into the vase—they fell apart as I began arranging, scattering petals and leaving a void I decided to embrace.

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

Next I experimented with a streamlined design using an Ikebana vase. It was temporary. Eventually I removed the flowers from it to use in a third vase, but did not take additional pictures. First to go was the large white dahlia. Interestingly I think without it the arrangement achieved greater balance. Soon I needed the little apricot zinnias too, leaving behind the simplicity of gardenia foliage in the blue vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

Finally an abundance of cuttings from Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ inspired me to assemble something more lush.

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

There seemed to be plenty of stems until the project was well underway (thus the necessity to rob the previous vases). Probably I could have used twice as many flowers, but I made do.

To ensure that the placement of each stem remained secure I used floral foam attached to a small plastic dish. The added benefit is I could try several vases with the same arranged flowers. The plastic dish just sits on top of the vase. (It should be secured to the vase safety and definitely for transport, but I haven’t bothered here.)

A crystal pedestal candy dish seems a bit too small.

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

A red and black raku pot is more proportional to the dimensions of the flowers, though the red is a bit brash. I used an aubergine silk table runner as a backdrop as an attempt to blend all the colors.

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

The tiny size of the foraged zinnias add interest, their apricot color plays against that of the Art Deco petal highlights and centers. A couple of stems of pink everlasting sweet pea add unexpected spice to the color scheme.

In A Vase On Monday – Sublime

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘David Howard’ (apricot orange)
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ (sunrise/sunset)
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ (white)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting sweet pea)
Zinnia
Foliage
Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’
Gladiolus
Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ear)
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)
Red/black raku vase, Charles Chrisco, Chrisco’s Pottery
Crystal candy dish
Olive green Jugtown vase

I’ve been reading up on how to dig dahlia tubers for storage over the winter. It looks rather daunting but I’ve enjoyed these dahlias so much I have to try. I will also save seeds and for inspiration will return to Chloris‘ advice to grow dahlias from seed.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Colors

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In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mix

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

These are the same flowers and colors I used throughout summer, same ones I addressed with summery titles. But today they feel autumnal.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mix

We’ve had a retreat from the unforgiving heat. Last week this area set a record high temperature for the month of October, 100 degrees F.; Saturday saw highs in the 60s; today should reach 82. It is still very dry.

The white semi-cactus Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ is blooming better, I assume a result of the cooler nights.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mix

Zinnias and dahlias responded to a small amount of hand watering this week. They are a lesson in resilience.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mix

Gardenia ‘August Beauty’ is reblooming but tiny black insects make the flowers undesirable to bring indoors. The rich green foliage though is fresh and makes a perfect foil to the fading dusky colors.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mix

Materials
Flowers
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Zinnia
Foliage
Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’
Container
Hand thrown ceramic bowl, periwinkle blue glaze

In A Vase On Monday – Pattern And Shape

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In A Vase On Monday – Pattern And Shape

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

With still not a drop of rain for weeks zinnias and dahlias are no longer producing enough blooms for generous, overflowing arrangements.

Switching gears today, I concentrated on using leaves of a tulip poplar that volunteered in the yard this summer. Quoting from Wikipedia, “The tulip tree is one of the largest of the native trees of the eastern United States, known to reach the height of 191.9 feet (58.49 meters)^[4] with a trunk 1–2 m (4–6 ft) in diameter.” In other words this tree had no business sprouting up under my deck.

In A Vase On Monday – Pattern And Shape

Actually I am very fond of tulip poplars, remembering long summer days under one at my childhood home. That was a beautiful tree that eventually succumbed to Hurricane Fran in 1996. Another tulip poplar imprinted in my memory grew in woods behind our Wave Road house where we raised our daughter. Unpacking our car one year after returning from vacation we saw the tree had been struck by lightning, scorched from top to toe.

The leaf form is simple and strong, as broad as tall, stretching 5-6 inches. I envisioned and tried a variety of ways to use the collected leaves but found all more challenging than there was time to come to clear resolution. I settled on one leaf, one dahlia.

The container is blown glass, asymmetrical with alternating bands of blue and green color. its top is loosely pinched together leaving just a small narrow opening.

In A Vase On Monday – Pattern And Shape

Today’s vase has me thinking of shape, pattern, positive and negative space and a touch of nostalgia.

