I realised recently that the kitchen window sill is filling up with drinks bottles that I have saved to use as vases, because I like the shape/decoration/texture of them.
First off there are the Orangina bottles that I brought back from holiday in France, gathered because they are wonderfully bulbous and tactile. Then there are the Campari soda bottles that I specifically sought out after seeing them used so effectively on Christina’s blog. The last bottle in the cluster is a Fentimans rose lemonade bottle that fetchingly declares itself to be ‘Botanically Brewed’ around the base of its neck. It was made to be a vase!
Unfortunately the garden is looking rather weary in terms of pickable flowers now, after two months of no rain and the earlier onslaught of slugs. Sadly, there are no surviving sunflowers or dahlias to dazzle, so the choice for today’s flowers is rather modest. However, the small bottles lent themselves to small clusters of flowers and short stems and in the end the bottle collection looked quite pleasing I think.
So I am happy to be able to join in with Cathy’s In a vase on Monday meme and I suggest that you take a look there to see some of the wonderful displays that others have arranged.
Campari bottle number one contains …
Some Mina lobata, which has annoyingly short stems, but is dramatic against an ipomea leaf and some asparagus.
Bottle two contains white Japanese anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ which looks quite sweet with some sprigs of feverfew.
I had to brave clouds of mint moths and hoverflies to gather the mint and verbena. Mint moths seem to have appear in large numbers just in the last week or two. The mallow flowers in the center are actually marshmallow. I love their soft downy grey leaves and pale pink petals.
The sweetpeas are Matucana and they are just about still going, but have such short stems that they are hard to pick.
The final bottle contains a white rose which has grown to form a nice shrub in the garden, but started life as one of those ridiculously pot-bound tiny 3-inch gift roses.
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Lovely all!
Thanks
You’ve done well, especially without rain! Mina lobata is a favorite of mine and, though I can’t grow it here in my current shady garden, I’m always on the lookout for it. More gardeners should grow this easy annual vine, don’t you think?
Oh yes. It can take a bit to get going here, but I’ve seen some very effective obelisks covered with it erupting from plantings of tithonia, rudbeckia and dahlia. I’ve got mine growing over the arches in the vegetable plot and they get a lot of sun there.
You certainly managed to get some lovely arrangements nonetheless. Beautiful!
Thank you. It was nice to have the strong scent from the sweetpeas too.
What a fabulous idea to collect all these bottles and have a collection of arrangements, they look so stylish. Did you get any rain last night? We had quite a downpour, the first rain for weeks.
Hardly any unfortunately, although we drove though a couple of torrential downpours on the way to London. Big shame that they missed us. (BTW what I’d really like to collect are blue glass bottles)
Just gorgeous. My favourite is the ‘Honorine Jobert’. I’ve had my eye on getting one of these for a while, and so it’s good to see it in action!
Thanks. ‘Honorine Jobert’ looks so clean all the time. I love it too (also the seed heads later on). lt has taken a while for it to get established behind the pond here but it is beginning to spread now.
This are so interesting collected together. I have a group of balsamic vinegar bottles I like to use in a similar way.
I bet that they are interesting shapes. I definitely can see the attraction!
I love your collection of little bottles, all crying out for teeny tiny posies in them, and it was intriguing to see what you have found to go in them during this receding summer. That marshmallow is such a pretty colour, isn’t it? I shall look up mint moths tomorrow as there was a distinctive moth around my mint today but I haven’t a clue what they look like! Thanks for sharing today
Thanks Cathy. You don’t see marshmallow around much do you? Such a shame as it really is lovely. I was reading on another nature blog a few days ago that mint moths have been generally scarce this year but are having a late resurgence.
I looked up mint moth but it wasn’t one of those that I saw
Each one is lovely, but displayed together they are gorgeous! The Marshmallow is very pretty, and Honorine too. I also love Orangina bottles and the like, and must keep my eye out for other drinks bottles as this is a lovely idea. 🙂
Thanks. I first grew marchmallow to see if I could reproduce the sweet in a vegetarian form, but I’ve long since abandoned that quest and just really enjoy the plant for its beauty.
The smell is lovely though, isn’t it!
Oh wow, I’d never noticed before. Thanks
A great assortment of bottles, which go well together. You’ve managed to find quite a few unusual things to put in them. The Mina lobata is so striking!
Thanks Eliza. There is something glorious about the colours and form of mina lobata isnt’ there?
You made great use of all those bottles! I love that Mina lobata. I’m also envious of the Japanese anemones – mine appear to be a no-show again this year.
Shame to hear about your japanese anemones. I have to admit that the flowers on mine seem to be smaller than usual, but my Mum has a glorious patch, standing nearly 5ft high, that I am very jealous of.
Expect you’ve come across Ty nant bottled water, blue and green ones …? Not sure if they’re still around, used to to do small ones and would be a nice addition to your lovely collection.
I hadn’t in fact, but now that I’ve googled it I might just add to my collection! Thanks
I love all those bottles and although I’ve found several coloured glass vases for single displays on ebay, I like the idea of recycling. I shall keep my eyes open for some interesting models.
That sounds like a great idea and I bet that your vases are interesting shapes. I shall have to check out ebay.
The Mina lobata is new to me and I love it. I also love Orangina and haven’t had one in years. I have inherited a blue bottle collection that I like to use as vases – I think your grouping looks great.
Now I am so jealous. I look forward to seeing your collection of blue glass some time! Mina lobata is really easy from seed and is well worth a go.
I will look into that. Blue glass appears in the vase on monday from time to time.
A lovely collection of flowers and bottles. Great minds! I’ve a collection of several Orangina bottles for this very purpose sitting on my kitchen windowsill ready to use asap. We had a day trip to France last week and bought home a crate of it 🙂
Oh, well done! Hope that you have fun with them too. They are such an attractive shape aren’t they?
My favourite type of arrangements, a collection of little vases filled with all kinds of small flowers!
Thanks. Of course I learnt this kind of display from this meme!