In a Vase on Monday : Reddy or Not

One of the young buds of sunflower ‘Ruby Eclipse’ (shown in the last post) had a longer stem than most of its neighbours, but was clearly not going to have opened by today so, ‘reddy or not’ here it still comes to a vase on Monday.

Having lodged in my head at the same time as the sunflower bud, the title focussed my attention on reddish accompaniments which in practice far eclipse the potential impact of the sunflower. Climbing rose ‘Parkdirektor Riggers’ has gone up in my estimation once I noticed how consistently it flowered and got over my inbred reservations about ‘single’ roses – the last time I used it in vase the flowers lasted really well too. The only problem now is that giving it some TLC last year, pruning and tying it in, has meant an upsurge in growth and a long stretch to cut the flowers! Also from the hot border were cut second flush Geum ‘Mrs Bradshaw’ and newly flowering Crocosmia ‘Constance’.

I returned to the cutting beds and decided on impulse to include the few scarlet flowers of Zinnia peruviana from the single plant I had grown from RHS seed – the zinnia wasn’t quite what I was expecting and the flowers are tiny, less than an inch across, but – hey ho! – they look pretty in the vase. They were joined by Persicaria ‘Firetail’, pinker in the flesh than when seen across the woodland edge border, but blending with the pinky red tones of the rose and adding height.

Also picked but not making the final cut were P ‘Red Dragon’ foliage, Uncinia rubra stems, spent flowerheads of Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and the arching stems of Fuchsia magellicana, although making my way back to the house I treated the vase to a stem of Sundaville, growing in two pots outside the sitooterie to which they return over winter. Underperforming this year probably through lack of watering , one stem would not go amiss. Finally, a few sprigs of Sweet William were culled from pots outside the kitchen windows.

Envisaging a smallish vase today, it took some time to make a choice – the winner was a vintage Oxo jar, part of a moderately large collection of Oxo bits and bobs. The brand Oxo was first introduced in 1899 and cubes appeared in 1910 to replace the liquid version so the jar dates from somewhere in-between; the empty cardboard cube packets and the tin date from the 20s or 30s and the van is a modern reproduction, as is the ‘enamel’ sign. With the sun emerging and then disappearing in short bursts all morning finding a location to photograph the vase took a little time and the close-ups are still better than the main picture!

This week I have promised myself that I will replace the vase once it is past its best (as I did this last week, replacing it with sweet peas), if only with single blooms like the Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle” that we all like so much and which Ali showed recently in a vase at The Long Garden Path. If you like to challenge yourself to finding something to pop in a container every Monday (or just the occasional one) then do join us – post your vase as usual but add a link to this post and leave a comment here with a link back to yours. The meme is giving so much pleasure so please do come and share in our joy!