In A Vase On Monday – Pattern And Shape

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Labyrinth’ (?) (sold as Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’)
Foliage
Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Poplar)
Container
Glass vase

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

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In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

Autumn slipped in with cooler temperatures for a few days last week, but summer persisted. No rain, no rain is the garden’s sad mantra. Week after week the skies are unable to weep.

Dahlias and zinnias, mainstays of the summer garden have given notice. The plants signal distress through browning leaves and withering stems, giving fair warning they are tired, they are tired. And yet they put on another smile and get through the show one more time.

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

The red zinnia palette inspires this week’s vase.

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

A few stems of Buddleja and garden phlox bring a hint of purple and varying form.

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ is a white semi-cactus beauty that is finally beginning to produce more flowers. Its strong personality adds a vivacious boost to the vase. I read it is an old variety, bred in 1953 and its name means “messenger from the moon.”

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

Just ripening Callicarpa berries and foliage make an attractive filler.

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

Dahlia ‘David Howard’ and ‘Gallery Art Deco’ effortlessly blend into the mix.

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

Materials
Flowers
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Phlox paniculata ‘Robert Poore’
Zinnia
Foliage
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry)
Container
Ceramic Urn Stamped “Vintage 4”

In A Vase On Monday – September Color and Form

In A Vase On Monday – Posy Poses

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In A Vase On Monday – Posy Poses

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

This week I pondered what else to do with dahlias and zinnias, the two summer staples of my still very dry garden this year. Both have a “cut and come again” nature that keeps the house filled with fresh flowers.

Zinnias had the limelight last week so I limited today’s offerings to simple monochromatic posies using my two most productive dahlias: Dahlia ‘David Howard’ and D. ‘Gallery Art Deco.’ Without producing rain, cloudy overcast skies have teased relentlessly, making it a challenge to capture the flowers at their best, but I hope you can see the earnest expressions of beauty on their faces.

In A Vase On Monday – Posy Poses

I admire D. ‘David Howard’ for its apricot-orangey color range and the subtle softness of its rounded petals. Its dark foliage is also an asset. This matte-glazed vase in complementary blue came from an Eno Festival artist many years ago.

In A Vase On Monday – Posy Poses

Dahlia ‘David Howard’

D. ‘Gallery Art Deco’ is pretty as a sunset. Its petals are slightly twisted with pointed tips.

Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’

For this quick arrangement I placed a spray of gaura into the floral pin of a favorite Ikebana vase, followed by a few stems of D. ‘Gallery Art Deco’ and a Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’

In A Vase On Monday – Posy Poses

Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ and Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Foliage
Container
Small matte-glazed blue ceramic vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

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In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

First an update from last week: Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ was indeed mislabelled. The vendor suggested Dahlia ‘Labyrinth’ mistakenly was shipped instead. In spring I will receive a replacement for the order. Thanks for your helpful comments and suggestions about it.

This week’s vase is a mixed bouquet of late summer flowers presented in a basket. Reflecting the shape of the basket, I fashioned a (mostly) round table design.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

Zinnias predominate.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket. This dark wine-colored zinnia is a stand-out.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket. A dahlia peeks out in front among a sea of zinnias.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

Most of my vases are designed to be viewed in front. That takes less time and requires fewer flowers. But there were lots of dahlias and zinnias available this week, so it was a good chance to experiment with creating a view all around.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

I should have considered stem length of the materials on hand in relation to the size of the basket and cut longer stems, especially dahlia stems. In trying too hard to preserve future blooms, I had skimped. The result is most of the dahlias I gathered were too short to be included, so they are scattered in little vases outside of today’s feature. They are still enjoyable but my thrift left me shy of flowers needed to assemble the design easily.

I had to compensate by using all the zinnias in bloom with less choice about color. Some of the zinnias were also too short, but I think in the end the basket of flowers turned out fine—an explosion of seasonal color.

The irregular heights lend a more casual, informal quality to this week’s vase, in keeping with the basket theme. That’s my story anyway, though I see no reason to resort to using a Sharpie to prove it.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

I purchased baby’s breath for use as a light and airy filler. Included along with it from my garden are sky blue salvia and rosy gaura. Underpinnings of silvery artemisia and lavender serve as concealer foliage.

