First a confession, this vase was put together on Friday and the title of the post hints at why.
After torrential rain, thunder and lightning and strong winds in the early hours of Friday morning when I made my usual walk around the garden I made a sad discovery, several of the ‘Brown Sugar’ tulips had been snapped off about 10 cm from the head; I couldn’t bear to just throw them away so instead of the vase I had been thinking about showing you here are the salvaged tulips with the un-open flower heads from the Photinia hedge that surround two sides of the garden.
I didn’t to find a low container, I didn’t have any oasis to hand so Improvised by placing the tulips heads in a glass jar and then placed that inside a basket covered glass container that I’d bought to hold candles; not perfect but it works and I can at least enjoy the tulips a little longer.
Looking down
Thank you again Cathy for hosting and indeed thinking up this fun opportunity of using flowers from our gardens; I’ve never picked so many flowers before and although in the future I hope to mainly pick from the new cuttings bed I will be less afraid of using some of the blooms from the garden. Do you have something to pick today? Why not join Cathy and share your ideas. I am learning so much from more expert flower arrangers but also appreciating that even very simply arranged flowers can give enormous pleasure.
Sounds like you’ve had some wild weather there, but at least you were able to make good use of the broken flowers. They’re a lovely colour – I’ll need to remember ‘Brown Sugar’ when I put a bulb order in later in the year!
there was an even bigger surprise on Friday afternoon, more about that tomorrow.
The Tulips are lovely and a perfect match for the Photinia. Is it the lovely red one, Red Robin?
I doubt it is a named variety here, more likely the straight species. Everyone plants them as hedges because they don’t need water once established.
Such lovely coloured tulips, so glad you were able to use them.
The sad part is there were more on Saturday so I just put those in a small glass. These are one of the tulips that look beautiful as they die so it is a dissapointment not to have tht effect in the garden.
That looks lovely with the Photinia flowers, I did not recognise them until I read your text. They work well in the basket too.
I think I prefer the Photinia before it opens properly, it is more delicate.
This shows their colour off brilliantly Christina – as you say, needs must as you wouldn’t want to waste them. I hope you haven’t lost too many – there is a sea of magnolia petals on our paved area and the hyacinths I used were lying almost horizontally so I probably cut them before they broke. Isn’t it great searching for the ‘extras’ to go with the choice of flowers? The photinia is perfect and, as you say, more so before it opens. Thanks for your support and for joining in each week.
I’m enjoying ‘sort of’ being ‘forced’ to pick from the garden; I’ve always found reasons for leaving everything but I’m getting a lot of pleasure from having the flowers inside apart from the fun of seeing what everyone else is doing and learning so much! your meme is the only one I go back to again and again to see the links to others vases.
Aw, that’s so nice to know Christina…
I love that combo too! And I agree on liking photinia flowers more before they open…I find the smell nauseating when they are open. I am avoiding mine right now 😉
Oh! I so agree about the smell of the Photinia, just as well it doesn’t last too long.
I love your inventive solution (necessity the mother of?) and the whole idea of making bouquets on a regular basis. Most of my really dramatic arrangements have come about as storm by-products. I can’t seem to give myself permission to pick so freely otherwise.
I never used to pick from the garden so I am enjoying this meme as a means of making me bring something inside the house. Why not join in sometimes?
It can be heartbreaking when bad weather destroys our longed for flowers – it nearly always happens to me just as my peonies start to flower. At least you had a reason to rush out and salvage them! Your arrangement looks lovely – I think the jar inside the basket is a great idea. I have put Brown Sugar on my list to try in the Cutting garden next year – it looks a lovely tulip.
I cannot recommend ‘Brown Sugar’ enough. Having it inside made me realise that it is pleasantly perfumed too. Plus you just need to see the colours it changes to as it dies; that was one reason I was sad to lose it from the garden.
That colour is lovely – glad you could save them and they look really effective in that basket. A lovely arrangement! 😀
Thanks Cathy, I might even think of cutting them in this way in future!
I really like your combinations today Christina. The texture of the photinia is nice and airy against the masses of the tulips. And the basket worked well.
Thank you Susie. The Photinia is a useful plant to have even if it is used rather too much here.
That’s a perfect way to enjoy the broken tulips stems!
Not the classic way to have tulips in the house but I was glad to be able to use them all the same.
I love the subtle colours! Amelia
I’m glad you saved them, Christina. This looks stunning!
A lovely arrangement! Shame it came about by damage to your garden plants. But at least you salvaged them, and created a display indoors, instead. I attempt to do the same myself, when accidents happen. I’m afraid very recently, too – although without such an imaginative display. If you saw my recent post on “I went to Ashwood and….”, you would have seen my recent purchase of a new hellebore. Unfortunately, the following morning, I discovered that a neighbouring cat had made its escape, over the top of my beloved plant, and broken its flower spike. Sob! Never mind, in a vase, and the plant will be fine!
What a shame about your hellebore, but as you say the plant will be OK.
I remember the Brown Sugar from you last vase – it’s a lovely colour, so unusual in tulips. I particularly like the wicker basket, so lovely with the tulip shade. Necessity a positive in this case.
Such a shame, they are wonderful tulips, but what a great way to still enjoy them despite the “disaster”.