This week, vibrant new blooms join the spring party and the Carolina snailseed is being super clingy.
Today’s post is part of “In a Vase on Monday,” a weekly meme hosted by Cathy on her blog Rambling in the Garden. Give her a visit to see what she and other gardeners around the world have put in a vase today. But first, here’s what’s in my vase on Monday, May 7, 2018, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Red hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria ‘Grandiflora’)
Also known as torch lily, this perennial is another purchase from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens fall plant sale in 2017. This is its first (and only) bloom, so I hope more blooms are on the way. It’s a native of Southern Africa, and from what I read, its blooms are often bi-colored in combinations of yellow, orange and red. I’m not sure if my plant will offer only yellow blooms, or it’s going to surprise me.
Butterfly bush (Buddleja)
We planted a butterfly bush under our kitchen window last year. True to its name, it attracts lots of butterflies. It’s covered in green buds this week, which will soon turn into dark violet-purple blooms. Although not fully bloomed, this one was far enough along to demonstrate its color.
Ice plant (Delosperma cooperi)
I also featured this succulent ground cover in my IAVOM post on April 23. It’s really doing well this year, so you will probably see it in my arrangements throughout the summer. Look how the petals shimmer in the sun.
Carolina snailseed (Cocculus carolinus)
When looking for vase ideas today, I was taken by how these young shoots of Carolina snailseed twisted together to achieve verticality. It reminds me of Jack and the Bean Stalk.
Thanks for dropping by my blog today, and don’t forget to visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for more IAVOM posts.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the Carolina snailseed as English ivy (Hedera).
T's Southern Garden Blog 
Oh my Terri this is exquisite and exotic with flowers I had never thought to put in a vase, let alone usually seen together in a vase….I love the swirls of ivy adding to the beauty of this vase.
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Thank you, Donna! My yard is in a bit of a lull between spring and summer flowers. Scarcity is indeed the mother of invention.
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I do love these chunky cubic glass vase, Terri, and the ivy really pulls the wole arrangement together, although I am puzzled by what you call it as it doesn’t look like the ubiquitous ivy that we get in the UK… Is it actually a hedera? I suppose I could look it up…!
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Hmmm, perhaps I need to do some more research, Cathy. Someone told me I had English ivy so I just assumed–and it is ubiquitous. I will say this is not a representative sample of what the ivy looks like. My vase features some new tendrils that just shot up in a sunny spot. I stripped off the thicker, more mature leaves lower down in order to manipulate it in the vase.
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Cathy, thank you for questioning this and prompting me to do more research! I do in fact have hedera in my backyard; however, I incorrectly assumed the stuff that keeps poking up in my sunny front yard was the same thing. It is not! It is Carolina snailseed (Cocculus carolinus). That’s what’s in my vase this week. I’ve updated the post.
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Oh well that explains it, Terri! I know there are often differences in common names for plants in different countries, but your ‘snailseed’ was nothing like UK ivy and I just thought it was a bit odd – I certainly wasn’t doubting what you said 😉
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Cathy, I am most grateful that you made the observation! It helped me learn the difference between the two plants. 🙂
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What a fun vase, the beanstalk really makes it!
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Lovely, it really doesn’t look like Hedera but it works beautifully in the vase whatever it is.
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Thanks, Christina! I did some research this morning. Here’s what I found out: I do in fact have hedera in my backyard; however, I incorrectly assumed the stuff that keeps poking up in my sunny front yard was the same thing. It is not! It is Carolina snailseed (Cocculus carolinus). That’s what’s in my vase this week. I’ve updated the post.
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Thanks for the update.
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