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Gypsophila (Baby’s breath)
Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy)
Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)
Zinnia
Foliage
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)
Lavandula angustifolia ‘Ellagance’
Container
Round woven basket with handle

In A Vase On Monday – Late Summer In A Basket

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Still Life

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Still Life

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

My Cafe Au Lait Dahlias seem distant cousins to the luscious creamy ones I’ve seen on other garden blogs for a few years. The description from the vendor suggests “lovely, cream and pale pink flowers” but these are not the dreamy ones I expected. Has anyone else seen this much variation or do I actually have a different dahlia? An imposter?

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Still Life

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’

I am enjoying the semi-cactus Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ although this one struggles a bit in my garden. It probably would like more water, which it may get if Hurricane Dorian arrives as expected this week.

Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’

Materials
Flowers
Canna ‘Semaphore’
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Foliage
Canna leaves
Containers
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches); white glass globe.

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot Orange

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In A Vase On Monday – Apricot Orange

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.

The flowers this week are similar to those in last Monday’s vase, but rather than zinnias, dahlias are in the limelight. Dahlia ‘David Howard’ is the featured flower in today’s design. It has a gorgeous sunny apricot-orange color.

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot Orange

The serendipity of an orange canna coming into bloom today supports the dahlias’ golden sunrise quality.

Canna ‘Semaphore’

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot Orange

I imagined the design to be a crescent. The crescent design’s Hogarth Curve is based on an S-shape, which I lost track of as I progressed through the development. During the photo shoot I moved around the canna leaves several times, eventually removing one of them. And the canna flower opened further opened during the day. It is worth noting flowers continue through the life cycle in an arrangement and the design is affected by that shift.

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot Orange

Zinnias add zest, textures and color. I do not have umbels, like ammi, in the garden but their softening effect I think is what this design longs for; perhaps eucalyptus would be effective as well. Nevertheless, these flowers themselves are intrinsically beautiful and it is satisfying to be able to grow them in my humble garden.

Materials
Flowers
Canna ‘Semaphore’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Zinnias
Foliage
Canna leaves
Container
Cut Glass Pedestal Dish

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot Orange

In A Vase On Monday – Red Hot Summertime

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In A Vase On Monday – Red Hot Summertime

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden encourages us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens. I am reluctant to show all the weeds in mine, so that leaves dahlias and zinnias for today, along with a few Espresso gladioli like the one in last week’s vase.

I actually managed an hour of weeding one morning and continue to dream the garden will be reclaimed eventually. There were dark storm clouds every night and twice we actually received rain, though we need much more. It has been hot, hot , hot—and humid. Dahlias are thirsty. Zinnias are thrilled.

There are some beautiful red zinnias this year and I gathered as many of them and other red flowers as were available, at first conceiving a woven basket of summer flowers for this week’s In A Vase On Monday. The result ended up being more formal when I shifted direction and selected a favorite Chrisco’s Pottery vase instead. The pot stands 8 inches tall and is decorated with a black matte and glossy sgraffito design.

In A Vase On Monday – Red Hot Summertime

Flower hues include the deep red, magenta, reddish-orange, apricot and coral.

In A Vase On Monday – Red Hot Summertime

There is also a sassy orange cactus zinnia that I really enjoy.

In A Vase On Monday – Red Hot Summertime

The focus flower is Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ and features fringed white petals.

In A Vase On Monday – Red Hot Summertime

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gladioli ‘Espresso’
Zinnias
Foliage
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Container
Red/black raku vase, Charles Chrisco, Chrisco’s Pottery

In A Vase On Monday – Espresso

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Gladioli ‘Espresso’

Beginning in early July I took time away from garden blogging and each Monday since I felt a gentle tug knowing Cathy from Rambling In The Garden and many others of you were sharing vases highlighting your garden flowers and foliage.

Time passed, just over a month, with many visits from friends and family and a much wanted trip to the beach. Family health issues continue to be a priority but there is improvement and breathing room. I have taken hundreds of pictures of the garden, dahlias and zinnias and butterflies, writing posts in my head without a chance to publish them. Last week I started scanning blogs again and today I couldn’t resist sharing this exquisite gladiolus. I have watched it open over the past few days—it may be the prettiest one I have ever grown.

Gladioli ‘Espresso’

It is always difficult to capture the essence of red flowers but perhaps you can sense the rich hue and chocolatey accents.

Gladioli ‘Espresso’

Materials
Flowers
Gladioli ‘Espresso’
Foliage
Philodendron
Container
Ceramic ikebana vase, 3 integrated ceramic tubes, built-in stem holders

A rejuvenating walk along the North Carolina shore washed away a lot of worries.

