In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement using materials collected from our gardens.
Dainty in demeanor the flowers in this collection are true workhorses. Requiring little care they bloom and bloom.
Begonias and cyclamen were the starting point for today’s vase.
Two oversized pots of wax begonias near the front steps have performed reliably this summer, despite infrequent watering. One pot is filled with pink, the other is white. Begonias are so commonly used in landscaping they may seem ordinary perhaps, but planted en masse in large blue containers they have been striking.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
These cyclamen are from plants that live indoors. Enjoying indirect light from a sunny west-facing window they have been flowering continuously all summer.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
Several weeks ago large pots of inexpensive chrysanthemums began showing up for sale at my local grocery store, too good a bargain to pass up. The terracotta-rust blooms fade to a darker red as they age.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
The rusty coloring of this young heart-shaped begonia leaf complements the chrysanthemums.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
Zinnias have appeared so frequently this summer in my Monday vases I tried to avoid them today; however, playing off the hue of the chrysanthemum, a small terra cotta zinnia and another in red seemed destined to be companion flowers.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) are not normally categorized as diminutive but this small specimen stood out this morning. The coneflowers have kept insects and American gold finches busy all summer.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
Materials
Flowers
Begonia (Wax Begonia)
Chrysanthemum
Cyclamen persicum (Persian cyclamen)
Dahlia sp.
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Zinnia ‘Cut and Come Again Mix’
Vase
Stoneware mug by potter Nancy Redman, Redman Pottery.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
Thank you to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us a chance to express our flower arranging passion. Visit her to discover what she and others found this week in their gardens to place In A Vase On Monday.
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mug Petites
pbmGarden 
I love the blue mug filled to the brim with the late season reds and pinks….gorgeous!
Thank you Donna!
A lovely arrangement set off perfectly by the blue mug. Love it.
Thanks John. Bought the mug at the Eno Festival one year.
An array of red and pink. Wonderful combination!
Thank you!
Nice mug! I don’t know why I never think to pull one of mine out for use as a vase (especially as there’s one I bought expressly for that purpose). With the exception of the zinnias, all your flowers are difficult to impossible to grow here, although heaven knows I’ve tried. They make a lovely composition.
Kris, I thought begonias would grow anywhere, but come to think of it, some of mine planted in the ground died because of lack of water. The little flowers made me happy today, although overall my garden is a mess. I need to reclaim it (which is why I began a blog in 2010!).
I love it, common plants uncommonly arranged. How did the Begonias fare?
Thank you. The begonias in my pots got afternoon shade and they seem quite content. A few planted in the ground got too much sun and not enough water, so they were unhappy.
The only thing left blooming here are yellow brown eyed susan’s, so these bright and happy blooms allowed me to have a huge smile just looking at them in that lovely vase. 🙂
Thanks Judy. Enjoy those lingering blooms.
That’s delightful! I like the unexpected combinations–especially the Cyclamen with the Zinnias. I would never think to pair them, but they look wonderful together!
Beth, funny what we expect will work together. I admit I didn’t think too much–just gathered everything I could find.
A cheerful mugful in such vivid shades of red and pink – they all complement each other perfectly. The blue mug offers a nice contrast, too. Lovely!
Thanks Eliza. Red and blue are my favorite colors, but I end up with a lot of pink in the garden. It always surprises me.
What a judicious choice of colours, Susie, from a really interesting combination of blooms – it can be too easy to focus on blooms from just one place (like my cutting beds!) instead of keeping a competely open mind and pair of eyes! I love them with the blue mug too. It’s interesting to read what you and others say about different plants in the US and where they can be expected to grow
Cathy, I’m often surprised as well by what will and will not grow in various regions of the US. You might enjoy looking at this map illustrating plant hardiness zones. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/
I’m in zone 7b.
Thanks for that Susie – perhaps I should plot my blogging friends on a map like this 😉 It is so much simpler in the UK!
What a lovely colour combination Susie and so pretty in the blue mug.
Thank you. Interesting how sometimes colors that might otherwise seem to clash actually work fine together in a vase.
The colours coordinate so nicely Susie. Lovely photos too!
Thanks Cathy, these flowers were fun to photograph. The light wasn’t right in my usual spot so I got to explore the house for light.
Oh I love these colors!
Glad you liked this Bev!
The dark reds, pinks and reds make for a rich colour palette this week Susie, I love it in your blue mug.
Interesting to see how varied colors can be and still work together.
Beautiful! I like the wax begonias! Cyclamen is very nice, too…I’m terrible at growing houseplants so I greatly admire those who have them! 🙂
Joanna, I have very few house plants and am looking for a way to get rid of some now. I don’t like to have to baby them.
Beautiful how the colors work so well together. I think the only fault people find with wax begonia is how easy they are to grow. If they were fussier I bet they’d get much more respect!
Simp-le and simply beautiful.