Tag Archives: Amelia Grant

In A Vase on Monday – A Rose by Any Other Name

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The only roses that could possibly smell as sweet around my garden are on the Portmerion china. I am way too far south to grow real roses. The roses in my vase came from the Desert Rose. The Desert Rose (Adenium obesum) is a relatively common container plant in my neighborhood. Considered a succulent but enjoying regular water and frying sun this is a perfect plant for South Florida. I throw out my cat’s water bowl on the rose every morning and it has rewarded me with abundant flowers.

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The vase is a crystal rose bowl from my mother’s vast collection. I had picked some other flowers to join the arrangement, but decided these were so pretty on their own they just needed a little fine textured foliage accent. The foliage in the vase is some maturing seed heads from my Dill Plant and Asparagus Fern.

Ironically the only thing in this arrangement that smells at all is the Dill seed.

In A Vase on Monday – Geiger Counting and Purple Hair

 

The white flowers in the green glass Swan are from my White Geiger (Cordia boissieri) tree. I have been counting the flowers as they form in clusters of 10 or more, but rarely more than 3 open at the time. This tree was acquired by happy accident. One day I saw this beautiful tree fully covered in white flowers in a grocery store parking lot. Not recognizing it at all, I did some research and decided it was a White Geiger and promptly bought one. A year later I was in the same parking lot, looking at the same tree and realized it was not a Geiger at all, but a White Tabebuia (hard to find and even harder to grow). Happily and oddly enough the tree purchased by accident is a much better choice. The accidental White Geiger was nearly blown over by Hurricane Matthew last year and is blooming its heart out this spring, much to my delight. Hopefully it will straighten up as it still has a significant lean, counterclockwise, of course.

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The green Swan I fear, is a candy dish that belonged to my mother, repurposed as a vase. Joining the White Geiger in the rather Autumnal arrangement are: in orange flowers, Firebush (Hamelia patens), in fruit, Surinam Cherries (Eugenia uniflora), the bronze foliage is from a Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana). If anyone is wondering the Surinam Cherries taste like resinous pumpkins and are left for the birds. I guess it is one of those foods you have to grow up eating to appreciate.

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I have been enjoying two arrangements lately and put together another for the foyer. The vase is another heirloom from my mother and an actual vase.

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This vase has the last of the Dwarf Jamaican Heliconia (Heliconia strictus), Asian Sword Ferns, and a seedhead from the Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata )

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I have had a bit of a mad weekend, coloring my hair purple in honor of a friend undergoing chemotherapy for the (seemingly) hundredth time. Her sister was a dear friend and lost her battle with cancer just about two years ago. Please remember the fight for the cure in your charitable contributions.

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Living Lfs Inc is her favorite charity.

Happy Monday!

In A Vase on Monday – Striking

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My arrangement for this week began to form in my mind when I noticed my Apocalyptica Bromeliad was flowering. These are sometimes called Matchstick Bromeliads, so I decided to use my husbands vintage French cafe match striker as a vase. This ‘vase’ was originally used in French cafes to hold matches for smokers.

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Images that come to my mind when thinking of a vintage French match striker involve Ernest Hemingway – sitting in an uncomfortable metal chair at a tiny table contemplating the nearby Seine River while trying to work out some angst. He looks down and realizes the match container has been hijacked to hold flowers, finds a box of matches and proceeds to strike a match on the side of a the vase. Then he lights an unfiltered cigarette, takes a big drag, exhales blowing some rings with the smoke, sighs deeply and takes a big gulp of red wine. And thinks some more.

Maybe not. Okay, I drank the red wine and Ernest was not here. But there is a river nearby. My angst concerns the sun also rising, but the garden dilemma involves where to move poorly performing Agapanthus to get more sun. On to what is in the vase.

