June 26, 2023 by Born To Organize

Celebrating Pride in a Vase on Monday

In honor of Pride Month, today’s vase celebrates love. My vase includes the colors of the rainbow flag, designed by Artist Gilbert Baker at the behest of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician.

Colors have been added and subtracted to the flag over the years based on practical reasons (the cost and availability of the dyes) and the need for further inclusion. I didn’t realize before today that each color is symbolic.

Here is a screenshot from Wikipedia:

I managed to include everything but turquoise. The representative flowers are pink (geranium), red, (sweet peas and Acer seed pods), orange (nasturtium, a flowering succulent and a self-seeded annual), yellow (salvia), green (nepeta, lavender, and nigella seed pods), blue (hydrangea), and indigo/violet (salvia).

Juno Dawson wrote the book pictured in today’s post. It was assigned reading when my eldest son attended university. It’s considered “young adult nonfiction, ” which tells me it should also be required reading in high school.

This Book is Gay, one of the Guardian’s Best Books of the Year, is described as “The book every LGBT person would have killed for as a teenager, told in the voice of a wise best friend. Frank, warm, funny, USEFUL.” Patrick Ness.

Sadly, I live in a country with powerful yet hateful, fearful, right-leaning folks that want to ban books and defend gun rights, strip women of reproductive rights and demonize anyone that doesn’t fit into a narrowly defined norm.

These flowers celebrate love and inclusion, compassion and understanding, and hope. They celebrate Pride. They celebrate Love.

Please visit the Cathy’s to see what they’ve created for IAVOM.

June 12, 2023 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: Nostalgia in a Teacup

I filled my Beatrix Potter teacup with an assortment of sweet peas, evoking memories of an earlier time. My friend Carrielin bought this cup for me over forty years ago. I’m sure we’ve consumed gallons of tea over companionable talks. Friendships that endure are a gift; when I use this cup, it reminds me of her.

The cup also evokes memories of my time in the Lake District of Northern England. Ms. Potter donated almost all her property to the National Trust. Her forethought preserved much of the land that now constitutes the Lake District National Park. It’s pristine.

Sweet peas also evoke a sense of nostalgia, so they were the perfect choice for today’s vase. I tucked in a few green sprigs of lavender, and as a nod to the cat illustration on the cup, I added a small cutting of nepeta (catnip).

Thank you to “the Cathys” for inspiring this Monday series. It’s fun to think about what’s available in the garden and share it with others.

April 17, 2023 by Born To Organize

In A (Tiny) Vase on Monday: Where Fairies Alight

A vase is a container used to hold cut flowers. Traditionally, they’re made from glass, ceramics, or non-porous materials; however, today’s vase is a shell.

It’s a tiny shell. A garden snail succumbed to its fate, leaving a bleached and hollow vacancy behind. I used a toothpick to remove the dirt, knowing the shell might be useful.

Scale is everything when you’re creating a vase. You want something tall in the back and a bit of green for contrast, allowing the flowers to be the main attraction. Following those guidelines, I’ve used asparagus fern for greenery and height, showcasing the lovely blue Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ front and center.

Satisfied with my tiny vase, I snapped a few photos, then let “Bubba” have a sniff so you could see the true scale of the snail. Snail shell, that is.

The vase provides a focal point for one of my fairy gardens. I rearranged the lawn furniture, repaired (and then broke) the tiny door, added small pebbles, and returned my mostly rust-free garden gate.

This year’s garden features a tiny Alyssum hedge and a lawn of small greens, the name of which currently escapes me.

There you have it. The importance of a tiny vase on Monday to celebrate the opening of the fairy garden. The fairy garden sits beside the fountain’s right, surrounded by Campanula, commonly known as bellflowers. It’s a welcome respite for fairies and garden visitors alike.

Thanks to the Cathy’s of Rambling in The Garden and Words and Herbs for bringing us together.

January 22, 2018 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: A Tiny Treasure from my Travels

This week, it’s all about the vase. I don’t generally buy travel souvenirs but how could I resist this charming little vessel?

This vase from Puerto Vallarta is pretty on all sides (That’s Tessa our cat walking away in the background)

I spotted the vase on our final day in Puerto Vallarta. It’s small, perhaps the size of a tall shot glass. Once wrapped in protective paper and I stashed it in my purse for the trip home.

