Tag Archives: garden photography

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

Yesterday, on a rainy Sunday morning, I actually gathered zinnias for today’s vase, but only one shows up in this Ikebana design. Featured are dogwood branches with berries. A large dinnerplate dahlia whose name I do not know makes an interesting foil for the colorful autumn leaves.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

The dahlias which have carried the garden through the summer and fall are finally , sadly, slowing down. Only one D. ‘Cafe Au Lait’ was usable for today but it was perfect in the way it relates to the color of the berries and its subtle stripes of pink connect to the leaves and larger flower.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

The small red zinnia is a somewhat daring addition but I tried it and liked it.

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia sp.
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Zinnia
Foliage
Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)
Materials
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Black Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

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 surprises she and others found to place in a vase this week.

Silent Sunday – Monarch Silhouette

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Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

I planned to showcase zinnias today but after a heavy day of rain on Friday the dahlias needed trimming back and re-staking. I collected so many dahlias I never made it back around to the zinnias. I passed along some flowers to neighbors and then spent a few peaceful moments arranging.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

Later I spent a few minutes chasing daylight, even resorting to artificial light in the dining room.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

Finally I placed them by a sunny window in the living room where we can enjoy them all day. The sunlight exaggerates the color of the left-most white Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ to nearly lemon-yellow.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

A wedding present not used often enough, the Paul Revere bowl measures 11 inches in diameter by 5-inches tall. The flower arrangement is approximately 21-inches wide by 14-inches high.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

Objectively speaking I think some careful editing would allow breathing room and would enhance the design, but overall I am happy to see this huge bowl of dahlias brightening the house.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia sp.
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Foliage
Asiatic lily
Materials
Paul Revere bowl, large

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

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In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

Prepared a few days ago two jars of Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ brighten our home on a rainy Sunday afternoon as remnants of Hurricane Delta pass through North Carolina.

In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

The dark blue jar is 6.75 inches tall, the botanic one is just under 6 inches.

In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

The dahlias range from 4 to 6.5 inches in diameter, some with hints of yellow.

In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Foliage
None
Materials
Dark blue matte ceramic jar
Portmerion- Botanic vase made in England

Wordless Wednesday – Yesterday

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Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Listen for liquid bird song at 16 seconds. Maybe Brown Cow Bird?

More of the liquid bird song.

Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas)

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)

In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

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In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens. Blooming since June, dahlias continue to light up the garden.

In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

The apricot orange is D. ‘David Howard’, the white is D. ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ and D. ‘Gallery Art Deco’ is the sunset red. After weeks of sharing these dahlias it is challenge to find a new way to present them, so I am staying with a tried and true traditional design.

In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

A maroon chrysanthemum from last year’s purchase adds a touch more red richness. Added at the last moment Adonis blue Butterfly Bush contributes a bit of surprise.

In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

An autumn addition to this week’s vase is an aster that overtook an entire garden bed years ago. I continue to try to eradicate it. I thought at least I could put it to good use this Monday, but I find I it hard to fix this bad relationship. I’ll continue to get rid of the aster. The garden does not need the chaos.

In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

Materials
Flowers
Alyssum
Aster (Symphyotrichum)
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)
Chrysanthemum
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Foliage
Gardenia sp.
Itea virginica ‘Sprich’ LITTLE HENRY (Virginia sweetspire)
Materials
Ceramic Urn Stamped “Vintage 4”
Lomey plastic dish insert, eco-friendly floral foam

In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise

Wordless Wednesday – Late Marigold

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Marigold

In A Vase On Monday – Ikebana Study

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In A Vase On Monday – Ikebana Study

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

Foliage was my starting point for this design. Ginger lily is blooming beautifully this year. It is sending up many new stalks, some of whose tips I harvested for today’s vase.

The dahlias are thriving in the cooler weather and seemed unfazed after quite heavy rain Friday. For this Ikebana-style arrangement I chose creamy white Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ paired with a purply pink one whose name I do not know. The latter was included as a bonus with this year’s spring order and I failed to record it.

Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’

Dahlia sp.

Both flowers and foliage went in easily and I was satisfied with the placements until I began photographing. The flowers themselves were grand but the overall effect was underwhelming.

In A Vase On Monday – Ikebana Study

I kept coming back to them during the next hour and finally began experimenting with adding to the vase. Eventually I was happy again with the design. The color of the deep pink zinnia adds surprise. The zinnia stem arches gently away toward the back left. An added piece of ginger lily foliage continues the curving line down through the right corner, where a few sprigs of gardenia leaves help anchor everything.

In A Vase On Monday – Ikebana Study

With the movement created by the changes I think the design is more graceful.

