Today we are celebrating the eleventh anniversary of In A Vase On Monday. Cathy has suggested using ‘eleven’ as a guideline, leaving us to create something that fits the theme. My prop, above, features eleven acorns, something in abundance in my yard right now.
I wandered my flowerless yard searching for something to create an arrangement with and chose evergreen English ivy (Hedera helix) and Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), as well as some dried grasses and two green multiflora rose canes cut and arranged to form an ’11’ stuck into a vintage pewter flower frog.
Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the weekly garden meme In A Vase On Monday for the last eleven years 👏🏼, featuring flowers from our gardens. Click the link to join the fun or see what others are sharing this week.
Eliza Waters 
Do you remember The Good Eleven on Schoolhouse Rock? It was one of the less interesting of the series, but is a classic nonetheless. I think that English ivy is underappreciated because so many of us know it as an invasive weed. I really miss it from my former garden in town.
In truth, I planted that ivy years ago and worrying that it would take over, I ripped it out and used it for this vase. So this is its one and only showing.
Oh! That is . . . well, perhaps a good thing. I got a six pack of ‘Needlepoint’ English ivy in about 1990 for a pair of hanging pots at a former home. It eventually went into a contained area in the front garden, and is likely still there. (It was there last year.) At the time, I did not feel at all guilty about it. Now, I must contend with acres of naturalized English ivy growing wild in a redwood forest. ICK!
I love the lasting joy of this meme. You’ve been so dedicated throughout the years. Your table runner is lovely and the 11 acorns work so well with the theme. Nicely done, Eliza,
Many thanks, Alys! 🍂🍁
Inspired
🙂 Merci, Sheree!
I love the colors around the acorns Eliza…autumn fire 🤗❤️🙏
Thank you, Mark!
Hi Eliza. Who needs flowers when you have those lovely leaves and acorns? Wonderfully striking. Well done!
MJ
Thank you very much, MJ!
What a beautiful arrangement Eliza and happy 11th birthday to IAVOM! 🧡🍁🎉
Thank you, Xenia! xo
We are surrounded by massive oaks. I think I could find 11,000 acorns and still be counting. 🙂
It feels like walking on marbles sometimes…not great for my weak ankles and knees! They are the only thing that I wish the deer would eat. 😉
For sure, that would be wonderful. Also, non gardeners would not believe how heavy a bag of those things are to move around.
Like rocks! 😀
A floral Birthday cake!! Very creative. Even squirrels can bury and chipmunks can only stuff so many acorns into their larders.
Thanks, Alice! It’s true, they are the one thing in my yard that I really wish the deer would browse. 😀
Your arrangement is inspired, Eliza! 🌰
🙂 Thank you, Barbara! I really had to put some thought into this one. 😉
Stunning tribute to the Eleventh Anniversary, Eliza. IAVOM may be how I came to know you, who can remember now, but glad for it.
Thank you, Susie. Yes, many friendships have blossomed from this meme. 🙂 🌸 I’m grateful! 🙏🏼
What a pretty arrangement! And wow. 11 years hosting a challenge is nothing to scoff at!
IKR? It is an enduring (and charming) meme!
It truly is. And you always share something wonderful.
Thank you! ☺️
Well deserved, I say 🙂
💜
🧡
It’s always interesting to me to see how acorns from different trees also differ: sometimes substantially. These are lovely, as is your arrangment. Clearly, the absence of flowers doesn’t have to lead to a lack of creativity!
Thank you, Linda. Acorns are a great identifier, as each is unique to the tree. I like bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) acorns, which look like fuzzy little hats! I think they grow in your area?
Lovely use of these VERY prolific missiles from above! They’re downright dangerous! One landed on my foot, and man does it hurt. And yes, I can still walk around barefoot. 🙂
Bushels fall every autumn, it’s like walking on marbles! Hope your foot feels better. 🙂
Lovely as usual. (Suzanne)
🙂 Thanks so much!
We had three oak trees, but I did not see their acorns that often. The deer and squirrels got to them first!
Lots of animals, birds and insects depend on oak trees for sustenance. They are the queen of the forest!
Congrats on eleventh anniversary…what a great series sharing joy in a vase. Love all your acorns with yours. Very autumnal. The squirrels always seem to get to my acorns before I can gather them. Little thieving devils.
Thank you, Monika. I like a bowl of acorns to look at, just like pinecones, they make nice decor. 🙂 The squirrels (including the black one I posted) and chipmunks have been under this tree for a couple months and still there are hundreds. The deer need to come clean up the rest!
