In a Vase on Monday: Pink, Purple, Red & Coral … in November!

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Pink Hesperanthus (schizostylis)

Hello there! I am so looking forward to this week’s ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme! My weekend included one whole entire day that had no scheduled activities. woohoo! That meant garden time for me. To top off that great schedule, the weather was incredible on Saturday; very mild and beautifully sunny!

Geranium

I worked until I was physically exhausted and could do no more. There is always so much to do in a garden! I would not call it work though because I enjoy all of it. But it certainly does take time and effort. Lots of effort.

Knautia macedonica “Red Knight”

After my hard working day, I was so happy to take some time and gather flowers. At that stage though, I had to move quickly to catch the setting sun in my pictures. My collection includes Hesperantha, Erysimum Bowles’ Mauve, Geranium, and Knautia Macedonica ‘Red Knight’.

Erysimum Bowles’ mauve

I grouped the erysimum bowles’ Mauve all together. The individual flowers were rather wimpy looking on their own. The group of them look almost substantial!

Geranium

The geranium are two lovely shades. We were scheduled to have a very hard frost on Saturday night (which we did have), so there days are seriously numbered. They are from last year, though, so they have had a great long life.

Evening sunlight

I just love the evening sunlight…

In a Vase on Monday…

This cute little arrangement fits nicely on our kitchen table. I don’t have any pictures of that to show you, ’cause my kitchen is a bit of a disaster at the moment 😉

November in the garden…

The vase I bought at a charity shop in Switzerland 18 years ago. It is a very simple piece of pottery. I last used it to hold an arrangement of barley, with the raffia tied in front. It was for a special friend who really appreciated it. But when she was done with it, she gave me back the little vase. So now I have it with memories of my friend too.

A different view

Remember, you can see other “In a Vase on Monday” posts at: Cathy’s blog http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com .

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a good week!
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: Some real pinkness with roses & autumn joy

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Mominthegarden

My favourite colour

It is Monday! Mondays mean it is time to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her In a Vase on Monday meme. For me this is a much anticipated weekly event in my social calendar (I don’t get out much)! It is great to see the other arrangements and touch base with the other bloggers. You too can join us here: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/in-a-vase-on-monday-a-vase-for-thomas-hood/

climbing roses up close

As for my arrangement this week, all I had to do was cut a couple of branches from my climbing roses. There were so many blooms! (and even more still outside!)

Sedum, what is not to like?

I know some people aren’t fans of Autumn Joy sedum, but I am not one of them. I love it. It turns a dark auburn colour as it “matures” through the fall season. It holds its shape really well when it dries, but the colour turns quite dark (basically black). I would love to try and spray paint some and see what that would be like … I just need more hours in my day!

on the hutch facing forward

The vase itself I have used many a time before as it is part of my pottery collection from when we first got married. I like the pattern on the front of the vase.

on the hutch facing backwards

I hadn’t realized I’d taken a picture of the back of the vase until after I uploaded the pictures. The blue is really rather boring! The tall grass-like auburn-y coloured plant material was in the garden when we moved here. I don’t know what it is called. I don’t actually like the plant as I think it looks rather sloppy in the garden, despite my cutting off the dead leaves every winter. But I did like how it added something to the arrangement. Now I am being critical and I think it might look funny in these pictures! You’ll have to trust me that it looks better in person. 🙂

Some joyful pinkness

And that is my In a Vase on Monday arrangement! My next goal will be to remember to have props and themes for my Monday meme (wish me luck on that one)! I’m sure I’ll have no problem with that once I figure out how to add more hours to my day 🙂

Happy Monday!
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: A Simple fall Posy

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Mominthegarden

A collection of potted plants

Well hello there! Have you come to see what I’ve gathered from the garden this week to create a vase for the meme “In a Vase on Monday”? I do hope so! It has been a lot of fun finding different vases, flowers and ideas for this meme. Cathy at Rambling in the Garden is the lovely host, and you can visit her blog here: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com . While you are there, you can check out the links to other vases too.

Geraniums, marigolds and calendula flowers bathing in afternoon sunlight

The weather had been quite mild for September and October. But recently we had our first hard frost, and the forecast is for more cold weather. So I thought I should feature my potted plants (quick, before they are destroyed!).

Pewter Vase & awesome afternoon sunlight

The vase is pewter and was given to me by a very special friend (thank you Jean!). I thought it was perfect for my little posy.

