Category Archives: flower arrangements

In a Vase on Monday – Lady Di was a Firecracker

My mother used to refer to spirited women she admired as “Firecrackers”. This is probably some sort of weirdness from the Deep South, but an apt description of many women who capture the imagination of the world. I think Diana, Princess of Wales qualifies.

What does this have to do with my vase this Monday? Well, we have Lady Di Heliconias and Firecracker plants together in the vase. The flowers have a kind of spirited pow going on as well.

The seemingly perpetual rain the last week of September inspired some serious late season flowering on most of the Salvia in the garden. I am waiting for a bumper crop of seedlings. The pure white Tropical Red Salvia was too luxuriant to resist and I cut quite a bit to add to the vase.

A closer view:

The “Lady Di” Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum) in red and yellow; the red bells are Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis). The Russelia is amazingly drought tolerant and I love the unusual foliage texture. The rain seems to have encouraged the flowering, I have never seen quite a show like this.

Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) occurs in several colors; surprising to me is that pure white is my favorite. The spike foliage is from the fronds of Sabal Palm (Palmetto sabal). Russelia foliage is in the background. The vase is a thrift store find.

The precipitation onslaught has finally slowed. We are getting some nice rains for growing new plants and I hope to get the rest of them out and established before the inevitable dry season sets in a month or so.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM for weeks and weeks and years now! Follow this link to her blog to see creations from other gardeners – http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

In a Vase on Monday – If you like Pina Coladas..

I was remembering a song lyric from the 80s “If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain” – the new next line would be to come visit my garden in South Florida. I have pineapples for juicing and so much rain it is seemingly impossible not to get caught in it. I think it has been raining for about 10 days. Fiona the greyhound has somehow figured out when to go out for the least amount of precipitation. Dogs know these things. She is now walking me.

The vase was chosen because it looks like it could be used to serve cocktails. The plant material was limited to tropical to enhance the pineapple. The mini pineapple plant is called ‘Lava Flow’; white flowers are Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica); orange and sage tipped flowers are from Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria).

Another view:

Orange flowers are ‘Choconiana’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum). Greenery is a frond from a Lady Palm (Rhaphis excelsa); fiddle shaped foliage is from Bridal Bouquet Plumeria and a few sprigs of Asian Sword Fern.

That’s all from the swamp this Monday. To see more vases from gardens around the world, visit Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

In a Vase on Monday – Cones of Uncertainty

We are on the downhill slide to the end of hurricane season. The peak is September 10. November 30 is the official end but mid-October is the unofficial end, though we had a wimpy hurricane the first week of November last year. So far, we have been lucky and stayed outside the cone of uncertainty in the weather forecasts. Watching these cones is a daily ritual in September and October.

Here is the recent cone from Hurricane Idalia.

There are some cones of a different sort in my vase this week, certainly not originating in my garden.

I love pine cones and collected these in Atlanta, prior to moving to South Florida. I keep them in a large brandy snifter on my side board. Something about the textures in this arrangement just demanded a few cones. These are from White Pines (Pinus strobus). It is really too warm for them in Atlanta and I am wondering if there are any there now with global warming.

The rest of the vase is mad tropical flowers and foliage. The orange and yellow spikey thing is the flower of a Blanchetiana Bromeliad (Aechmea blanchetiana), probably 3 feet long; colorful leaves are Piecrust Croton (Croton variegatum); palm frond is from a seedling Cabbage Palm (Palmetto sabal); the big leaf is White Bird of Paradise (Strelizia nicolai). The vase is Tiffany crystal, a wedding gift from a dear friend.

I’ll be checking the cones daily as a new potential storm might form off the coast of Africa this week…

Thanks to Cathy at ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Pineapple Perspective

After collecting flowers for my vase, I looked at what I had gathered and thought, “What a nice fall vase”.

Then, it dawned on me that fifteen years ago I would have thought no such thing. Moving to a frost free area changes your perspective on what a fall flower is – and then pineapples easily grow outside here. I have developed a pineapple perspective on gardening.