The Apocalyptica Bromeliad (Aechmea apocalyptica) is the nearly fluorescent orange spiky flower. Rounding out the vase in orange again, Mexican Bush Honeysuckle (Justicia spicgera); in purple, Ground Orchids (Bletilla something); Blue Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) and another volunteer Asparagus Fern for fluffy greenery. The red striped foliage is from another Bromeliad (Neoregelia ‘Fireball’).  There are a zillion varieties of Fireballs and I gave up figuring out which one is who because they are all pretty and mostly indestructible.

Happy Monday, may your week be angst free.

In A Vase on Monday – Gingerly Simple

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I have been thoroughly enjoying the flowers from my Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) over the past couple of weeks. So much that most of them have ended up in vases in the house. These are interesting tropical accent plants that are fairly common in South Florida, but oddly enough a bit hard to find to buy. A couple of years ago I found one for my favorite price -five bucks at a garage sale. Sold!

Planted beside our garage to screen an ancient (and exceedingly ugly) pressure treated pine fence and doing an admirable job, reaching 6 feet high and wide in about two years. The flowers are icing on the cake. Starting as a chain of shiny pink flowers resembling sea shells (hence the name) a 6 inch long bud spills the pink shell like flowers out – then a yellow orchid like flower follows at the end.

 

Pink Shells
Yellow Orchids

The foliage is lush and tropical and is evergreen where I live, further north it dies back in the winter – even further north an annual. There is a variegated Shell Ginger with beautiful foliage, unfortunately it rarely flowers, but is still a great accent.

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20170312_105240-1So, why “Gingerly Simple”? Usually I like to stuff a variety of flowers into a vase, these I think stand alone and look better displayed in a simple vase with a few real seashells.

In A Vase on Monday – Dilly Dally Daisy?

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The Dill is still blooming madly in the herb container so I could not resist cutting some more and dilly dallying through the garden looking for something different to accompany the Dill. I added some sprigs of Rosemary from the herb containers and the rest of the vase is composed of wildflowers from the garden, some I planted and others appeared without encouragement from me.

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Joining the Dill and Rosemary are: In yellow, Beach Sunflowers (some call them Beach Daisies Helianthus debilis); in red, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); I planted both of these native wildflowers. In blue, the native Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum); the white flowers are Spanish Needles (Bidens alba). The Ageratum and Spanish Needles just pop up at an alarming rate. Seemingly from thin air.

My husband’s comment about this ” a very perky arrangement” There is something cheerful and perky about wildflowers and especially daisies. There aren’t really daisies in the vase, but the resemblance is clear. The vase is a thrift store find and I like the hot colored flowers displayed in earth tone pottery. With the Rosemary, Dill and Salvia this vase is leaving a lovely herbal scent in my foyer.

 

 

 

In A Vase on Monday – It’s A Dilly

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It’s a Dilly, is that an American phrase? As far as I know, Dilly translates into it’s remarkable, notable or wonderful. Sources on the Internet say this is Canadian or American slang. Vasers will tell.

This vase is all about my herbs, I am mourning the impending passing of my Dill plant (this plant has been wonderful) this week. I love fresh Dill with salads, fish, tomato cucumber salad and on and on It has been flowering for at least a month, I keep cutting the flowers hoping for more foliage to eat – alas to no avail. So, I decided to cut most of the flowers for a vase. Some wasps seem to like the flowers as well – I left those guys alone. I hope the wasps inspire more edible Dill.

The Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorus) nearby suffered from something so I cut back and fertilized them a week or two ago. The plants are responding nicely and their flowers have joined the Dill. Sweet Begonias (Begonia odorata “Alba”) in white are flowering again and joined the dirge as well as an unnamed Bromeliad with nice red foliage and some big Ferns that popped up in the garden, again no idea what the ferns are. The red flowers are the native Turk’s Cap Hibiscus (Hibiscus malvaviscus pendiflorus)that rewards me with flowers with the least bit of attention. I watered them!