Simply lovely

The afternoon sunlight coming in the house was absolutely lovely. I have been going at warp speed of late, so it was incredibly wonderful to take some time to pick, cut, and photograph the flowers in that sunlight. It really is amazing the difference lighting can make.

Later that night…

See? That picture doesn’t have the same “sparkle” as the ones with sunlight.

A nice arrangement all the same

Still, I’ll take the arrangement as it adds some life to our kitchen.

Fall Posy

And that is me and my “In a Vase on Monday” all finished! A quick one today. But I do hope you enjoyed it!

Until next week 🙂
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: A Summer look (Still)

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Didn’t expect this summer look at the very end of October!

It is Monday! Just barely so, but you are getting used to me by now, aren’t you? I know some people would have had their “In a Vase on Monday” meme done and dusted by now, but sometimes I just need a little bit more time. Good things come to those who wait, right? 🙂

dahlias, roses, wild yarrow, lavender, campanula & hesperantha (schizostylis)

I had been making my arrangements on the weekends (the only way I could possibly get them posted on the blog at a decent hour on a Monday!). But alas, this week it was left until today. Today was an unsettled weather day, looking rather dull with a very light mist of a rain most of the day. That is, until I went outside to cut some flowers. Then down came the rain! Ha! That’ll teach me to not put things off! Maybe.

Some pink Schizostylis/Hesperantha that is the same colour as the roses

I have to say that I didn’t really have anything in mind when I went outside to cut flowers. I went outside just to see what was on offer. The roses I was originally going to use were blown away completely just this weekend. These roses seem to be a little bit more hardy. The stems had six or more blooms all clustered together. They are fabulous at our front gate. Coming from New York, it took a while for me to adjust to the “fall colours” here. At home you would see so much burgundy, yellow, orange, and red in gardens. But certainly not pink! Here you can still see so many summer colours even at the end of October. The only “fall” look comes from foliage, really.

I had to clear our hutch

No sun in sight for my picture taking. Plus, I left it a bit late. So I had to clear our kitchen hutch. I love it when it is all cleared, but it is so hard to keep it that way! I’m sure my husband won’t recognise it…

The flowers that didn’t make the cut…

The Salsa Red Echinacea and red Schizostylis (Hesperantha) didn’t seem to fit in with the other colours. They look quite nice on their own, though.

A pink, purple, white, and yellow look

Up close

I still find it surprising when I can manage to make an arrangement just from items from my garden. That.Is.Neat.

Stickley kitchen hutch as a backdrop for my flowers 🙂

Do you see the hydrangea sitting on top of the hutch? I should have taken a better picture of it, as it is a very pretty blue and burgundy mix. I see a wreath creation in its future. But more immediate, I think my next project will be to make a festive tea cosy to replace the roses cosy. Since the cosy is on display where it lives on my hutch, I think it might be nice to change things up a bit.

I just need a few more hours in each day!

I’m joining Rambling in the Garden for Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday meme if you’d like to stop by and see some other vases! You can click here: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/in-a-vase-on-monday-collection-of-compositae/

Happy Monday!
Dana

In a Vase on Monday (night): Allium

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Allium, rye, hydrangea, globe artichokes

It is still Monday! Talk about leaving things till the eleventh hour. My blog post yesterday took me ages to put together, which left me no time for my ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme! But now I have a moment to breathe and I can share with you an arrangement I put together this summer. I’m using it today because I really think it is quite a fall looking arrangement.

A rather dry arrangement with the barley fields in the background.

I think the barley in the field had just been harvested when I took these pictures. The hydrangea blooms from my father-in-law were freshly cut, but I didn’t put them in water. I used them in my birthday flower arrangement, too. (I’m sure you were already thinking that, weren’t you?)

Hydrangea & globe artichokes

The pottery vase is a real keeper. I bought that from my gardening club when I lived in Syracuse, NY. It has a great height, and the blue and green are lovely colours to work with. I hadn’t realised until just now that I didn’t get a very good picture of the vase.

that’s not allium

I think I was more interested in my props than my allium when I was taking these pictures. The globe artichokes are still holding on to their colour.

