In a Vase on Monday: By Any Other Name

It has been six months since my last gardening post.  I've been doing plenty of gardening in that time, but just not documenting it. I don't want to forget about how my garden grows over the years, or all the wonderful things that come from it, so I figured it was about time to get back in the swing of things...and what better way than with some beautiful bouquets!

The roses are blooming like crazy already.  We had a very mild winter in Central Texas, so the roses have had an early start.  I have so many roses in the garden right now, that this week's vases are made up entirely of roses!

Vase #1 is a combo of Belinda's Dream (pink), Madame Joseph Schwartz (white), and a mystery red rose that was a pass-along from a gardening friend.

Looks like Valentine's in April!

Vase #2 includes more Madame Joseph Schwartz (white), some Mrs. B. R. Cant (pink), and one of my favorite roses in my garden - Abraham Darby (pinkish apricot).

I love the old-time look of these antique roses.

Not only is the color magnificent on the Abraham Darby, but the smell is intoxicating with it's fruity tones.

Thanks to Cathy over at Rambling in the Garden for hosting this fun meme!

In a Vase: Bits of Bougainvillea

I haven't had too many blossoming flowers during our scorching 100+ degree F days in Central Texas to be able to clip for pretty summertime bouquets.  However, one heat-loving plant did start to put on a hot and showy summertime display - my bougainvillea.

The bougainvillea is native to South America and thrives in the heat and sun.  In Central Texas, it dies back to the ground in the winter, but always returns late summer with a beautiful display of flowers on new growth.

To help promote flowering, once the plant starts putting out blossoms, I snip back the limbs to stimulate the growth of more flowers.  I didn't want to throw the pretty papery flower clippings into the compost pile, so into a vase they went - and are really quite long-lasting and great looking cut flowers.  I just wish I had more going on in the garden right now so I could add some complimentary blossoms to the vase.  I suppose the simplicity of a single type of bloom in a vase has its own unique elegance.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the In a Vase meme every Monday.

In a Vase on Monday: Patriotic Celebration

The patriotic colors of red, white and blue.  That's today's theme for Cathy's In a Vase on Monday.  Why?  Two reasons:

1) The United States just celebrated it's 239th birthday on July 4th. GO USA!

2) The US women just won the World Cup 5-2 against Japan on July 5th. GO WOMEN!

I'd say the American Pride has been strong the last few days, and I'm on board.  What a great country I live in.

Today's patriotic vase is brought to you by the American Flag (thanks Betsy Ross), red zinnias (thanks to my good gardening/blogging friend Melissa of Dirt and Wine for my birthday seeds), blue plumbago, and white shasta daisies.

In a Vase on Monday: All Good Things Come in Threes

The garden is full of color and excellent cutting flowers right now, so I decided to make three vases this week - all with a similar yellow and pink theme.

The first vase is the largest of them all and is the one I used to brighten up my main living space at home this week.  The big bouquet was a nice focal point at the center of our large kitchen/dining/family room living space.

The second is simple and elegant - with just three flowers to fill the vase.  I took this one into the office to brighten up my gray cubicle.  I got several compliments on it from co-workers.

The final vase was a whimsical little concoction of some of the "left-over" flowers from the first two vases.  These were the extras, or the ones that didn't really "go" with the other bouquets - but they make a lovely little posy together.  This vase was placed on the bedroom nightstand to enjoy every night before bed, and as the first thing every morning.

The flowers used in this week's vases are:  gladiolas,

sunflowers,

shasta daisies,

and zinnias.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the In a Vase on Monday meme every Monday.

In a Vase on Monday: At the End of the Storm is a Golden Sky...

...and the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on, through the wind
Walk on, through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone...

With all the storms we've been having in Texas recently, I can't help but sing the words of one of my favorite songs, "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel.  For those not familiar with the song, here is my favorite arrangement and performance of the piece, sung by favorite musical organization - The Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, which I was honored to part of back in 2005.

It reminds me how no matter how terrible the "storms" you are going through may be (literally or figuratively), there is hope that things will get better with the help of others, through strength found in God, and with your own grit and determination.

This week's vase demonstrates the beauty that comes after the storms.

This vase, inspired by Cathy's weekly meme over at Rambling in the Garden is filled with a light pink and magenta gladiola, that were knocked down during our recent strong winds.

There is one Mrs. B. R. Cant rose,

A couple of volunteer sunflowers, planted by the birds over the winter,

As well as a handful of zinnias to brighten up the bouquet.

The actual storms in Texas completely filled the retention pond in the park behind our house (normally does not have any water in it, but was filled within an hour or two last week).