In A Vase On Monday – Ikebana Study

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia sp.
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Zinnia
Foliage
Gardenia sp.
Hedychium coronarium (Ginger lily)
Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)

Zinnia

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 this week.

In A Vase On Monday – Last-Of-Summer Orb

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In A Vase On Monday – Last Of Summer Orb

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Last Of Summer Orb

Tomorrow fall officially begins. Autumn equinox arrives on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, at 9:31 A.M. EDT.

Today, on the last day of summer, this spherical floral design features zinnias and dahlias circling round a supportive framework of gardenia stems and a sheaf of oakleaf hydrangea leaves.

In A Vase On Monday – Last Of Summer Orb

Although summer is ending, I expect dahlias and zinnias to serve as the mainstay of color in the garden first frost.

In A Vase On Monday – Last Of Summer Orb

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’
Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower), Seed heads
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Zinnia
Foliage
Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Vase
Melon Bowl, Vendanges (Blue Trim) by Ceralene, A. Raynaud et Cie, Limoges, France

One more vase today

This is a different arrangement I prepared especially for my husband who is recuperating after an illness. Increasingly he has admired my In A Vase On Monday posts and over the past months he has commented many times how nice it is to have flowers in our house all the time. While the materials used are nearly identical in both arrangements, I actually prefer this one. The proportions and scale feel more balanced, the flowers are looser and more energetically placed, the supporting gardenia foliage buoys and lifts the design. As these are imbued with healing and love I hope these flowers serve to cheer and uplift everyone today.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

I gathered as many flowers as I could Friday during a brief foraging opportunity and left them to condition overnight.

This Week’s Garden Bounty

Dahlias color the garden this month, and especially striking right now are the dinnerplate varieties. I find these large flowers compelling but I long for more interesting and compatible outline and filler materials to set them off. Russian Sage and Verbena bonariensis are not vase-happy for long but they’re what I had on hand.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

Stems of Baptisia foliage are energetic and lively but I overdid their use initially and ended up removing quite a lot.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

My late crop of Zinnias needed dead-heading and so were not at their best. I added just a few for a splash of surprise and texture variation, along with one faded D. ‘Gallery Art Deco’.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia sp.
Salvia yangii (Russian Sage) , previously known as Perovskia atriplicifolia
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Zinnia
Foliage
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Vase
Dark blue matte ceramic jar

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

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In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

I had gathered all the dahlias the garden offered up on Sunday but didn’t have time to arrange them. I left them for our flower-loving neighbor to find. During a lull in activities I took a few quick shots of a clutch of dianthus I’d cut as an afterthought. For a bit of cheer and with a nod to host Cathy’s love of props, I staged the flowers with a miniature sugar bowl from our daughter’s childhood tea set.

In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

Materials
Flowers and Foliage
Dianthus Ideal Select Mix
Vase
Small white, elliptical ceramic vase

In A Vase On Monday – Floral Harvest

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In A Vase On Monday – Floral Harvest

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

Today’s arrangement is an overflow of dahlias accented with a few zinnias. Staging the flowers atop a crystal pedestal vase suggests tradition and formality.

In A Vase On Monday – Floral Harvest

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’

Dahlia ‘David Howard’

Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily)

Zinnias and Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily)
Foliage
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Vase
Crystal pedestal dish

Zinnia

In A Vase On Monday – Floral Harvest

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Bowl

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Bowl

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

Dahlias have seemed cheered by a few rains and some slightly cooler days the past couple weeks.

Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’

I cut all available flowers to encourage them to keep up the good work. These are arranged into a low flat bowl with a hint of columbine foliage.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Bowl

Although I have cut the plants back several times the stems are still quite short.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Bowl

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Bowl (no ID for this dahlia)

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia sp. (no ID on the magenta)
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Foliage
Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)
Vase
Black Matte Dish With Red Interior

Stay safe from impending hurricanes and propaganda this week. 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 this week.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

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In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

I chose a surprise late-blooming gladiolus as the focal point for today’s flowers. I find the reddish-orange waxy petals deliciously compelling.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

With the gladiolus always in the forefront, or a time the design drifted from my original plan for a spare Ikebana look. Here is the initial work—the first stage. I liked this but it left exposed a lot of floral oasis.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Impression

To conceal the mechanics I began adding other flowers. Eventually the design looked totally different and off-balance in composition and weight of materials. I also thought the gaura stems began to look cluttered, detracting from the flowers.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Impression

Surrounded by dahlias, clematis, buddleia, salvia and lantana, the gladiolus maintained its presence but looked out of place. The shape of the gladiolus was awkward and heavy in relation to everything else, yet it was beautiful in and of itself.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Impression

Cutting the sword into smaller and smaller pieces I finally worked my way back to a design that speaks to the essence of the starring flower. Switching vases made a big difference. In my hand portions of the gladiolus seemed perfect but were still heavy. Almost satisfied with this stage the jutting piece to the right created too much tension.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Impression

At the expense of the design’s height, when I trimmed the wayward section and repositioned the stems, the overall result was more harmonious.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

Against the black glaze the gladiolus essence is on full display.

