Category Archives: in a vase on monday

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.

CAM00426-1

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.

20160124_133757

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.

20160124_133639-1

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

 

20160117_154405-1

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.

20160117_113625

20160117_111900-1

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.

20160117_114007

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:

20160117_163141

 

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!