Suddenly it is about two weeks until Christmas. How did that happen? Cards have not been sent and I probably have missed the opportunity to buy a live Christmas tree. Sigh. Well, I will check and see if I can get a crunchy, nearly free tree this week. I am still indulging my distaste for fake plants, Christmas trees included. Tree lots are set up in baking South Florida parking lots in December that are not conducive to live plants of any kind. I am seriously considering making a bromeliad cutting Christmas tree.

I have managed to unearth a bit of holiday cheer in the form of a Christmas gift I received long ago from my mother. The holiday chocolate pot. She gave me this the year my husband and I moved to the suburbs of Atlanta. Seemingly (from her perspective) I was going to morph into a 1950s housewife and invite the neighbor ladies in for holiday hot chocolate and cookies (there are matching mugs). This is the first time the chocolate pot has ever been used. I think my mother would have approved its use as a vase.

The plant palette:

Red flowers draping over the side are Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus); berries are from the native Firebush (Igiveupon properbotanicalname) – these are beginning stage berries, they eventually form juicy black fruit the birds love.

Chartreuse foliage is from Golden Dewdrop (Duranta repens); white spikes are ‘White Flame’ Salvia; red and yellow flowers are ‘Lady Di’ Heliconias (Heliconia psittacorum); foliage is from ‘Mammey’ Croton (Codieum varigatum).

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

Happy Holidays from South Florida.