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: 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!

In a Vase on Monday - Stereotypical Spring

Tulips and daffodils.  Those were the key flowers associated with spring, at least where I grew up in Southeastern Wisconsin.  They still represent springtime to me, and make great cut flowers.

So, I've been adding a variety of daffodils and other narcissus to my garden over the last year or two and they do really well and naturalize.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for tulips, at least down here in Zone 8b.  Most tulips need to be treated as annuals in Texas.  If you want to have the bulbs for more than one season, you need to dig them up after the foliage fades, store them in peat moss, and then refrigerate them for about six weeks in the fall/early winter so that they get enough chill hours before placing them back out in the garden.

I stayed away from tulips over the last few years because of the extra work required.  But I just couldn't help myself this year.  I was nostalgic for some northern tulips, so I bought the bulbs and refrigerated them for several weeks in December and January before placing them in the garden.

I love the look of these dark burgundy tulips so much, that I think I'm willing to go through the hassle of digging them up and storing them - at least this year.

I collected several of the tulips, along with a variety of daffodils and a few remaining Erlicheer narcissus (for fragrance) for this week's vase.

I brought this vase into work and I've already received several compliments on my beautiful flowers.  People are even more shocked when I tell them that they come from my garden.  I guess it has become a bit of a novelty for people to be able to make their own beautiful arrangements from homegrown flowers.

That's why I love this meme, hosted by Cathy over at Rambling in the Garden.  The art of garden-fresh flower arrangements is kept alive and well.  Be sure to check out the other beautiful vases from gardens around the world on her blog.

In a Vase on Monday: Spring Delights

This is my first time joining in on In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy over at Rambling in the Garden.  Last year, I was able to bring in a few bouquets from the garden, but I didn't have much variety to choose from, and not a very long season of good cut flowers and foliage.  This year, I'm hoping that will change, considering all of the plants I've planted and seeds I've sown over the last year.  It would be wonderful to be able to have a new bouquet of flowers every week, fresh from the garden.  I'm certainly willing to give it a try, and I think this blog meme will help me stick to give it a good shot.

This week's arrangement shouts spring-time with the multiple Erlicheer narcissus blooms, unknown yellow narcissus, and amaryllis leaves.

The primary reason this bouquet came to be was because heavy rains at the end of last week weighed down on these blooms can caused them to bend over to the ground.  Since I knew they wouldn't last long in the garden like that, I decided to bring them in to enjoy their blooms a bit longer.  And the amaryllis leaves are left-overs that are part of the bulbs that I forced indoors over the winter.  There leaves make excellent foliage additions to the bouquet - and are quite long-lasting!

The multiple blooms of the Erlicheers are busting with fragrance.  Every time I pass by the bouquet, I get a whiff of their strong, but delightful fragrance.

And the yellow narcissus adds a nice cheery focal point to this piece.  It is obviously a spring-time bouquet with the daffodil.

This vase was too lovely for me to leave at home while I headed to work, so I decided to take it with me and place it in my cubicle to get more enjoyment out of the flowers.  I actually get more enjoyment out of work too, getting to look at these pretty guys all day and smell their wonderful fragrance.

I also made a secondary, smaller bouquet this week to showcase another delightful springtime bulb bloom in the garden right now - hyacinths.  These blooms are also very pungent, so just one little flower can fill a whole room (or cubicle) with its fragrance.

The pink hyacinth is accompanied by the familiar blooms of the Erlicheer again, as well as another amaryllis leaf (I have a feeling I'll be using these frequently to anchor my arrangements in the coming weeks).

Thanks again to Cathy for hosting this meme.  I look forward to the challenge of creating garden fresh bouquets for my home on a weekly basis!

Birthday Bouquets

This last week I celebrated my 28th birthday.  I got to enjoy my birthday over several days with family and friends.  I also got to enjoy (and am still enjoying) some beautiful bouquets that my loved ones provided.

First was a warm bouquet of yellows, oranges, and peaches provided by my mommy dearest.  She actually sent it to the restaurant that my husband and I went to for my birthday dinner.  At first I just thought that all the tables had these amazing bouquets...then I realized it was just ours...and then I realized it was just for me from my mamma mia for me.  My mamma really knows how to make me feel special!

Next was a striking bouquet of gigantic red hot zinnias from my dear gardening friend, Melissa.  She even went the extra step and provided me some seeds from her amazing zinnias (and cosmos!) that I have been admiring on her Dirt and Wine gardening blog.  Thanks Mel!

Finally, my other friend, Edith, brought in this bouquet of miniature pumpkins.  At first, I didn't think it was real.  Upon further inspection, I saw it was a real plant.  I of course had to do some research to find out what this mysterious and mystical plant was.  Turns out that it is solanum integrifolium, a.k.a Pumpkin on a Stick, a.k.a Pumpkin Tree, a.k.a Mock Tomato.

What a fun and festive plant!  It is actually an ornamental eggplant.  Since eggplant grow so well here in Texas, I'm going to see if I can try to save some seeds from it and grow it in my garden next summer for a fun fall ornamental harvest.

Thanks to everyone for my b-day blooms and for making it a great birthday!