Morning Walk Along Atlantic Beach

My friend’s house where I stayed with college friends recently is located on a saltwater creek at Harker’s Island. The osprey babies are gone but the parents continue to enjoy the nest.

Harker’s Island

With gratitude to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower designs across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday – Summer Shift

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Each Monday Cathy from Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase assembled from materials collected in our gardens.

Summer is in full swing. It has been hot. Grass is browning. Cicadas sing. All week rain clouds threaten but evaporate before release, while all around us heavy storms cause flooding and wind damage. Sunday, the skies finally spill.

After admiring dahlias from many gardens the past few years I decided to take them more seriously. I’ve picked up a few tubers here and there before but without much success. A pass-along from garden club friend Libby did really well for a few years but failed to survive the 2018 winter, so I took action this spring and ordered a few. Many tubers did not grow, but I have high hopes for those that survived.

Fringed, snowy white Dahlia Semi Cactus ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ was the starting point of this arrangement. Nowhere near the reputed 6-7″ span, it still promises to be a nice addition to the garden.

Dahlia Border Decorative ‘Gallery Art Deco’ advertises a “sunset blend of coral pink, apricot and red.” These are barely open, but are small compared to the 4-5″ I hope they will aspire to.

I expected “cream and pale pink” Dahlia Dinnerplate ‘Cafe Au Lait’ from the plant that produced the flower on the right front. Hope ‘Cafe Au Lait’ will materialize elsewhere because this one is not my vision. The large pink bloom became the focal point of today’s design, edging out the cactus dahlia.

[The last dahilia in my order, Dahlia ‘David Howard,’ has lovely foliage but no blooms have opened yet. I just mention it here to help me with some record keeping. It is described as having “dark foliage and glowing, golden-apricot blossoms.”]

Zinnias have been slow to arrive this year. I planted seeds from a handful of different packets, but now am unsure of varieties. Most have not bloomed yet but the first to open reseeded from last year and I included several stems to fill out today’s arrangement. I also added a few lavender spikes of Liriope muscari.

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia Border Decorative ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia Dinnerplate ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia Semi Cactus ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gladiolus (white)
Liriope muscari
Zinnia
Foliage
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)

In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

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In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

Each Monday Cathy from Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase assembled from materials collected in our gardens.

Another set of gladioli bloomed this week, white ones this time, with strong-stems. Looking back at last year’s vases I see I used the same white flower at the end of last June.

In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

I collected the gladioli over 3 days, storing them in a colorful pitcher until I had time to arrange them. That time for arranging never came but I snapped some photos anyway. So here you see how I have been enjoying them all week, with the shape of the design determined by long sword-like leaves and spikes of flowers.

In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

The title Subtlety comes from the gentle revelations of the blooms when viewed close up.

In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

The buds have an ivory cast. Soft creamy yellow petals brushed with lavender pink markings direct attention to the anther’s deep purple pollen.

In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

Materials
Flowers
Gladiolus
Foliage
Gladiolus
Container
Stoneware pitcher glazed with bands of cream, green, blue. (pitcher and 4 cups, Pringle Pottery, North Carolina, circa 1977).

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower designs across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad

34 Replies

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad

Each Monday Cathy from Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase assembled from materials collected in our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad

Only a few gladioli have returned this year, but there should be more soon. Proper record-keeping has gone by the wayside this year so I am not sure when, but I planted several bags of new corms from Longfield Gardens: Gladiolus Large Flowering ‘Espresso’ and ‘Purple Flora.’ And of course there is one more bag to plant should I get around to it this summer.

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad

In today’s vase are two red gladioli planted June 2016. They came into flower Thursday. I had planned to do something adventurous with them, creating an abstract design using a small brass sculpture my husband created around the time I met him. (We celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary Tuesday.)

I will save the sculpture for another time as the flowers were so perfect they needed no support to embellish their virtue.

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad

Materials
Flowers
Gladiolus
Foliage
Gladiolus
Container and Mechanics
Florist frog
Shallow, round, black dish
Black polished stones

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad

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Tag Archives: 2019vase

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Still Life

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In A Vase On Monday – Summer Shift

In A Vase On Monday – Subtlety

In A Vase On Monday – Red And Glad