Tag Archives: Orchid

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

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In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

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

The white double hippeastrum (amaryllis) and the purple orchid may look familiar. The orchid appeared in Christmastide December 21, 2020; the hippeastrum in Blue Vase January 11, 2021; and jointly they formed the basis of Odds And Ends January 18, 2021. Redundant as they may be I am grateful to have these fabulous flowers in bloom for such a long period during an otherwise drab time of the year.  

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

I was amused last week by how many of you commented you own, but mostly don’t (or even never) use a mortar, and you were surprised to see one used as a floral container.  Each week as I search around for something to hold Monday flowers, pretty much any vessel is fair game to use as a vase. I didn’t plan today to try to use something unexpected as a container, but coincidentally my mother’s cookie jar, which normally sits on the same counter where the hippeastrum has been growing, is the inspiration for today’s design. These past weeks I kept wondering if I could transfer the plant into the cookie jar without breaking the stalks to give it a stronger foundation and yes, it was simple.  The bulb was originally planted in a 6 by 6.5 inch ornamental pail. Luckily the pail had a removable plastic insert so I was able to lift the insert and move the contents without disrupting roots, stems or flowers. The cookie jar is two inches taller than the original container and much heavier.

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

Neither the cookie jar’s turquoise color nor its shape worked quite as well as I had envisioned. But all in all the 2.5-foot towering arrangement carries an awesome sense of floral drama for this time of year, even if the height made it difficult to photograph. This image was taken looking down at it from the staircase in the foyer and so has foreshortening.

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

Placed upon the buffet the vase fills the dining room.

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

Materials
Flowers
Hippeastrum (amaryllis)
Orchid
Foliage
Lavender
Orchid
Container
Turquoise Cookie Jar, 8-inches high, 6 inches at mouth

In A Vase On Monday – Blue Jar Tower

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.

In A Vase On Monday – Odds And Ends

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

In A Vase On Monday – Odds And Ends

In a fruitless search for hellebores in flower I happened upon the sasanquas nearing the end of their season. So with hellebores tediously slow to emerge this year, I selected a few stems of Yuletide, mostly for the dark green foliage, but eventually a flower made its way into Monday’s vase.

Already I had gathered sprigs of lavender and pieces of Daphne in bud to form a collar around the base of an orchid.

Daphne odora and Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’

Purple Orchid and White Amaryllis

Three remaining flowers from last week’s cut Hippeastrum stalk opened Friday, but by Sunday they were already fading. I propped them up beneath the orchid to include in today’s presentation.

In A Vase On Monday – Odds And Ends

In A Vase On Monday – Odds And Ends

Hippeastrum (amaryllis)

Materials
Flowers
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Hippeastrum (amaryllis)
Orchid
Foliage
Daphne odora (Winter daphne)
‘Pride of Gibraltar’ Hummingbird Cerinthe
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Lavender
Container
Gray Marble Mortar

The container is from a mortar and pestle set made of marble that measures 4 inches high with a 4-inch diameter, a bit small for the height of the flowers.

I wish I had nestled the amaryllis down closer into the foliage but I was called away for a few minutes and in coming back to the vase later I did not take time to rework it. I think it would have balanced the design better by grounding or anchoring the weight of the largest flowers, allowing the smallest ones, the orchids, to float.  All in all though these odds and ends found around the house and garden are a soothing balm at middle January .

In A Vase On Monday – Odds And Ends

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 and feel free to join in with your own vase.

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

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In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

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

Prepared on Sunday during pouring down rain, many ingredients in this week’s offering may look familiar. Instead of trekking outdoors to hunt for materials I salvaged what I could from last week’s vase: winter daphne, lavender, dogwood. Refreshed with the addition of several anthuriums gleaned from a house plant, along with a couple of stems of poinsettia,  the vase has shifted into holiday mode. I also added leaves from a beefsteak begonia.

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

Placed into a silver tray dotted with red and silver holiday ornaments and paired with an orchid full of rich purple, the repurposed arrangement celebrates winter solstice* today and is ready for the countdown to Christmas.

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

Despite the strangeness of this stay-at-home year and the challenging family health issues we faced in recent month, we find ourselves full of gratitude and joy. My husband is improving. During his illness and recovery we have been the recipients of an outpouring of generosity, love and kindness—cards, emails, calls, meals, offers of assistance, and as the holiday season swings ’round, delicious desserts. The poinsettia and the orchid are new this year, each gifts from neighborhood friends, as was the anthurium last year.

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

Amidst the foliage I included one tiny symbolic sprig of balsam fir at the base, clipped from a lovely door swag wreath sent by former across-the-street Wave Road neighbors.

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

Materials
Flowers
Anthurium
Orchid
Poinsettia
Foliage
Balsam fir
Begonia ‘Erythrophylla’ (Beefsteak Begonia)
Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood)
Daphne odora (Winter daphne)
Lavandula x intermedia ‘Dutch’ (Dutch Lavender)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting sweet pea)
Container
Silver Gallery Tray with holiday baubles

In A Vase On Monday – Christmastide

It is a gift also to have you visit my blog. I appreciate your interest, advice and support throughout the year. Hope you are making or finding reasons to smile each day.

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.

*December Solstice (Winter Solstice) is on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 5:02 am in Chapel Hill. In terms of daylight, this day is 4 hours, 53 minutes shorter than on June Solstice.

 

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot And Plum

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In A Vase On Monday – Apricot And Plum

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement using materials collected from our gardens.

Blooming this week are more Calla lilies from a collection labelled ‘Orange Blend.’ Except for the yellow calla, the dark exotic colors are true to the package photo. The center of the leaf of the deep plum calla is the same rich color as the flower.

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot And Plum

Materials

Flowers
Echinacea ‘Big Sky Sundown’ (Hybrid Coneflower)
Orchid
Zantedeschia ‘Orange Blend’ (Calla lily)

Foliage
Zantedeschia ‘Orange Blend’ (Calla lily)

Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Rectangle Blue Zen (6.75L x 3.75W x 2H inches)

In A Vase On Monday – Apricot And Plum

Hope you all have a great week. As mentioned last Monday I am involved in a 3-week intensive 200-hour yoga teacher training program.  The first week was challenging but fun, a great exploration of yoga and a special personal journey.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us a chance to express 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.