In a Vase on Monday: Mr. Fokker Anemone & Primrose in January

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Mominthegarden

Mr. Fokker Anemone & primroses

It is cold, wet and windy outside! So goes our January. The wind would knock your socks off! Nevertheless, the sun has made several appearances so really I shall not complain.

Waterford crystal candle holder with anemone and primrose

I took a little break from my blog over the Christmas holiday. I wasn’t really taking a break from blogging but rather making more time for the family. I like blogging and was looking forward to getting back to it! So when the sun was shinning bright on Saturday I decided to run outside and see what I could find for the meme In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the garden (http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com). It was COLD outside!

Mr Fokker Anemone in the garden

I have loads of Mr Fokker Anemone in the garden. Unfortunately, where they are in the garden doesn’t see the sun until the very end of the day (if at all). So they are closed up most of the time. It was lovely to watch them open after being placed in warm water in the candle holder (their vase).

The flowers opened up in the warm water

The colours are lovely. I kind of squished the primrose into the vase. That bright pink is fabulous in the yard. I have to say they look rather lonely though, as everything around them is pretty much in sleep/winter mode.

The candle holder usually sits in a room which we rarely use. So the only job it has is to collect dust. I’m glad to put it to better use.

floating flowers

It is always fun to try and be a little creative with what is in the garden and what vase to use. I hope you’ve enjoyed my In a Vase on Monday post!

bright pink

I have to say that it is nice to have flowers in the garden in January.

primrose in the garden

I hope you have a good week and that you are nice and warm, wherever you may be!

Peace,
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: A shining Star with roses

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Mominthegarden

A special star made for me by a friend

I know what you are thinking: Roses again?!?! I do apologise, but as always I left myself no time and I knew exactly what I wanted from them so it just had to be! I haven’t cut all of them but the weather is supposed to turn really cold this week so I’m guessing it will be the end for them.

getting ready for Christmas ever so slowly

I’m afraid that when I checked the pictures on my camera they all looked “in focus” but as it turns out they weren’t all in focus! But I had one shot to get it all done so we’ll just have to imagine that this is in focus 😉

having fun with decorations

I like the Christmas balls in the vase! So simple and fun.

an Angel candle from Celticheritage.ie in Kinsale which I purchased at a Craft Fair this weekend

I went to the National Craft & Design Fair in Dublin with a friend this weekend. It was fantastic! It was so wonderful to see all of the beautiful crafts. I did my best to support as many of our National Craftspeople as possible! Merry Christmas to me!

flowers in a vase

My favourite purchase is definitely this angel. I think she is just lovely (and not Christmas-y). I especially enjoyed meeting the artist who painted her. It is fun to get to chat with the crafters and see their wonderful work!

but the flowers need water so here they are on my counter

After taking pictures of the flowers in the round vase with the ornaments (and no water) I threw them in a small square vase with water. Not much work required there. They should be happy enough this week.

In a Vase on Monday with a Star

The star was given to me last year by my friend Susan who had made it for me. I thought the pink was rather unusual for the lights, but I absolutely love it! She cut the branches, which came from her yard, hot glued them in the star shape, spray painted it and added the lights. How cool is that?

Nativity creche

This small nativity scene was given to me by another very special friend of mine who belongs to the church we went to in Manlius, NY. I love having those connections.

A little ‘light’ on the flower side of things this week. (haha! did you see that? light as in star light? O.K. maybe not…) As we head into the winter I think it is going to be quite a challenge! Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the garden for this wonderful meme (challenge)! You can visit her blog and see other links to lovely arrangements, too! http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

I hope you have a shining star of a week!
Dana

In a Vase on Monday: Roses by Candlelight

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Climbing roses, and a couple of stray roses from the “rose garden”

I am simply in the spirit! I thought for sure I would have to skip my “In a Vase on Monday” post as I hadn’t prepared anything this weekend. To top it off, when I arrived home tonight it was pouring rain and pitch dark! But I had an idea in my head so I really wanted to follow through with it.

