September 16, 2011--old materials, recycled

I didn't like my Sept. 14 arrangement (or at least the photo), but I loved the materials, so I decided to try again. I gave each stem a fresh cut and rearranged it in smaller vase (a vinegar cruet) and added a red zinnia (also recycled from a previous arrangement) and a little red morning glory v ine. I like this much better. And the colors are prettier than they appear in photo--yellow green goldenrod, apricot-colored snapdragon, lavendar false dragonhead/obedient plant/Physostegia.

Then, because I still had flowers leftover, I decided to arrange them in a little orange baking dish (I think you call it a croquette?).  With wide mouth, I really needed floral foam but didn't have any (or at least would have had to walk farther than I wanted to walk to get some), so I cut an eggplant to the appropriate dimension and stuffed it into the croquette to use as "organic floral foam"!  Although it doesn't have the absorptive capacity of Oasis brick, it works like a charm for providing stem support!  Notice that the red zinnia in lowest in this arrangement actually has its face pointing up toward the ceiling. I like that.

And here are the two arrangements on same windowsill.

Where oh where is a photography coach when you need one? The challenge of trying to photograph things with light behind them is driving me nuts!