mahonia, poorly rendered

Oh, for heavens sake! When am I ever going to take the time to learn photography? I'm usually adept enough to flounder to a solution to the photo challenges I face, but today, tying to render this conglomeration of mahonia flower structures, I knew I was out of my league. Here's the best I could do to showcase the beautiful structures left behind after mahonia flowers have been zapped at least twice by frost.

 

sprouted straw

I use straw on my garden paths, and this winter seeds in the straw sprouted. So now my paths  look like they need to be mowed! The clumps of fresh grass/straw are gorgeous, though, so I dug a few up and brought them into the house. Here's one.

three little brown bottles of periwinkle

For some reason, this arrangement reminded me of the Broadway tune "Three Little Maids from School Are We."  The three little bottles must be the three little maids! Anyway, Rhonda Baker gave me these little bottles, and I couldn't wait to use them. One of them still has its stopper and one has a label on it saying, among other things, "Peach-So Called." Truth in labeling, 19th century style!  The bottles seemed to call for something old-fashioned, like periwinkle.

chalk vase with and without flowers

I was anxious this afternoon. Needed a walk and a brain cleanse, so I took a walk around the yard looking for things to drop into this little, black chalk vase. Lots of daffodils to choose from, but it was foliages that grabbed my attention. A variety of those is in the first photo. That's the arrangement that calmed me down. But, because they were blooming, I added lesser celandine flowers. The walk, and the arranging, worked wonders. Now for a glass of wine.