Salvaged
by petal & pins
Spending a little time in the garden this afternoon I decided to join Cathy from Rambling In The Garden for ‘In A Vase On Monday’.
The first thing I picked were some sprays of this delicate pink flower, perhaps you can identify it – I salvaged the plant from a neighbourhood green waste pile (I had the perfect bare patch to welcome it!)
I multi-tasked and watered the garden while randomly picking things including fig leaves, snow berry, purple leaved smokebush and parsley flower heads.
This ad hoc approach meant much more fiddling was required when I came to put my bunch in a vase and I ended up adding some dried gum nuts to toughen it up.
I used a vintage cut glass vase I bought from the tip shop and photographed it with one of the birds Mr Petal & Pins and I have bought as holiday momentos – this one we found in Lake Como.
Why not hop over to Cathy’s blog to see her ‘In A Vase On Monday’, and if you would like to join in put a link to yours in the comments of Cathy’s post.
Petal & Pins 
Oh I adore this glass vase…it is beautiful…and the material you chose is spectacular…so filled out and green! Those gum nuts are my favorite.
Hi Donna, I do like old cut glass and this one is a good shape – wide curved neck and not too tall. The gum nuts I collected on a walk with plans to spray them gold for Xmas but it hasn’t happened yet!
Delightful! – that flower looks a bit like jasmine – has it a scent?
Thank you!
It’s not a jasmine, it grows in clumps and the leaves are long ( 2ft+) I thought it might be a type of lily or ginger.
So wonder to view an ‘exotic’ arrangement, but with such lovely muted colours where every element supports the whole.
Thank you Noelle
Oh someone will definitely id it for you – I thought jasmine at first and then epimedium until you mentioned the 2 foot long leaves! I don’t have experience of ginger but know some of the Monday vase-fillers do – but let’s hope it is not something invasive if you found it at the tip! You have a great combination of things in your vase and the shape of the vase makes for a very balanced result. Thanks for sharing
Kris identified it! Renga Lily a New Zealand native but she has it in her Californian garden. I think the neighbour was thinning out a bed it makes for a nice boarder but yes if left unchecked it will take over like ginger plants.
What a beautiful display! I literally caught my breath when I saw it. I wonder if your mystery flower could be Arthropodium cirratum, also known as Renga Lily. The plant is native to New Zealand and produces long strappy leaves. I grow it here in Southern California, where it does very well in dry conditions with partial shade. It’s one of my favorite plants and divides easily to produce new plants.
Yes! That is exactly what it is, thank you Kris! It’s surprising Mr Petal & Pins didn’t recognise it having grown up in NZ. It was probably why the neighbour was throwing a lot out if it multiplies rigorously the flowers were a nice surprise after I had saved it!
Beautiful, Sandra! The gum nuts are so unusual and the trailing vines add a nice effect. Even your vases are elegant! 🙂