Monday, November 7, 2016

In a Vase on Monday...3's company / 3 x 3 is a crowd...


If you follow Rambling in the Garden, the blog of our In a Vase on Monday leader, Cathy, then you know this is the 3rd Anniversary of this fun Garden Blogger's meme. As such she proposed a theme for this week's vase creation: "3". I immediately thought of these glass bottles I saved from a sampler box of Raft Syrups (really tasty by the way!).

I'm not a fan of clear glass vases, to me the visual clutter of the seeing the stems takes away from the beauty of what's in the vase. In an attempt to counter that reaction I decided to treat the water as part of the arrangement. I dropped a few bits of Salvinia minima from my pond in each of the bottles...

The top of the bottle also annoyed me a bit, with threads where the lid screwed on.

So I wrapped a bamboo leaf around it, much better!

After mentioning in Friday's post that my Clematis tibetana seed heads were usually ruined in the rain, I'd noticed they were actually looking really good — so into the bottles they went.

Simple, yet chaotic.

But why stop there? I also have a set of three black sake cups...

And when I noticed how the moss and Saxifraga ‘Primuloides’ were mingling I decided each cup should hold a bit of both. Of course a smart person would have taken the photo before she pulled out clumps but hey, use your imagination...

A couple of tiny Mahonia x media 'Charity' flowers...

And the arrangement was complete.

As a bonus the Saxifraga can be put back in the garden when I'm finished with these and root to live on.

Hmm...so that's two sets of three. Shouldn't there be a third?

Indeed! The three Agave lophantha 'Splendida' pups I used in my "it takes a village" vase creation were overdue to be potted up and I happened to have three little black pots found at Goodwill. I thought about just sticking them in water, so they'd fulfill the "vase" part of the title, but heck. Poor things deserve a little soil after two months...

And so there were three collections of three...

And a small crowd!

The first two go on the kitchen counter...

Something fun to look at that doesn't take up too much space.

And the Agave pups are hanging out on a window, since (sadly) we won't be opening windows everyday for a few months now...

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

17 comments:

  1. Oh the fluffy clematis heads are so gorgeous Loree - I always forget to use them and yet I love to see them. Your attention to detail is admirable, with the pondweed in the bottle and the leaves wrapped around the neck, and then your two other groups of three. It is always a pleasure to follow the process with you as you explain what you have done - thanks so much for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oversharing...somebody has to do it! (kidding, kind of) Thanks Cathy!

      Delete
  2. It's hard to say what I like most about your compositions this week, Loree. I love the Clematis seed heads and the fact that you made those arrangements all the more snappy with the clever use of Salvinia and the bamboo leaf. But I'm enamored with your use of the Mahonia flowers with the Saxifraga and moss too. I really need a Mahonia in my garden...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those are some of the prettiest Clematis seedheads I've seen. I've used big leaves in wide-mouthed glass vases to hide stems. It's true that stems just don't add anything and take a lot away from arrangements. Love your phrase: simple yet chaotic! Have to figure out when I can use that in conversation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The last time I used a glass vase I did the same. A nice big Canna leaf. Good luck with the conversation, surely there's an election joke in there somewhere.

      Delete
  4. Very fitting for the celebration! You've outdone yourself with three sets of three and all are fab. Love the bamboo leaf solution to the threads.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, you were creative! I really like pebbles in the tops of planters--they look great and they help keep the critters out. Your color scheme with these is wonderful, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't pot up anything with out using a top-dressing. The look of the soil takes away from the plant, IMHO....

      Delete
  6. I love Clematis seedheads, they are so very Muppet-like. Love all three of these sets of three, in fact. The simple black containers are great. You find some great stuff at Goodwill.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Muppet-like...yes! That's it. Speaking of Goodwill, it's been awhile, must return!

      Delete
  7. Leave it to you to up the ante and give us three squared! So much more to love.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!