A pink and purple vase today. Very hastily picked and plonked but I like the effect, which strangely always look better to my real life eye than it does in the photo. For example I look at my vase from a distance and think, yes that looks fine, but then I photograph it and it looks wonky and unbalanced. Does anyone else have the same problem I wonder. Oh well, on with the description of the contents. I have cut a stem of Physocarpus ‘Diablo’, a flower head from Hydrangea ‘Heinrich Seidel’, some Jasminum officinale, a piece of flowering mint, one flower from Dahlia Onesta, a stem from a hardy Fuchsia, one flower from Cosmos atrosanguineus, one flower from Verbena bonariensis, one poppy seed head, one flower from Echinops and two sprays from Rosa ‘Dorothy Perkins’.
I have been reorganising (and dusting) my mantelpiece and next to my pint-sized green Denby jug there is a now a late 18th century Flight & Barr tea bowl and saucer from the Worcester porcelain factory which I bought in Worcester in 2001 during a half term holiday. I love the hand-fluting and the delicate hand painted ‘puce’ pattern and that if you hold it up to candlelight the porcelain is translucent. It is a lovely object to behold and to hold and I often wonder who might have sipped tea from it. Or did they pour the tea into the deep bowl of the saucer and drink like a cat?
I’m joining in with Cathy’s brilliant and addictive meme, In a vase on Monday, where we pick flowers and foliage from our gardens and allotments in order to enjoy a vase of home-grown flowers during the week. I’ll be going over to Cathy’s blog Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other bloggers from around the world have found for today’s vase.
homeslip 
Lovely colours Sarah and I love your little cup and saucer. I agree with you, the photographs never do the flowers justice, I always feel the same. But your arrangement is beautiful.
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I agree this is a lovely setting and vase….I do see my vases out of whack when I photograph them from some angles….and they do seem so much better in person don’t they! Lovely colors this week.
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These go together beautifully, don’t they? And this Denby colour is probably perfect for any selection of blooms. I had to retake some of my photos because I realised one of the blooms had shifted position and was blocking something else – and reds and whites seem impossible to capture accurately (well, for me and my camera that is!). Dorothy Perkins is a pretty rose – does it continuously flower? I am so pleased you are enjoying the meme 🙂
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R. Dorothy Perkins is technically my neighbour’s but it strays into my garden from time to time and flowers more or less continuously throughout the summer months. Unfortunately it is also prone to mildew and ‘balling’ of the rose buds and it isn’t ‘rose’ scented to my nose. Nice colour though!
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Shame about the downsides 😦
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‘Hastily picked and plonked” – now why do those words have a familiar ring Sarah? I think the colour of your vase is most attractive as are the flowers within. Is ‘Dorothy Perkins’ highly scented?
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Sadly R. Dorothy P. is not scented. Despite that and her other failings i do still like her.
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What gorgeous flowers, I really love those colours. And I love how old the tea bowl and saucer are, like you I always like to try and imagine who has owned old things and what life was like when they were first made. If only they could talk! CJ xx
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Photographs do distort – I often take a few of shots from different angles in the hope that at least one will capture what my eyes see. Your arrangement, as photographed, is beautiful to my eyes, though.
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Beautiful colours and a very nice vase!
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Your flowers look beautiful! I understand though what you mean about things looking different in pictures than in real life. It is great to do a bit of mantel rearranging isn’t it! xx
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Great colours Sarah, not always easy to put together but these are lovely together.
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You’ve done well to keep up with the meme – I’m completely hopeless at them, always missing the deadline! I actually have a vase this week, filled with bright yellow Achillea (chopped back so I could access the veg beds without getting socked in the eye every time), deep pink Cosmos (accidentally snipped) and some Linaria that had to go. Looks quite nice but I forgot to photograph it!
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beautiful combination of colours and flowers in your vase – but I would say that as I love pinks and purples in the garden…. and that denby jug is lovely (my chap would love china this colour) We’ve got blue Boston denby which has appeared in a vase too… have a lovely week. love bec xx
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This is a lovely arrangement and the colors of flowers are enhanced by the Denby jug.
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This Vase on a Monday is allowing us all not only to cherish the flowers in our gardens, but also our ‘treasures’.
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The puce pink hydrangea blends so well with the subdued red roses, and they look so lovely with the green glaze of the pitcher, and the dark foliage. They look nice with the china cup too, I like the elegance of china with roses. I think they photographed very nicely together.
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I really like the ‘plonk in a vase’ look! These are so beautiful, and as a Denby fan, the vase is just lovely against the darker blooms x
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