Category Archives: flower arrangements

In a Vase on Monday – Summer Transplants

Suddenly it’s 90 degrees! 32 Celsius sounds so much cooler. However you take your temperature, it’s hot. The garden is responding in kind and producing hot colors.

I performed a swallowtail butterfly caterpillar rescue while cutting flowers for the vase. The dill has been going to seed and I witnessed a beautiful lady swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on the dill. So did several lizards lurking nearby. The tiny caterpillars had hatched and were just starting to devour the dill when I cut the flowers. The cats were relocated to a parsley far away from the lurking lizards. I’m enjoying the dill flowers and I hope the caterpillars are enjoying the parsley. I did not realize how much parsley I had planted and it all came up! Happy to share with the swallowtails and I hope I see a few more.

wp-17802605659587407957421797648615

Success! The caterpillars have easily doubled in size from when I moved them. I am wondering how much parsley they can eat.

A closer view of the vase:

wp-17802609344116611780223514312764

There are two kinds of orange tubular flowers. The lower flowers are Firebush (Hamelia patens). The upper are Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera). Long red flowers are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreum, depending on who you ask) Red spikes are Salvia coccinea. Dill flowers, of course and the creamy spikes are from Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa)

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly meme. Visit her blog at MoreVases to see more vases!

In a Vase on Monday – Zinnias, Actually

After several false starts in 2026, I am pleased to post my first zinnias of the year! I usually have zinnias much earlier than this, nearly year round. I think they were worth the wait. The longest stemmed flowers I have ever grown. As usual, no clue why!

The first batch of seeds I planted – frozen. The second – eaten by unknown varmints. The third time was the charm. I have planted so many zinnia seeds, I am not sure what these are. ZinMaster, I think. I really wanted Cactus Zinnias, but I think I have gone through all those seeds

The closer view:

wp-17796575204586398401968803798664

The vase is a jar that held specialty tea. The small green flowers at the base are seed heads from Pentas, an annual flower, I am not sure what kind. Creamy white flowers are from Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa). Ferns are from the invasive Asian Sword Fern.

Simple pleasures from the garden.

Thank you to Cathy at RamblingintheGarden for hosting. Follow the link to visit her garden and see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – A Paloma Posey

wp-17790531287483548679803696926929

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.

wp-17790542986091801486897637426814

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.

wp-1779054697776508642861566049983

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.

In a Vase on Monday – Sunday Mother’s Day Madness

wp-17784511835928270279117197660582

It’s Mother’s Day in the US this Sunday. As I collect flowers, my thoughts are always with my mother, the Greatest Generation Southern Belle, Miss Betty, who would have adored In a Vase on Monday. I am certain if she was still with us (she would be 98 years old) I would be printing out blog posts and mailing them to her. Computers were not happening in her world, ever.

My father’s mother, Blanche (yes) was the Blue Willow collector. I suspect there is a gene as I love the pattern and china. The teapot was found on a shopping mission with my mother.

The Sunday Madness? A Food and Travel magazine contacted me a couple of months ago – soon after the historic freeze, and they wanted to photograph food in my garden. I agreed. And am madly putting things right. This week I am baking! I will share more as things progress.

wp-17784521714771601955972794808616

A closer view. The white flowers spilling down the side are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata). Orange flowers are Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera). Blue flowers are Plumbago (P. auriculata). White spikes are White Flame Salvia. Scent is added by chartreuse culinary dill flowers.

Foliage is ‘Mammey’ Crotons and Asian Sword Ferns.

Please send me positive vibes for the photo shoot. To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden!!

In a Vase on Monday – Fall into Spring with a side of weird

wp-17778397730935508885455633128065

It is still officially spring in South Florida…but we already hit 90 F/ 32 C and the humidity is rising. There is always some point when the heat and humidity hit critical mass and I begin pining for fall. We are definitely not there yet, however, the colors in this vase reminded me of my future fall aspirations early.