Holding everything in place

Sometimes I pretend that I’m just so clever. Look how I held everything in place? Pieces of dried allium stems held together with elastic bands to form a triangle. Totally high tech. 🙂

Sitting up high in my kitchen

The above picture looks fuzzy! I hate that. But I just wanted to show you where my arrangement lives; in my kitchen above my microwave. It is a great space to fill! Some of the allium are still purple while some are definitely yellowed. There aren’t so many hydrangeas since I stole them for my birthday arrangement. That lives in my front hall.

I’ll end with one of my favourite pictures of allium that I took (probably around the time of these pictures).

If you’d like to see some other arrangements from the meme In a Vase on Monday, stop by Cathy’s Rambling in the garden’s blog: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/in-a-vase-on-monday-the-joys-of-autumn/

Happy Monday!
Dana

Dried Allium

In a Vase on Monday: Roses & Ivy with a helping of Blackberries

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Mominthegarden

In a Vase on Monday; Roses & Ivy & other lovely stuff

Honestly, I never would have thought I could produce so many varied arrangements from materials gathered in my own garden! I am so glad to have been challenged to look at everything in the garden as potential “In a Vase on Monday” material.

A single pink Hydrangea flower is just barely visible in the centre

I do have to say that I make my arrangements on the weekend. My life is way too crazy to do it on a Monday (do you know that feeling???). I’ve been lucky so far, always having some form of sun to photograph with. Can I just say that I love the sun? I’ve lived in some cities where the sun didn’t always come out as often as I would like. Let’s just say that those cities aren’t known as sunny locations: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Dublin, Zurich, even Poughkeepsie where I’m originally from. All are great places to live and probably the reasons why I so appreciate seeing the sun when I do!

Ivy. Isn’t it lovely?

I digress. Back to flowers. I had it in my head that I wanted to use my ivy. This is the same ivy that I have spent countless hours removing from my hawthorne trees and ditch wall! It is completely invasive! I do remember that when I lived in Zurich I noted the greens used by florists were so lovely. It was indeed this very same type of ivy that was used to make the most amazing arrangements. So I might just keep a little bit of it. I’m sure the ivy itself will have more say about it staying than my actually doing something about it. 🙂

Ivy, roses, snapdragon, schizostylis (or rather: Hesperantha), Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)

What to add to the greens? The snapdragons have had a good run. Those in the arrangement are a lovely fuchsia colour, although they are very near the end of their lives. I’m still a little shy of cutting fully beautiful flowers when they can be enjoyed outside. I feel less guilty if they are nearly done anyway.

Snapdragon in the late afternoon sunlight

an awkward view of the roses

The roses are my climbing roses. I don’t have the variety, since I was sent the wrong type when I originally ordererd them. It was a dead giveaway since these guys have thorns and I ordered thornless… Nevertheless, their blooms are lovely from June through until late fall.

Schizostylis (new name Hesperantha) members of the Iris family

O.K., so I posted a picture of these guys, see pink flowers above and below, on my Facebook page (have you clicked on my Facebook “LIKE” button yet? 🙂 ) and someone commented that this plant has just had their name changed. What? Really? Seems there was some confusion about Hesperantha having corms versus Schizostylis having a short rhizome. Honestly, I read the article and I still think mine are Schizostylis. I might just use both names to cover all of the bases.

Schizostylis (new name Hesperantha)

It is a banner year for wild blackberries in our yard! They are everywhere. Those brambles live in the same area as the ivy, and I have also spent countless hours trying to get rid of them! They are unruly, have terrible thorns, and are invasive. Ah well, but while they are still here we at least get to enjoy their fruit. I do like having some fruit in the arrangement. Just something different.

blackberries galore..

What I really liked about this arrangement was all the different items, just a few of each, that worked together. Well, they do in my eyes! It is a rather messy, maybe I’ll say free flowing (?), arrangement.

a little messy looking

I’m sure I mentioned in an earlier post that my father-in-law grew my snapdragon from seed for me. This one variety, which has a really nice multi-tone colour, has variegated leaves. It didn’t make the main vase, but is sitting nicely in its own Irish pottery vase.

snapdragon with variegated leaves

Snapdragon

One last view

Thank you, Cathy, of Rambling in the Garden, for hosting “In a Vase on Monday”! You can visit her vase, and many links to others by visiting her page here: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/in-a-vase-on-monday-stars-from-another-galaxy/ (that one isn’t working, so please try here: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com)

Have you thought about making a vase yet? 🙂
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: A playful gathering of flowers

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Mominthegarden

At least once a week I now look forward to collecting flowers from the garden and bringing them inside for us to enjoy in our kitchen. I rarely did this before, because really I love seeing them outside. But being a part of the Rambling in the Garden’s meme “In a Vase on Monday” has brought about my new weekly activity (read: obsession)!

