Brrr it’s turned chilly here at Rancho La Zaca, and windy too. As the days shorten and the weather turns, we can create a bright spot anywhere with the One Little Thing of fresh flowers or greenery. If I’ve been away the first thing I do when I return is put flowers in the house. A room with a bloom is a sign of welcome.
A sugar bowl with dahlias and ivy, a shell, and a Coalport figurine compose a simple vignette on a dresser at Bee Cottage, my house in East Hampton. (That's my baby picture in the background. My hair looks like Puck's, in Glee.)
You needn’t have a full blown arrangement, or even a plant, though orchids are mighty easy and do last a long time. What about a single blossom with a sprig of ivy on your dresser or by the bath? Or a few posies in a glass on your desk?
A single bloom in an antique sherry glass (or whatever it is) on my dressing table at Bee Cottage. Under the glass is a homemade collage done with illustrations cut from a calendar.
What’s available of course depends on the season and where you live, but almost every grocery store nowadays has some kind of fresh flowers – and they’ll do just fine.
In California, eucalyptus and protea are plentiful, inexpensive, and usually found at local farmer's markets not too far from (my other) home Rancho La Zaca. Just stick them in a vase and you have a pretty impressive display - even when it starts to dry. Hmm, there are the lingering Thanksgiving pumpkins peeking out from the mantle. I'll get to them this weekend...
Roses, lavender, and ceanothus last spring at Rancho La Zaca
Or on your window sill – where the light, while it lasts, will illuminate them – and brighten your view.
