Posted on by Donna

In a Vase on Monday – Is It or Isn’t It?

“I think acting is about forgetting yourself in order to give the best of yourself. It’s passing through you more than you’re creating it. You’re not the flower, but the vase which holds the flower.” ~Juliette Binoche

I rather like the image of the vase holding the flower. A beautiful spiritual visual for me. I have been making vases for almost 10 years now. Not sure exactly when I started, but I know it was because of a garden blog post from Cathy@Rambling In The Garden. I had been seeing her vases and was wanting to join in, but was reluctant to cut my flowers. I had almost an acre of them, but it felt wrong. Then after a turbulent storm, I took the downed flowers and put them in a vase, and a tradition was born for me. I have had lapses for weeks and months where I didn’t make any vases, but I started back again in earnest this year.

Cathy has been posting about her vases for 10 years, displaying beautiful flowers from her garden and encouraging all of us to have fun making vases too. And on this 10th anniversary of In a Vase on Monday, she has once again throw down an anniversary challenge for contributors….when is a vase not a vase? As you can see, I have made centerpieces that would not be considered vases, like the one above. But the above basket holds grasses from my garden, and some produce for Thanksgiving. Is it a vase, maybe?

Now I am not as creative as many in making vases or in these special challenges, but I do have a vase that is perhaps not a vase. It is a beloved basket. I used this basket as a vase back in 2017, but I put a small glass jar in it to hold other hydrangeas with dried grasses surrounding them, again for Thanksgiving.

The basket was bought at an Arts and Craft Festival in Arizona as a present for my mom, to put in her lovely Southwest home. When she moved into a senior living facility, she gave it back to me.

I placed a silk ivy plant in it that I had in my old office from 20 years ago. And I added dried hydrangeas. These hydrangeas are from my current garden from my Proven Winner Hydrangea Fire Light Tidbit. You can read more about the plant and see another vase featuring its fall flowers right here.

I love the look. Nothing live, no water, no vase. But a great arrangement that I keep in my living room area. Well I hope this quasi vase meets the challenge. It will bring me joy all winter as I await the flowers of spring to appear again.

All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma. You can follow my progress with #the100dayproject in my Instagram and Facebook feed.

All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2023.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.

22 Replies to “In a Vase on Monday – Is It or Isn’t It?”

  1. According to the Oxford dictionary:
    “plural noun: vases
    a decorative container, typically made of glass or china and used as an ornament or for displaying cut flowers.”

    You are just not using the typical vase.

  3. Its astonishing how the hydrangea heads are all from the same plant, despite their different shades. They make a lovely long-lasting non-vase display in the basket and I like your harvest display in the earlier photo too

  4. I loved seeing the hydrangea again. That one is a keeper and so is the ‘vase’ Long lasting and no upkeep works for me.

  6. The basket makes a warm and fitting fixture to support your dried hydrangea flowers, Donna. I do wish I could grow hydrangeas and use them as dried material in arrangements.

  10. That quote is perfect for this week’s challenge Donna, and the hydrangeas are lovely. The different shades of the flowers fading have a kind of nostalgic feel to them. Happy Anniversary!

  11. Oh that’s a fine ‘non vase’ Donna. Your hydrangeas have faded to such subtle colours. I like the candle with it’s surrounding wreath and all the colourful autumnal produce that you have assembled in readiness for ‘Thanksgiving’. They are most lovely indeed

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