Today is the ninth anniversary of the IAVOM meme. I don’t recall when I started creating and posting vases every Monday, but it has been several years and has become a weekly habit and a joy to share the fruits (or flowers) of my labor with fellow gardeners.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in a Zoom meeting with several members of the IAVOM community. I have been exchanging comments with these blog friends for years and finally met them, virtually.
Cathy, at http://www.ramblinginthgarden.wordpress.com is the creator and hostess of IAVOM. Follow the link to see more vases. Thanks to Cathy for arranging and hosting the Zoom meeting.
The Vase – Contents:
The red flowers are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus pendululiflorus) – a sort of ratty looking shrub I keep in the garden for its winter flowers. The grey ‘flowers’ are cuttings of Echeveria, a succulent given to me by a friend. These cuttings are destined for a winter tabletop container on my screen porch. The vase is the last vestige of a historic floral arrangement.
The upper level – this image looks suitable for a snack of vegetarian dinosaurs and may well have been one. Both plants are native to Florida and have been here for millenia. The ferns are Boston Ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata) and the flowers are Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa)
Happy Monday, Happy Gardening and Happy Anniversary, IAVOM.
The Shrub Queen 
I like your use of succulents. I would have never thought of that.
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Thank you, I love the glaucous greys and they look like roses. Not sure I spelled that right.
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It was so nice to meet you last night, Amy. I love your vase – the nodding hibiscus flowers are awesome and you’ve combined them so well with the foliage plants. Great idea to add the Echeveria. I’ve been propagating lots of succulents this year for next year’s containers. Speedy recovery, I hope you’ll be back to your old self soon.
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Thank you, Annette, the succulents really multiply while you are not looking! I was wondering, are you Swiss?
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I’m actually German but have left the country 30 years ago.
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It was great to finally ‘meet’ you yesterday Amelia! Your vase really is celebratory… the Hibiscus flowers look like bells, and stand out well against the foliage. Wishing you a rapid recovery and all the best, and look forward to our next zoom meeting too!
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Thank you, Cathy. I enjoy IAVOM every Monday and keeping up with all the gardens.
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Lovely flower arrangements!!
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Thank you.
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What a celebration of blogging friendship, it was Amelia, and we are all behind you of course, wishing you a speedy recovery. You often imply the Boston fern is common, but it certainly comes in useful for your vases, and this vase is almost Christmassy in its colours, with the Nodding Hibiscus earning its place in your garden yoo
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Thank you, Cathy. Many people consider the Boston Fern a weed, but I agree with you – it is useful and I enjoy cutting it. My grandmother always kept huge Boston Ferns on her screened porch.
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They are certainly handsome plants
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Well, cut and in a vase they are…a bit unkempt in the garden.
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And in your grandmother’s pots?
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They always looked great. Age is sometimes the best thing in a garden, I think her ferns were old.
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Do you know what that Echeveria is? It lives here also. I sort of guessed at a name, but of course, it is only a guess, and I can not remember it now anyway.
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I don’t, probably an old variety, it came from a friend who got it from her mother.
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Well, many succulents are like that. They get around so much that their names can not keep up with them.
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Nicely done! Those red ‘drops’ are eye-catching.
That IAVOM Zoom call must have been fun, to see and hear bloggers in person after sharing weekly over the years.
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Thanks, Eliza..it was an interesting call.
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It was lovely to meet you on Sunday, and viewing your vase today a little later, it really is a lovely celebratory arrangement. The way you have used hibiscus and the succulent in the middle is delightfully original.
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Thank you, Noelle. Lovely to meet you as well.
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I came over to look at your Six on Saturday and caught your wonderful vase instead! I am so sad not to have been a faithful IOVMer, so I missed the celebrations! Must go over to Cathy’s blog and look. What a lovely way to celebrate you all had!
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Thanks, it’s amazing how many Cathys there are in IAVOM.
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Love the inclusion of the red malvaviscus, Amelia. Nice a bright for a 9th birthday! Sorry to miss you over zoom, the time difference made it a bit difficult for me! – 3am 🙂 Sounds like it was a fun catch up.
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Thank you. A 3am zoom meeting would be a bit much.
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You’ve certainly elevated Nodding Hibiscus from “ratty shrub” in this lovely arrangement! Enjoyed meeting you Amelia. All the best.
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LOL, I aspire to elevating ratty.
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The Nodding Hibiscus seems very appropriate for this celebration.
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