There are some strange things going on in the garden. The mango trees that were hit by frost in early February have all come back, seemingly from the dead and are producing flowers. This usually happens in early February followed by fruit in June. We have dead foliage, new foliage and flowers on the same tree. I am puzzled, but think I should fertilize them. So weird. Creatures are eating the buds off the zinnias I planted in tall pots for cutting – giraffe rabbits??

wp-17778415222074722891807790364759

The closer view. This is mostly flowers from trees and shrubs. I really enjoy cutting from these plants as they are rarely seen in this venue. The white flowers are White Geiger tree (Cordia boisserie). Yellow flowers are Esperanza tree (Tecoma stans). Orange tubular flowers are from the native Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens) Red fruit with foliage is Brush Cherry (Syzygium paniculatum), a common hedge here. The bronze foliage is an unnamed coleus bought locally.

I’m adding to the weird by buying obscure tropical vegetable seeds to grow over the summer. I planted edible Hibiscus (Roselles) recently (the calyx is the edible part, tastes like cranberries) Yard long and winged bean seeds go into pots soon..more weird to come…

That is all from South Florida. Thank you to Cathy for hosting IAVOM for all these years. Follow the link to her blog RamblingintheGarden to take the garden tour.

In a Vase on Monday – Beachcombing the Garden

wp-17772309655174891259038835920696

There is a strange thing that happens when you live near a beach – you don’t go very often after a while and there are a lot of shells around the house and in the garden.

Perhaps your beachcombing capacity reaches critical mass when your environs are full. Hmm. This is something to ponder. I had no trouble finding a few seashells to go with the Shell Ginger flower for my Monday vase. There are many more shells in the garden, however, when I look around I imagine lining the shell walkways with goddess stones (above circular disk) Then I imagine how many it would take!

Here’s a closer view

wp-1777231993644366496300560774463

This vase has a whirling dervish vibe. The winding Fern is Asparagus Fern, this particular type of Fern used to be grown for floral arrangements around here. It escaped and is now considered an invasive plant. It is oddly thorny, so I like to get rid of it before it gets out of hand. A win win situation as I also like to use it in flower arrangements. The pink flower is a Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet). White flowers are Begonia nelumbiifolia, Lotusleaf Begonia. A pink champagne bottle is a leftover from a visiting friend.

That’s all from my South Florida garden this Monday..hoping the clouds turn into rain! Visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden to see the garden tour.

In a Vase on Monday – Sage Advice

wp-17766287054335413728679404299389

I am joining Cathy and the intrepid vasers again this Monday sharing a Vase of flowers collected from our gardens. To view more vases follow this link to Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden.

My vase features all types of sage grown in my garden. My advice – plant some!

It seems to be a very good spring for sage in my garden. I planted some new plants a few weeks ago and they are thriving to the point I need to cut the flowers. The bees were not happy with me, but I emerged, clippers in hand, from the flowers unscathed. The annual sages seemed to have enjoyed the rare freezing temperature we had in February followed by a lot of rain and popped up all over the garden. They are already producing seed. For some reason, they are mostly red.

The close up:

wp-17766294916875955736804383679498

Sage is, of course, Salvia. This is Salvia with a few wildflower friends, a side of Golden Dewdrop in a mason jar with a dried bromeliad leaf collar. Only in South Florida!

The red spikes are Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea). Blue flowers are Mystic Blue’ Salvia. White spikes are ‘White Flame’ Salvia. White daisies are Bidens alba, cream colored spikes are Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) These are both wildflowers. Chartreuse foliage is Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecta). I also have River Sage (Salvia misella) in the garden. This is reportedly a dense mat forming native that grows everywhere and out competes weeds. Bahahaha, need I say more. It is not vaseworthy. More Sage Advice.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. Happy Gardening.

I will sign off with the fact that it is so dry here I am seriously considering going outside for a rain dance, the sky looks so promising!!

In a Vase on Monday – Ta Da, Spring!

