I have never created a vase of such gigantic stature before, for a variety of absences – lack of particularly tall plants, tall vases and a place to display the finished article, not to mention that excessive height can be a little daunting to a shortie like me; this no longer applies to people, I hasten to add, although it did when I was a self-conscious teenager. Today’s humongous vase is therefore now sitting uncomfortably in my usual vase spot in the kitchen.
I have mentioned the sudden appearance of the camassia before, for such is the flower stem in today’s vase. I think one or two may have shown their faces the year before, but now there are about 8 flower stems. They will have been bought from Peter Nyssen where I buy the majority of my bulbs, but not in the last 5 years which is why their sudden appearance is all the more surprising. Also surprising is their height: Camassia lechtlinii ‘Semiplena’, which is what they must be, would normally grow to a height of 70-90cms, whereas this stem (cut as near to the base as possible) is a whopping 137cms (40″)!
Adding another stem of the same could easily crowd out whatever vase I was able to find, so instead I cut a leaf of stately native male fern Dryopteris filix-mas, stately but at 112cms ((44″) not a patch on the camassia. Both had to have their ends lopped before being held in place in a £1 car boot bargain Caithness Glass vase with its typical heavy bottom with some clear glass pebbles, giving a finished height of 102cm (40″). I had intended the
camassia to be placed directly in front of the fern but, having put the water in first, I kept misjudging how much would be displaced by the pebbles and had to keep emptying some out, disturbing the stems. Turning Isaac Newton’s metaphor on its head to give the title, there is a teeny tiny and rather embarrassed looking teddy standing at the base of the giants in the vase.
If you can find some material in your garden of whatever size to pop into a vase or jamjar or other receptacle today, then please do share it with us by leaving links to and from this post. Props are welcome but by no means compulsory!
And note the strange multi-layered nature of the petals in the close-up shot below, giving the appearance of camera shake:
Rambling in the Garden 
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Wow! That is one impressive Camassia! Love the embarassed little bear – it does look a bit camera shy.
My bunch didn’t make it to a vase but I was delighted to at last have something to pick from the garden: https://daffodilwild.wordpress.com/2021/06/07/in-a-bunch-on-monday/
Always good to think out of the box, and you are very welcome to join us with your bunch!
🙂
Teddy has no need to be feel embarrassed! He is standing in front of a truly impressive flower and vase! The camassia flower is certainly complex and very elegant! Amanda https://therunningwave290580645.wordpress.com/2021/06/07/cat-and-mouse-in-a-vase-on-monday/
He does have no clothes on though, Amanda 😉
A fur coat? :o)
haha 😁
That Camassia is truly impressive – the eight stems must look wonderful in the garden.
Hmm, I would say they are too tall for where they are Chris, as even in the distant past when I planted them I did not expect them to get that big!
Impressive in every way. The camassia has a gorgeous floral form. And I admire it has carried you to new heights!
Thanks for hosting.
Thanks Susie – I am waiting to see if all the other buds will open, The lower ones are certainly beginning to
What elegant heights! I think a lot of plants have grown taller this year thanks to the wetter weather. I was at Glyndebourne last week and the white camassias have done very well in the orchard there where they are naturalised. I am joining you again after far too long as was inspired by early morning flowers!
https://carrotsandcalendula.co.uk/2021/06/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-june-flowers/
You might be right, Ciara – it will be intersting to see how tall they grow next year, if they appear again that is!
Tall ferns are a favorite of mine. Our native Boston Ferns easily reach a meter.I am not familiar with Camassia. Thought it was a Delphinium?? then, no…not quite. An elegant spike. Love the Caithness vase. Thank you for hosting. Here is my vase this Monday https://theshrubqueen.com/2021/06/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-jarred-summer/
Camassias are late spring bulbs, Amy, which also come in blue. It seemed really strange to be holding two such tall plant specimens as I prepared the vase…😉
I like the Camassias, they must need a good chill to do well. I like a big vase from time to time. A little drama in the foyer.
Foyer? That sounds posh! Not enough space (ie too much clutter) here for anything big and dramatic!!
LOL, less posh and more farmhouse with dog leashes featured.
I think we would only use the word ‘foyer’ for hotels here
my mother would call it the front hall. I have been living with an architect for 30 years..
Ah yes, of course….
The camassia is gorgeous, I’ve not seen one before. It pairs beautifully with the fern frond.
Thanks Jaime. Camassia are late spring bulbs, which can be naturalised in wild grass meadows
What a delightful surprise! Camassia is another of the many flowering plants I admire but can’t grow. The teddy bear threw off my perception of size at first, many the arrangement look even bigger. I don’t usually have many tall plants either but this week I found some, my own surprise of sorts in my cutting garden. Here’s my post: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2021/06/in-vase-on-monday-under-gray-skies.html
Yes, I disn’t say how tall the teddy was, did I? About 3″ I suppose
You must be delighted that your bulbs were there all along, and hopefully they will now increase year on year. Perhaps the heavy deluges suited it well. Love the little teddy, its about this time of year that mine get their annual bath. Yours was showered on instead. Here is my Vase: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2021/06/in-vase-on-monday-june.html
Well perhaps, but I would rather they were not as tall Noelle!! Perhas they won’t be next year…
Oh what a statuesque and luminous specimen Cathy. As Noelle suggest perhaps the recent rainfall has spurned them on to such heights. That sweet little ted does looks little indeed. I was an equally self-conscious teenager having reached almost my full adult height at eleven. I longed to be smaller and more petite but it was not to be be 😂 My vase this week is here : https://greentapestry.blogspot.com/2021/06/iavom-still-spring.html
At 11 I was one of the tallest in my class, but must have stopped growing after that! Anyway, we are who we are, and I like you as you are!!
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The Camassia is spectacular and has divine flowers, it is wonderful and its height is formidable. The fern leaf is magnificent, I love it. The vase is a marvel, there are no words to say how beautiful it is. Teddy is very handsome and I love him. Thank you Cathy for showing a flower as special as Camassia, it has made me smile. Happy week. Very affectionate greetings from Margarita x.
Thank you Margarita – it is good to know that you are managing to read blogs again and that it is giving you a boost
I am very impressed by that Camassia Cathy! Not only the colour, but also those petals and the way the (large) flowers are growing out of the stem. I had no idea there were so many different sorts, but am learning! Your teddy looks a little forlorn all on his own. But bears do live in the undergrowth after all! Here is my vase for today. Thanks as always Cathy!
I am closely watching the blooms on the stem to see if the upper buds open. Outside, the lower blooms sometimes wither before all the upper ones have opened
Yes, that is the case with my blue ones,
🙁 yes, it’s a shame…
Love the title, Cathy, and your arrangement with the cute little chap. I adore camassia, they grow in the long grass and add romance and wild flair to the planting.
Thanks Annette – shame the camassia flowers at the base die off before the upper ones open though…
Camassia is spectacular. I am unfamiliar with it, but have seen pictures of it in other gardens. It may not be commonly available here. Where I went to school, the Yucca whipplei bloomed with huge stalks that got nearly fifteen feet tall. They were pretty, but stayed outside.
The camassia probably look better growing in grass and certainly look out of place in my borders, especially at this height!
Is that a good reason to cut them and bring them in? That’s a good compromise.
The tiny bear is a nice touch.