Japanese Anemone

My ten year old daughter helped me this time. It would have been quite a collection of colours if I’d picked all the flowers she wanted! But she was happy enough, instead, to hold the flowers, in a hand held bouquet as we walked through the yard and cut the flowers which I picked out (with her approval, of course).

Potentilla (yellow flower)

I wish I could say that I had it all planned out in my head beforehand. That was not the case, though. It all started with a large sedum flower with a broken stem. It would be such a shame to leave that in the garden to die. So pink became the main colour.

Potentilla with Japanese Anemone (some without their petals)

My potentilla plant has the sweetest yellow flowers. I had to have that colour in the arrangement! I also loved the strange shapes of the Japanese Anemone. They are so interesting looking before they even bloom as well as well after they bloom!

Mallow in front with some lady’s mantle to the right (underneath the Sedum)

My mallow plant grew quite tall this summer and was blown over and badly broken. I thought that was the end of it, at least for this season. But we cut it down to a lower level and sure enough, it is full of all new flowers! I have not been able to really capture the beautiful colour that it is. The light, bright green of the lady’s mantle is one of my favourite colours! It is popping up in all sorts of places around the yard! So I was happy to find some that was still young enough to use.

“wild white plant” in the garden

These lovely white flowers are in my “wild flower garden”. I don’t know their name, but I’d really like to find out because they are so pretty.

Everything arranged and sitting pretty

It all came together fairly quickly and easily. You don’t usually have too much time when a child is involved, anyway! The original vase I was using just wasn’t working for me. I had too many flowers for it. So out came this rather large, glass ice container (or white wine cooler/champagne cooler). I have the marbles on the bottom, as a lot of my stems were too short.

In a Vase on Monday: A Playful gathering of flowers

I really like starting my week like this! I hope you do, too. Stop on over to Rambling in the Garden if you’d like to see some other lovely “In a Vase on Monday” posts! http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Have a good week!
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: A splash of orange to brighten your day!

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Mominthegarden

California poppies (and hidden cornflowers)

Oh wow do I love those colors! I’m usually quite a pink kinda girl, but these California poppies are the most friendly and happy shade of orange ever!

cornflowers just peeking through

I have one flower bed that is a bit of a wild garden (that might be an understatement).

on the wild side…

This wouldn’t be something that I would typically like. I try to keep things neat and tidy, pretending that I have some control. But the wild flower seeds were planted last year when I wasn’t sure what to plant and thought I’d just try it for a season. Ha! Wild flowers re-seed themselves 🙂

California poppies and cornflowers in the wild garden (poppies closed up in the evening)

So up everything came again this year. I’m really not sure what is going to happen to this garden next year, as I’ve planted some things that might not go so well with the wild ones…

A yellow Potentilla with the poppies and cornflowers in the background

I’ve enjoyed the two colors of orange and blue together all summer. Don’t they look pretty behind my potentilla?

A simple combination

So together they went into the vase.

Love.

Oh, and the vase? Did you maybe guess? It is from my mother. She just finds the quirkiest things sometimes. This is the first time I’ve used it. Perfect fit.

In a Vase on Monday

In the evening the poppies close up (even when cut)

In the evening the poppies close up (even after being cut)

I thought it was interesting to learn that the poppy flowers would close up at night even after they were cut. They sure give a different look to the arrangement!

Enjoying the flowers inside

I am so enjoying putting together a vase of flowers for Cathy’s meme “In a Vase on Monday”. You can enjoy other lovely arrangements through Cathy’s blog: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/ If you are a blogger and would like to join in on the fun, just mention Cathy’s blog in your post and you can then put a link to your blog on her page. It is a fun way to meet other bloggers, too.

cornflower up close

Have a good week!

Dana

In a Vase on Monday: Lavender in September for a scented treat

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Snapdragon, Lavender, Erysimum bowles, Autumn Joy

Snapdragon, Lavender, Erysimum bowles (mauve), Autumn Joy

Lavender?! In September? I have a lot of lavender, and because I love it, I added more new plants last year. Those new guys were the first that I harvested in July. I like to make lavender sachets, wands, bouquets. There are quite a few things you can do with lavender! It seems that the plants had lots of immature stems, which have continued to grow throughout the summer and were just ripe for the cutting for my arrangement!

