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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Monday, March 11, 2019

In a Vase on Monday - Magnolia Update and Trying Something Different

For a couple of weeks now, my Monday vases have included budded branches of a deciduous, spring blooming Magnolia that had broken by February Snow.  While I've appreciated the fuzzy buds on the tree, cutting them to bring indoors never crossed my mind as the blooming tree is such a joy.  Many of us were wondering if the blooms would open indoors in water.  Today I have an answer:  Yes and no.




The fuzzy bud covering falls to the wood floor with a sweet little sound that makes you think that mice have invaded the house.

The buds do open but the flowers are not as large, robust, or as deeply colored as those left on the tree will be.

Nor do they last as long in the vase as they would on the tree but that's to be expected. 

There is also a strong fragrance.  We'll see if leaves emerge as the flowers fade. While I wouldn't intentionally bring many of these inside to force, a few would be a nice breath of spring a few weeks early.

Trying something different - I'm mostly a cram-it-in-a-vase-and-hope-for-the-best participant in Cathy's meme In a Vase on Monday.  Today, I decided to try my hand at something asymmetrical using only a few elements that had already fallen to the ground.  First up was this camellia.

Moss fallen from the roof covers the round horizontal part of the usubata.  Pretty sure that's against the rules of Ikebana but since I'm ignorant of the art form, we'll let it stay.  It's harder than one might think to depart from a more-is-better arranging aesthetic.

It might be better without the moss and with a few parts of the contorted filbert branch cut off.

The arrangement should be left alone but it's always fun to throw in some things from the hoard.  Here's a cute Japanese netsuke with a carved frog.

Also thought it would be fun to once again drag out one of my favorite thrift store finds, this japanese plate.

To see more Monday Vases, click here to go to Cathy's blog, Rambling in the Garden.  

13 comments:

  1. Love the Magnolia branches and the moss. While it's unusual to see you flirting with simplicity you do it well.

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  2. So elegant Peter, and I like the moss there. The plater looks really intriguing as if the white 'clouds' are above the level of the plate itself, but I am guessing athat won't be the case. Good to see your magnolia experiment too, and to think of you waiting in silence for the fuzzy bud coverings to drop...

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  3. Both your arrangements are lovely. Your ikebana arrangement given the dark background treatment, and lighting on the twig is just perfect. Well done!

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  4. I'm one of the 'cram them in' brigade but I love the elegant restraint of your Japanese inspired arrangement. Lovely to see your magnolia buds opening.

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  5. It's nice to see the magnolia bud are finally opening up. I think you did very well with the minimalist display, I like it just as it is, no rules apply. An occasional magnolia branch would be beautiful in future ikebana creations, especially since we now know buds do open up indoors. What's the pair of green leafs from? They appear to be bamboo...

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  6. Well done, on both counts! I'm glad you're able to enjoy the Magnolia flowers and I think you showed admirable restraint with the Camillia arrangement.

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  7. How nice for you that the Magnolia opened enough to share a little of their scent. I love your Camellia flower - ideal for a minimalist style vase. :)

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  8. An interesting experiment with the magnolia. While we admire them on the tree it's very special to have a little advance taste of spring inside. I do like that twig shape in your arrangement.

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  9. I love the Camellia semi bana, I don't get it either, but love the Hawaiian ones. I could never force spring flowering branches and finally gave up, like the Magnolia arrangement..

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  10. Nice balance on that sort-of-bana. It's cool that your magnolia branches are blooming.

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  11. haha... "sort-of-bana", I like that!
    I can't think of a better way to set off a camellia flower other than building a conservatory around the bush and then being able to sit and eat lunch while admiring the whole bush. I guess that's another option, but the moss sure works well!

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  12. I like both of your arrangements. The first one makes me want to go out and cut some magnolia limbs. I really like your ikeban arrangement. I would definitely keep the moss. If you want to simplify more I would ditch the leaves.

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  13. The camellia is gorgeous! Magnolias are so woody... can they get enough water when cut?

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.