bringing the garden inside

Last summer I gave myself a little treat- every Sunday morning I'd get up, see what was blooming, and make a big arrangement for the dining room table.  It was fun to choose different vases (some of which I made) and pair them with the different shapes and colors from the garden.  It's something I'm continuing this year (and it's one of the things I love about Memphis- I can find something in bloom *almost* every week of the year).

This Sunday we held an Indian-themed potluck and I made several small arrangements for the buffet tables, which we dressed in really bright Indian bedspreads (I was sad that I'd given away my old college "tapestries" from my brief want-to-be-a-dead-head days, so I borrowed them from a friend).
Here are the little bouquets on Sunday, arranged in my McCarty Pottery wine cups:

I picked the peonies that were in fat bud because it was beginning to storm (I'm so glad that I did because they would have shattered before we could have enjoyed them), the last flower bracts of the euphorbia that's been so pretty for weeks (that's the chartreuse), wild sweet william ("blue" phlox, though it's purple to my eyes), some deep blue/purple tradescantia (spiderwort) pale yellow false indigo (baptisia), and some roses from my neighbor Theresa's yard (mine were in bud, not yet blooming).  I love little full clusters of flowers- spilling over the sides of their containers.  These cups are some of my favorites to arrange in- they were wedding gifts that I never drink out of but use regularly for arranging.

Here they are on day 2:

The peony flattens out as it ages, and the roses are opening up.  The phlox smells divine!

And today: day 3
  
The tradescantia really pops out now- a few more flowers open every day.  The phlox is loosening up and dropping blossoms on the table runner, and the roses are all open now.  My peony is starting to tilt and fold, but I'm bringing in new buds that open up so quickly.  I really like how the yellow baptisia picks up the yellow of the euphorbia, which I really just used as a filler.   Our dining room is in the center of our house- between the front door and the kitchen, a pass-through to the bedrooms and up to the studio, and has north-facing windows.  I've been so happy to have this riot of color this week- it's been dark and rainy and they have lifted my spirits and reminded me of the nice time we had with friends over the weekend.