On Mondays, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden hosts the meme In a Vase on Monday. Obviously, my USDA zone 5a garden has no flowers blooming during the winter, so I must cheat to participate when my garden is covered in snow.
Plus, I needed some color. So I bought myself a bright bouquet at the market. This lovely collection included one bright pink Gerbera Daisy, creamy Hydrangeas, peachy Carnations, chartreuse and yellow Mums, purple Statice, fuchsia Dianthus, and several perfectly formed Roses. Garish, I guess, but eye-opening and heart-warming to my color-starved soul.
By the time I got around to arranging them, the Gerbera Daisy had lost its groove, but the rest of the blooms still looked pretty good. I grabbed a few strands of English Ivy to flow along the sides. (The cat approved.)
While it was a little too early to think about Easter, this metal basket with a handle seemed an appropriate vessel for the beauties.
Just going on instinct and preference at the time, I arranged the warmer elements around the sides and the bottom.
And I inserted the cool Statice and Dianthus toward the top.
Completed just before Valentine's Day, the collection formed an unintentional heart shape.
The extra Roses and a Carnation were perfect for a bud vase.
This tiny olive oil jar our daughter brought back from Mexico was ideal for the mini-arrangement.
Sometimes the little things bring the greatest joy.
All are holding up well after several additional days in saturated floral foam. I had to place both arrangements up and away from the cat. I like this one on top of the hutch.
Happy vase day! To join in Cathy's meme, head on over to Rambling in the Garden.
But the cat is the most beautiful flower in the bunch ;~) Thomas prefers to hunt his flowers in the garden, I'm sure he knows why the Crinum lily lies instead of stands.
ReplyDeleteHe is! :) Ginger is an indoor cat. He would cause too much damage outside (eating birds, running away, etc.). The flowers have to be put up away from him, too. But we give him plenty of attention in other ways.
DeleteYour skills at arrangement turned the blast of color your got from the market into a beautiful rainbow, Beth. The cat has great taste too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kris. I'm sure the cat would eat the flowers or tear them apart if I didn't put them up out of the way. But he's a good little guy.
DeleteLovely! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and you are welcome! The endless white and gray of the winter landscape steered me toward bright colors. :)
DeleteMy goodness, that was a bright bunch! I really like the way you have customised it and adding the ivy really personalises it - of course the unintentional heart shape is a brilliant touch too! Thanks for joining in IAVOM, Beth
ReplyDeleteYes, bright it is! I am sooo color-starved lately. I have so much potted ivy I don't know what to do with it! Thanks for hosting IAVOM!
DeleteThis bouquet looks like you dipped into a paint box and used every color. I think it is gorgeous. It makes me want to go paint a picture with all of those colors. I can see why your cat is attracted to this colorful wonder.
ReplyDeleteAh, good way to describe it! Thank you for your kind words, Lisa. I feel like I want to spend some time staring at colorful things. The kitty is always curious...
DeleteYes! The bright colors wake up winter-weary eyes. Gorgeous and I love the way the larger arrangement nestles between plants on your hutch, like a summer garden. Glad that kitty approves.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. It really is good therapy, isn't it? Cuddly cats are good therapy, too. :)
DeleteI love the way the flowers are surrounded by all that lush greenery. I agree that all this white is getting a little frustrating.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. This winter reminds me of the winters of my childhood--up near Green Bay. They usually get a lot more snow than Madison does. This year, we're keeping up the pace. Good for skiing, but it brings too much shoveling and dangerous travel. The white is nice, but not when it drags on for weeks...
DeleteAnd it looks like you got color--in spades! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYes, it really helped. Thank you!
DeleteI love the colors and your arrangements, but it is the fragrances that I long to enjoy. The sweet aroma of roses, the spicy fragrance of carnations, the clove scent of my favorite Dianthus and last but not least the distinctive fragrance of Chrysanthemums. When I look at your post and breathe in, I can almost catch the scent. Mmmm!
ReplyDeleteGood point! The scent is pleasant, too. Not quite as hearty as when just-picked, but definitely part of the sensory experience. :)
DeleteWow. We needed colour. So beautifully put together. Thanks for posting
ReplyDeleteYes, we did! Thank you. And you are welcome! "Meteorological spring" is only eight days away!
Deletebeautiful flower arrangements! so colorful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Endah. Occasionally, it's good to pamper ourselves, even in little ways. :)
DeleteHi Beth, i have not been posting lately nor commenting. Cheating is okay if it shows lovely results like those. In our case we don't normally make vase arrangements because we have lots of flowers anywhere, so we do them only in big function halls and occasions. I agree, it is needed during your winters.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea: We all need breaks now and then. Gosh, I'm envious of you always having flowers around! I kind of get a hint of that during our growing season, when it's hard to pick which blooms to pick for bouquets. It's certainly not the case now. LOL. Yes, I really felt a need for the flowers and the color. :)
DeleteFebruary is the hardest month I think for us northern gardeners. We definitely crave some color! It looks very nice and cheerful!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is! It's the hardest month for so many reasons, gardening included. Thank you for your kind words. :)
DeleteLovely arrangement of flowers, the colour of the pink carnation is stunning.
ReplyDeleteAmanda xx
Thanks, Amanda! I love those carnations--kind of a salmony, peachy pink. They have the sweetest scent among the bunch, too. :)
DeleteVery pretty. I like having small bouquets all around the house. I have a variety of small jars, bottles and vases, they work perfect.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carla. I agree--sometimes it's nicer to have several tiny arrangements around here and there, rather than one large arrangement. Although I like both!
DeleteMe too! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! Winter is waning...isn't it? ;-)
DeleteFlowers are gorgeous and your cat is a real cutie.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marian. Ginger is a good kitty. Fur-babies are the best.
DeleteWhat a great color fix!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was!
DeleteColor definitely cheers up the gloomy winter. I love the creamy hydrangea flowers in the arrangement. I never think of cutting them in my own garden but I should.
ReplyDeleteLucky you to have the creamy Hydrangeas in your garden! I only have the blue/pink ones, which are great as cut flowers, too. The colorful bouquets are just fading now, so they had a lot of staying power!
DeleteYour arrangement would brighten the gloomiest winter day. Well done! I love how it looks atop the hutch.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. The colors certainly helped my mood! They are just starting to fade now, so they had a long vase life!
DeleteWe DO need color here, don't we?! After this weekend, I was roaming around the house waiting for the wind to stop. I love your arrangement, just what I needed.
ReplyDeleteYes! More cold to come this week, Karen, and then things are looking a little better after that--for us here in Madison, so I'm assuming you'll start to warm up, too! Winter go away!
DeleteYou certainly got your colour fix. Lovely. I hooe you get some colour outside too soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chloris! We'll be very cold this week, with tons of snow still on the ground. There's hope for a gradual warm-up after that. I can't wait to see the Daffodils, etc.!
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