In a Vase on Monday: It started with a rose...

There aren't many roses in bloom in my garden at present and those that do appear don't last long so, when I saw that 'California Dreamin' had a bud opening, I clipped it and, as Cathy at Rambling in the Garden does, I wandered about my own garden looking for suitable partners to go in today's vase.  I didn't start this week's project with selections in mind as I often do.  I wasn't even sure there was much out there that I hadn't already used in one form or another.  So I was surprised how well this vase came together.

Unlike many of my bouquets, this one was no struggle to photograph.  In fact, this one wasn't capable of producing a bad photo.

Photo taken from above the bouquet looking downward

This bouquet may be my personal favorite thus far.  Here's what I used:

• 1 rose bud ('California Dreamin' rose)
• 3 stems of Bulbine frutescens, yellow variety
• 1 Dahlia 'Fringed Star'
• 2 stems of Digitalis x mertonensis 'Polka Dot Pippa' (with the persistent aphids removed)
• 1 stem of Grevillea 'Superb' containing 2 mature flowers
• 3 stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' 
• 3 stems of Origanum 'Monterey Bay'
• 2 stems of the always useful Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum' (aka golden feverfew)

Close-up of 'California Dreamin' rose

Close-up of yellow Bulbine frutescens with Digitalis x mertonensis below

Close-up of Dahlia 'Fringed Star,' which has a lot less pink than than the photo attached to the bulb package

Close-up of Grevillea 'Superb,' the blooms of which start out a yellowish peach and turn pinkish coral as they age 

Back of the bouquet, which highlights Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' and Origanum 'Monterey Bay'

The vase in this case is a decorative teapot given to my mother-in-law by one of her neighbors several months prior to her death.  I brought it home last year when my husband and I cleared her home for sale, planning to use it to hold flowers.  This is the first time I've done so and, even though it isn't a family heirloom, it reminds me of her.

What better place for a teapot masquerading as a vase than the kitchen.  It brightens the mostly white space, doesn't it?

The lemons from the tree at the bottom of our slope even make a nice accent

If you have a vase of flowers collected from your garden sitting on a countertop this morning, post a picture and link up to Cathy's "In a Vase on Monday" meme at Rambling in the Garden.

In a Vase on Monday: Rinse, Recycle & Reuse

The conservation mantra is "reduce, reuse, recycle."  I didn't plan to invoke that mantra, or a version of it, when I began preparing this week's floral bouquet.  I'd been admiring a lovely foxglove, Digitalis x mertonensis, in my garden for the last 2 weeks and decided to make it the centerpiece of my next floral construction.  What didn't factor into my plan was that my pretty Digitalis blooms would come covered in aphids.  I spent more than 20 minutes rinsing the 2 foxglove stems I'd cut.  Those nasty bugs were in every nook and cranny but I just couldn't bring myself to toss the stems out as the flowers themselves appeared unaffected by the unwelcome encampment.

I'd already cut a lily and feverfew to accompany the Digitalis in the vase.  But, having spent so much time carefully rinsing each tubular flower of the foxglove, I ran out of time for additional fussing.  As the stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' I used in last week's composition were still in perfect condition, I decided to recycle those by using them as this week's foliage accent too.  I think they actually look better this week than they did when I photographed last week's bouquet - the stems opened up some during the course of last week.  Do you ever recycle materials cut for one arrangement for use in another?

I also reused last week's glass vase as its yellow color fit the mix better than the other vases in my collection.  The vase contains:

• Digitalis x mertonensis 'Polka Dot Pippa'
• Lily, an unscented, unknown variety received as a gift with purchase
• Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'
• Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'

This bouquet is my contribution to the collection assembled by our host, Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden.   Click here to see her creation and to find links to bouquets constructed by other gardeners this week.