In a Vase on Monday: Nearly There

The photo doesn’t really do today’s Monday vase justice as in reality it is rather more striking than it might appear; its height, however, made finding a plain background to photograph it against difficult.

Extending to 60cms or 2 feet in height, this plain blue glass bottle vase (source, IKEA? carboot? not sure) holds 3 stems of unknown and possibly mixed varieties of daffodil and a clutch of wild plum twigs. A number of bloggers have recently been experimenting with twigs in tight bud, and these were cut two days ago, the buds quickly swelling and beginning to open in the warmth of the house. Having not bought any full size daffodil bulbs for the garden, these are some of a number that have come to me as potted plants over the years which have been replanted after flowering. Two of the buds have half-opened since the photographs were taken and both have bright free-range-egg-yolk-yellow coronas but the third one could be something completely different, although it is not bulging the way frilly daffodil buds do so I suspect it will also be a plain trumpet variety.

The vase was photographed on the stove-effect fire in our living room, against the background of the tiled insert of the surrounding fireplace. Chimneys and fireplaces had sadly been removed from our property before we bought it, so the fireplace and mantelpiece are far from original but seem to look the part although looked bizarrely incongruous when they were first installed into an almost empty room with bare vintage plaster and a dusty concrete floor, accompanied only by an old armchair and a metric tonne pile of sand as we worked through our renovations…those were the days! Today, furnishings are a little more salubrious!

A closer look at the ‘prop’ accompanying the opening buds of plum and daffodil show that it is a box which may (or may not) contain a mini ‘Slinky’, one of those bendy springs that can supposedly walk themselves downstairs. The contents have been used as a prop before but today remain in their box because spring is not quite here yet, although it is definitely on its way, with daytime temperatures in double figures for several days during the last week. Signs of spring have appeared in many northern hemisphere vases on IAVOM in recent weeks and yet we hear that some gardens are still under the thumb of winter whilst in the southern hemisphere autumn is knocking at the door. Elsewhere of course, seasons barely exist. Wherever you are, do have a look in your gardens and find something to bring inside and pop into a vase or jamjar: we can almost guarantee that this small act will bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart every time you look at the result. If you like, share it with us as well by leaving links to and from this post.