Monday, January 1, 2018

In a Vase on Monday: Happy New Year!

I invested so much time fussing with my new lath (shade) house this past weekend, I'd little time for cutting flowers, especially as I'd set myself a goal of packing away all our Christmas decorations prior to the new year.  Of course, that doesn't mean I'd let Monday go by without cutting something!  It just means I didn't go over the top as I'm inclined to do.

Last year, I had pink Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) in my vase in the beginning of January.  No such luck this year but Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' with its flower-like yellow bracts is putting on a good show and so became the centerpiece of this New Year's Day bouquet.

The soft, lacy foliage of Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' provided a textural contrast for the Leucadendron

And the bright red-orange berries of Nandina domestica echoed the tinges of red in the Leucadendron's "petals"

I tried to find additional blooms and foliage for the vase shown above but nothing else I cut looked quite right in the arrangement, partly because the stems weren't long enough to stand up to the Leucadendron.  I tucked the leftovers into 2 small vases.

The amber vase on the left contains Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' and Gaillardia 'Fanfare Citronella'.  The green vase on the right contains another stem of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' and Argyranthemum 'Mega White'.



For more IAVOM posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Best wishes for happy, healthy and productive new year to all.  May 2018 find us living in a better, kinder, and more peaceful world.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

26 comments:

  1. I like your wishes for our world in 2018, I agree. Happy New Year!

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    1. I enjoyed you Abba-based message too, Alison. Best wishes!

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    1. Thanks Renee! I hope your great weather continues (although I suspect we'd both also enjoy some rain).

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  3. Happy new year and I second your wishes for 2018. We are a sea of mud and greyness here with the odd burst of winter sun so it is cheering to see your vases. All the green is lovely too. I think I could make a green vase. I am choosing Dahlia tubers and planning for spring!

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    1. I hope a patch of warm sunny weather is in store for you, Alison! I'm choosing dahlia tubers too - I hope I have better luck getting my top choices this year than I did last year.

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  4. Happy New Year Kris! I'll be curious to learn how the Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' foliage lasted in a vase.

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    1. My recollection is that the Acacia held up pretty well in a vase on the infrequent occasions in which I've used it in the past, Loree. Happy new year to you also!

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  5. These are all great and such a treat as we are in the throes of a frigid, snowy winter....everything is white! The first one is perfect for New Year's as it reminds me of fireworks....Happy New Year!

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    1. Well, the sky has turned white here today, Donna, although it's a combination of the marine layer and fog, not snow. Our temperatures have been unseasonably warm for an extended period but there's another chance of rain on the horizon later this week. Fingers are crossed!

      Happy new year!

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  6. Oh I like the way the contents of the two smaller vases match the vases themselves - and hurrah for red berries at Christmas!

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    1. I thought of placing the 3 vases as a vignette, Cathy, but I couldn't work out a proper setting (what with all the Christmas decorations in the process of being packed away). Thanks again for years of keeping the IAVOM meme going!

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  7. Happy New Year, Kris! Love those leucadendrons!

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  8. The first arrangement may be my favorite so far,perfect color and texture combination.Happy New Year and my fervent wishes for precipitation.

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    1. Thanks for the rain wishes, Amelia! It's beginning to feel dire here with less than 1/4th of an inch of rain for the entire season so far.

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  9. I'm all for a 'better, kinder, and more peaceful world.' We deserve it, yes? :)
    I love your nandina, a plant I admire, but cannot grow. I've always been drawn to red berries all my life. It got me in trouble when I was a kid, when I tasted chokecherry - whew, wicked sour! ;D

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    1. Yikes! It could have been oleander! A world without Eliza would be a sadder place. I hope things improve nationally and geopolitically in 2018. I hesitate to say that they can't get worse as I was proven wrong on that score any number of times last year.

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  10. Leucadendron really has a nice form. I like the way you've used it today. The Acacia texture is perfect against it. Kris, hope you have much joy and good health in the new year. It was such a treat to meet in person!

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    1. I'll miss you at the May Fling but maybe I'll see you in Colorado in 2019?! In the meantime, if a visit to your daughter brings you out this way, let me know - she's freeway close I think.

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  11. A more peaceful world--that's a good wish. I like all your vases--especially the 'Wilson's Wonder' paired with the Acacia and the Nandina berries. Luscious.

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    1. I hope the wish for a more peaceful world isn't a pipedream, Beth. Frankly, the tension with North Korea is putting me on edge.

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  12. A very Happy New Year to you Kris. Your vase speaks of warmth and sunshine - we have some sunshine but very little warmth here! I need to keep my Christmas decorations up until the Befana (12th Night), but I'm ready to say goodbye to them for another year although I've no idea what I'm going to find in the garden to put in a vase.

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  13. Your nandina berries are always such a bright spot. "Kinder" and "more peaceful" are definitely at the top of my list for 2018 - wish everyone wanted it that way! Leaving very belated new year's wishes for you here, Kris!

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    1. It's already been a more turbulent start to the new year than I'd have liked to see, Amy, but perhaps we can have a do-over with the start of the Chinese New Year on January 16th!

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