Putto sounds a bit like an Italian curse for a Valentine’s vase. I decided I needed a putto for a proper holiday vase, found one after searching around the house and read up on them. Here is the scoop, naked winged male babies in art are Cupid if they have arrows, cherubs if they have religious connotations and they are all putto in the singular and putti is plural.
So, I have figured out that the putto is presiding over the Valentine’s vase. He looks a bit contemplative. The vase is another old florist’s vase (I think they are multiplying) I wrapped this one with a Blanchetiana bromeliad leaf for another touch of color.
The rest of the players:
Surrounding the putto are the foliage and flowers of Genovese Basil, my favorite. I have this year round and eat a few leaves almost every day. It needed to be cut back, so the timing was ideal and the scent is wonderful. Red and yellow flowers are ‘Lady Di’ Heliconias (Heliconia pssitacorum); red bell shaped flowers are Firecracker Plants (Russelia equisetiformis).
The back of the vase has, in white, Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata); Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) in green; the burgundy foliage is Aechmea ‘Burgundy’ Bromeliad, and the gray green leaf is a cut down palm frond from a seedling Sabal Palm.
Everyone around here celebrated a few days of dry, warm weather and I spent some time tidying and planting a few things in the garden. Ahh.
That is all from South Florida. To see more vases from gardeners around the world, visit Cathy’s blog http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com
The Shrub Queen 
Beautiful. Thanks for the clarification of putti, etc., and enjoy the dry weather.
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Thanks. Susie. We are ready for trivia night now.
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What a wonderful vase with so many tropical and unusual additions. Love the putto. What made the vase even more delightful was the addition of the bromeliad leaf around it. Love that touch!
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Thank you, I love the occ
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Thank you, I love a wrap every now and then.
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What a great vase and I like the way your putti is contemplating the view from the vase. The strong colours are also beautifully balanced with the green leaves and white blooms.
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Thank you, Noelle. He is a pensive putto.
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Learned a new word today, thank you. The putto touch is perfect for the holiday!
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i have heard the term putti, but never the singular. Happy Valentine’s Day.
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Useful knowledge about the putti – thank you! 😁 Your style is so distinctive and it is clear that you have put considerable time into creating the vase, reminding me how often mine are invariably plonked and rarely ‘arranged’ 😉 Thanks for sharing
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Thank you, Cathy. I have never ended up with an arrangement I thought I was making.
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I also learned something new today. I never heard of the term putto. I like the use of the leaf wrapping the vase. I was cleaning out and found lots of florist vases. We called a local florist and asked if they would take them and they did. A nice way to recycle.
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Thanks for the recycling idea. I put a couple in the bin last week – but there are more!
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Is that Sabal palmetto or Sabal minor, . . . or Sabal etonia? Is Sabal minor even native to Southern Florida?
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S. palmetto. I am a little too far south for S. minor, we have Saw Palmetto here (Serenoa repens)
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“Putto” is the second addition to my vocabulary from an IAVOM post today! Well done for a Valentine’s Day arrangement, Amelia. I need bromeliad leaves like that to wrap my vases – there’s a rubber band showing through one of my vases this week I wish I’d covered up.
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Thanks, Kris. I am pretty sure there are A.blanchetiana in LA. They are sharp, use with caution.
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I always learn so much from your blog and love to share it with my friends and family.
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Thanks for the new to me word – ‘putto’ Amelia. I should be slightly ashamed that I didn’t know it as my mother was Italian. Sadly we weren’t bought up to be bilingual. I love your putto’s Valentine’s collar and look forward to a drier sunnier summer here more suitable for growing basil than last year was.
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Thank you, Anna. Oh well, I hope your mother taught you some Italian dishes if you are a basil fan.
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Go Queen! Learned two new words from your planet.
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Good to hear you have had gardening weather at last Amelia. Lovely arrangement with your putto enjoying his/her spot among the greenery! I really like the bromeliad leaf wrapped around the vase. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Thanks. Cathy.
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Wow, I love the leaf wrapped round, so BOLD! Yay for gardening weather.
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Thanks, madly cleaning up the garden and house is a wreck!
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Your arrangements are becoming more and more stylish. The leaf collar is very cute. Will be you be taken out to a restaurant to celebrate?
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Thank you, Annette. The restaurant crowds are daunting on Valentine’s. We are contemplating dinner!
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