What a difference using the flash makes on colouring. I have to say I really prefer these pictures with no flash.

Roses up close

The roses are in an oasis in a red glass dessert bowl. My mother gave me a set of large and small glasses and dessert bowls all in a beautiful deep red, perhaps more of a burgundy colour. Why the glasses match the dessert bowls is a bit of a mystery, but they do look pretty together!

Christmas tree candle in the background

You can still see some raindrops on the flowers! It was *really* raining when I cut them!

a little candle light to make things pretty

I was definitely in the mindset of Christmas with my white tree candle and red bowls. I had to transform these pretty pinks into holiday spirit!

Nearing the end of the roses…

The climbing roses are amazing and still have quite a few clusters of buds. I tried to cut the ones that were nearing the end, as it is so nice to see them outside when most everything else is “finished”.

Softer look without the flash

Oh my goodness I am so glad I went outside and got drenched! The arrangement is only 7 inches tall and about 7 inches wide and just adorable (so says the very humble arranger, ahem.).

too many pictures?

You can join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for this very fun meme “In a Vase on Monday” (http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/in-a-vase-on-monday-wintersweet/ ) as a challenge to find plant material in your garden at all months of the year!

I hope you are also ‘in the spirit’!

In peace,
Dana

Roses by Candlelight

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 Vase on Monday: Happy Birthday to me with Orange & Purple Fall fun-ness

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Mominthegarden

Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi) with purple (painted) eucalyptus

Well how about that, it is my birthday today! As a little treat to myself I picked up a few things that I don’t currently grow in my garden (but I do hope to one day!). I put them together for some fall colour in the house. I thought I’d add it to my “In a Vase on Monday” collection, so here we go!

A little snippet of a view…

This past week while running errands I passed a florist shop that just looked so inviting. It really doesn’t take much for me to want to go into a florist shop, I even love the smell of them! The purple painted eucalyptus really caught my eye. The pictures don’t give it justice, it is beautiful!

Hydrangea from my father-in-law’s garden along with gypsophila paniculata (baby’s breath)

So, I was standing in the shop with some of the lovely eucalyptus wondering what I was going to do with it! I thought of a picture I posted the other day of my California poppies with cornflower and that sealed the colour combination I wanted; Purple and Orange!

full view

I came home and had fun putting it together. I love doing that; fitting everything in its perfect place. Unfortunately, it was really windy when I made it, so I couldn’t take it outside for pictures. It is sitting in my front hall with so much natural light I thought for sure I could get a good picture…

I changed position to try and get more light from the window

not exactly… But you more or less get the gist of the arrangement and colours 🙂 The hydrangea are from my father-in-law’s garden. He gave them to me about a month ago and this time they dried really well. I liked how the lighter shade looked here.

I love those windows, but they stink for taking pictures!

I was told by another blogger that the Chinese Lantern plant will run wild in the garden, so my intention is to grow it in a pot. That is on my “eventually will get to” list. I planted some of the gypsophila paniculata (O.K., I just call this baby’s breath because it is MUCH faster to say!) this spring. One tiny little sprig came up, but with no flowers. I’m hoping next year will be better.

Our Stickley corner piece. A perfect display place.

The large window looks out to part of our front yard. There is beautiful brightness in the afternoon. I love the arrangement sitting right there. And now the front hall smells like lovely eucalyptus!

I’m looking forward to seeing what Cathy at Rambling in the Garden has put together for her meme “In a Vase on Monday”. You can visit her at: http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com and see other lovely arrangements too.

Have a good week!
Dana

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Category Archives: In a Vase on Monday

In a Vase on Monday: Mr. Fokker Anemone & Primrose in January

In a Vase on Monday: A shining Star with roses

In a Vase on Monday: Roses by Candlelight

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 Vase on Monday: Happy Birthday to me with Orange & Purple Fall fun-ness