Scale is everything with a vase this small. I scouted my limited winter choices and decided on three white camellia camellia japonica and a few sprigs of my beloved fern.

Camellia Japonica

Camellia Japonica bud

The petals were already dropping, so I don’t think the arrangement will last the week, unless this pretty bud opens up. I love that faded pink on the tips.

Kitty vase on my home office window sill

An outdoor shot where the light is always best

Tessa the curious

As it turns out, several bloggers join the In a Vase on Monday feature. It was nice connecting some of you last week.

Thank you Cathy at Words and Herbs and Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for your ongoing inspiration.

January 8, 2018 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: Cutting Flowers in the Rain

It’s raining.

Or as I like to say, It’s *RAINING*!

San Jose had the second driest December on record, dating back 124 years.

I love the rain under any conditions, but today’s January storm feels downright celebratory after such a dry start to our winter. What better day to go out in the garden to clip some blooms while soaking up the negative ions that make us feel good.

I’m joining Cathy and Cathy today for a regular feature they call In a Vase on Monday. Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden and Cathy at Words and Herbs faithfully post a vase of flowers from their garden year round. It’s not always easy, especially when you garden in Bavaria, but these two are an impressive pair.

My vase features something old and something new, pretty fringe and a cat, too.

A year ago I received a bottle of blush wine in this charming, cat-shaped bottle. It sat untouched for a year as I’m not really a fan of pink wine.

Wine bottle turned vase

Wine lovers, please look away now.

I poured the pink wine down the sink, rinsed the bottle, and voila, a pretty glass vase.

Okay, you can look now.

The something old comes from my cherished green asparagus fern. In 1988 I bought a pair of ferns for 79 cents and kept them on my nightstand in my one-bedroom apartment for two years. I moved and the plants moved with me. By the time we bought this house 21 years ago, my sprawling fern could no longer be contained. It’s now growing happily along the back fence.

If that plant could talk, eh?

Cuttings from my asparagus fern

Something new is the fresh-fallen rain drops. Isn’t it amazing how everything looks lush after a decent rain?

Cat vase in the rain

The pretty pink fringe you see comes from a few branches of my Loropetalum chinense or Chinese fringe plant.

Pink and green leaves and small fringe-like blooms

It’s a nice complement to last year’s hydrangea blooms, currently faded to shades of cranberry and pink.

Last season’s hydrangea, faded to cranberry and pink

The cat speaks for itself. =^, , ^=

The cat vase on our dining table (the runner is hand-felted by my friend Randi)

I hope you have a terrific week. If you need me, I’ll be outside enjoying the rain.

September 1, 2014 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: Sunflowers Last Call

My sunflowers are going fast. Staying true to their DNA, sunflowers grow from seed to seed in about 90 days. I planted mine in mid-May so I’m on borrowed time.

The shortest of the sunflowers bloomed the longest, making them the perfect flower for today’s In a Vase on Monday. Cathy at Rambling in the Garden features flowers and a prop in a vase each Monday year round. Impressive! She encourages others to participate as well. Come join Words and Herbs and Creating my own Garden in the Hesperides, and others. It’s fun.

Sunflowers in a vase on Monday

Easy Arranger

Check out my new gadget. It’s called an Easy Arranger™. It’s a wire form in the shape of a flower, made in China, assembled in the United States, sold in Canada and now holding up sunflowers harvested in San Jose. My easy arranger should consider applying for a frequent flyer card. I bought two of them in the beautiful gift shop at Butchart Gardens on holiday last month. The malleable form molds over the top of your vase lending support to cut flowers. Pretty nifty, eh?

Easy arranger in action

Saving Seeds

I’ve been gathering seeds from each of the seed heads so I’ll have plenty to plant next year. I’m going to package a few and give them away at Christmas as well. I wish I could share with my readers around the world, but shipping seeds outside of the US is a no-no.

As an aside, so is shipping millipedes, but apparently a crate marked ‘toys’ arrived in San Francisco this week with foot-long millipedes illegally shipped from Germany. No thanks!

Assorted sunflower seeds and seed heads

Making quick work of delicious sunflower seeds

The Long View

The photo below is the long view, taken from my back door looking out on the space where we read. Although close shots are generally more interesting, I find that I’m often curious about the scenery just out of view.

My Garden: The Long View Dear Reader, I wish you were here! This is the view outside my back door. You take two steps down and you land on this patio. Just beyond is our browning grass, born from necessity in our continued drought. The white flowering plant is an Anemone. They’re usually more prolific, but again, the drought. The lovely window painting is at eye level when you’re seated, painted by the talented Whitney Pintello. I wish you could come join me for a cold drink, a hot tea and a chat. Cheers, Alys

Does this interest you, too?

I’m trying to mix it up a little at Gardening Nirvana, hoping to add some zest to the mix. Does the idea of the long view interest you or are you shrugging your shoulders and wondering “what is she thinking?”

Please leave me a comment, below, or take the quick poll.

July 14, 2014 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: Shifting Focus

Today’s flower arrangement for In a Vase on Monday came together beautifully…in my head. My plan was to arrange Hydrangea in my artsy glass vase. The Hydrangea are fading, turning from pink to pale green to a creamy white. Their blooms are magnificent, even when dried. Yes, I thought, they’d be perfect.

Pink and fading hydrangeas

I just couldn’t get it to work. The glass vase is long and quite narrow so a bit of a challenge. It’s beautiful though, so I really wanted to use it. After several attempts, I knew my mojo was off. Time to reach for my standby: a pitcher/vase from my friends Doug and Laura.

Since the stems were originally cut on the shorter side to accommodate the glass vase I had to improvise. I put a small, square jar on its side in the bottom of the pitcher, then added a second jar on top. Now I had the height needed,and could use less water to fill the jar.

In a Vase on Monday and The Sweet Life

A few sprigs of fern added volume and softened the edges. At last it all came together. The vase is on the deck, resting on my tie-dyed tablecloth, a project from a couple of summers ago.

Hydrangea and Asparagus Plumosus

I added a ‘prop’ as Cathy often does, a special volume of quotes and charming illustrations called The Sweet Life: Reflections on Home and Garden by Laura Stoddart. This charming book makes me smile whenever I open it. Thank you, Nichole.

Here’s the quote from a randomly opened page:

GWENDOLEN Quite a well-kept garden this is, Miss Cardew.

CECILY So glad you like it, Miss Fairfax.

GWENDOLEN I had no idea there were any flowers in the country.

CECILY Oh, flowers are as common here, Miss Fairfax, as people are in London.

Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) The Importance of Being Earnest

I constructed costumes for The Importance of Being Earnest many years ago, so lots of Serendipity here.

Special thanks to the Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for creating In a Blog on Monday. Thanks as well to Cathy at Words and Herbs for introducing me to the idea.

In a Vase on Monday creativity from around the world:

Rambling in the Garden: Fire in the Belly arranged in the West-Midlands, UK.
Words and Herbs: Arranging flowers in Bavaria
Garden’s Eye View: Hot Scented July Blooms and Greens gardening in New York, US
pbmGarden: Flowers from her sister’s garden, brought to you from Chapel Hill, NC, US
Late to the Garden Party: Slim Pickings from Southern California, US

If I missed your vase, please post your link in the comments below.

July 7, 2014 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: Following Garden Sunshine

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden arranges flowers in a vase year round. How’s that for inspiration? Several bloggers join in the creative process, posting their own flowers in a vase on Monday, than linking back to her blog.

Cathy’s first post reads:

I know I have set myself a difficult task, finding something for a vase every week, and particularly starting in mid-November, but in truth the fact that it IS a challenge will make me more determined to achieve it! Posting a picture of my pickings will also make it easier because I will expect it of myself every Monday – so if anybody would like to join me by placing things ‘In a Vase on Monday’ and posting a picture then please feel free to add a link here so we can all share in the pleasure such vases can bring. Today’s vase has some of everyone’s favourite Persicaria ‘Red Dragon’, Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’ and Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’.

Inspired! If you want to join in the fun, simply post your own flower arrangement on a Monday and link back to Rambling in the Garden.

Garden Sunshine

For all my love of miniature gardening, it never occurred to me to arrange flowers in a tiny teapot. I have several.

This morning Diane at Garden Sunshine changed all that with her delightful post: tiny pink flowers in a miniature, silver teapot. You can see her gorgeous flower arrangement here.

I dusted off one of my cloisonné teapots and put together a tiny arrangement using Bachelor Buttons, Love-in-the Mist seed pods, flowering spider plants and a couple of annuals going to seed.