I’m not very often late with my post for ‘In a vase on Monday’ hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the garden. My excuse is that it was my birthday yesterday which is also Viterbo’s patron saint’s day. I have written about Santa Rosa before and I’ll post some images of this years celebration later in the week. On the eve of the day a 100 foot high tower is carried through the streets of the city and the evening ends with a wonderful fireworks display which seems to be directed at the windows of our apartment in the city so I often celebrate my birthday there with friends so we can all enjoy the fireworks and the excitement of the evening together.Of course this called for flowers for the table!
I picked almost all the Zinnias but with short stems so there should be plenty more again in a few days
I used floral foam
I know I said last week that I didn’t like using it but it really seemed to be the only way. I’d had the foam for some time and although it was still in its original packing it really didn’t absorb water as it should so sadly some of the flowers only lasted the evening!
From the end, I achieved a narrow arrangement to fit the table
In a vase on Monday
From above
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
The flowers made a beautiful table and I hope your time with friends made a most enjoyable celebration for your birthday. All best wishes to you!
Thank you Marian it was a very enjoyable evening.
Oh my gosh, you did it! So gorgeous Christina. Happy Birthday!
Thanks Susie, yes, I was pleased with the result.
It’s perfect.
So festive! I love those table runners…a perfect match.
The table runners were chosen as they are similar to the stripes seen in some if the Etruscan tombs that abound in this area.
Uno splendido centrotavola per la tua festa: Buon Compleanno Christina!!!
Grazie Lidia, Spero di fare un altro domani
Lovely – happy birthday for yesterday!
Thank you.
Many happy returns Christina! Your arrangement is absolutely gorgeous, and it definitely was worth cutting all the zinnias just for one evening. 🙂 What are those slightly conical white flowers?
Gonfrena, the full name is part of the tags
Happy birthday Christina! This is such a
a gorgeous way to use your zinnias – one of my favourite late summer flowers. We are sat in Florida right now but I am looking forward to getting home later this week & reconnecting with the garden. Hopefully my zinnias will be looking this good. xx
Thanks Julie. My Zinnias have been flowering since June! They are the perfect flower for here. Hope you’ve had a good holiday.
Beautiful work, the zinnias look terrific with the Gomphrena. Buon Compleanno, if I remember correctly. Looking forward to seeing the fireworks.
Not sure I photographed the fireworks but I will share some pictures of the tower called the Macchina
Please do!
Christina congratulations on her birthday. The floral arrangement for the table is beautiful, beautiful. I love. The Zinnias are very pretty. Greetings from Margarita.
Thank you for your good wishes Margarita
Bountiful…both in years and flowers. Happy Birthday.
Thanks John
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISTINA! It sounds like the best of ways to celebrate. Your zinnias coordinate well with the colorful table runners.
The runners were searched for to reflect the colours used by the Etruscans in their painted their tombs.
Oh happy birthday for yesterday, Christina – glad you were busy enjoying yourself and not under the weather, as I feared. What an exciting evening it must have been and what a lovely centrepiece – I really like the low but wide style, which would of course have needed strong support and the foam seems to have done the trick, although it’s strange how it didn’t absorb water properly. The dark pink zinnia is especially striking and I remenbered the whote blobs were gomphrena this time!! Thanks for sharing
The saints day is a very big event here so it makes my birthday seem very special too being part of it.
Is it always held on the Sunday or is it the actual date of your birthday?
All holidays are celebrated on the actual day here. So yes it is always on my birthday.
What a beautiful arrangement, Christina! I hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration. Yesterday was Labor Day here in the US. We had a family cookout and I didn’t have time to participate in Cathy’s meme.
Such a happy and snappy arrangement, oh and happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday! What a gorgeous arrangement; the colors and shape for the table are perfect. It’s so fitting that Santa Rosa is on your birthday…it must have been a perfect evening.
Happy belated birthday! It’s nice that you have fireworks to help celebrate your day.
Beautiful arrangement… I like the white gomphrena as color and shape contrast.
Definitely forgiven. Many happy returns
Happy Birthday Christina, what a gorgeous arrangement of colour and shape. I love those deep purples and the white contrast.
Beautiful! Happy Birthday!
It sounds as if your special day was most special indeed Christina. Sending you birthday greetings and hope that you have a fabulous year ahead of you xxx
Thank you 😊
And here I am…late in wishing you a Happy Birthday! You set a beautiful table and the arrangement is low enough to allow guests to see each other, something many grandiose table settings fail to take into consideration. My DIL is a foodie and always removes flowers from the table (even at my house) to prevent scents from interfering with the gastronomic experience. I don’t quite know what to make of that.
My husband is much the same.
Very belated birthday wishes dear Christina. I have been away too so I am only just catching up. A stunning arrangement and what gorgeous colours. What are the little white flowers?
The white white flowers are Gomprena – they’ve been a great success this year.
Those are delightful and sing with the table runners.
Happy birthday!