Today is the fourth anniversary of "In a Vase on Monday," the addictive meme hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden. I joined in several months after Cathy launched these weekly posts challenging her fellow garden bloggers to create arrangements from floral and foliage materials they have on hand. I think I've missed just one week since I started participating. This week, Cathy challenged participants to use something other than a vase to hold their creations.
My first arrangement utilizes an ornamental teapot. The teapot had belonged to my mother-in-law. It's not fine china but I'd always admired it and, when we cleared her home for sale after we lost her, I brought it home as a remembrance of her.
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| The starting point for this arrangement was the peach-colored rose. Now that our weather is finally cooler, the roses are gradually reappearing. |
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| Rear view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the teapot contains: Rosa 'Medallion', Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa ' Nana', berries of Nandina domestica, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Grevillea 'Superb', and Rosa 'Joseph's Coat' |
Because I've featured the teapot before, I challenged myself to try something else I haven't used before. I'd been looking for a piece of driftwood to support a collection of succulents as a display in my
new bromeliad garden and, luckily, I finally found one last week. The question then became: how do I put this together? I'd decorated a pumpkin with succulents before but the driftwood was a little trickier to work with.
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| The first issue was to decide which side of the driftwood piece should be up and which down |
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| I assembled my supplies, which included succulents, 2 kinds of glue, plastic gloves, and bagged moss. In addition to small rooted succulents, I used cuttings from plants in my garden, including the Crassula pubescens in a pot at my elbow. |
I'd viewed a couple of on-line tutorials about affixing succulents to driftwood but didn't strictly follow the recommended guidelines. The tutorials made use of cuttings but I also used some small, rooted plants, wrapping them in moss and stuffing them in pockets here and there without using glue. How well that will work in the long-run remains to be seen. Here's a look at the finished product:
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| Front view |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the arrangement includes: Crassula capitella and Echeveria agavoides; Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi'; a red-tipped Rhipsalis (shown with a noID succulent); Crassula perforata 'Variegata' and Crassula pubescens ssp radicans; and Tillandsia 'Capitata Peach' |
The teapot landed on the dining table and the driftwood found its place in my bromeliad garden. The table in the front entry remains unadorned this week.
To see how others addressed this week's challenge,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
The teapot arrangement is lovely but that driftwood display is a winner. Clever and natural looking all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI hope it holds up awhile, Linda!
DeleteKris I love the teapot and it is perfect for your arrangement....the colors are a perfect match. But oh the driftwood is amazing. What a fantastic idea to fill it easily with succulents and then to keep it in your garden....love the way it works perfectly in your landscape. The benefits of a warm and drier climate. You really are a creative artist.
ReplyDeleteOh, succulent-planted driftwood isn't unique, Donna, although I must say I like my creation better than those I've seen sold in garden centers.
DeleteThe flowers you chose to go in the teapot flatter it's shape and their colors pop! But WOW!!! That driftwood piece is stunning! The driftwood itself is so sculptural and you "adorned" it perfectly, allowing its beauty to come through even with the addition of plants.
ReplyDeleteYes, not overdoing the plants was key (says she who so often stuffs her vases to the gills).
DeleteThe driftwood is fabulous! Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alison!
DeleteThe teapot with its rose and other contents is pretty but the driftwood is amazing! Those little nooks and crannies on it are perfect for your cuttings and spare plants and the end result is a real work of art - thanks so much for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to you once again for hosting, Cathy!
DeleteWow! Gorgeous driftwood arrangement, Kris! You have the knack for arranging, for sure. Your arrangement of roses (robustly healthy-looking) with the grevillea and berries compliments the soft greens in the teapot beautifully. Nice meeting of the challenge. :)
ReplyDeleteI was very pleased to see the roses, Eliza. Despite our heavier-than-usual winter rain, their performance in spring was disappointing to say the least so I appreciate that they're taking advantage of our "second spring."
DeleteWhat a pretty teapot and the arrangement is gorgeous, such lovely colours. The driftwood with succulents is fabulous. I love driftwood and what a great idea to use it for succulents. I might just copy that next summer.