Lavender in September!

Purples, white, and a bit of pink

It was such a treat working with the lavender. I. Love. Lavender. 🙂

Autumn Joy sedum

I have one Autumn Joy plant at my front gates, which I wouldn’t normally like cutting from. But this one stem was broken and on the ground. I couldn’t just leave it there!

Autum Joy sedum, tortoise butterfly and bees

Autum Joy sedum, tortoise butterflies and bees

In a Vase on Monday: White & Purples & a wee bit of pink

The snapdragons were planted from seed for me by my father-in-law. He can grow anything from seed or cutting, unlike me! I have some mixed colors and just picked out the white ones.

Snapdragon

Pottery Vase from when we were first married

In a Vase on Monday…

What fun it is to gather flowers from the garden! Thank you Cathy from Rambling in the Garden! You can see other arrangements linked to Cathy’s page at: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/

Have a good week!

Dana

In a Vase on Monday: The color Red! (Echinacea Salsa Red to be exact)

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Mominthegarden

In a Vase on Monday: The color Red

Unbelievably, it is Monday again! Where does the time go? Ever notice that as we get older time seems to fly even faster??? My kids are now back at school and we are settling in to our old, and some new, routines. The “feel” of summer is leaving us. One thing that is not quite ready to leave, at least in my yard, are the flowers. I won’t say they are going strong, but they are hanging in there! This is rather helpful as I join http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/ for the meme In a Vase on Monday. I joined for the first time last week and I really like it! This is where bloggers from all around the world join in to create arrangements in vases and we all link together. What a beautiful way to to start our week!

Echinacea Salsa Red, Cynara Cardunculus (Globe Artichoke), and Zantedeschi albomaculata (white spotted Calla lily)

My father-in-law, who is an incredible gardener, recently (as in a week ago!) gave me a new, quite beautiful, plant for my garden. It is a white spotted Calla lily (Zantedeschia albomaculata). I’m not exactly sure if this is cheating, but I used those gorgeous flowers in this arrangement. I can’t wait for the plant to get all settled into its new bed and produce loads of flowers for me next year!

White Calla Lily up close…

As always, the sun was in and out while I was taking pictures. The other factor that I have to (always) contend with is the wind; it is a given where we live! So I might design something lovely and symmetrical inside the house and then by the time I get it outside and set up to photograph, it is completely topsy-turvy! That is my story and I am sticking to it 🙂

Salsa Red Echinacea

My echinacea plant (Salsa Red) is one of my favorite purchases from last year. It is really only now coming in to full bloom and boy is it showing off that bright red color!

Globe artichoke (Cynara Cardunculus)

I think the most photographed flower (vegetable?) in the garden is my globe artichoke (Cynara Cardunculus). I love the purple color and the different texture of the bloom. It is rather different which I think is what I really like about it.

The bee wanted a part of the action

Red, purple, white, and green; the colors just felt right to me. The vase is from my mom, which always makes it special. I’ve used it before, but I have to say that I think this arrangement was simply made for this vase.

same arrangement while the sun is behind a cloud…

I get rather annoyed when the sun goes behind a cloud. But as mentioned before, with all of that wind, the clouds usually move along.

Fun colors in a fun vase

Isn’t the difference in lighting amazing?

In a Vase on Monday…

I hope you’ve enjoyed my arrangement. You’ll find some wonderful arrangements linked to Rambling in the Garden, and of course Rambling in the Garden’s vase arrangement, too! So feel free to pop on over and check them out. (here’s the link again: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/ )

Happy Monday! Happy September 1st! Happy back to School & Work!

Dana

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Category Archives: Flower arranging

In a Vase on Monday: Pink, Purple, Red & Coral … in November!

In a Vase on Monday: Some real pinkness with roses & autumn joy

In a Vase on Monday: A Simple fall Posy

In a Vase on Monday: A Summer look (Still)

In a Vase on Monday (night): Allium

In a Vase on Monday: Roses & Ivy with a helping of Blackberries

In a Vase on Monday: A playful gathering of flowers

In a Vase on Monday: A splash of orange to brighten your day!

In a Vase on Monday: Lavender in September for a scented treat

In a Vase on Monday: The color Red! (Echinacea Salsa Red to be exact)