Cathy at Rambling in the Garden has issued an In a Vase on Monday Weekly Challenge to create a vase from things we’ve gathered from our own garden. I first heard about it from friend and fellow blogger Elizabeth at A Forest Garden. Cathy writes:
“You would be most welcome to join me and others in posting a vase every Monday or just once in a while. The spirit of the meme is to find material in your own garden or foraged locally to place in a container – but it is after all a personal challenge so there are no strict rules.”
Living in New England, my garden is still sleeping under a couple feet of snow, so pickings are few and far between. However, I clipped a few sprigs of forsythia from the edge of the garden last week and brought them in to force. It always lifts my spirits to see their pendulous golden bells. With our spring still months away, it’s fun to cheat just a little.
Eliza Waters 
Oh that’s spring on her way! 🙂
Hope springs eternal!
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Gorgeous yellow bells!
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I was wondering how on earth you came up with forsythia. But now it all makes sense 🙂 If I didn’t have cats who eat every plant I’ve ever had indoors, I’d give this a try too!
Can they reach the top of the fridge? That’s where I forced mine. 😉
I haven’t found much they can’t reach. We have never had a Christmas tree because of them. They are 14 years old, and we’ve had them since we counted their age by the weeks 😉 We once got one of those palm tree plants (checked to make sure it wasn’t poisonous first), and our female killed it by eating it. Sigh…
LOL- Tree-eating tigers!
Great minds think alike! The colour yellow really does lift the spirits when the world outside is grey and white. 🙂
Agreed! It won’t be long now, I hope! 😉
Oh, so pretty! Even though I am a native plant advocate, I still keep Forsythia just for this! (But now it doesn’t matter so much.) How cheerful to see that sunny yellow Eliza!
Lovely…
Thank you, Julie. Proof that spring is around the corner! 😉
Not cheating at all – and one thing we have learned from this meme is that forsythia and many other ‘woody’ shrubs are quite happy being cut in bud and will flower in due course when brought inside and put in a vase. It must feel like a real harbinger when you have all that snow! The actual vase that it is in is beautiful, by the way. Thanks for joining in and hopefully we will see you again soon.
Thank you, Cathy, for the warm welcome. That vase is one of my favorites, one of a kind, bought from a potter up in the hills of New Hampshire over 30 years ago. You might be seeing it again in another post!
Eliza, your vase of Forsythia is smile inducing! So pretty, and I’m so happy to see you joined in with a Monday Vase with your garden still under feet of snow! You have found the spirit of spring in the midst of winter 😉 Giant hugs! WG
Thanks, Elizabeth, I rather impulsively decided to join in – you inspired me! Meager offering, but they say 90% of life is just showing up. 😉
Absolutely! What an honor to have inspired you to bring a little spring into your home in defiance of the weather outside 😉
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Yeah, definitely spring is around the corner. 🙂
I don’t think bringing in branches to force into bloom is cheating and you need something to keep you going until spring arrives.
Indeed, I do as well! I meant that I was cheating Ol’ Man Winter by bringing on Spring faster than he is allowing outside. 😉
I love forcing spring branches too. Such a great way to turn the tables on Ol’ Man Winter. Very pretty little arrangement.
Thank you, Barbara. Makes me long to get my hands on some of what my garden is capable of producing. Waiting!
I know! We got a bunch of snow by Virginia standards yesterday and as I was shoveling today and looking at my garden beds, I marveled at the idea that there is hosta under this. And day lilies! Isn’t it just marvelous to contemplate? Think how much you are going to LOVE this spring. It will be like none other.
So true… absence makes the heart grow fonder! I’ve been dreaming of lilacs and peonies. 🙂
WOW-that is in your garden-amazing. Mine is snow covered and not doing anything. single digits out there still!I am taking it out this year to give my Stella Cherry tree a bit more space when she ( hopefully soon) gives us cherries!
My forsythia is badly overgrown and overshadowed, but it manages to give me a few branches to force inside every winter.
Beautiful photos, Eliza. And what a charming and encouraging idea for a weekly post, especially for people living in snow country. Hats off to the challenger.
Thank you! It does get me thinking about the possibilities despite the fact that my garden is buried under feet of snow.
Simply beautiful. How wonderful to have an advance bit of spring to help see you through the rest of winter. 🙂 You’ve reminded me that we don’t have forsythia here on the ranch, and I’d like to plant some this year.
I know forsythia is a common plant, but its early blooms make it a must in my garden. It is in an overgrown corner, rather neglected, but its main purpose for me is for forcing. It fits the bill!
The perfume is so exotic, beautiful memories are stirred! ❤
Thank you for commenting & stopping by my site, Barbara. Glad to hear it invoked good memories. 🙂