More than 30 years ago….my parents went to Mexico. I know this because when they returned, I received this bird, a Paloma, with strict instructions from my mother. It was a dove “a symbol of love and fidelity in Mexican culture”. I had recently married when I received this gift and after the Mexico trip my parents went through a Paloma phase. I had not realized it was also a cocktail!! It is difficult to picture my father drinking tequila with grapefruit soda..but maybe it happened?! There was some parental giggling about tequila. Hmm.
My parents have been gone for over 15 years. This little bird always brings a smile to my face. It resides in my kitchen with the cookbooks, so I see it often. The flowers reflect the colors in the Paloma.
The orange flowers on top are ‘Dwarf Maui Red’ Ixora, a shrub. The orange tubes are Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens) Blue and white spikes are Salvia, White Flame and Mystic Blue. The blue flowers are Plumbago auriculata. The little white vase had a tiny orchid in it that is still floating around the front garden.
The Paloma. Still standing sentinel over my cook books, decades later. I can only hope my parents are enjoying a grapefruit cocktail in the great beyond.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday. Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to see more vases.
The Shrub Queen 
Paloma was one of our farm kitties many years ago. That droopy ‘Mystic Blue’ salvia looks like wisteria.
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Hysteria, not so much..
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I passed the flower recognition test. It is a cognitive test for me, as I refused to take one at the doctor’s. I think you need to have a cocktail tonight, it sounds very tasty.
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Love it..I feel the same way. I am not a fan of tequila, people always tell me it’s because I have had any of the good stuff.
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I love the vivid blue and orange flower color combination, which reinforces the patterns in the pottery beautifully.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
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Thank you Kris
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Your paloma bird is very sweet and a lovely reminder of your parents too. I can imagine tequila and grapefruit must be quite refreshing. A toast to your Mum for her gift to you! 🍹 Love the vase – especially the plumbago and the salvia. I am dreaming of blue salvias grown from seed (Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria Blue’)…. but they are growing soooo slowly!
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Thank you, Cathy. I wouldn’t drink tequila on a dare. Ugh! Why are you growing Victoria Blue?
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Because it was the only Salvia farinacea seed I could find…. do you know it? I can order other Salvia plants, but that would be rather expensive – as they are not hardy here I can’t quite justify spending so much on a single plant.
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I do, probably from the 80s? I wonder if it it easier to grow here, I have never thought the plants were expensive. But they also last a couple of years and I can take cuttings.
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What a nice gesture from your Mum all those years ago. I still have memories of my father, worse for wear, once telling me things I did not want to know about him and my Mum …😳 Nowadays, your Paloma certainly looks the part, presiding over your pretty vase, relating prettily to the blues and whites – how tall is it (do you call him him or her, or just ‘the Paloma’?)
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Oh boy, that sounds like a conversation you did not want to have. I am my husband’s third wife! We have been together 35 years, but my siblings go the same bird talk! The Paloma is about 8 cm.
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