The colour of the stem is almost the same as the acqua blue of this vintage bottle which still has its marble. I love old bottles and recently on our visit to Bath, spent the best part of the day at The Museum of Bath at Work, where they have a complete bottling plant, with all the old bottles. This is one of my top five museums.
A couple of my other vintage bottles are standing in with Festive bits and pieces...
My mother's idea of in a Vase on Monday would be brimming with flowers, but at present most have been beaten down by the heavy rain. Unlike friends in the Midlands, we have had no snow settle, only a few flurries of sleet to cool the ambient temperature in the conservatory to the very low 5 to 10 C.
My echeveria 'Curly Locks' which was bought at the Wells Plants festival earlier this year, decided to throw up a flower spike. It grew rather tall, most probably because of the poor light levels. Since the plant had to be brought inside, and the flower size was starting to be rather top heavy, it made the ideal material for this weeks In a Vase on Monday.
Mistletoe grows in abundance in the area around Glastonbury, and at the great wreath making shindig at Wells WI last week, someone had brought in some vast bunches.
Together with some variegated ivy, aka: love stones, some Rosemary for remembrance, some bay, from the garden and old man's beard which another member had brought , I give you my loose Christmas Wreath, hung against the stone wall by the front door.
All the wreath bases had been made up by a Member's husband from willow and other shrubs from their garden...I can just imagine there was a great pruning spree as there were about 70 wreaths. I think they have a 'willow' orchard....well we are very close to the Somerset Levels which are renowned for their Willow products.
Oh that museum in Bath sounds just up my street Noelle - haven't been there for quite a few years (since Elder Daughter finished Uni there in fact). Your vintage bottles and their simple offerings are so elegant, as is the end product of the great wreath making shindig - no codswallop to be seen!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy...love your use of the term codswallop as 'weak'...there are so many nuances..words are so interesting.
DeleteI love the simplicity of your wreath; lucky you to be given Mistletoe; I don't think I've ever seen it sold here but that's probably because the Italians rather go in for bright, sparkly and gaudy rather than traditional evergreen.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me there are gaudy versions in the UK too...l prefer the green, sustainable and compostable versions!
DeleteI've never seen a 'loose' wreath before.
ReplyDeleteMUCH prefer that to the stiff carefully wired usual.
I've made just about every type, but on the whole I veer towards the simple such as the one I made in 2015, when I picked holly and ivy from the garden. Its the process I enjoy, thinking about friends etc. Its just a nice way of showcasing seasonal flowers and arranging them for an 'exterior' ornament.
DeleteYou've got such a lot to show. The wreath is very pretty, nicely different and that sounds like a fun day out. I have a woven willow wreath base, which I've had for years, and I get it out every year and stick whatever I can find into it. It's thicker than your base, quite robust.
ReplyDeleteOur WI has monthly meetings, sometimes we have a speaker, sometimes an activity...just imagine all those ladies walking through the streets of Wells last week late at night with their wreaths...some were thick and very generously 'stuffed' with greenery, and others like mine more like an outdoorsey flower arrangement.
DeleteThe succulent flower looks very elegant in its "codswallop" vase, Noelle. I love your wreath with its "old man's beard" decorations too. Is that a Clematis seed head or something else?
ReplyDeleteThanks Kris...Old Man's Beard is the seed head of the wild clematis... I used some of it in flower earlier in the year. I used it because the name made my granddaughter laugh when she first the name, then looked at my hubby and his grey beard!!
DeleteI had to look up Coddswallop bottles as I had never heard of them before and was a bit puzzled! LOL! Your light and airy wreath is really lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteThere is also the saying meaning 'rubbish' or weak... because I just had one flower!
DeleteI love old glass bottles, too. Every once in a while we'll find one when digging in places that were used as trash heaps years ago before transfer stations became the tip.
ReplyDeleteI love your wreath - it came out very well!
Archaeology and collecting bottles at the same time...very exciting.
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