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

Materials
Flowers
Gladiolus
Foliage
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Black Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

In A Vase On Monday – Summer Glow

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In A Vase On Monday – Summer Glow

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Summer Glow

I experimented with a variety of designs on Saturday morning but in the end I was most happy with a reworking of last week’s vase, which had featured dahlias. Mid-week to refreshen the vase I had replaced most of the dahlias. For this week I kept the same container but actually only the foliage, Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ and a few dahlia leaves are original from last week. The dahlias really seemed tired after all and so were replaced completely with white and gold shining discs in the form of Shasta daisies and black-eyed Susans along with flat-topped umbels of miniature suns in the form of tansy.

In A Vase On Monday – Summer Glow

The low-profile glazed ceramic vase works well this week, but if I had taken more time I would have switched the flowers into a basket for an even more summery look.

In A Vase On Monday – Summer Glow

Materials
Flowers
Heuchera villosa ‘Big Top Bronze’ (Coral Bells)
Leucanthemum superbum ‘Alaska’ (Shasta Daisy)
Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ (Black-eyed Susan)
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Foliage
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Dahlia leaves
Vase
Pottery bowls, with Lomey plastic dish inserts, eco-friendly floral foam

Here are a few of my other experiments using reddish orange Dahlia ‘David Howard’ with coral bells and a nice specimen of Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’.

Dahlia ‘David Howard’

Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

I didn’t have a notion this week about what shape my vase would take this week but flower choices were limited. On Saturday morning I cut all the dahlias I could and placed them in water for conditioning. Stems were shorter than I wanted despite having cut back the plants a couple times this year. That afternoon just as I was preparing to make a vase for today, I found an email from a friend in the neighborhood. She had left us a still-warm peach cobbler to find by the front door—a soon-devoured, delicious peach cobbler I might add. Finding inspiration in the handmade ceramic dish in which she had baked our treat, I chose another dish of similar size and put together a pair of small tabletop designs. I was happy to be able to return her dish with a few flowers from my garden.

Using Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ as outline foliage and a few dahlia leaves as concealers I added the freshest dahlias to the first arrangement, along with a bouncy Buddleja and a sprig of tansy. The effect was a little spare but cheerful.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ worked nicely with the color of my friend’s dish so they all went into her arrangement.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

I also included the few white Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ I had been able to cut. Bugs seem especially attracted to these and not many are vase-worthy.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

Both vases were quickly assembled, little-fussing or second-guessing. This is the second vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

A view from the right corner:

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

This design has a slightly more oval than round shape. This was owing to the fact I had a couple of longer-stemmed ‘David Howard’ to use.

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

Materials
Flowers
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)
Dahlia sp.
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Foliage
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Dahlia leaves
Vase
Pottery bowls, with Lomey plastic dish inserts, eco-friendly floral foam

In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

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In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

Today I had in mind a particular style for my vase: asymmetrical, loosely arranged, strongly textured yet airy, whimsical and light. Though not completely true to my vision, it does fairly dance. For its vibrancy and color I am happy with how this one turned out.

I don’t use a lot of yellow but in the garden strong yellows of rudbeckia and tansy have come alive in the past several weeks. Tansy with its rich textural characteristics ended up being a good material to define the shape and tone of the design. I used rudbeckia to continue the color while changing the texture. While cutting the tansy, heart-shaped leaves from a young redbud seedling caught my attention as well. These items, along with everlasting sweet pea seed pods, were the starting point for the vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

Next I added stems of verbena, achillea and salvias and then finished with dahlias and phlox.

In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

Because the weather has been so hot many of the flowers are not pristine, but I cut as many as I could find, using the imperfect ones as well. The vase may not last long but it was fun to create.

