Category Archives: in a vase on monday

In a Vase on Monday – The Flip Side

wp-17530375546932697051707683850956

After a few weeks of summer tropical vases, I decided to put together some flowers from the flip side of my garden. Not that there really is a flip side, the lines between the tropicals and the more typical garden flowers blurred long ago. Most classic cut flowers, like Zinnias and Dahlias need to be grown in containers as the sugar sand in the garden is unforgiving and perpetually dry. Sometimes I put the containers in the garden and enjoy the flowers, most times I end up with stems devoid of flowers and leave the beheaded containers with the vegetables.

Most of these flowers were cut from the garden. The zinnias are the only thing from containers. I get stunted zinnias if I try growing them in the ground – unless, the rabbits get to them first. We have an unusually high rabbit population this year. Marsh rabbits. Even more unusual and they ate the zinnia seedlings out of the pots they could reach. Here is one enjoying cantaloupe rind at the compost heap. Our local gopher tortoise has built a burrow under the compost heap and seemingly is inviting friends over for dinner. The zinnias are served as an appetizer course.

Contents from The Flip Side:

wp-17530400207961368026007631683581

In orange, front and center are the zinnias; yellow flowers are from the shrub, Thyrallis (Galpinia gracilis); white daisies are Bidens alba; red spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); hot pink flowers are Coral Vine (Antigonon leptopus); purple backed leaves are Vitex trifolia; A few Asian Sword Ferns are added for a touch of green.

That is all from Marsh Rabbit Central. I think the Gopher Tortoise has extended an invitation to the Eastern Cottontail Rabbits for brunch. It’s a good thing lettuce is out of season here.

To see more vases (and fewer rabbits) visit Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden

In a Vase on Monday – Primarily Tropical

It’s high Summer, damp and humid, the tropical flowers are basking in the moisture producing bountiful flowers. For some reason a lot of these flowers are red. My theory is they are red to attract hummingbirds, seemingly a major pollinator in tropical rainforests where a lot of these plants are from. I could be wrong. I was quite surprised this morning by an aggressive Gulf Fritillary butterfly trying to get a taste of my herbal scalp conditioner!

I decided to use a primary colors theme as opposed to a patriotic one. I am finding myself embarrassed and unsupportive of what is going on in my country right now. White flowers were purposely left out. All of the plants are from elsewhere.

wp-1752434846625880606516316625958

Red spikes are Aechmea miniata, from Brazil, surrounded by Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) from South Africa.

wp-17524350350854194297646368258120

“Lady Di’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum) flowers and foliage are in the background with a few spears of Miniature – “Lava” I think, Pineapple. Heliconias are from Central and South America. Pineapples hail from Brazil and Paraguay. The area I live in used to be home to huge pineapple plantations. I rarely run across pineapples in their natural state – extremely sharp foliage, probably four feet tall and mad colored, tiny fruit.

I think I have digressed enough! Follow this link RamblingintheGarden to visit Cathy’s blog and see what other gardeners have in their vases this Monday.

In a Vase on Monday – The Ephemeral Plonk

wp-17518337510223851018235274158068

The rainy season in South Florida is living up to its name. Yes, it’s rainy and the Rain Lilies are loving it. I have never had so many in bloom. I decided to cut some to enjoy in the house, knowing they don’t last very long in a Vase. I cut a few other things, all oozers of sap, then held everything upside down and made it back inside before the rain started. I managed not to get slimed by the drippy stems, shoved the entire handful into the nearest vase, separated the colors and voila!

A flower arrangement that is really temporary.

The vase roster:

wp-17518360617801437999578000286058

The pink flowers are Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes rubra); berries on red stems are Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). I had to stop for a minute to think about the difference between Poison Ivy and Virginia Creeper – 3 leaves versus 5. Phew.

wp-17518380477501728377868400655446

There was one white Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana diviricata) within reach with the Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia) nearby. I trimmed a few branches of the Lilac, it has purple flowers. The sawtooth foliage is from the Virginia Creeper.

Happy Monday from the Land of Humidity!

Tune in to Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden by following this link to see more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Rubens Rebound

I am definitely getting in touch with my inner tropical garden lover this Monday. My rainforest garden is putting out funkier flowers by the day. Of course, the bromeliads are uncooperative about growing where I want them and need rearranging. A winter time chore in full armor is in my future.

The flowers are Aechmea Rubens. I have never heard a common name for this plant. Apparently a botanical garden in Canada picked it up in Brazil and didn’t quite document it, so no one knows exactly where it came from. I am not sure where the one in my garden came from??! The rebound came when I couldn’t remember the name and put the picture in Google Lens and was referred to my own blog!

wp-17512275859795788150894066426688

A closer view. The flowers are very much like straw flowers. I have had them last until Thanksgiving in the garden. I am not sure about vase life, but I expect it will be a while. The background foliage is a Sabal Palm frond trimmed to fit. The vase and flowers are easily three feet tall. The plant in the garden is at least that tall.

Happy Monday from the tropics.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting. To visit other gardens via vase follow this link to RamblingintheGarden

In a Vase on Monday – Here comes the Frangipani

wp-1750623524161381417660767554333

The scent of Frangipani at night is a blessing in the tropics. It compensates for the humidity. June brings Bridal Bouquet Frangipani flowers and fragrance into the garden. This is not the typical Frangipani. The growth habit is columnar rather than a rounded tree form and the foliage can be semi evergreen. The foliage is also an unusual shape, called violin.

I use these as upright hedges to screen my neighbors wood fence. Some winters I see more fences than others as semi evergreen is a very good description. Come summer you can’t get much more tropical than this.

