In A Vase On Monday - Fatsia Pruning

Last week was my spring break but between wasting time and various appointments, errands, and getting a bit of a cold, the garden didn't get the attention it usually does. One can think of much worse things than cuddling on the couch with his dogs.  Getting lots of rest was the best thing for the tedious cold and seems to have done the trick as I'm feeling much better just in time to go back to work.  Anyway, one of the things I continue to work on is improving the side of the shade garden that faces my neighbor.  There are several Fatsia japonica planted there to act as backdrop but they'd grown very tall and were creating even more shade so it was time to cut them way back.  They're tough and can take being cut to the ground and come back.  Last time I cut them back, every cutting was saved and thrown into pots of soil where they quickly rooted.  Took me forever to give all of those away so this time, none were saved.  However, I was left with lots of cool leaves and fruits.

These wilted almost as soon as they were cut so, although there were more than ten of these big trusses of berries, only short stems could be used.

Pay no attention to those pink tulips that would have gone beautifully with these seed heads (original plan.)

For a moment, making a Fatsia-berry covered sphere was considered but seemed like more work than I wanted to do.

The Easter Bunny left these cute little ceramic baskets on the chairs of my choir members.

Just for fun, in went this piece of root found discarded by the side of the road and brought home many months ago.

This will definitely not be the springiest arrangement you'll see this Monday by clicking here to go to Rambling in the Garden, our delightful and inspirational host, Cathy's blog.