Violets
Petal & Pins
Category: In A Vase On Monday
March 25, 2019
The Devil Is In The Detail
I think autumn is one of my favourite months to join Cathy from Rambling In The Garden’s Monday blog post project In A Vase On Monday.
There’s always an eclectic mix of colour and shapes to choose from in my garden at this time and the end result is often bolder and more considered in the way I put things together.
This morning I’ve chosen to use my glass vase that has a swirl of crimson around the top thinking it would pick up the colour of the crabapples growing in our hedge.
The ones I could reach to pick are a much more golden hue, and with a trio of pink roses I also picked some mottled hydrangeas to tie it all together.
A stack of magazines was a practical solution as a makeshift plinth to raise the flowers for photographing but I thought the gorgeous rich image on the cover of Flowbulous magazine also created a beautiful backdrop!
I bought the magazine in Japan last year and it’s full of incredible photographs and flowers by Atsushi Taniguchi.
As I arranged my vase I began to realise I’d not picked nearly enough for such a wide necked vase and at that moment it started to pour with rain. My solution? the gum nuts sitting undercover on the verandah and some hydrangeas dried from last autumn in the palest of pink.
The gum nuts of course add a distinctive Australian touch to my vase so I decided to photograph it with Desmond the Tasmanian devil – a beautiful print from an original watercolour drawing by Melbourne artist Daniella Leo.
And that is what’s inspired this Monday’s blog post title!
February 25, 2019
Ripples On Water
I’m a little late with my first blog post for 2019, our January trip to exhibit at Top Drawer London S/S had us on the go from day one.
But as February starts to disappear the beginning of a new week has spurred me to dive back in and what better inspiration for a post than participating in Cathy from Rambling in the Garden’s In A Vase On Monday!
I have a small clump of Amaryllis belladonna growing in my garden but this big bunch I was given by my neighbour.
These lillies are a bit ‘now you see me now you don’t’ – with warmer than average weather this summer and everything looking a bit dry and a little jaded, suddenly in gardens and paddocks up pop the ‘naked ladies’, prettiness that belies hardiness.
After using some to design a lily dress for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe I have arranged the rest with white agapanthus, some branches from a deeper pink flowering shrub and some greenery.
This time last year we were excitedly planning our trip to Japan and on the weekend we finally hung the beautiful drawings we bought at the Oedo Antique Market in Tokyo.They are actually technical drawings – designs for obi, the sash worn with a kimono. The market seller had a large pile of them with other trinkets laid out on a cloth. I hovered rather impatiently as someone before me went through cherry picking a lot of the most beautiful ones!
Of the two we chose I had thought the other one – a lush arrangement of peonies and chrysanthemums was my favourite but now hung, one each side of the fireplace, the simplicity and serenity of this one beckons me to pause, imagine myself on a river bank, glance through the over hanging branches and watch the ripples dancing on the surface of the water.
March 26, 2018
Flower Lamp
I’m joining Cathy from Rambling in the Garden for In A Vase On Monday albiet with one I arranged on Saturday night as it’s raining this morning.
It’s been raining on and off for the last four days – not that I’m complaining because the garden needs it and it’s the perfect excuse as the mornings get darker to pull the quilt up tighter and ignore the alarm clock for a few minutes more.
I love this time of year when summer gives way to autumn, it feels like life slows a little and reminds you to take a moment to just breathe and be still – which is funny really because as the days get shorter you would think it woud bring a sense of urgency that you have less time to do all that needs to be done!
The hydrangeas have just about finished for the season but their late season faded colours are a favourite of mine and I’ve been leaving them to dry in vases around the house.
On Saturday evening after a day of grey skies and rain I decided to add a bit of autumn style to the mantle piece by filling a large cylindrical glass vase with dried hydrangea heads intertwinded with fairy lights.
Want to try making your own ‘Flower Lamp’ vase? This is what you’ll need.
- glass vase or jar
- dried hydrangeas
- secateurs or scissors to remove the stems close to the flower heads
- fairy lights
I have used Down To The Woods battery operated LED string lights that are on malleable wire that can be twisted and scrunched. The small battery box can be neatly tucked out of sight behind the vase so you can easily turn it off and on when you want!
I love the soft cozy effect the twinkling vase creates and I’m now keen to try out the idea with autumn leaves.
November 20, 2017
Objet d’art
This beautiful porcelain vase was a gift from a friend and it’s sensuous form is deceptively simple.
There is the finest line of handpainted gold around the top of the neck and when not showing off a flower is far more objet d’art than just simply an empty vase.
