Today’s vase is all about brilliance and fragrance, and very much about what is happening in the wider garden. We are tipping over into the hot months now. It is time for some exuberance before everything quiets down into a summer drowsiness.
So here are sprays of mandarin orange blossoms straight from the tree…
…and a few fireworks from aloe flowers.
Citrus bloom scents are among my very favorite garden fragrances. And this stem needed to be trimmed up off the base of the tree, so I’ve planned this vase for days.
As for the aloes, they’ve been flowering freely for weeks, rather to my surprise, as there were only about three bloom stems total last year. We had a moist winter; perhaps that made the difference as I’ve really not given them much care.
Mandarins and aloes both, these are substantial stems, so I was able to use one of my larger handthrown stoneware vases. This one is unglazed, with just some texturing around the shoulder for design interest.
Both the mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata noID) and the aloes (Aloe vera) are remnants that were already in place when we moved in. I’ve been happy to see them recover from the state of neglect that we found them in. They are proving their bounty now.
Do check all the other vases on this lovely mid-April Monday! Thanks to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday at Rambling in the Garden!
What a lovely combination, Amy - and good to know you have some wortwhile vegetaion already in your garden! I especially enjoy the unglazed vases of yours - the matte finish really appeals to me. Is the neck of this one as narrow as it looks?
The orange blossom is so pretty Amy. Will you get oranges from the tree/shrub? It seems appropriate to have orange coloured aloe flowers to go with it. 😉 Love the vase too.