Each Monday brings the chance to join Cathy’s In A Vase On Monday to share an arrangement using materials gathered from the garden.

As frequent readers will know, I admire and value pass-alongs and the memories they contain. For today’s design I have featured cut peonies in a striking red color. These were shared by a friend last week and came from a plant originally grown by her mother.

A search to learn the name of the peony yielded dozens of possibilities, so I nicknamed it ‘Cherished Red’ for today.

Recently in other Monday vases I have seen herbs used to create a soft, airy effect. I used last year’s cilantro that has been flowering for several weeks to lighten the red.

From my peonies I cut several stems of P. ‘Festiva Maxima’ and a pink anonymous one. A branch of Ruby Glow Foxglove broken during a severe evening storm provided more blooms than I would have ventured to cut myself.

The red peonies had lovely long stems, but not so the others. To use them all I divided the flowers between two ceramic containers of differing heights. The only foliage used was a small number of peony leaves kept on the stems to help keep them fresh (a tip I picked up from a floral designer’s talk last month).

Here is another view after giving each vase a quarter turn.

I perhaps like the overhead view best.

Materials List

Coriander (cilantro)
Digitalis Foxlight ‘Ruby Glow’ (Ruby Glow Foxglove)
Paeonia ‘Festiva Maxima’ (white)
Paeonia (pink peony, name unknown)
Paeonia (red double peony, name unknown)

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly flower arranging addiction. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday and feel free to join in.