The peony with its hint of pink and ruffled petals is dreamy and romantic just like the Solstiss lace for haute couture Gaultier Paris from fall-winter 2005 -2006 featured in the book Solstiss: The seduction of lace by Ann Kraatz.
I don’t often bring these peonies inside because they are highly attractive to ants for some reason and indeed this morning I had to give this one a good shake to avoid bringing any inside.
But they won’t be flowering for long with the warm weather we’re getting and seemed the perfect pairing with this vase to share for Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday.
November 14, 2016
What’s My Name?
It rained all day yesterday, so today as everything was rather drenched I’m going to cheat and share a picture of a rose that I picked recently from a friend’s garden for In A Vase On Monday.
I have another motive for doing this – just like my rose from the previous blog post – this one’s name remains a mystery.
Happily blooming for well over thirty years apparently even the local rose society has not been able to identify it – so I thought I’d share it here on the off chance the mystery might be solved!
It’s ruffled texture was what caught my eye (it made me think of vintage swim suits) and that luscious colour!
The shape of the blooms are quite distinctive and as you can see by the loose petals the red is streaked with an almost burgundy colour.
‘What’s my name?’ – do you know!
October 17, 2016
Intertwined
It’s been a while since I’ve joined in on ‘In a Vase On Monday’ but this morning after a few hours of sun to dry off yesterday’s rain I decided I needed to make time before spring gives way to summer.
Cathy from Rambling In The Garden started ‘In A Vase On Monday’ to share what’s in the garden year round and invites readers to share their vase or jam jar arrangements too in the comments section of her Monday blog post! (or hashtag #inavaseonmonday to your photo on Instagram)
It’s inspiring seeing other peoples arrangements, read about their gardens and the reminder that my spring is someone else’s autumn. It’s also a lovely way to take a moment out and slow down!
For this vase I wanted to recreate the part of the garden I’d gathered from – the pink climbing rose was a house warming present and now clambers up a verandah post and tangles with the lilac and the Chinese snowball tree all intertwined with a white clematis. Near by the apple tree is in blossom and an old cécile brünner rose bush has it’s first flush of pink buds.
I’ve been designing new Spring dresses for the Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe too and you can see a special one I designed with daphne, hellebores, jonquils and plum blossom gracing the cover of the online Spring edition of OnTrend Bridal magazine!
May 17, 2016
Berries & Birdcages
Walking back from the post office today I picked a small piece of Hedera helix – also known as common ivy, English ivy, European ivy, or just ivy!
I do have ivy growing in my garden but not with the dark purple-black fruit and I’d been thinking it would be striking in a flower arrangement, so today I’m sneaking it into my In A Vase On Monday arrangement with flowers and foliage from my garden.
You may remember my peony tree ‘pink sticks’ from a few weeks back – I’m pleased to report they kept their colour once dried – so I’ve added a few of those and some blackened plum sticks (the water shoots that grow nice and straight up from the base of the tree).
I’ve used 3 cobra head lilies, one pink rose and some bergenia flowers that after a few days of good rain and a little sunshine are providing a lovely splash of colour in the garden.
I’m not sure the sticks work so in the morning I may have a fiddle and try it without them but I am pleased with my choice of vase – an old tarnished silver sugar bowl, which I’ve used with a ceramic flower frog to help hold the arrangement in place and my miniature wire bird cages from Faff & Rambling seemed the perfect little props to sit along side.
Cathy from Rambling In The Garden started In A Vase On Monday to inspire people to bring something from their garden inside to enjoy – what ever the season. Pop over to her blog to see what she and others have gathered this week and if you feel like joining in one Monday put a link to your vase in the comments on her post.
April 18, 2016
Autumn Ikebana
Monday seems to have come around again very quickly – but then of course daylight saving has ended here and the days are getting shorter as we edge towards winter.
A busy morning meant I didn’t think about gathering things from my garden to join Cathy for In A Vase On Monday until this afternoon. I decided to use my ikebana vase, a gift from my sister, and 3 stems of dried seeds I picked on a walk earlier.
From my garden I chose a small branch of magnolia, some pieces of camellia with buds and some white flowers.
I’ve also reused one of the agapanthus seed heads from my Pink Sticks & Pinking Shears vase as I liked how it had started to dry to a yellowy colour that picks up the centre of the single iris and also reveals a hint of the black seeds.
My little brass buddha seemed the perfect prop to place on the flat base of the vase – turning my arrangement into a miniature garden when viewed at eye level.
You can see how I’ve used the ikebana vase previously in my post A String Of Pearls , also coincidentally an autumn arrangement!
Petal & Pins 