ReplyDeleteIt remains to be seen how long the driftwood creation holds up but, as I recall, I got a pretty good run with the succulent-topped pumpkin last year.
DeleteThe teapot is certainly pretty as are the flowers. I do love those shades and to see your rose when the only buds we have now are so wet they won't ever open. Let's hope your driftwood creation lasts, it looks quite at home there.
ReplyDeleteThere are more buds on my rose shrubs so I hope I'll have a chance to feature more of the flowers before it comes time to cut all the shrubs back, Alison.
DeleteI love the warm glowing shades in your teapot Kris especially your revived rose. Your driftwood succulent arrangement is a work of art. It would be interesting to see it again a few months down the line.
ReplyDeleteI'll provide an update on the driftwood piece downstream, Anna. I'm curious as to how well it'll hold up myself.
DeleteYour driftwood looks great planted up Kris! I love this kind of natural arrangement and you have managed to place the plants so that the wood itself is still visible. :) I also love the roses in your teapot!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy!
DeleteBoth beautiful but that driftwood arrangement is just wow!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! It was harder to create the succulent-planted driftwood than last year's succulent-topped pumpkin. Gravity was more of a factor with this exercise.
DeleteYou really rose to the challenge with two arrangements. Both are great but the driftwood arrangement is really unusual and well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter!
DeleteWow that driftwood thing turn out great! Brava!
ReplyDeleteI was pleased with it, HB!
DeleteThat driftwood thing looks like it would cost $50 at a fancy store! Very nicely done! And the rose bouquet looks great also; so exuberant!
ReplyDeleteI had to buy the driftwood but at least found it at what was, locally at least, a deal.
DeleteOmg....it's all stunning, but that driftwood piece w/ succulents?? AMAZING. What an eye/s you have!
ReplyDeleteThanks Holly!
DeleteSorry for the double comment, but reading over your other comments: I think it's time to start selling your driftwood arrangements ;)
ReplyDeleteHa! We'll have to see how long the creation holds up.
DeleteBoth your arrangements are stunning, Kris. I love the color-drenched blooms in the precious teapot. Your Medallion rose is always lovely when you post it.
ReplyDeleteThen the driftwood arrangement - fabulous! Like Cathy, I love the way you've distributed the plants so both they and the wood are fully visible. Now I wonder, could small aloes and agaves be used similarly? I have lots of pups... ;-)
I think some of the smaller aloes would work well, Amy. The larger ones would probably work but might outgrow the driftwood support more quickly than you'd like.
DeleteKris, the teapot with roses is just lovely, I love peach roses so much! Your bromeliad garden looks very pretty! I started a small stumpery last year for ferns but for some reason they are growing very slowly (they grow fast where they are unwanted!) Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI love fern stumperies! Unfortunately, we don't get enough rain to support them. I expect yours just needs time to settle in, MDN.
DeleteBoth are gorgeous, I love teapots as vases and have a couple remembrance teapots from my mother.The roses look great, low humidity and black spot? The driftwood is an inspiration, I may have to try one - thought that was a Tillandsia, they grow wild around here (not that variety) Tried them on a stump, they got blown off!
ReplyDeleteGlue is the key, Amelia! Supposedly, it won't harm the plant.
DeleteI do love your driftwood creation ! I have a ridiculous stash of driftwood here that I tend to just use as features in my containers. But this has inspired me to take it to the next level !
ReplyDeleteAs with any wreath, pumpkin or other similar creation, it's not a permanent feature, which is the downside of tampering with the driftwood. But, if it lasts 3 months or so, I'll be happy. I can always refresh it with new succulent cuttings or replace the succulents entirely with Tillandsias.
DeleteYour driftwood planter/sculpture looks fantastic, Kris!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily!
DeleteWhat a fabulous teapot. So glad you rescued it, and I'm sure your mother-in-law would really enjoy the use you are putting it to (also perfect for showing off the colour of those splendid grevilleas!) But the driftwood is a work of art - I hope the sit gives you pleasure for more than 3 months!
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy if the driftwood piece lasts 6 months without replanting, Cathy, but that may be a pipedream.
Delete