In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

Materials
Flowers
Achillea filipendulina (Fern-leaf Yarrow)
Antirrhinum majus ‘Speedy Sonnet Bronze’ (Snapdragon)
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)
Dahlia sp.
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Phlox paniculata ‘Robert Poore’ (Garden phlox)
Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Verbena bonariensis
Foliage
Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud)
Dahlia leaves
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Vase
Crystal pedestal dish

The flowers were styled with floral foam in a plastic 6-inch Lomey dish that sits inside the low crystal pedestal vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

In A Vase On Monday – Dinnerplate Serving In Pink

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In A Vase On Monday – Dinnerplate Serving In Pink

My maligned dahlia

Update. July 14, 2020

Note: I am red-faced as I make this confession. After fussing below about this dahlia not looking like Cafe Au Lait, I think I simply forgot that I planted another variety alongside the replaced dahlias. I’ll have to check back to see if I can find a label for it. Meanwhile the “imposter” has opened into a lovely form (semi-cactus?) with a white center. I actually love it. Apologies for my confusion.

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase using cuttings from our gardens. After what seems like a month without rain passing us by, we finally had a fierce, full-blown thunderstorm Friday night. Temporarily refreshed, the garden must brace for extreme heat this week.

I am not a huge fan of pink but with fewer flower choices today I decided to showcase a couple of dinnerplate dahlias in an Ikebana vase.

Last year I ordered 9 Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ tubers. I was disappointed when they bloomed. Not all but most seemed imposters—so unlike the photos of the soft coffee cream blush ones I have admired. The company where I purchased them suggested I might have been sent D. ‘Labyrinth’ by mistake and offered a refund or replacements this spring. I chose to receive replacements.

Now dahlias that overwintered from last year along with some replacements planted this spring are in bloom.

The replacements so far look even more distantly related, although I’ve heard from some of you there can be a range of color variation in the flowers of ‘Cafe Au Lait’ and also there are pink ones such as Café au Lait Rosé and Café au Lait Royal.

This is from the new tubers. Since the photograph was taken this flower has begun opening to a somewhat paler center. I am curious to see how the other replacements turn out.

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ (replacements planted this spring)

Ironically this one is from last year. Still not the iconic look I seek, but beautiful and definitely less pinky. It is about 6 inches in diameter. I will keep feeding.

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ (planted last year)

A small hydrangea cluster, pale pink in color, became the third element in today’s design. Would I prefer it be blue, yes, but I haven’t taken on the task of adjusting the soil pH. The hydrangea is perfect for today’s study in pink.

Hydrangea macrophylla

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Hydrangea macrophylla
Foliage
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Black Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

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In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

In 2014 I began joining Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to create a weekly vase. This exercise, called In A Vase On Monday, challenges garden bloggers to create and share cut flower arrangements each Monday using materials from our gardens. Sometimes my designs are simple, others are more formal, but collectively the vases highlight what is in bloom in the garden during the year. The larger story is told by checking out Cathy’s post each Monday and connecting to beautiful vases shared by gardeners from around the world.

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

This week I knew I wanted a light and airy foliage to help define the shape of my vase. Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ is healthier than usual, perhaps buoyed by early spring rains. We are dry here now with high temperatures above 90F, so I do not know what is keeping the baptisia happy now, but it was an easy choice for today’s vase,

The heat is harsh and many flowers look worse for the wear. The Shasta daisies are in full bloom now and the fresh white blooms seemed too perfect not to use.

I think this is ‘Alaska’.

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

I planned that dahlias would be the focal flowers but I could have stopped with just the baptisia and daisies in place and been satisfied.

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

Clematis ‘Jackmanii’ only had one ragged flower today, but several nice seed heads.

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

Lantana is just coming into flower this week. I selected several stems for some orange accents.

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting sweet pea)
Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy)
Foliage
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Clematis ‘Jackmanii’
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting sweet pea)
Vase
Vintage 4 Ceramic Urn

I like the swirly movement as seen from overhead.

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower-filled vases each week. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place in a vase this first Monday in July. Peace.

In A Vase On Monday – June Coda

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In A Vase On Monday – June Coda

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share cut flowers from our gardens.

Days of generous rains are gone, but we did get a thunderstorm Sunday evening. Heat and humidity are settled in for summer. Fireflies are out. The month of June has flown quickly past but not before ushering in a host of summer blooms.

In A Vase On Monday – June Coda

With gladioli nearly finished, dahlias and phlox pick up the pace.

Phlox, Dahlia, Gladiolus

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’

Dahlia ‘David Howard’

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ and Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’

Materials
Flowers
Achillea filipendulina (Fern-leaf Yarrow)
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘Labyrinth’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Gladiolus, unknown white
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting sweet pea)
Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid)
Phlox paniculata ‘Robert Poore’ (Garden phlox)
Foliage
Vase
Black-glazed ceramic square

Two grocery-store moth orchids, each purchased several years ago, began reblooming in late February. One finished last week and I decided to go ahead and cut the other’s flower stalk for today’s vase. Its color details are picked up by other materials in the vase.

