Category Archives: flower arrangements

In A Vase on Monday – The Ephemeral Martini

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As usual, I started out with one idea and ended with an entirely different vase. I was walking my dogs this morning and noticed this particularly lovely Hibiscus flower.

A Hibiscus flower in South Florida is not particularly notable, but this shrub is really amazing. An old variety planted in the 60s by my neighbor’s grandmother, this shrub lives on the edge of my front yard – unirrigated, unfertilized, and thriving in near total shade (everything one is not supposed to do to a Hibiscus) This heirloom delight blooms off and on all year to the point I hardly notice it.

I plucked the flower and put it in a brown pottery vase, this just didn’t look right. The festive red tropical flower needed some party vibes. I decided one of my mother’s crystal Martini glasses would be the proper setting – an heirloom for an heirloom, and loved the result:

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I added a bit of Sweet Begonia foliage and that was it. I was confused for a long time about the Martini glasses, I think they were a wedding gift to my parents when they married in the 1950’s. My grandmother was a teetotaling Southern Baptist and my mother always referred to these as ‘fruit compotes’; imagine my surprise when I learned of Martinis and their proper stemware. I suspect some Gin and Vermouth has been in these glasses at some point because I can remember the cocktail parties.

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The ephemeral nature of this is these flowers are known to only last one day. I will have to wait until nightfall to see what transpires.

 

In A Vase on Monday -Caribbean Delight

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This is a Caribbean Delight as the centerpiece of the arrangement is a Dwarf Jamaican Heliconia (Heliconia stricta) – I believe. The lady I bought this from didn’t seem entirely sure of the ID and I have never seen one before. I am, however, a sucker for a well priced Heliconia and hopefully the garden will not overrun with Dwarf Jamaicans. Heliconias can be pretty creepy.

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The dark foliage is from Piecrust Croton (Codiaeum variegatum  ‘Piecrust’) and I love the contrast. The fine textured foliage is  Asparagus Fern (Asparagus aethiopicus). The Croton I planted, the Asparagus Fern just appeared in the back garden one day. I cut some every now and again and that seems to keep it in bounds. Asparagus Fern is rumored to be invasive, I think the spot it popped up in is not its happy place.

The crystal Rose Bowl belonged to my mother, I think I bought it for her – but that memory just won’t quite gel. It is a nice crystal Rose Bowl. I have Rose issues so it is unlikely to ever see any Roses. I am quite happy about the Heliconias – at least they are red!

It is Valentine’s Day as I write this. This vase is going to be our centerpiece for dinner.

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Here’s the table setting Portmerion Rose China and here is dinner:

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Mustard crusted Rack of Lamb, Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans. Not particularly Caribbean, but oh so good. Followed by Chocolate Brownies with Vanilla Ice Cream. Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day.

 

 

In A Vase on Monday -Going Native

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One of the results of moving to Florida from a colder climate – sooner or later you go native. Winter Coats, who needs ’em? The coats are the first thing to go followed by socks, then shoes (sandals are an exception) and most long pants. One year my husband felt compelled to wear long pants twice. It was 50 degrees.

Plants for the garden are no exception. The first thing I had to quit desiring was Japanese Maples, followed by Yoshino Cherries. I got over Azaleas and Roses prior to moving south. Now and again I will suffer perennial envy, then again we have a plethora of great plants here in Florida – many are new to me.

I have always been a fan of native plants and decided to learn more about them by taking an online course about native plants on the Treasure Coast of Florida, taught by the guys behind the WordPress blog, Treasure Coast Natives. This one is for you, George.

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The flowers in this vase are all native and from plants included in the online course. The yellow flowers are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis), the white flowers are Spanish Needles (Bidens alba), the orange tubular flowers are Firebush, actually Dwarf Firebush (Hamelia patens) I planted the Beach Sunflowers and Firebush but the Spanish Needles appeared on their own and seed freely everywhere cursing me forever.

The vase is also a sort of native. A gift from my mother bought on one of her trips to the Southwestern United States, the vase was made by Native Americans of the Ute tribe and marked as such. One of my favorite things from my mother.

One of the benefits of native plants in the garden is the local butterflies love them. Here is a Zebra Longwing Butterfly on the Firebush:

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Firebush and Friend

 

In A Vase on Monday – Surinam Shrimp

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I am aware ‘Surinam Shrimp’ sounds like a dish at a Vietnamese restaurant, however the two main components of this vase are Surinam Cherries and Shrimp Plants. The Surinam Cherries are the fruit in the lower part of the arrangement.

I have a large hedge of these shrubs and was pleased to have a fruit producing hedge, thinking (silly me) the fruit could be eaten. I kept thinking the fruit wasn’t ripe or something as it tasted so bad. Finally my neighbor, a Florida veteran, picked one for me – properly ripe. Still tasted bad. I have seen the taste described as resinously bitter, and the description fits the fruit. Given the taste of the fruit and the colors in various stages of ripeness an arrangement seemed like a better use of the fruit. The rest will be left for our wildlife friends.

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Here is another view with the nearly ripe Surinam Cherry beside the vase. As for the other members of the plant crew, we have: in dark red, flowers of the Red Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana); the foliage of Boston Fern and the upright sticks are from a ‘Firesticks’ Pencil Cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli ‘Firesticks’); in orange and chartreuse, the fruits of the Surinam Cherry (Eugenia uniflora).

