There aren't many roses in bloom in my garden at present and those that do appear don't last long so, when I saw that
'California Dreamin' had a bud opening, I clipped it and, as Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden does, I wandered about my own garden looking for suitable partners to go in today's vase. I didn't start this week's project with selections in mind as I often do. I wasn't even sure there was much out there that I hadn't already used in one form or another. So I was surprised how well this vase came together.
Unlike many of my bouquets, this one was no struggle to photograph. In fact, this one wasn't capable of producing a bad photo.
![]() |
| Photo taken from above the bouquet looking downward |
This bouquet may be my personal favorite thus far. Here's what I used:
- 1 rose bud ('California Dreamin' rose)
- 3 stems of Bulbine frutescens, yellow variety
- 1 Dahlia 'Fringed Star'
- 2 stems of Digitalis x mertonensis 'Polka Dot Pippa' (with the persistent aphids removed)
- 1 stem of Grevillea 'Superb' containing 2 mature flowers
- 3 stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'
- 3 stems of Origanum 'Monterey Bay'
- 2 stems of the always useful Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'(aka golden feverfew)
![]() |
| Close-up of 'California Dreamin' rose |
![]() |
| Close-up of yellow Bulbine frutescens with Digitalis x mertonensis below |
![]() |
| Close-up of Dahlia 'Fringed Star,' which has a lot less pink than than the photo attached to the bulb package |
![]() |
| Close-up of Grevillea 'Superb,' the blooms of which start out a yellowish peach and turn pinkish coral as they age |
![]() |
| Back of the bouquet, which highlights Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' and Origanum 'Monterey Bay' |
The vase in this case is a decorative teapot given to my mother-in-law by one of her neighbors several months prior to her death. I brought it home last year when my husband and I cleared her home for sale, planning to use it to hold flowers. This is the first time I've done so and, even though it isn't a family heirloom, it reminds me of her.
What better place for a teapot masquerading as a vase than the kitchen. It brightens the mostly white space, doesn't it?
![]() |
| The lemons from the tree at the bottom of our slope even make a nice accent |
If you have a vase of flowers collected from your garden sitting on a countertop this morning, post a picture and
link up to Cathy's "In a Vase on Monday" meme at Rambling in the Garden.