A closer view:

wp-17506264814445100043772286216529

The white flowers are the Bridal Bouquet Frangipani (Plumeria pudica). Yellow and Red flowers are “Lady Di” Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorum). Orange flowers are from the Firebush (Hamelia patens). There is a little charteuse Coleus in the back of the vase. The vase is a large crystal wedding gift from Tiffany’s.

That’s all from my South Florida garden. I’ll be savoring the scents of summer and ignoring the weeds.

Visit Cathy’s blog to see more vases this Monday.

In a Vase on Monday – Dead Lob

wp-17500162579881442951368990018354

The Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata) are having a banner year. I suspect the addition of food, water and acidic mulch has a lot to do with it. Maintenance! What a concept. I have had a flower or two in previous years; but this year a bevy of flowers burst forth followed by new green shoots with buds. The decision was made to dead head the flowers, a task never undertaken before. Hence Dead Lob. As a joke, my siblings and I called my parents favorite restaurant, Red Lobster, by that name. Red Lobster is sort of an American institution, known for serving massive quantities of frozen seafood for low prices.

Heliconias are a single genus and have some unusual habits. This one produces green leaves (at least two feet long) above the flower buds, then the leaves die off leaving curled brown blobs over the bright flowers. I have trimmed the dead leaves off, leaving the stems and flowers. The green leaves remaining are in the vase. As the stems age they take on a bronze, spotted coloration. I like this and will enjoy watching the senescence.

wp-17500191188297624008876455123885

A close up of the flower. There must be seeds in there somewhere? I wonder if my garden has a pollinator that is capable of working with these flowers. The Orange Bird of Paradise rarely produces seed here because the Sunbird (native to South Africa where the plants originate) is one of the few animals capable of the gymnastics necessary to pollinate the flowers. I must look into what pollinates Heliconias. More garden mysteries to ponder.

To see more vases, follow this link RamblingintheGarden to Cathy’s blog.

In a Vase on Monday – Tea for Two

The two bottles are from a nice tea assortment I was gifted last year by my nephew’s wife, my niece in law? I saved the bottles and here they are with my vintage Blue Willow teapot enjoying the IAVOM spotlight. The flower colors reflect our weather in South Florida. Hot and hotter. Apparently we haven’t made it to Hell’s Front Porch yet. I see this on social media and have to laugh as it is a fairly apt description of late summer.

The bottle views:

The zinnias are supplying better colors this summer. All pinks and oranges. Another garden mystery to ponder. A few sprigs of Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia) and Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetum) complete the bottle.

wp-17494130007894926048652586496424

This bottle has Gallardia (Gallardia pulchella), a few sprigs of Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) and Arabian Lilac.

Happy Monday to all and thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. Follow this link to visit Cathy’s blog and view more vases.

In a Vase on Monday – Tropicow

wp-17488054177154054704115901971947

I decided a little fun was in order this Monday and selected my cow vase to contain my beguiling tropical flowers. I dodged soaking rain showers while selecting flowers then stopped to dig up and move a Heliconia in the rain. Upon returning to the house drenched and bearing cut flowers; the dog looked at me like I had lost my mind. The Heliconia doesn’t seem to have noticed its new location. Rain is predicted all week, so it is a good time to move tropical plants.

wp-1748805989047428415881842562718

A closer cow view. The cow is wreathed in white Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divicata) accented with a pink Zinnia and a pink seedpod from Aechmea “Burgundy” Bromeliad.

wp-1748806455014368585104882272801

Bringing up the rear of the arrangement is the lovely fragrant “Aztec Gold” Frangipani. The lavendar spikes are from Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia). This doesn’t have a fragrance, though it sounds like it should. I like the purple backed leaves.

Happy Sultry Summer from South Florida!

To see more vases follow this link to Cathy’s blog RamblingintheGarden

In a Vase on Monday – Goddess Stone & Heliconias

Today is Memorial Day in the US, marking the official start of summer. It certainly feels like summer and the garden has started serving up tropical flowers in celebration. The humidity kicked into high gear last week and I am betting it won’t go back down until fall, though there is a nice breeze and it fortunately started raining. The garden is much happier now and I am enjoying the air conditioning indoors. Rob the dog is so peacefully asleep at my feet I want to take a nap, too.

Closer views:

wp-17482048186376046067973934193383

The goddess stone. These are coral stones worn down by the ocean over time. They break from offshore reefs then wash up on our beach and are imbued with mystical powers from the sea. The locals call them goddess stones. I have seen them called hag stones, but prefer the former.

wp-17482055135938229399802032619126

The Heliconias. The bigger flower is Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata). Smaller flowers are Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum). There is some Asparagus Fern tangled through the vases that came with the flowers and a trimmed palm frond. The vases are bottles that did not quite make it to recycling.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday. I enjoy creating a Vase every week while sorting through whatever is in my garden. To see more sorts of vases follow this link to Cathy’s blog.

Happy Summer!

In a Vase on Monday – Zingy Zinnias

wp-17475915575674396951425783858539

My first zinnias of the summer appeared this week. Despite a seed packet promising mixed colors, they are all hot pepper spicy so far. There are a few more plants in bud, I am not holding my breath for pastels this summer. I decided to add some whites and blues to cool down the heat in the vase.

wp-1747592219711553015474356140800

The Zingy Zinnias range in color from orange and fuchsia to deep red to orange. I seem to recall complaining about the insipid pink flowers from this same pack of seeds last summer! I’ll take Zingy over Insipid any day of the week. The blue flowers are Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) announcing summer is here. White flowers are Bidens alba, these have been gleefully reseeding everywhere so I should have a lot of cooling white on hand to counter the Zingies. Foliage is a small Dwarf Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini) frond.

That’s all from soon to be sweltering South Florida!

Happy Gardening!

To view more vases, follow this link to Cathy’s blog – RamblingintheGarden