Wall Vase Yellow Bamboo

We have had our wall vase for years. Every once in a while we would add fresh flowers to the greens. It has two tiers. At the beginning of the pandemic I ordered some bamboo shoots to put in the top vase. The lower vase now has cut greens that have rooted, a couple of dried flowers, twigs and cuttings from the balcony vines. We have tried a lot of different things - even orchids. But nothing seems to last very long, although the unusual items last longer than any cut flower. So when one of the bamboo sticks started turning yellow I knew it was only a matter of time when it would deteriorate. So I removed the sick bamboo yesterday. Now there is only one bamboo shoot left. Rather than leave it alone the rooted variegated leaves from the balcony flower basket were added, along with a twig and another green that was moved from the bottom vase. The cuttings of another green had rooted elsewhere in the house and it was added to the top vase to give it more volume. I think the bamboo is getting too tall and may need to move it to the lower vase. Right now it’s looking much too green. What’s nice about having the wall vase is that it adds a bit of whimsy to the living room and the greens last for a long time. It’s also a nice spot to appreciate the seasons by adding an appropriate reminder - Christmas ferns, pine cones, and colorful tiny ornaments always look nice. We have even stuffed the vases with small gourds for Halloween and thanksgiving. The sky is the limit for any option. All it takes is a bit of imagination. 

Fresh Market Flowers

Since we’ve been ordering groceries on line for delivery we haven’t been getting fresh flowers - until recently. The option wasn’t available or I just didn’t think about it. We always used to get a small bunch of flowers every other week or so when we went to the grocery store on Saturday. Now, being stuck in the house, it makes such a difference to have added color in lifting spirits. And since we don’t have our small Capitol Hill patio garden anymore it’s even more important. We have gotten flowers from Giant recently and they turned out so so - one bunch was better than the other. Recently we got a bunch from Fresh Market. They were unusual and very nice. We have a wall vase, a console plant table in the dining room, and a small glass vase on the dining room table. So after disinfecting the groceries when they arrived I attended to the flowers. Flowers take on a whole different look when you zoom in on the details. But they look wonderful no matter how you look at them. 

Plants, Flowers, Weeds and More Plants

When you spend most of the day indoors, the subject matter for a blog can be uninspiring. It takes a bit of creativity. I used to get a lot of ideas walking around Capitol Hill before we moved to northern Virginia last year. We don’t walk in the park here because people don’t wear face masks and they can’t be avoided on the narrow paths. So we stay in the neighborhood where it is easier to cross over when someone approaches. Why is it that the people wearing face masks (like us) have to accommodate the people who don’t? So, a lot of the blogs have been about plants, flowers and weeds - because I’ve been seeing a lot of plants, flowers and weeds. It includes things like tulips in the wall vase, weeds higher than my knee caps, the money tree that lost leaves, repotting our orchid, petunia stigmas, Growjoy plants from Indiana, balcony flowers, lucky bamboo, outdoor flowers, the bromeliad ... thank goodness we have our houseplants, wall vase, and balcony baskets. It gives us something to care about - and lately - something to write about. 

The Yellow Tulips

My husband doesn’t care for tulips. I rather like them - especially when they are vibrant and last for a while. We used to get fresh cut flowers from the grocery store about every other week to put in the wall vase. But since we haven’t been to the grocery store in three months, the flowers have not been readily available. We order groceries from Giant Peapod, but they don’t offer flowers. Fresh Market and Wegmans do. So when I order from there I always ask for the little bouquet - but they never have it. So the last time we ordered from Fresh Market I requested a substitution for the bouquet. When the yellow tulips arrived I was thrilled just to have them. The buds were placed in the wall vase, the vase on the plant console table, and the single vase on the dining room table. They were green to begin with, and the next day the yellow flowers emerged. But rather than open, they sort of just stayed in the same position. The evidence of time passing showed as the flowers shriveled to paper thin, the green leaves became yellow and the tips of the leaves turned brown. I always try to mix the flowers with other greenery to make the arrangements more interesting and to fill the vase. It was a disappointing batch in that these tulips hardly lasted a week. Nevertheless it was a lovely attempt at getting back to a routine. Somehow plants and flowers are even better friends these days. 

Grocery Store Flowers

Every week we go grocery shopping after we have breakfast at the neighborhood spot. One item we always get is flowers. We have a double wall vase and a plant console in the dining room with a very large ornamental glass vase. During the holidays I fill them all with seasonal greens and decorative elements. But most times, it just depends on what is in stock. I always like to fill the vases with a variety of greens. When we had gardens, I could usually steal some things from there. But now I have to depend on what’s available. Sometimes there is nothing, but I try to keep the greens going over a few weeks. A few sticks also makes the bouquets more interesting. So today at Giant we picked up a big chunk of greens and a mostly yellow flower assortment. Now I have a small vase inside the large vase on the console table. It keeps things “straight,” is easier to water, and I don’t have to lift the heavy glass vessel from the stand. The flowers usually last the full week, and the second week things get a bit worn. But it’s always so pretty to see the flowers. And I like sorting them out. 

Using Greens in Vases

We have a few vases in the house that I like to keep filled with flowers. There is a double wall vase, a small dining room table vase, and another one on my bedside stand. Usually we get flowers at the grocery store when we do our shopping on Saturday after breakfast. Some of the flowers last a couple of weeks while others hardly go a few days. What I really like is to have a variation of greens and twigs to mix it up. Having just flowers is not good enough. Now that we have a few house plants I’ll even throw in a couple snips to see if they will root. When we had our little Capitol Hill patio garden, I could swipe a few greens and twigs from the bushes, hydrangeas and myrtles. But now we only have a balcony at our new Virginia condo with nothing to steal from. When we lived in the Midwest I would use a saw to cut branches for garland and decor to stuff wondowboxes and large vases for Christmas. So I found a nice bunch of greenery and twigs at Giant two weeks ago so all I needed last weekend was a small bunch of flowers. I really didn’t need the whole bunch but tried to separate them out and divide them up among the three main vases. It’s funny how the greens can stand alone. Maybe next week I’ll let them do just that.