Well, Cathy is celebrating the fourth anniversary of In a Vase on Monday, and she has challenged us to look outside the vase for today's post. Rather than look for an alternative dish, I decided to go more minimalist and use some of the ample material I have on hand for drying.
Mostly ornamental grasses and assorted lavenders, with a couple tufts of rosemary, they were gathered, trimmed, and tied with some linen thread. One pugnacious garden spider was relocated back outside in the process.
The ornamental grasses include Pennisetum setaceum rubrum and this year's newcomer, which I'm delighted with, Muhlenbergia lindheimeri "Autumn Glow". The rosemary is "Tuscan Blue".
As for the lavenders, there are Lavandula dentata (still showing color), L. multifida, and L. x intermedia, the most sweetly fragrant of all the lavenders I grow.
As I cut these yesterday and photographed them today, most of the flowers had already closed and begun drying. The desert is certainly a good place to dry herbs!
Congratulations and thanks, Cathy, for a meme that has brought so much pleasure to so many of us over the last four years!
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 86 F (30 C)/Low: 60 F (16 C); Humidity: 9%-40%
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Kris P (Monday, 13 November 2017 21:49)
Very nice and unlike anything else anyone posted today!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Monday, 13 November 2017 23:02)
Thanks so much, Kris! As color usually plays such a large part in my choices, I felt rather out of my depth on this one; but I've promised myself for months that I would begin drying some of my lavenders and such. So this was the perfect opportunity... ;-)
Loree (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 00:17)
I love the simplicity of your arrangement. The vase stripped away, the color (mostly) gone too.
Annette (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 03:21)
Hi Amy, your upside down vase made me smile – I have never seen anything like it for these meme so well done for being so original :) . There's definitely magic in simplicity! Have a good week x
Cathy (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 04:33)
I am so glad the challenge gave you the impetus to do this, Amy - thus reflecting the origins of the meme too and the challenge I set myself. I had to smile at the thought of the pugnacious spider being removed from your otherwise pristine posy of grassess and herbs. A completely pared down 'vase', and so sophisticated in its simplicity - thanks for sharing it
Joanna (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 17:29)
What a lovely, simple idea for a non-vase!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Tuesday, 14 November 2017)
Loree - Clearly I need to focus a bit more on form. ;-) But it was an enjoyable project - so glad you liked it!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 22:33)
Many thanks, Annette - so glad it made you smile ;-) It was also fun to do, so hopefully there will be more dried lavender as time goes on. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 22:45)
Cathy - I had to carry that spider out swinging on the end of her thread. ;-) Thank you once again!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 22:46)
Thank you so much, Joanna! :-)
Cathy (Wednesday, 15 November 2017 05:06)
What a good idea for meeting Cathy's challenge! I have a little lavender drying in my cellar too.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Wednesday, 15 November 2017 14:23)
Thank you so much, Cathy! I love dried lavender too - not sure why it took me so long to begin?! ;-)
Brian Skeys (Friday, 17 November 2017 11:01)
I can almost smell the scent of Rosemary and Lavender.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Friday, 17 November 2017 14:23)
Brian - They were lovely to work with, especially the Lavendula x intermedia, which left its scent on my hands anytime I picked it up. :)