In a Vase on Monday: from Caithness to Cashmere

The contents of today’s vases had been decided upon several days ago, to take advantage of the cheerful blooms of this early rhododendron (R. Cheer!) while they were still at their best. Some of the leaves have been nibbled by whoever likes leathery leaves to chew on, but the plant has been a mass of blooms for a fortnight or so, sometimes producing the odd flower before the end of a year but this year flowering in February and last year in May! I thought the Golfer, still professing not to like ‘cut flowers’, might have made a comment about cutting these particular blooms, but it was the quantity of vases he noticed instead. There must be about 20 flowers still on the plant, so I think these 5 can be spared to extend their cheerfulness indoors.

Only joking about setting myself a challenge of using a different vase every week after my recent acquisitions I nevertheless grouped together five matching but different shaped vases – two newbies from last week, two previously acquired from car boot sales and one I have had for some time for its ornamental value. They are all pieces of Caithness Glass, from an art glass tradition which began in Wick (where my father was born) in Caithness in the very north eastern part of Scotland in 1960. Production ceased in Caithness in 2005 but the name lives on as part of the Dartington brand although the original colours based on the Scottish landscape have long since gone and are highly collectable. I still quite like the random effects of these more modern handblown vases which come in a range of shapes, sizes and colours.

So that’s the Caithness connection, but what about the Cashmere? Well, having appreciated the relative ease of photography against a fabric background on a couple of occasions I decided to do the same again. A stark contrast with the depth of colour and uniformity was not the effect I had in mind, so rooting in the loft I pulled out a dress length of cashmere fabric, bought early this year when I was short of long sleeved winter dresses to wear but neglected as the weather got warmer. Apart from the tactile softness the pattern is such a beautiful combination of charcoal and cerise plaid and now that the fabric is downstairs I ought to make use of it for its original purpose – bought from Lichfield market it was a ‘snip’ at the price I paid, but I will still want to take extra care when the scissors come out!

As well as the rhododendron I had snipped some variegated hebe to add a little contrast but didn’t use it in the end – no props either, just plain and simple in-your-face cheerfulness. So that’s it for today – pick and plonk, plonk, plonk, plonk, plonk….. Do consider joining us on a Monday if you haven’t already done so – it doesn’t have to be blooms, just something you have found in your garden or foraged from elsewhere. That’s the spirit of the meme, but out-of-the-box thinking is actively encouraged! The challenge is a personal one, but fellow bloggers are so supportive that the meme has become  empowering to us all, whether posting a vase or commenting on one. Don’t forget to link to and from this post if you create your own vase so we can see what you have found to pick this week.