The vase was a long ago Christmas gift to my husband from his ex-wife’s cousin! We have absolutely no idea what it is, so if anyone has a clue please send a comment. We have been wondering for years what this is. The top of the vase is much thinner than the base and has a hole in it. It reads “Gd Cafe des Viticulteurs”

As for the ‘Firesticks’ Pencil Cactus’ here is a picture of the plant. Euphorbias still blow my mind, hello, Poinsettias? so weird- I have a few of these around the garden as they easily root from cuttings:

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Now I am craving some Shrimp Pasta for dinner. Without the Euphorbias, of course.

In A Vase on Monday – Plum Tropical

20160124_133405-1I started my Monday vase thinking I was going to have a plum and grey theme as the Kalanchoe ‘Flapjack’ plants are blooming. These are grey, somewhat otherworldly and I thought they would look great with some purple flowers in my plum blown glass bowl.

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Flapjack Flowers

So, I cut some Flapjack Flowers. As all gardeners know, Mother Nature often has other plans for us. I went over to my ‘it was blooming last time I looked’ bed and no purple flowers. Plan B, the Heliconia were blooming a little as well as the Tropical Blue Plumbago. I cut some of those and proceeded to another bed and my wonderful white Sweet Begonias were blooming. For greenery, I cut some Boston Fern and from the vegetable garden a little Fennel foliage. I grew some Fennel last year and ended up with volunteers this year I am hoping to eat. I love roasted Fennel.

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The bowl is a souvenir from a long ago trip to the North Georgia mountains where my husband and I stopped in a local artisan cooperative. We both appreciate handmade items and have enjoyed this little bowl.

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After starting a vase around the Flapjack flowers, they are barely visible (grey flowers and succulent leaf) I think the result is more Tropical Punch or Plum Tropical.

In a Vase on Monday – The Wildflower Blues

 

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I have been watching a group of Yellow Lupines on the edges of a vacant lot nearby – thinking I could collect some seed and grow Lupines in my back garden. What I did not realize is when the seed pods are ready they explode and hurl seed far and wide. The pods exploded in my car and didn’t seem to think there was enough dirt to grow in the carpets, though there probably is as I haul dogs and plants around with equal enthusiasm. I am not sure if these plants are native to the area, but I am aware of other native Lupines in Florida; it seems peculiar as I associate these plants with Alpine meadows, the Rocky Mountains and cold, arid places. Here is another view of my three blue vases filled with native and/or wildflowers from the vacant lot.

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My blue vases represent three generations of women in my family, the violin belonged to my grandmother and has Yellow Lupines, the white spikes are Jointweed, the yellow daisy shaped flower is a Beach Sunflower.

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The tall bottle belonged to my mother and has Beach Sunflower, Yellow Lupines and seeds, background plants are Shrubby Buttonweed and Muhly Grass.

The corked bottle in the background belongs to me and holds the dried petals of all the roses my husband sent me during our courtship. The bells belonged to my other grandmother and are one of those touchstones that have been around the house as long as I can remember; my father brought them home from World War II.

As I was writing this post, it occurred to me how much more interesting and attractive these flowers appear in their Monday vase. So, I wandered over to the vacant lot and took a before picture:

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All the components of the vase are in the foreground. I think I like the flowers in their blue bottles better. This leads me to ponder if more people saw native plants in a vase instead of a vacant lot – native plants might be more popular.

If you would like to see vases from the world over, stop by the comments section of  https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com where Cathy hosts In A Vase on Monday – every Monday!

 

 

In A Vase on Monday – Postcards from the Edge

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I should call this ‘In a Cachepot on Monday’. This is one of my favorite containers, an antique Portmerion cachepot with Lilies in a deep burgundy russet color. I bought the cachepot on one of my many ‘junk store’ missions with my mother. It is sitting on my parent’s favorite marble table with a fish tile from another mission.

My husband’s father was a great collector of Christmas Cactus. When he passed on I inherited most of the collection. It took me awhile to figure out how to take care of them so this is the last survivor. I always feel like when this one blooms, it is Glenn giving me a wink and a smile from the great beyond.

Joining the Christmas Cactus are a bit of Blue Tropical Plumbago (P. auriculata) and some Sweet Begonia (B. alba) I have no idea what type of Christmas Cactus I have.

Hopefully it blooms a little longer.

In A Vase on Monday – Tropical Tussie Mussies

My mother always enjoyed making (really me making them while she watched) Tussie Mussies, she just thought they were ‘so cute’. I seem to have an abundance of not very long stemmed flowers so I decided to put together a Tussie Mussie or two.

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Tussie Mussie is a term for a small bouquet of flowers that has been around since medieval times, the Victorians used the selected flower type to send a message to the recipient of the Tussie Mussie. Each flower in the bouquet had a meaning. In reading the dictionary of flower meanings,  I found that Victorian England was not awash in the plants I have here in Tropic Florida. The only plant messages I could find in my Tussie Mussies are Dwarf Sunflower means adoration and Fern means magic. So, I am saying to you with flowers – I adore the magic of my garden. I can cope with that. Oddly enough, in Victorian flower dictionaries there were meanings for chickweed. If chickweed appeared in a flower arrangement I received, I would tend to think there was something wrong. The meaning from the dictionary – I cling to thee. Beware the man that sends chickweed bouquets.

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This arrangement is in a tequila shooter from my niece’s wedding; my tequila shooting days are long over but it makes a great little vase.

The plants are Turks Cap (A native mallow in Florida) the red flower, the darker red flowers are Red Shrimp Plant (Justicia brandegeana) a leaf of a Copperleaf (Acalphya wilkesiana ‘Raggedy Ann’) and a few Boston Fern fronds.

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I have a pair of tequila shooters, this one has a Dwarf Red Ixora, Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis), Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus) and a backdrop of Hawaiian Snow Bush (Breynia nivosa)

Here’s hoping everyone is adoring the magic of the garden, this first week of 2016!