Wow…I’ll have to ship the hoodlums from my garden to you! They’ll happily nosh on all the leftovers.
I think the deer are waiting for the frosts to sweeten them! 😉
Very creative coming up with something when no flowers are blooming.
Thank you, it was a challenge coming up with something that fit the theme. 🙂
Such inventiveness…love the 11. As well I would like to say how beautiful those acorns are, not the same as the acorn shapes from this part of the UK. I shall have a look around next time I visit an arboretum.
Thank you, Noelle. They are red oak (Quercus rubra), an eastern US native and our most common oak. Lots of wildlife, from insects to birds and mammals, are fed by this tree, over 350 species!
Yes here too Oaks are reknown for the amount of life they sustain. I would recognise a red oak and will go on the hunt. They are great trees and often grown in special collections.
Oh this is so lovely, Eliza, and especially those 11 acorns…I want to reach out and scoop them up!! What type of oak are they from? As Noelle said, they are clearly different from the English oak. The leafy cloth is a perfect additional touch too.
Thank you, Cathy. Red oak (Quercus rubra), native to our area and a quick grower, producing bushels of acorns!
Thanks for that info Eliza
How creative, using 11 acorns, your arranngement looks so lovely and seasonal.
Thank you, Liz. It was a fun challenge.
I love your two rose stems forming an ’11’ and the acorns are beautiful. What kind of oak are they from, as they look quite different to ours? Oh, I see some have already asked you that! And you have the perfect cloth beneath them. 💕
Thank you, Cathy. Those are red oak (Quercus rubra)… a very prolific and fast grower. Our area is full of them. Glad you like my table runner– I’ve had it for ages, bought at a craft fair and brought out every autumn. 🍁🍂
The acorns are so pretty! Perfect for this time of year, and a little different I love it!
Thank you, Tracy! 🍁
Very clever, Eliza! I love the table runner. I noted that you’ve pulled the ivy out. It’s too bad that whatever parties planted ivy next door and on our steep back slope years and years ago weren’t as circumspect. I can barely even manage it’s neverending effort to take over large areas of my garden. The last 2 years of good rain didn’t help in that regard so I guess I should look forward to what appears destined to be a drought year.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Kris. Your ivy experience was at the back of my mind. Although I planted it several years ago in a blind moment, it hadn’t gotten very far, but I didn’t want it to take over. I’d best stick with native Virginia creeper. 😉
I always look forward to IAVOM. You’ve created a lovely seasonal arrangement 😊
Thank you, Belinda! 🙂
The acorns are particularly lovely.
Thank you, Tom. Nature’s bounty!
What an eye-catching display Eliza 😍 Your acorns look different to ours and are remind me of little mushrooms and also corks. The table runner provides a brilliant background splash of colour.
Thank you, Anna!
Great idea! And perfect for the season. 🙂
Beth @ PlantPostings
Thank you, Beth!
You did good with this one, Eliza, despite the scarcity of blooming flowers. It’s very Fall-like, and the colors are spectacular!
Thank you very much, Debbie! 🙂
Oooh I bet that is one beautiful Oak tree. The beautiful Oaks of the U.K. are probably the tree I miss the most! A lovely collection .
https://zonethreegardenlife.blog/2024/11/18/in-a-vase-monday-november-18/
Thank you, Jenny. She’s grand, at least 50 years old, if not more, with a lovely crown.
I love the acorns on the tablecloth and what a great idea for the eleventh anniversary! It’s wonderful it’s been going on that long and that we’ve been able to share in all the beautiful vases over the years.🙂
Thank you! It’s a fun meme and a creative way to share my garden blooms.
How are you feeling? How’s Miss Harper? 🙂
I still have a difficult time breathing from my enlarged spleen and by the afternoon I’m tired, achy and sore. I had appointments all week and found those to be exhausting afterwards. My treatment begins in December and I’ll be nervous until I know how I react and they say the first treatment is the worst. Harper has actually been amazing through all this and luckily I stocked up on her favorite little toys and make sure she gets one after all my appointments so she’s happy playing and I can rest.🐾🙂
Your are in my thoughts and I’m sending you love and strength. 💪🏼❤️ Rest all you can!
Thank you!!❤️
Nice arrangements Yes difficult to find flowers during snow and ice during Christmas time. Happy Christmas 🙂
Thank you, Deepa! 🙏🏼
That’s a very attractive arrangement, Eliza. At first glance, the acorns seem to be arranged on a collection of colorful autumn leaves.
Thank you, Tanja. A bit of a scramble finding things to create with, the garden is pretty bare!