In A Vase On Monday – June Coda

Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid)

Today’s flowers were inserted into a large florist’s pin set in a plastic black tray, and tucked into a deep, square black saucer. I had trouble with the composition and rearranged for more than an hour. After many iterations I ran out of time. I had planned a spare Ikebana-style design, but was too wedded to using as many of the collected flowers as possible. Lesson learned.

In A Vase On Monday – June Coda

In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

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In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

Today’s flowers include the only one of 15 Lily Asiatic ‘Royal Sunset’ the rabbits did not eat last week. The salvaged lily stem had 3 buds, 2 of which opened. Petals are a bit tired now but by bringing them inside early at least I got to see the color—it is a bit of sunset. In fact all the colors in today’s vase would be right at home in a sunset.

Lily Asiatic ‘Royal Sunset’

In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

Gladiolus

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘Labyrinth’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gladiolus ‘Espresso’ (dark red) and unknown white
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Lily Asiatic ‘Royal Sunset’
Foliage
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)
Dahlia leaves
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Itea virginica ‘Sprich’ LITTLE HENRY (Virginia sweetspire)
Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Beardtongue)
Vase
Crystal pedestal dish

In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

The flowers were styled into a plastic 6-inch Lomey dish. Afterwards I tried several vases before settling on the low crystal pedestal. Below is the vase from last week’s ‘Espresso’ gladioli. I didn’t want to use it again so soon, but it does show how the vase affects the final design. The large vase fits it well but I had in mind a lower design.

In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

In A Vase On Monday – Expressly Espresso

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In A Vase On Monday – Expressly Espresso

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

Planted in 2018 Gladiolus ‘Espresso’ is tucked away at the edge of my garden in what I thought would be a much sunnier spot than it turned out to be.

Grown specifically for cutting these flowers have exceeded my expectations. My photographs scarcely convey the color complexity of the flowers. Espresso, chocolate, wine in bud, the open blooms remind me of the translucence of alizarin crimson oil paint. Petals are silken.

In A Vase On Monday – Expressly Espresso

Gladioli spikes can be arranged (trimmed, cut apart, and cajoled), but these are, to use our host Cathy’s phrase, plopped into a drinking glass within the cavernous interior of the container.

Materials
Flowers
Gladiolus ‘Espresso’
Foliage
Vase
Ceramic pot, unknown N.C. artist

The vase itself is richly glazed. Usually its red accent is the darkest red around, but today the gladiolas predominate.

In A Vase On Monday – Expressly Espresso

Here are a couple of images filtered through the Waterlogue app.

In A Vase On Monday – Expressly Espresso

In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora

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In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora

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

Since early childhood I have loved gladioli. Last year I planted Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’ and its rich red counterpart, ‘Espresso.’ In blooming this June the purple one leads the way by just a few days and is today’s featured flower.

Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’

I tried to partner it only with red Lilium ‘Black Out’ in a simple Ikebana design, but together the red and purple were so intense they needed relief. Soon I had brought in a host of other flowers.

Keeping the strong purple and red hues at center and left, I offset the design with lighter colors and varying textures on the right side near the base.

In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora

Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Hydrangea macrophylla (passalong from blogger Jayme, 2013)
Lilium ‘Black Out’ (Asiatic lily)
Foliage
Amaryllis
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Vase
Black Matte Dish With Red Interior

In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora

Wordless Wednesday – Red

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Hemerocallis (Daylily) from Mercers’ in Fayetteville (may be ‘Michael Arnholt’

Ruby Slippers, which opens pure white and then turns red, is shifting its color.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)

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Sense of place, purpose, rejuvenation and joy

Tag Archives: garden photography

In A Vase On Monday – Autumn Mood

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In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In A Silver Bowl

In A Vase On Monday – Glow With Pink and Creme

Wordless Wednesday – Yesterday

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Wordless Wednesday – Late Marigold

In A Vase On Monday – Ikebana Study

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One more vase today

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlias In Blue Vase

In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

In A Vase On Monday – Floral Harvest

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Bowl

In A Vase On Monday – Orange Deconstruction

In A Vase On Monday – Summer Glow

In A Vase On Monday – Dahlia Duo

In A Vase On Monday – Texture And Whimsy

In A Vase On Monday – Dinnerplate Serving In Pink

In A Vase On Monday – Daisy Fresh

In A Vase On Monday – June Coda

In A Vase On Monday – Summertime Sunset

In A Vase On Monday – Expressly Espresso

In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora

Wordless Wednesday – Red