As well as brought some funky cool mammatus clouds to the area after the severe storms, which reminded me of something out of a Dr. Seuss or other fantasy book

But those were only minor impacts of the area storms.  The real damage was done down in Hays County.  My husband and I dropped off some flood clean-up supplies in Wimberley, TX over the weekend, where I snapped a couple phone pictures in areas that weren't completely closed off to civilians.

Many trees were completely knocked down or up-rooted, including cypress trees that were centuries old.  Homes and buildings were swept off of their foundations and carried miles downstream (if not completely demolished).  The force of the flood waters was unreal, and the devastation was overwhelming.

I continue to think about all those impacted by the floods and I'm grateful for the volunteers that are helping to clean up the communities that were hit.  There is hope that things will get better.  Walk on and know that you'll never walk alone.

In a Vase on Monday: Remembering the Fallen

Today is Memorial Day in the United States - a day in which we remember those that died while serving in the armed forces.  So, toady's vase is in honor of those that have fallen fighting for our country.

My garden has been loving the record rain we've been having, however, the heavy rains have beaten down some of the flower stalks, including the gladiola and sunflower that are in today's vase.  It seems only fitting that the fallen flowers be used as a symbol to remember those that have fallen for our freedom.

Today's vase includes:

Sunflowers...

Purple gladiolas...

Bright red zinnias that were pass-along seeds from my friend, Melissa's, garden.

Then there are the Black-Eyed Susans...

And finally, some sprigs of blooming parsley to round out the bouquet.

While the rains have been beneficial in some parts of Texas, too much of a good thing can be devastating.  This weekend, the Blanco river in Hays county (about 60 miles or an hour drive south of where I live) has seen record flooding since the 1920's, with hundred's of families loosing their homes, several dead and more missing.  My thoughts are with those that are dealing with loss from the flooding.  My husband and his paramedic co-workers are also on my mind, since they work in the area that has been hit hard by the flooding and will have several long, stressful, and potentially dangerous shifts ahead of them until the flooding subsides.

There is a lot to think about and be grateful for today.


Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the In a Vase Meme every Monday.

In a Vase on Monday: Trash and Treasure

Today's vase is brought to you by deep magenta roses and black-foot daisies.

The rose bush is of an unknown variety, gifted to me as a pass-along plant during the winter months last year from dear friend and garden blogger, Melissa of Dirt and Wine.

Melissa had too many crowded roses at her new house.  I was more than happy to help her out and take a rose bush off her hands.

One gardener's trash is certainly another gardener's treasure.  I had no idea what rose I was going to be getting.  And while I still don't know the name, I know that she is an absolute beauty!  I couldn't be happier with what a wonderful surprise the color, structure, and fragrance of the rose turned out to be.

To compliment the formal structure of the rose, I paired it with another profuse bloomer in the garden right now, and the more informal look of the black-foot daisy.

These flowers do so well in our hot and arid Texas, thriving on neglect and continuing to remain bright and cheerful through the most gruesome days.

Lovely in my flower basket.

Treasures, indeed.

This is definitely my favorite vase yet.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the In a Vase on Monday meme.

In a Vase on Monday: A Gardener's Dream

Ever since I can remember, I've dreamed of having a beautiful garden, full of flowers that I can readily go and cut to make beautiful arrangements in my home.  The dream is now a reality (though it still feels like a dream at times).

I feel so fortunate that I can just walk out my door and admire such beauty, and then capture the beauty and bring it inside with me.

Thanks to Cathy, over at Rambling in the Garden, there is a whole meme dedicated to the beauty that we capture from our gardens and put in vases to bring garden delights to other areas of our lives.

For today's vases, I was delighted to gather the following for my arrangements:

Belinda's Dream rose,

white bearded irises,

and ranunculus (as well as rosemary, not pictured here).

On top of that, after a bit of garage-saling last weekend, I purchased a basket perfect for collecting my cut flowers.

With so many cut flowers to choose from, I opted for two floral arrangements this week.

First, the romantic collection of pretty pink roses and pure white irises:

The Belinda's Dream rose was planted last fall and is already covered in blooms.  I'm expecting a lot of pretty vases made from her flowers!  The white irises were a pass along plant from a neighbor last year.  My neighbor forgot what colors these irises were, so it was a pleasant surprise for them to turn out white after the other varieties of dusty pink, dark purple, yellow, and purple with yellow had already bloomed. 

What a wonderful feeling it is to be able to cut your own roses from your garden!

My second vase is a bright and cheerful mix of ranunculus with some rosemary sprigs.

The ranunculus were fall-planted rhizomes that I wasn't sure would bloom, since I haven't had much luck with them in the past, at least in containers.  However, they are doing very well in the ground!

I selected this cheerful mix to take into work this week to brighten up my cubicle.  Out of my two vases this week, this one, with the ranunculus and rosemary, will last much longer than the irises and roses will, making it a good option for my weekly work vase.

Such pretty things!