As usual, I started out with one idea and ended with an entirely different vase. I was walking my dogs this morning and noticed this particularly lovely Hibiscus flower.
A Hibiscus flower in South Florida is not particularly notable, but this shrub is really amazing. An old variety planted in the 60s by my neighbor’s grandmother, this shrub lives on the edge of my front yard – unirrigated, unfertilized, and thriving in near total shade (everything one is not supposed to do to a Hibiscus) This heirloom delight blooms off and on all year to the point I hardly notice it.
I plucked the flower and put it in a brown pottery vase, this just didn’t look right. The festive red tropical flower needed some party vibes. I decided one of my mother’s crystal Martini glasses would be the proper setting – an heirloom for an heirloom, and loved the result:
I added a bit of Sweet Begonia foliage and that was it. I was confused for a long time about the Martini glasses, I think they were a wedding gift to my parents when they married in the 1950’s. My grandmother was a teetotaling Southern Baptist and my mother always referred to these as ‘fruit compotes’; imagine my surprise when I learned of Martinis and their proper stemware. I suspect some Gin and Vermouth has been in these glasses at some point because I can remember the cocktail parties.
The ephemeral nature of this is these flowers are known to only last one day. I will have to wait until nightfall to see what transpires.
The Shrub Queen 
Many would give anything here in the north to have these flowers…I am happy to grow our hardy version….a wonderful bloom for one day. Love the use of the martini glass…I will have to remember this for a vase.
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I have mixed feelings about Hibiscus having been among them for a few years. Many are so overbred they are intolerant of life and the shrubs are really unattractive. Thanks
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So clean and simple—kinda like those martinis. I remember as a kid, 1950s, peeking down the stairs at my parents’ cocktail parties….don’t recall lampshades on the heads tho
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Thanks, George – I have the same memories, my treat was Ginger Ale. I think my mother added Bourbon to hers.
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You caught this bloom perfectly and I can just imagine an elegant lady in a red cocktail frock with a cigarette in long holders..where does that picture come from I wonder..some film? Your arrangement is just like a film star on the red carpet. Beautiful
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Thank you, I think the image involves Sean Connery and ‘shaken, not stirred’
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Are you going to stay up and wait for the point at which your hibiscus is no more….? 😉 What an amazing bloom to thrive on this apparent neglect and what a brilliant fruit compote dish you have displayed it in…. Excellent choice all round – thanks for sharing
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I am pretty sure they slowly close as the light fades and the next morning they appeared rolled up like a cigar. Thank you.
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Simple, elegant and festive all at once! I didn’t realize that hibiscus flowers had such short bloom lives.
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Thank you, an exceptional Hibiscus, half closed by evening and fully closed by the next morning.
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The glass makes an elegant container for this deserving hibiscus. Filling a vase each Monday helps me appreciate more those flowers and shrubs that I might otherwise become inured to.
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The glitter of the tiles, granite, and glass make an elegant sophisticated surrounding for the fabulous Hibiscus, I wish I could grow these as well but do like the hardy Rose of Sharons I can grow. The Hibiscus has such an interesting and beautiful shape, with the flouncy petals and stamens and pistils all arranged so elegantly in one structure.
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Wow! Fantastic! It’s a gorgeous bloom and I really love the Martini theme. Hope the flower lasts a while – a Martini wouldn’t last a day in this house. 😉
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Thanks, the flower lasted til about 9pm and was totally rolled up the next morning. A Martini would have lasted longer here!
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That’s a gorgeous and really big flower. Looks beautiful in the ‘vase’.
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It was indeed a beautiful flower and lasted about 6 hours.
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Less than a day lily, then.
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Not sure, it was half closed – fully shriveled by the following morning.
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