In A Vase on Monday

I was a bit worried that our snow and cold weather was going to stick around for much longer and affect my ability to cut flowers from the garden, but a little warmer weather and rain moved in just in time on Saturday to melt almost all the snow. I managed to get out and cut some Hellebores, which is what I had wanted to cut last week for my first IaVoM post. They work just as well this week.

It's a different vase than last week, (a cheaper, unmarked thrift store one), but pretty enough, and the right height and color to go with the blooms.

It's a very simple combo of Hellebores and sweet box

As I looked at it sitting behind my sink in the kitchen window, I realized that I couldn't really see into the Hellebore flowers. Although it's a variety that holds its flowers more upright than most (either Penny's Pink or Anna's Red, I can never tell the difference), it still needed to be a bit higher. So I upended one of my cat's dishes under it.

Overturned cat dish for height

Now I can see into these pretty blooms

I tried to choose a few sweet box branches that still had black berries for just a bit of contrast

Most of the scent of my sweet box out in the garden seems to have dissipated. I had to strip all the lower open flowers from these stems and I'm hoping that the tiny upper blooms will open eventually and add some scent to the room.

I discarded everything from last week's upstairs vase arrangement, but the one downstairs had undergone an interesting change.

The Monstera leaves had turned yellow!

I had to keep them and use them somehow in another vase. I tried to work them into the Hellebores, but quickly realized that just didn't go. Fortunately I had a single stem of Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' blooming out in the greenhouse that fit in perfectly.

Even closer, just in case you are also wondering what we like to read (Guess who reads what?)

Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer'

I'm having a lot of fun cutting flowers for this meme, and I fear it is going to get addictive. Cathy at Rambling in the Garden hosts In A Vase on Monday. Check out Cathy's post here, and see what she and other bloggers are plonking in vases for today. And think about participating too!