Welcome to this week’s ‘In a Vase On Monday’, when I am joining Cathy at Rambling In The Garden in her challenge to find something from the garden to put in a vase every week.
This week I am mixing old and new – old hydrangea heads from the garden and newly flowering Paperwhites from the greenhouse.
I had plans to use flowers from the garden this week, but yesterday’s endless rain and sleet meant a quick rethink. I braved the weather to collect some old hydrangea heads, which I then dried on the aga (the petals were dripping wet) and I cut some unopened Paperwhites from the greenhouse – I took a gamble that they would open overnight in the warmth of the kitchen.
As you can see the gamble paid off – these are the freshest Paperwhites I have used this year.
This weeks arrangement involved a little more than ‘plonking’, but was still very quick and easy. I bought this lovely footed bowl last week in Laura Ashley – I have been admiring it for a while and was hoping it might turn up under the Christmas tree. In its absence I decided to buy it for myself.
To hide the flower stems I have lined the bowl with pussy willow left over from Christmas. I am including this in ‘props’ as it is something that I buy rather than grow.
I then created a grid across the top of the bowl with tape – I used florists pot tape which you can buy on the internet, but sellotape should work just as well. I threaded the stems of the hydrangeas between the grid lines, securing with a little more tape where necessary.
The Paperwhites were arranged into a dome shape and the stems all cut to the same length. I secured the stems together with the pot tape. The Paperwhites were put in a tall thin glass filled with water and this was carefully placed into the centre of the hydrangeas – in this way I did not need to fill the bowl with water.
It sounds complicated but actually took about 10 minutes to put together. Initially photographed in the kitchen I moved the arrangement to the drawing room, where it sits well with a vase of pussy willow that was already there.
I have to say how much I am enjoying these simple winter arrangements – I know that the supermarkets are full of narcissi and tulips which create the impression of an early spring, but this year I am happy to savour winter for just a little longer. I know that it is cold and the wet weather seems endless, but I am rather enjoying the slower pace with shorter days and evenings by our new wood burner. For now I am in no hurry to see my garden bulbs burst into flower.
Finally I have to say a big thank you to everyone who commented on my Cutting Garden post on Friday – what a lot of lovely comments!! I will be going through and answering any questions tomorrow, but for now I must announce the winner – congratulations Kathleen Murphy – if you email me your address details I will get your lovely book posted to you. I wish that I could have given everyone who commented a copy of the book and thank you all for taking part!
That is all for tonight – I hope you will pop over to Cathy’s blog now and see what she and the others have made this week.
Hello Julie!!
I can’t believe I won!!!! Thank you so incredibly much! I just absolutely love your blog and can’t tell you how much enjoyment it gives me to read it so thank you for that as well!
I have to say that I have been longing for a life in the English countryside ever since reading the Shell Seekers all those years ago! That book set me off on an Anglophile’s journey. I got my AGA back in 1992 (loved your ‘AGA Christmas’ post), planted the entire property with gardens and have never looked back. Your blog and gorgeous photos nourishes that longing!
My address is below and once again, thank you so very much!
Kathleen Murphy 43 Elm St. Camillus, NY 13031 USA
Hi Kathleen – I am so pleased that you won and the book is in the post so should be with you early next week – I hope you enjoy it! I did not realise that the Aga is available in the States – it sounds like you are making a very english life over there in NY!
Every time I see your Paper Whites I am kicking myself for not buying any this year. Thank you for explaining the mechanics of the arrangement too, it looks quite complicated but with the description I can see it wouldn’t be difficult to achieve. The vase is lovely too, one has to buy presents for oneself sometimes!
Thank you Christina – you really must make sure to get plenty of bulbs to force this autumn – it makes all the difference to the winter and they make great gifts when you have no flowers in the garden.
Julie I love this arrangement as it gives me such possibilities to ponder….and I appreciate knowing how you put it together. Beautiful and perfect for the season. Lots of snow here so our spring will be a couple of weeks away.
Thank you Donna – we have had a bit of snow over here too but nothing like what you are used to! I keep meaning to do a DIY style post to show some of these techniques in more detail.
Lovely arrangement. I love savoring winter, or whatever season it is. Our local grocer has flowers, but once it’s January second all the pine and poinsettia and other winter blooms disappear, and they’ve moved on to tulips and daffs.
Spring does seem to come to early in the shops Valorie – it is lovely to see the bright colours but I do wish the winter selection was available for a little longer. Likewise with clothes – just when we might need an extra jumper the shops are full of sunglasses and bikinis!
Really lovely and so unique! The pure white of the Paperwhites with the sepia Hydrangeas is just lovely: and thanks for the tips on just how you made it all happen!
Thank you Libby – although I love the hydrangeas I dry indoors in the autumn there is something very special about the heads that have stood outside all winter – the papery leaves seem so delicate yet withstand all that cold, wind and wet.
Beautifully different – and I admire everyone who braves weather challenges in search of the perfect material. Those paperwhites are perfect!
Thank you Kris but don’t admire too much – compared to many parts of America our temperatures are quite spring like!
Thanks for sharing the details about how you arranged this as well as the contents themselves, Julie – the use of tape on the Paperwhites and to make the grid is a really useful idea, as is the separate vase for them. Reading Kathleen’s comment prompted me to thank you again for the tip about reheating the Christmas pudding in the Aga, which I am thrilled to say was thoroughly successful and a real boon to Christmas dinner co-ordination 🙂
Thank you Cathy – I used that tip for the first time this year & together with cooking the overnight Christmas was a breeze this year.
The paperwhites look so elegant rising out of the faded hydrangea flowers – and the pussy willow goes nicely too. The tip on tape is very useful as I have often trouble keeping stems in the right place, and using a glass in the centre of a bowl is also a very clever trick! Thanks Julie, and enjoy the rest of the winter evenings by the wood burner!
Thank you Cathy – I have been making good use of the woodturner this week. I think you will find a roll of florists tape very helpful when making your arrangements – particularly for creating a support across the month of a vase – the other option is chicken wire, but you need to take care not too scratch the glass with it.
I like the idea of using the paper whites as cut flowers, I will do that next year. Thanks for showing us how you did this arrangement, what a good idea using tape.
I used to buy early daffs or tulips at this time of the year but since this meme I find it so much more satisfying to find things in the garden for arrangements.
Looking forward to our jaunt. Have you got a day free next week? I will send you an email tomorrow.
LOVE the light, so cheerful and pretty. Would love to have a place to set indoor winter flowers, maybe soon. Love seeing you post in The Studio.
Thank you Beverly – I must try to post more in The Studio but I have to admit that I find it a bit intimidating. I have not got to grips with Lightroom or pre sets yet and so feel quite the amateur amongst all you pros.
Love those paperwhites do they have a scent like narcissus ? The light too is beautiful..
Thank you for commenting and yes they do have a very strong scent. Personally
I love the scent, but some people really do not like the smell of Paperwhites, so I am always careful not to place them on a dinner table in case they cause offence.