Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Clustered Vases Beside the Laptop…

Clustered vases filled with Lupine, Phlox, Valerian, and Rosa de Rescht. Photo © 2010 Michaela at TGE

Whew. It has been busy around here. Most days I am out and about in the field working with clients, gathering plants, making deliveries, planting gardens, and lately, helping out my friends at Walker Farm on the weekends by answering customer questions about trees, shrubs and perennials. But at least one day a week, I remain here at my home studio where I research new plant cultivars, draw up garden design plans and plant lists, and yes, write this blog as well as a weekly Wednesday post for Barnes and Noble’s Garden Variety. Some days I even find time to work in my own garden, or at least to pick a few flowers…

The home “office”

Right now my garden is a voluptuous tumble of color and fragrance. The long beds and borders are overflowing with indigo-hued baptisia, lupine, heaven-scented peonies, old-fashioned roses, wild phlox, delicate valerian, bluebells, romantic, wine-red weigela, and the list goes on. Sweet springtime! Oh how I wish I could bottle up all of the beauty and fragrance and save it for a blustery January day… But we all know that’s not possible, so I try to squeeze in every precious moment while I can. Sometimes that means snipping a rose here, and a handful of storm-damaged lupine there, to create a little table-top vignette. Over the years I have received many beautiful vases as birthday, thank you and hostess gifts from family, friends and clients. I love selecting vessels in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, to cluster on a table top, nightstand, or beside my laptop while I work. If I can’t be out in the garden, I might as well bring it, and all of its rosy splendor, indoors with me while I work.

Do you enjoy fresh cut flowers as much as I do? Try clustering a group of vases together to create a tiny garden atmosphere indoors. I like groups of 3, 5 or 7 vases, ranging from bud to bouquet in size. Vary the opacity and patterns to compliment the flowers you select. This time I chose light, greenish-turquoise tones to emphasize the cerise hues of Rosa de Rescht and two-toned pink lupine. Vases needn’t be expensive! Old glass soda bottles, spice or jam jars, tin cans and a variety of recycled containers make charming, impromptu vessels…

Rosa de Rescht, up close in a bud vase where I can enjoy her gorgeous fragrance and work at the same time…

***

Article and photographs © 2010 Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden

All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. Inspired by something you see here? Great! Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…

Do you enjoy visiting The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through our affiliate links. A small percentage of any sale originating from The Gardener’s Eden site will go toward web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you for your support!

Artful Home (The Guild)

shopterrain.com

wine.com

Gardener's Supply Company

2 Replies to “Bringing Nature’s Beauty Indoors: Clustered Vases Beside the Laptop…”

  1. Laurrie

    I discovered some plants are actually more enjoyable inside than out in the garden. A strangely colored baptisia (Twilite Prairieblues) looks muddy colored in full light outside, but glows a soft purple when I put the blossoms in a vase inside. So much nicer up close and in lower light.

  2. Michaela

    You are so right Laurrie. I have similar feelings about an iris I grow, (I don’t know the cv name, as it was a gift from a friend with an old garden). I grow some flowers in my potager, in outrageous hues, specifically for cutting. Riot colors are great in vases, but not necessarily in my calm borders. I do love the name “twilight prairie blues”… that sounds like a song or better yet, a painting.
    xo

Comments are closed.