Eliza Waters

I missed creating a vase from my garden last Monday, but I’ve recovered from my despondency over the demise of much of my garden, so today I roused myself to see what I could come up with this week. I was pleasantly surprised that there was still an ample supply with which to create my arrangement.

Dead nettle (Lamium maculatum) and Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor) are still green and blooming. I was pleased to discover a late bloom of seventh son tree (Heptacodium miconioides), with its usually pure white, fragrant blooms tinged pink from the frost.

A few seed heads from a hosta (Hosta sp.) that had escaped my deadheading caught my eye. The pendulous racemes had split open, revealing layers of black, papery seeds within.

I was next drawn to the burgundy and yellow foliage of my bridalwreath (Spiraea × vanhouttei). I love the way the interior of the bush is golden yellow, graduating out to green then maroon at the tips. The twigs are a deep chocolate brown, providing a beautiful contrast. It looks as if it is lit from within.

The burgundy foliage of Korean spicebush (Viburnum carlesii) begged to be included, as well as a few burnished purple leaflets of barrenwort (Epimedium lutea).

Lastly, gray-green garden sage (Salvia officinalis), which is tough, frost-hardy and nearly evergreen, completed the selection.

The green apothecary bottle was a yard sale find and the vintage, hand-painted, carved ducks once belonged to my in-laws. I used my pansy doily to repeat the violas in the arrangement.

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens by creating arrangements to enjoy inside our homes.

Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.

Feel free to join in, sharing your own weekly vase with a link to Cathy’s blog.