Spring is asserting itself in my garden. Warmer weather and a few showers have brought the more tropical plants back to life. I usually have Shell Ginger in February, but this year it waited until late March to produce flowers. I enjoy these unusual flowers and am happy to see them again.

The flowers and foliage in this vase are all from the most protected part of the garden. These plants weren’t even burned, surprising me. The Strangler Fig that stands sentinel over this area took the brunt of the cold weather and has almost replaced its foliage. The tips of the branches are still naked, there is still time for a full recovery. Fingers crossed.

wp-17754187047474280497094161993167

A closer view: pink flowers are Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet). This is an interesting ginger, edible roots, but apparently not as good as culinary ginger (I can’t grow that for some perverse reason) the leaves are used to wrap fish and vegetables and then steam them. I rolled up the excess leaves and put them inside the vase to hold the heavy stems – they smell wonderfully gingery.

The tropical leaf is from a Split Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron selloum). The windy sticks are from Asparagus Ferns. I cut these to get them out of my way as they are sending up shoots that are very thorny. I liked the way they looked, so they were added to the arrangement and the trimmings were stacked in front – for a horizontal line. Just for fun.

That’s all from my garden this Monday. Happy Gardening and thanks to Cathy for hosting – follow this link to her blog RamblingintheGarden.

In a Vase on Monday – Celebrating Americans

wp-1774812359616130572299841517125

I’m not sure what possessed my garden to produce red, white and blue flowers this week. Perhaps a quiet celebration of No Kings on a floral scale. I’ll take it! I was astonished to see some 9 million fellow Americans staging peaceful protests yesterday. Just Wow.

Spring is progressing and the landscape is slowly recovering from the February freeze. The resilience of plants never fails to amaze me. Many things that we grow here are labeled not frost tolerant – it seems maybe they are! The truly tropical plants like Frangipani are gone, the insides of the trunks look like a black dessicated cord, I have never seen anything like it. The cold weather inspired some other things to flower, I think.

wp-17748133292932362223122165676526

The Red Amaryllis in the vase appeared from the cosmos. I have never planted these and suddenly there it was. I decided to cut the stem because it was too windy for the flowers to last long.

wp-17748134289637460490898565025489

Spilling over the edge of the vase are Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata ‘Alba’) a stalwart here. The red, white and blue flowers are from a bromeliad, Billbergia vittata, these last longer in the vase than in the garden and have been flowering off and on for two months. My new Salvia, Mystic Blue, is having a good run and I am enjoying cutting it. The foliage in the vase is a chopped up frond from a Cabbage Palm (Palmetto sabal) I trimmed the frond and stuffed what I chopped off around the edges, not sure Martha Stewart would approve.

That’s all from my garden. Happy Spring Monday to all. Many thanks to Cathy for hosting. Follow this link to her blog to see more vases. RamblingintheGarden

In a Vase on Monday – Scents of the Sugar Belle

My South Florida garden continues tutoring me in the finer points of growing things. Today I learned about black citrus aphids. The hard way, discovering the new growth on my Sugar Belle Mandarin orange tree covered in tiny black bugs – who knew aphids were black?

I decided to plant an orange tree after reading that the new variety of mandarin, Sugar Belle, is reportedly resistant to the scourge of Florida citrus, Huanglongbing bacterial disease. This terrible sounding thing causes citrus greening, basically ruining the fruit. I planted one of these trees last fall. It is settling in very well and has too many flowers on it, so I liberated one for a Vase, cleared the bugs off and will give it a dose of Neem spray later. Fingers crossed that clears up the problem.

wp-17742072627093635014006585796753

Here is a closer view. The orange blossoms are in the foreground. The fragrance has permeated the house. It has a sweet scent and the range of travel is impressive. I am also enjoying my new Salvia plants again. In blue, Mystic Blue and the white is White Flame. I plucked a varigated leaf from the Pie Crust Croton and added some climbing Asparagus Fern for contrast.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. To see more vases and celebrations of spring in the garden follow this link RamblingintheGarden

Happy Spring Gardening!!