The vase is a gift from my dearly departed older brother. Always a bittersweet reminder of that makes me miss him. Though I am certain he would be happy I am using the vase and thinking of him.

Here is a close up:

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It’s a Dilly!

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In A Vase on Monday -Time In A Bottle

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As I was thinking about a subject for a vase, it occurred to me putting a vase together every week is a bit like saving time in a bottle. The dates are right on the blog post for reference and I  find (not being a keeper of garden journals) myself referring back to my blog to see when plants have been in bloom. The watch ( a la Salvador Dali) a gift from my father many years ago. The persistence of memory can be troubling.

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The largest plant in a preowned pink champagne bottle is Shell Ginger (Alpinia zerumbet). Shell Gingers were a bit of a mystery to me upon my arrival in Florida. The variegated type is commonly used as an annual further north for its foliage, but the green ones I had not encountered until I ran across one at a garage sale for (my favorite price) five bucks. Warnings are commonly issued about the size of these plants, a few years after planting it is six feet by six feet – but it also also planted in front of an ugly six foot fence. Gotta love it when a plan works out. It also appears to be on the verge of bursting into full bloom all over, however, this is difficult to discern as buds. leaves, etc look remarkably similar. If the whole thing does flower I will definitely post some pictures.

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The heirloom blue bottle (another gift from my mother) holds a new arrival to my garden, in purple, Ground Orchids, I think this is a Bletilla of some sort, but as usual no one selling these plants really knows. Ground Orchids are fairly common in South Florida and used as 18″ height perennials – mine have been placed under a Pink Frangipani, next to a plum foliaged and flowered Bromeliad of unknown origin and beside a group of the Pink Bromeliads-the flower currently displayed in the gold bottle. Alongside the mysterious Orchid we have culinary Dill flowers, pink Tropical Salvia (Salvia coccinea) and Dwarf Pineapple foliage.

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This vase contains a Billbergia Bromelaid of uncertain origins ( found thrown out with trash whilst walking my greyhounds) What I can say is I find it unreasonably sharp and beautiful. I may someday learn its botanical name, though I doubt it. In the vase there is some foliage from another, unrelated Bromeliad, a Neoregelia of the Fireball continuum I think.. And a bit of Asparagus Fern that appeared one day and I suspect my floral ambitions are keeping it at bay. The gold bottle has a cork and has served as an olive oil container.

Time in these bottles preserves mid February flowers in my garden or maybe the photos really provide the preservation. Next year will bring the answer all gardeners want to know – will it flower again?

Will our memory persist? One can hope or ask Dali.

In A Vase on Monday -Bouquet of Love

 

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Passionflower vine rambles through some overgrown shrubs in the back garden. The vines were left to ramble because the hummingbirds enjoy them and some native Passionflowers produce an edible fruit, although I have yet to figure out how to tell one from another. While standing under the shrubs channeling Sir Isaac Newton, a passionfruit fell at my feet, inspiring this vase.

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The inspiration provided, passionfruit at my feet, as Valentine’s Day is Tuesday – I thought If starting with a Passionfruit could the vase be filled with flowers that have a meaning related to love? During the Victorian era in England, flower arrangements were made to convey sentiments based on the selection of flowers and the meaning associated with a flower. For example, a bouquet of lilacs would mean first love. If you were the recipient of the Lilacs someone was telling you they were in love with you and for the first time.

Seizing the challenge, I cut a passionfruit still on the vine and searched the Victorian flower dictionary for plants with love related meanings.

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A close up of the plant palette and the meanings of each component:

The  red flowers are Dwarf Jamaican Heliconia (Heliconia stricta) meaning Adoration.

The orange flower is Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) meaning Bonds of Love.

Asian Sword Ferns meaning Sincerity.