The flowers in the vase bloom prolifically in the fall and late summer to early fall is the prime pineapple season here. The town I live in, Jensen Beach, was at one time the pineapple capital of the world. Rarely, I run across a wild pineapple plant on the barrier island near my house. These are very sharp, the foliage covered in spines and have small pink pineapples.

The flowers:

The flowers are Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum) “Lady Di” in red, and “Choconiana” in orange. These are hard to beat for a touch of tropical in the garden. The colored foliage is “Mammey” Croton (Codiaeum variegatum “Mammey”), a dwarf Croton that works great if a low shrub is needed. Boston Fern (Nephrolepsis exaltata) provides some green texture. The vase in an olive oil cruet that belonged to my mother.

The pineapple:

This is an overripe miniature pineapple with a twisting top. It is probably really seedy, these can be juiced or used for decoration. Either is a dicey situation as the whole thing is very sharp. That’s why it got left on the plant so long. I did not want to handle it.

That is all this Monday from the land of pineapples. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Flash Fall

I associate the first week of September with cooler weather and the start of fall. This is usually not the case in South Florida. This morning was different. I enjoyed a small flash of fall while walking Fiona the greyhound. A cold front had penetrated the heat dome somehow. The humidity dropped to 50%, a breeze came up off the ocean and it was a clear sunny morning. In celebration of this minor miracle I went in search of an autumnal plant palette.

The fruit is from Cordia boissierei, the White Geiger tree. These seem to flower whenever the mood strikes and have nice clusters of white flowers and fruits. The sulphur butterflies adore the flowers which is an added bonus. The orange Firebush (Hamelia patens) is a garden stalwart and another favorite of the butterflies.

The faux fall foliage is actually from a very colorful tropical shrub. The Piecrust Croton (Codiaeum variegatum). This one does remind me of pie crust and this is the older growth, usually darker in color.

The white daisies, Bidens alba are still out in force plotting to take over the garden, so I cut another bunch. The yellow foliage is also from the Piecrust Croton, this is the new growth. The vase is a historical artifact from the Crate and Barrel, a vintage 70s candle holder that lost its mate somewhere along the way.

That is all from South Florida. I will enjoy the humidity reprieve as long as possible.

Thanks to Cathy from http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Bidens Control

Much like the President of the United States; this Bidens is a love it or hate it situation. It’s Bidens alba, a very cute – but very prolific native wildflower. The white daisy in the vase. My husband was in the hospital last week and during the course of his stay we managed to contract Covid. We are both on the mend. The Bidens took advantage and started flowering all over the place. I have been cutting it as birth control. This plant can put out 1200 seeds per plant. It doesn’t take long to have way too much Bidens. It is also called Spanish Needles due to the appearance of the seeds, they stick to everything (especially the dog!) Seeds can be seen in the photo below:

I cut the Bidens regularly and rarely use it in a vase. I have never had this much. I have grown to appreciate the flower by seeing it up close. It is a favorite of pollinators. However, I am happy to have saved myself from having to pull about 4,000 plants!

The rest of the vase:

Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers smile from the front. I added a few ‘Purple Prince’ Zinnias and Mystic Spires Salvia for color. The vase is from a long ago florist arrangement.

That is all from South Florida . I’ll be relaxing a bit this week. Keeping an eye on the newly named Tropical Storm Idalia. I am a long way from the cone of danger. Wondering who the heck is Idalia?

Thank you to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link for a world tour of vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Caveman Style

On Sunday morning I got in touch with my inner cave woman and went to the garden to bag my vase. I didn’t use the prop in the photo, instead a pair of clippers was used to hunt and gather some summery flowers from the garden.

The prop. It’s a Native American stone ax head. This is an heirloom from my father, the geologist, who frequently found these near rivers on his field trips in the Southeastern US. I suppose they were using it for bashing fish (or bashing something?!)

The vase is a jar tucked inside a paper bag. It occurred to me the colors would look nice together so, I gave it a try. Lesson learned from this. Put the jar in the bag first. Then add flowers and water.

