Oh that little vase.....

I am that person who sees the perfect blossom in the garden and wants to put it immediately in the kitchen.  In NJ,  I had to have the fragrance of the roses, the texture of the peonies or the hydrangea and the arrangement needed to greet me personally,  each time I came into the kitchen.  Fast forward to now, I have many choices of flowers,  but few have the real "fragrance" I just spoke of.   However, in exchange for giving the fragrance up,  I now have flowers 12 months of the year.   Not a bad trade, even for flower addicted me.

I recently discovered, I am a small vase collector.  I have them is all shapes, sizes, colors & heights.    It is my favorite gift to give as a hostess gift.  I guarantee the gift I give,  is also one I own,  in my overstuffed closet.  When I am out of town,  it is such a special and easy trinket to pick up.  Many of my vases  have a story attached to them, which I also love.  Most times it takes me back to where ever I traveled to or with and I love that aspect of collecting.  When we were in Venice I was on Venetian glass overload.  However, the morning we were leaving,  I decided to buy one of the thousands on the street I had been seeing for days. Of course now,  I am so happy I chose to buy it,  as I use it so frequently.  The vase is between a deep eggplant and a purple shade.  The colors of whatever flowers I put in there just pop.
 
When I replant orchids, which I recently did, I end up with many single stalks of orchids.  They last so long as a cut flower.   In my kitchen, I have a large area in front of the sink which is always graced with something...an orchid plant or fresh stalks of something from outside or the market.  I think it distracts me from the activity at hand- literally!  Last weekend I was trimming a flowering potted plant and as I was finished, I could not throw the flowering pieces away.  So, for 4 days I had a great arrangement on my outdoor table.  It smiled at me each time I passed by. 

  Each summer in NJ, I planted mint of some kind.  Inevitably, the plant went wild overpowering all others, much like a ground cover.  I started using it as a 'filler' green to my small arrangements that I picked from my yard.  FYI,  mint in the house smells amazingly fresh.  Its perfect in a small vase all by itself....and that bright green just makes you smile.

I have been researching gardening quotes and some of them are quite funny and thought provoking.  So each week I plan to have  quote to share with you.  If you have a great one, please share it.


"In gardens, beauty is a by-product.  The main business is sex and death." ~ Sam Llewelyn   So true!