The dark, ferny leaves Copper Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) meaning Strength and Praise

Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) meaning Remembrance

Viny plant on the right is Variegated Needlepoint Ivy (Hedera ‘Needlepoint’) meaning Friendship and Fidelity

Last but not least:

The yellow fruit is Passionfruit (Passiflora incarnata) meaning Faith

The result – a bouquet of love for Valentine’s Day from my garden. With the addition of a little something from the kitchen our celebration will be ready.

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A little chocolate to go with the flowers!

Happy Valentine’s Day.

 

 

In A Vase on Monday – Tropical Blues

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It’s Sunday afternoon in South Florida and we are having a rare rainy day with temperatures in the 40s (F). It’s damp and dreary and my greyhounds are grumpy because they have been cooped up in the house all day. Alan (the greyhound, not my husband) went into the backyard, jumped into the air put both paws over his head and threw his collar off and onto the ground burying it in the sand in disgust.

We have the tropical blues. No sun and no blue skies today. Some Kissy Fish and a new Bromeliad in a blue vase will cheer things up.

I was pleased to find the small Pink Bromeliads (Quesnelia testudo) I planted last fall starting to flower this week. Another one of my mystery plants, bought nameless (3 for five bucks!) at a Botanical Garden sale, I thought these were something else entirely, but the Quesnelia have worked out quite well and flower in mid winter here. Someday I will have a drift of Pink Bromeliads under my Shell Gingers.

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Not wishing to venture out in the rain again, I cut the rest of this vase from containers on my front porch. Joining the Quesnelia are: in pink and chartreuse foliage, Alabama Sunset Coleus; chartreuse flowers from Culinary Dill, the darker fine textured foliage is Copper Fennel from the herb containers and a bit of grey Flapjack Kalanchoe flowers and Asian Sword Fern foliage. The blue glass footed vase is a family heirloom.

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The Kissy Fish are part of my husband’s collection of unusual ceramics. The artist is Steven Smeltzer of Maui.

Speaking of my husband – he has been in the kitchen this afternoon seeking to cure our case of the Tropical Blues. Baking a Blueberry Pie:

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I am sure to feel better after dessert.

Pineapples and their Cousins

 

A common element in South Florida gardens is the pineapple patch. Almost everybody has one, from a northern perspective, it seems kind of weird. Grow your own pineapples? Why not? Even one of our neighbors, his yard could be described as nouveau retch, is seen regularly hand watering his pineapples.

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Pineapples are in fact a Bromeliad, which are currently my favorite tropical perennial. Among the many Bromeliads I have planted that are purely ornamental I am afraid I have fallen prey to the trend and now have a pineapple patch between my citrus trees. I eat pineapple just about year round and the tops kept rooting in the compost heap. Unfortunately, the above is my patch, not too pretty.

Pineapples have an interesting history. Originally from the area where modern day Brazil is located, they moved via canoes paddled by traveling natives north to the Caribbean Islands where sea captains picked up on them and carried them home. One early accounting of the discovery of pineapple recounts a meal served by the Caribe tribe where a plate of pineapple rested next to a cauldron of boiling cannibalized humans. I think I would have asked for the fruit plate.

A status symbol on the dining tables of colonial America, pineapples were often rented for centerpieces and then sold after a few uses for eating. Thus the pineapple as a symbol of lush hospitality was born. The prevalence of pineapples as a decorative element may be explained by its being cheaper to carve decorative pineapples into bed posts or garden ornaments instead of renting them by the hour.

The Treasure Coast of Florida, the area I currently call home was once home to a large pineapple plantation. In 1895, Jensen Beach, Florida was named the Pineapple Capital of the World, shipping a million boxes of pineapples a year during the summer season. Later that year a devastating freeze decimated the crop, followed by a few tragic fires and fungal diseases that finished off the pineapple industry by 1920. Agricultural pursuits were redirected towards citrus. Wild Pineapple plants can still be seen on Hutchinson Island and are attributed to the original owner of the plantation, John Jensen.

Like many other popular plants, pineapples have also been bred for Ornamental use. Here are two prettier pineapple plants.