The flowers: in white, ‘Miss Alice’ Bougainvillea; yellow sunflowers are ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, still flowering at about seven months in the garden; yellow spikes are Thyrallis (Galphimia glauca); bigger red flower is Miniata bromeliad (Aechmea miniata); red bell shaped flowers are Firecracker Plant (Russellia equisetfolium); white daisies are Bidens alba.

The other side:

Even cave women like a little fragrance, the white flowers are ‘Bridal Bouquet’ Frangipani (Plumeria pudica); a few varigated leaves of ‘White Java’ Copperleaf (Acalphya wilkesiana ‘Java White’); and a ‘Lady Di’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum) is in the mix in red and yellow.

My vase is in the bag this Monday. There will be no fish bashing in the garden. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting – follow the link to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Cathy’s Challenge

Last week I challenged myself to create a colorful, informal vase with gardenias. As usual, I chatted back and forth with Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com, our IAVOM host. We were talking about my dearth of pastels in the garden. The challenge was not a teapot vase – but one filled with pastel colors. To see more vases follow the link to Cathy’s blog.

A closer view:

It took a while to suss out a total pastel palette. I suppose the light here is so strong I tend towards using higher colors in the garden and have a few pastels. Many are serendipitous (Weeds!)

The long pink flower and foliage is chandelier plant (Medinilla cummingi); pink flowers are annual vinca (Vinca rosea), a perennial here and a weed; yellow flowers hanging over the edge are snapdragons, surprising me by coming up from last years winter annuals seed; blue flowers are plumbago (Plumbago auriculata); green flowers are Envy zinnias; purple backed leaves and flowers are Arabian Lilacs (Vitex trifolia); coral spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea).

The teapot is from an antiquing venture long ago, teacups are from my grandmother, cow creamer was a gift from someone and the tole tray belonged to my mother.

Tea, anyone?

I have been baking again. This is vegan. Vanilla cupcake stuffed with pineapple reduction and pineapple buttercream frosting.

In a Vase on Monday – Country Challenge

I am holding out hope for cooler weather as the dog days of summer officially end on August 11. I doubt that will bring an end to our daily high temperatures of over 90 F, but one can dream. September brings an average high of 89. October is when the real cool down begins. Rain is still copious and all the more tropical summer flowers are relishing the moisture and flowering with reckless abandon.

I challenged myself this week to create a vase with gardenias that wasn’t all white or seemingly formal. This is the easy, breezy, country casual gardenia vase. Tropical version.

The vase started out in a mason jar. Very casual country. The clear glass showed too much of the weird and thick tropical stems of the bromeliad and palm. Who ever thought stems would be distracting? The vase needed clothes. A basket a friend sent with a gardenia plant (I killed it, G. jasminoides) was pressed into service.

The red and yellow flowers are parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Lady Di’); the red and blue tipped flowers are miniata bromeliads (Aechmea miniata); white flowers are tropical gardenias (Tabernaemontana diviricata); white green stems with berries are adonidia palm (Veitchii merrillii) unripe fruit; striped foliage is martin bromeliad (Neoregelia martinii); ferny accents are asparagus fern.

Another view:

Thanks to Cathy at ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly array of floral abundance. Follow the link to see more vases.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Gee, Gardenias

The Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana diviricata) have been flowering madly. I have been waiting for an opportunity to cut them for a vase. The shrub is over ten feet tall, so blooms have to be on the low side. Several flowers were within reach on Sunday morning and I cut all of them.

Last week, Susie’s heirloom teapot vase made me remember mine inspiring its use as a vase. This teapot was a wedding gift my parents received in 1950. It was used to brew iced tea as long as I can remember – the interior of the pot is stained tea colored. The white tea towel was unearthed in an old friend’s grandmother’s house. The grandmother was in her 90’s in the 1980’s and the towel belonged to her mother – who knows how old it is. I was gifted the towel as it matched my monogram. They certainly don’t make things like this anymore. The G.

The Tropical Gardenias are joined by two types of Salvia, ‘White Flame’ and Tropical Red; foliage is Asian Sword Ferns and a few sprigs of Golden Dewdrop (Duranta repens).

Happy Monday!! I’ll be sniffing my foyer enjoying the fragrance of Gardenias..

Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases.