December 7, 2025 by Born To Organize

A Week of Flowers: Scented One and All

Today is the final day of Cathy’s garden meme. I’ve enjoyed revisiting many of my garden favorites, even if I only managed three out of seven days.

A tip of the hat to the other gardeners who shared photos and checked in all week, and to Cathy for inviting us to share.

As we head toward the winter solstice, we can look back and forward, while enjoying the in between. It’s time for spring and summer gardens to rest, so that they can burst forth with color, energy, and strength the following year. I realized today that most of my spring garden favorites have an intoxicating scent. I’ve gradually introduced seven of the ten most fragrant flowers.

Now close your eyes and imagine the warming earth, bulbs breaking ground, and finally flowers releasing that wonderful scent. Floral scents attract birds, bees, bats, and other pollinators, each fragrance drawing the right crowd. Who’s to say that we don’t play a part as well as we breathe in that aromatic scent, breathing out a bit of energy as we inhale, exhale, inhale, and repeat.

Mmmmmmm

Sweet Peas

Freesias

Gardenia’s in a vase

A colorful floral arrangement featuring white gardenias and vibrant blue flowers, displayed in a decorative cup on a table.

Lavender

Hyacinth

Thank you once again, Cathy.

June 17, 2024 by Born To Organize

Gardenia’s in a Vase on Monday

Lucky me! After another wet winter, the gardenias put out plentiful, magical, scented blooms, just waiting to be cut for a vase.

I’m joining “the Cathys” for a weekly meme encouraging bloggers to share something “In A Vase On Monday” or IAVOM. It’s a mouthful, and it’s fun.

I’ve arranged five gardenias in a glass jar, some asparagus fern, and a few swigs of purple salvia. Gardenias don’t last long in a vase, but it’s still worth bringing a few indoors. They turn brown and droop, but the intoxicating scent remains. With greenery to keep the flowers company, I can overlook the droop for that scent.

Instead of a vase, I’ve arranged my cut flowers in one of my favorite glass jars. The Quattro Stagionioma sauce is long gone, but the beautiful embossing lives on. It’s challenging to take pictures of glass, but I’m hoping you can see a bit of the pretty pattern.

For some beautiful inspiration, check out some of this week’s vases.

Cathy, the gardener who started IAVOM, shares her gorgeous roses and a history lesson from her English garden today at Rambling in the Garden.

From Cathy’s Bavarian garden, a stunning purple arrangement at Words and Herbs.

Eliza Waters shares the last of her stunning peonies, which were grown in her garden in Massachusetts, US, creating a breathtaking arrangement.

July 17, 2023 by Born To Organize

Gardenias and Memories in a Vase on Monday

It’s hot and getting hotter, so I had to dash for a few blooms to fill today’s petite vase.

I bought this tiny vase on a trip to Mexico several years ago. Mike traveled there for business, and I got to join him for the last few days.

Once again, thanks to this winter’s heavy rains, my gardenias have continuously flowered for weeks. I’ve been clipping three at a time to enjoy them indoors, deadheading as I go. Even after the blooms yellow and sag, the potent scent remains.

Today’s vase features gardenias, lavender, and a tiny purple flower I can’t seem to name. It grows along the edge of our deck, and most summers, it finds a way to take root and grow through one of the crevices. That always makes me smile.